Despite the well-established custom of midweek Advent services in our parishes, our worship book does not provide lectionary readings or suggestions for midweek. This allows for seasonal themes to be developed, but sometimes pastors look for some concrete guidance in this area. The following suggestions are offered for consideration in meeting this need. This guide provides a psalm and Old Testament reading for each day, plus a narrative portion of Luke 1 to introduce the story of our Lord’s Advent in the flesh.
Thanksgiving Hymn Guide
Thanksgiving is, strictly speaking, a feast of the First Article. And so we confess that it is our solemn duty to “thank and praise” our kind and heavenly Father. And yet it is also a gift of the Second Article, since for the Christian, all thanks is offered in and through Christ. Finally, it is also a gift of the Third Article, for such thanksgiving is finally possible only for the one who has been brought to faith in Christ, and such faith is invariably the work of the Holy Spirit Who leads us to receive all things with thanks and praise.
Stewardship Resources – December 2014
Each month, LCMS’ Stewardship Ministry creates bulletin sentences and newsletter articles that can be included in congregational church bulletins and monthly newsletters, respectively.
Pastoral Education – November 2014
Our two LCMS seminaries, Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, begin the process of pastoral formation through their Master of Divinity (M.Div.) programs, the most typical route to the Office of the Holy Ministry.
Photo gallery: 2014 Mercy Medical Team in Madagascar
Members of the Mercy Medical Team traveled to small towns near Antsirabe, Madagascar, to treat nearly 2,000 patients in October 2014. Photographs by Erik M. Lunsford, staff photojournalist in LCMS Communications
Video: A Partnership of Formation
Constructed in 1947 with the intention of serving all of Latin America, Seminario Concordia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been forming men into confessional Lutheran pastors for not just Argentina but for other parts of the Spanish-speaking world.
Audio: KFUO Interview with Rev. Carlos Hernandez on Veterans/Soldiers of the Cross and Gospel Seeds
Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director, Church and Community Engagement for the LCMS Office of National Mission, talked on Oct. 22, 2014, on KFUO Radio about the Veterans of the Cross ministry, the Soldiers of the Cross ministry and the Gospel Seeds ministry.
Audio: KFUO World Lutheran News interview – Castillo Fuerte in Lima, Peru
Daniel Fickenscher, a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod missionary in Latin America, was interviewed on Oct. 18, 2014, by KFUO Radio about Castillo Fuerte (Mercy House) in Lima, Peru. Castillo Fuerte provides a safe place for slum children in Lima to play, study and learn about the Gospel.
Audio: KFUO ‘His Time’ interview – Papua New Guinea exhibit at CHI
Dr. Daniel Harmelink, executive director, and Becky Wells, museum curator, of Concordia Historical Institute (CHI) talk about the new Papua New Guinea exhibit on display now at the Institute.
Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Hymn Suggestions — Historic Series
Download Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Hymn Suggestions — Historic Series, compiled by Rev. William Weedon.
Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Hymn Suggestions — Three Year Series
Download Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Hymn Suggestions — Three Year Series, compiled by Henry Gerike.
Audio: Death with Dignity – Faith’n’Family host Andy Bates interviews Maggie Karner
Maggie Karner, director of LCMS Life and Health Ministries, discusses physician-assisted death and the viral story of Brittany Maynard. Like Brittany, Maggie has been diagnosed with stage-four glioblastoma brain cancer. Listen to her perspective on life, control and death with dignity.
Celebrating Church Workers – October 2014
The Lutheran Church−Missouri Synod celebrates the sometimes-unsung servants of the Church by giving thanks for all of our professional church workers who serve the people of God in body and soul.
Photo gallery: Inauguration of Rev. Dr. Daniel Lee Gard at Concordia University-Chicago
See photographs from the inauguration convocation for the Rev. Dr. Daniel Lee Gard, president of Concordia University Chicago, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, in River Forest, Ill. Photographs by Erik M. Lunsford, staff photojournalist in LCMS Communications.
Interview with Mary Jones Wise, great-niece of Rosa Young, about the upcoming film titled “The First Rosa”
Mary Jones Wise, great-niece of Rosa Young, discusses the first film documentary about the life of Dr. Rosa Jinsey Young – “the mother of black Lutheranism in central Alabama.”
Walking with our African partners to fight Ebola
As Ebola continues its deadly sweep across West Africa — the death toll rising to some 3,500 at this writing — the people of the LCMS continue to respond with prayer and support for our relief efforts.
