Sharper Iron From Kfuo Radio

Rev. Hans Fiene, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Crestwood, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 10:1-25. God mocks idolatry in order to show His people that the nations and their gods do not need to be feared. Idols are only human creations; they are as lifeless as scarecrows that can do absolutely nothing. In complete contrast, the LORD is the one true God and King over every nation and all creation. He alone is to be feared as the One who created and sustains all things by His power, wisdom, and understanding. Yet He is not simply a God “up there.” By His promise, the LORD is the portion of His people. Because Judah refuses to repent of her idolatry, however, the LORD will send them into exile in Babylon. As the people lament their destruction, so the LORD laments the necessity of bringing such calamity upon His people. Jeremiah prays that the Babylonian exile will have the desired effect of bringing the people to repentance and faith in the LORD. He is the One who ultimately b

Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 9:17-26. The destruction coming upon Jerusalem is so great that professional mourners will be needed. The people of Judah will be cast from the Promised Land as the LORD’s judgment against them. Death will strike every household as the LORD once struck against the firstborn of Egypt. Yet the LORD calls His people back to true wisdom, might, and wealth. These are not found in the people themselves or in any foreign nation, but in the steadfast love, justice, and righteousness given by the LORD. He is not looking for only outward circumcision from Judah or any nation, but for circumcision of the heart that results in true faith in the LORD. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is

Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 8:18-9:16. Jeremiah laments the destruction that he knows is coming upon his fellow Israelites; he longs for healing from the LORD who seems absent from His people. Yet Jeremiah also laments the people’s idolatry and accompanying wickedness that is bringing the LORD’s wrath upon them. The falsehood that the people are believing and preaching concerning the LORD has led to falsehood among the people’s dealings with each other; one sin builds upon another. The devastations in the created world reflect the divine judgment that is coming. Yet the LORD’s promise to refine and test His people does reflect an element of hope that the LORD will give His people true repentance and faith through their fiery trial. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people o

Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor at Holy Cross and Immanuel Lutheran Churches in Lidgerwood, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 8:4-17. Jeremiah accuses the people of Judah and Jerusalem for their stubborn stiff-neckedness. Though anyone who falls gets back up again, Judah refuses to return to the LORD. Like a war horse that plunges into battle and death, so Judah plunges into idolatry and death. They have less sense than migratory birds. Their false prophets peddle lies that because they have the book of the Law in Jerusalem, everything will be just fine. Their complete lack of wisdom is seen, however, because they have no clue what God’s Word actually says. Yet God will show His wisdom. He does so in ways that look foolish, through the preaching of Jeremiah that tells of the coming destruction. Yet through that death and destruction, God will bring about repentance and life. He does not stop naming Judah, “His people,” pointing to the fulfillment of His promise to be their God and Savior. He

Rev. Dr. David Adams, associate professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 7:21-8:3. The LORD tells Judah that their atoning sacrifices are useless because they are being offered without faith. When the LORD brought His people out of Egypt, He established His relationship with them by His Word before He ever gave the sacrificial system. As their fathers refused to listen to the LORD and walked in their own ways, so the people of Judah have grown worse. Though the people still will not listen, Jeremiah will preach to them as a sign of God’s love and mercy. Jeremiah is called to mourn for the people because they are dead in their idolatry. Their child sacrifices have taken them beyond even Canaanite practices, and so Judah will be utterly laid waste. Left unburied, their bones will lie in front of their idols who are powerless to do anything at all. Hope can only come from the LORD, who by His Spirit working through the Word does hav

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar, pastor at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in La Grange, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 7:1-20. The LORD sends Jeremiah to the temple to preach against deceptive words of false comfort. False prophets are repeating their mantra that everything will be fine for Judah and Jerusalem because the temple of the LORD is there. Jeremiah calls the people out of this false hope apart from the LORD and His Word. The building of the temple itself is not salvific; rather, faith in the LORD who has made His promise receives the LORD’s gifts. Jeremiah therefore calls the people to return to the Law of the LORD in their actions. If they think the LORD will spare them just because of a building, Jeremiah says they can go look at what the LORD did to Shiloh, the former home of the tabernacle. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idol

