World Lutheran News Digest from KFUO Radio

Guest Jonathan Scruggs, senior counsel and director of the Center for Conscience Initiatives with Alliance Defending Freedom, examines court cases involving artists and religious freedom. A state court rules two Christian women who make hand crafted wedding announcements must create them for gay weddings, or face fines or even prison. This is another case of Christian artists facing persecution for their beliefs.

Guest Peter S. Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council, discusses the recent Values Voter Summit. For three days last month, Christians and social conservatives from around the country gathered in the nation's capital for the 11th Annual Values Voter Summit. Sponsored from the start by FRC Action, the legislative affiliate arm of the Family Research Council, the Summit provides a forum to help inform and mobilize citizens across America to preserve the bedrock values of traditional marriage, religious liberty, sanctity of life, and limited government. Other similar organizations also helped sponsor the event. This latest Summit was truly groundbreaking. For the first time in its history, a sitting president, Donald Trump, was in attendance. Other notable speakers included talk show host Laura Ingram, civil rights leader Dr. Alveda King, March for Life president Jeannie Mancini, Live Action's founder and president Lila Rose, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, among others. There were a number of breakout sessions featuring panel discussions on a variety of issues. Discussions included what the religious liberty movement can learn from the pro life movement, transgender ideology in public schools, political and social engagement, and personal stories about fighting for religious freedom.. Find more details about the Summit at valuesvotersummit.org.

What role did beer play in the Reformation? Kip Allen, host of World Lutheran News Digest and avid home-brewer, talks with guest Rev. Dr. Mark Bangert, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Washington, Missouri, and winner of Brew in the Lou for the last two years, about beer and the history of the Reformation.

Guest Meagan Weber, And Then There Were None spokeswoman and client manager, joins us to talk about this wonderful organization and how it helps abortion workers leave the industry. Watch their video below and learn more about the organzation at abortionworker.com.

Since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, nearly 60 million pregnancies have been ended. Abortion takes a terrible toll. A child is always lost, and a woman is left knowing that she literally threw away her baby. A family will never know the child. Society will never benefit from what the child might have become. But there are other victims as well, victims we often don’t think about when discussing abortion’s toll: the abortion workers themselves. Just imagine working in that industry, seeing daily what it does, watching the lives lost and ruined. In 2009, a Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson cried, "Enough!" and she quit. She started the organization "And Then There Were None," which reaches out to other abortion workers to help them leave the abortion industry.

Sermon notes are subpoenaed. Christians are being forced to participate in gay marriage ceremony preparation. School children are told they can’t mention Jesus. A high school football coach is fired for silently praying on an athletic field. These are just a few of the increasingly frequent incidents of hostility to religion in American society. The past 5 years, First Liberty Institute has tracked these instances and released its findings annually in a report titled "Undeniable." First Liberty recently released its 2017 "Undeniable" report. The findings are discouraging. The number of documented incidents increased by 15% from the past year, and a whopping 133% since the first Undeniable report was released in 2011. Today’s guest is Justin Butterfield, Esq., Senior Counsel and Director of Research and Education for First Liberty Institute. Find more about First Liberty Institute at firstliberty.org.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has high praise for religious organizations that help communities in times of disaster. Churches provide shelter, food, and relief distribution to the community. Some even serve as FEMA response bases, distributing food, clothing, and hygiene products, as well as providing warehouse facilities for emergency relief supplies. Yet, FEMA will not allow churches to apply for disaster grants to repair their own damage. This, despite the fact that FEMA actively encourages secular nonprofits to apply. Three Texas churches are taking FEMA to court. They’re represented by Becket Law, a nonprofit public-interest legal institute that protects religious rights. Today’s guest, Becket attorney Diana Verm, discusses why these churches are taking action and what the outlook is for the case.

LCMS Disaster Response teams traveled immediately to the twin disasters of Hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida. Traveling with them were members of the LCMS Communications Department. Their role was to document the situation and relay to the public how the LCMS was responding to the situation in those areas. People were able to follow the ongoing efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, thanks to the LCMS communicators who went with the Disaster Response Team. Deaconess Pam Nielsen and Rev. Kevin Armbrust speak about their experiences responding to these disasters and the stories they were able to share.

Tim Hetzner, President and CEO, Lutheran Church Charities discusses the deployment of LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs to hurricane survivors in Texas.

Hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf Coast of the United States twelve years after Hurricane Katrina brought disaster to some of the same gulf communities. Rev. Kurtis D. Schultz, President, Southern District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod reflects on the acts of mercy of many following Katrina and the lessons learned in past disaster response.

We witnessed one of God’s marvels this week, with a total eclipse of the sun. This rare event has often been associated with end times theology, especially in the early church. But for some in Islam, an eclipse can have a very special meaning. Many Sufi and Shia Muslims believe that a lunar eclipse on the first day of Islamic month of Ramadan, followed by a solar eclipse in the middle of the month, will signal the reign of the twelfth, or hidden, Imam, the one who will establish a worldwide Islamic rule. Those two eclipses will actually happen in the year 2027. Dr. Timothy Furnish, expert in Islamic history, speaks to these beliefs on today’s episode.