Rev. Jeff Hemmer, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 6:1-30. The LORD’s people think that Jerusalem must be the place of safety, but Jeremiah assures them that it is actually the world’s most dangerous place. Because they are only full of violence and destruction, the LORD of Hosts has brought foreign armies against His people. As Jeremiah grows weary from preaching God’s wrath, false prophets do not grow weary of proclaiming a peace that does not exist. They refuse to return to the ancient way of God; they refuse the warning of His prophets.They take false comfort in their outward rituals without true faith in the true God. Jeremiah sounds the warning again; Babylon is coming with utter destruction. The people of Jerusalem will despair; the LORD has tested them and found them wanting. Through it all, the LORD does give a glimmer of hope through the prophet; He sends His warning so that they will turn, even now, and be spared, not simp

Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 5:14-31. Because the false prophets have spoken their lies, the LORD puts His true Word in Jeremiah’s mouth as a fire that consumes all things other than Christ in which sinners might put their hope. That fire comes against the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the destructive Babylonian army, yet the LORD still reminds His people that He will not make a full end; He will keep His promise to send the Christ. Still, because they have desired to serve foreign gods, they will serve foreigners in a foreign land. Their idolatry has left them blind and deaf, and the Law has not kept them in its bounds. They have refused to repent even after the LORD sent plagues, as the prophets and priests have only perpetuated falsehood among them. Through Jeremiah, the LORD calls His people back to the truth. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jer

Rev. David Appold, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Paducah, KY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 5:1-13. As the LORD once looked in vain for ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, so He now looks in vain for one who does justice and seeks truth in Jerusalem. The idolatry stretches from the top to the bottom of Judah’s society, and Babylonian destruction awaits as a punishment for their apostasy. The people’s regular use of lying oaths is a litmus test of how far they have fallen from the true worship of the LORD. Their falsehood with each other has led to false teaching from false prophets, who claim that the LORD will do nothing. The LORD will bring His judgment, Jeremiah promises, yet there is hope in the fact that the LORD will leave a remnant for the sake of bringing the Savior into the world. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their fai

Rev. Dr. Ryan Tietz, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 4:5-31. Judah’s continued refusal of repentance will lead to terrible destruction. The cry goes out through the land that warfare is coming, and no one will escape. The invaders are instruments of the LORD, who still calls His people to cleanse themselves from their wicked idolatry. Jeremiah does not preach as a disinterested observer, but his pain and anguish leads him to cry out to the LORD, a faithful response in the face of suffering. The destruction that is coming is compared to the undoing of creation, a sign that the call to repentance is not simply for Judah and Jerusalem, but for all nations. Outward adornment is all in vain. Only the LORD gives refuge to His people through His promise; He will sustain His remnant. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet

Rev. Clint Poppe, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 3:19-4:4. Although His people have been faithless, the LORD remains faithful. He desires to call them back to Himself in true repentance and faith. The dialogue between the LORD and Israel indicates how the LORD works this by His Word. Israel returns to the scene of their idolatry in recognition of its lies. Their idolatry has only brought them shame from which they are powerless to escape; their only hope and salvation is the LORD their God. He calls them to return in truth, justice, and righteousness, His gifts by the work of the Holy Spirit. Having gone through this liturgy with the northern tribes of Israel, the LORD calls Judah to the same repentance. They need, not just of going through the motions, but the difficult, God-given breaking of their hard hearts in repentance that leads to true faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series o

Rev. Sean Daenzer, director of worship for the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and chaplain for the International Center, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 3:1-18. The LORD seals His case against His people Judah. Their chasing after other gods is adultery of the highest degree. They have become completely calloused to the LORD’s repeated calls to repentance, choosing unfaithfulness over and over again. They had seen their big sister to the north, unfaithful Israel, destroyed by Assyria, yet Judah did not learn her lesson. Instead, she showed herself to be treacherous, as the return of many people during Josiah’s reforms proved only to be for show. Still, the LORD calls His people to return. He calls to Israel in order to shame Judah, in order that both might return. They must admit their idolatry and sin, something they have refused to do so far. Yet if they do, the LORD will prove Himself faithful, giving leaders after His own heart and bringing the nations together in Jerusalem, promises tha

Rev. Zelwyn Heide, pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hannover, ND and Zion Lutheran Church in New Salem, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 2:20-37. The LORD continues His case against His people, leaving them without excuse for their idolatry. Though He had freed them from slavery in Egypt, they chose further slavery for themselves by their blatant idolatry. They did not simply stumble into their idolatry; they sought it out with the eagerness of a young female animal in heat. The LORD mocks their idolatry, challenging His people to let their multitude of false gods provide help in time of trouble. They have not responded to the LORD’s discipline; they have forgotten the joy of having the LORD as their husband. Their wickedness knows no bounds as they refuse to admit their sin; for this, judgment is coming. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of th

Rev. Shawn Linnell, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 2:1-19. As Jeremiah’s preaching begins, the LORD recalls the honeymoon period with His people as the exodus from Egypt. Though they certainly rebelled in their wilderness wanderings, they came back to the LORD in repentance. All of that has changed by Jeremiah’s time; these words are a long time coming. Though the LORD has committed no wrong against His people, they have forsaken Him to follow after other gods. In so doing, they have not only left the source of living water, but they have dug wells that only leak. Destruction is coming, says Jeremiah, and salvation will not be found in the help of any foreign nations. The people’s sin will be its own punishment when Babylon destroys them. The only solution is to return to that which they have forsaken: the fear of the LORD. “A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prop

Rev. Dr. Timothy Saleska, professor of exegetical theology and dean of ministerial formation at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 1:4-19. The LORD called Jeremiah to be a prophet during the reign of King Josiah; even during the faithful king’s religious reforms, the LORD’s Word was needed to bring repentance from the rampant idolatry in Judah and Jerusalem. Therefore, the LORD set Jeremiah apart as a prophet in the line of Moses. Even before Jeremiah was born, the LORD appointed him as a prophet to the nations. The LORD answers Jeremiah’s protests with His promises. He places His Word into Jeremiah’s mouth, His Word of Law and Gospel, of judgment and salvation. The examples of an almond branch and a boiling pot show Jeremiah that the LORD says what He does and does what He says, particularly, the judgment that is coming at the hands of Babylon. Yet the LORD makes Jeremiah to stand firm in the midst of that coming judgment and the rejection of the people of J

Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, professor of theology and ministry at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN and author of the forthcoming book, Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: The Book of Jeremiah, from Concordia Publishing House, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 1:1-3. Jeremiah preaches to the people of Judah and Jerusalem during their waning years leading up to the horrific Babylonian conquest in 587 BC. During his forty-year ministry spanning five kings, Jeremiah’s preaching exposes the faithless idolatry of the people of God and calls them to repent, warning them that destruction is coming. Yet Jeremiah does not speak from the outside; he lived through the evil days of conquest and exile. Jeremiah knew the heartache and horror of that evil time, yet he also knew the hope of the never-failing promises of the LORD. Those promises made Jeremiah a survivor through all his troubles, as he took to heart the hope that he preached. That hope is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.

“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ. Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Rev. Luke Zimmerman, pastor at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jude 17-25. Having warned against false teachers, Jude returns to strengthen God’s beloved people. The false teachers and their ungodliness were foretold by the apostles; therefore, Christians need not fear. Instead, they are given strength to be built up in the Christian faith through prayer in the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and waiting for Jesus’ mercy. As the wait, Christians show mercy to those who are under duress from false teaching, always speaking the truth without giving way to falsehood. Jude’s closing doxology points back to the truth of the opening of his epistle. God is the One who is able to keep His people until the day of His coming; He receives all glory and honor now and forever.  “The Imperishable Inheritance” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistles of 1 and 2 Peter and Jude. The life of the Christian Church right now is life in exile.

Rev. Andy Wright, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Keystone, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jude 1-16. St. Jude, a servant of Jesus and brother of James, writes to Christians in Palestine in the mid to late 60s AD in order to strengthen them to contend for the Christian faith in the midst of false teachers. These false teachers have attempted to infiltrate the Church without notice, but the Lord does know them and will bring them to condemnation. St. Jude reminds his readers how the Lord brings judgment against such evil through the examples of the Egyptians, the rebellious angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Unlike the archangel Michael who acted according to the Word of God, the false teachers blaspheme at every chance they get. They have aligned themselves with the Old Testament evildoers of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Drawing pictures from nature and Enoch, Jude leaves no doubt that these false teachers are only deceptive and destructive; Christians must avoid them and cling to the truth. “The

Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Peter 3:11-18. The truth that this world is coming to an end compels Christians to holiness and godliness as we wait with eagerness for the return of Christ. At His coming, He will usher in His new creation, free from sin, evil, and death in a way that is beyond our current experience. As we wait, we diligently seek to be found by Him, put at peace with God through His cross. His patience is for our salvation. This is the same thing that St. Paul writes in his letters. Some distort his teaching, as they do all of God’s Word, but still the truth remains the foundation for Christians. The true doctrine of God’s Word prevents Christians from being carried off into lies; therefore, we seek to grow in His grace and knowledge to His glory now and forever. “The Imperishable Inheritance” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistles of 1 and 2 Peter and Jude. The life of the Christian C