Rev. Jeff Hemmer, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 15:20-16:7. Solomon continues to speak the divine wisdom that gives shape to sanctified Christian living. Following the LORD’s commandments brings benefit, as He has promised. Though folly may delight the one who doesn’t know any better, the Christian rejoices in the path of life the LORD has given. In this way, the future reality of resurrection shapes life now. Those who...
Sep 22, 2020•55 min
Rev. Christopher Jackson, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Algoma, WI and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Forestville, WI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 15:1-19. Proverbs, along with the rest of wisdom literature in God’s Word, has the goal of molding our perspective to accord with God’s perspective. This begins to happen in Christians through faith given by the Holy Spirit. Starting from this right fear of the LORD, Christians are unafraid of God’s omniscience and omnipr...
Sep 21, 2020•54 min
Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 14:1-35. Solomon continues to write concerning the wisdom founded on the fear of the LORD. This basis is a necessary lens through which to see each individual proverb. The wisdom by which anyone builds a lasting household is more than economic or social principles; a lasting household is built upon the wisdom of forgiveness that is found in Christ alone. Such upright living only c...
Sep 18, 2020•56 min
Rev. David Vandercook, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in North Little Rock, AR and Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church in Maumelle, AR, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 13:1-25. The Ten Commandments are constantly in the background of the divine wisdom in Proverbs. Solomon continues to bring them to bear in a variety of ways. The fact that children are a product of their parents’ instruction has implications for faithful living for both children and parents according to the 4th C...
Sep 17, 2020•55 min
Rev. Luke Zimmerman, pastor at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 12:1-28. Because the LORD is God and we are not, we will receive correction and discipline whenever He gives His knowledge. Wisdom receives this gladly; it is utter foolishness to reject the LORD’s reproof. This first verse provides the necessary attitude toward the wisdom given in the rest of the chapter. Solomon touches on matters concerning favor before the ...
Sep 16, 2020•55 min
Rev. Philip Hoppe, pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Finlayson, MN and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bruno, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 11:1-31. Wisdom from the LORD extends into our daily activities. Christians do not leave their Baptism in the church sanctuary; they take that God-given identity into their vocations concerning business and family. Pride would lead us to think that we know better than God and that we can get away with what we think is right; wisdom is fo...
Sep 15, 2020•53 min
Rev. Joel Haak, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 10:1-32. Solomon pivots from his addresses to his sons and poems concerning wisdom, but he never leaves that context behind. Each of the individual sayings in the bulk of the book of Proverbs must be understood in light of the fact that true wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. That connection is immediately apparent as Solomon speaks of a wise son, one who has received the fai...
Sep 14, 2020•56 min
Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at the Northeast Kansas Lutheran Partnership, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 9:1-18. Solomon brings the first part of the book of Proverbs to a climax. Lady Wisdom speaks yet again. She has established an everlasting house, the Church that is founded on Christ and the confession of who He is. Within her house, she sets a feast of food for everlasting life received through faith in Jesus. Those who have partaken of her bounty call out to others that they t...
Sep 11, 2020•55 min
Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Hebron, CT, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 8:22-36. Solomon’s personification of Wisdom is more than a poetic device in this text. As we see the role Wisdom played in creation, we see that Wisdom actually is a Person: the Son of God. A careful reading of the text keeps us from any anti-Trinitarian errors that would see the Son of God as a created being. Instead, the Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, precedes...
Sep 10, 2020•53 min
Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 8:1-21. Lady Wisdom speaks once again. All of her words stand in sharp contrast to the adulterous woman from the previous chapters. Lady Wisdom’s address is universal; she calls to everyone. Her words bring prudence and sense. Because the words of Wisdom are the words of God, Wisdom always speaks the truth and brings value greater than any earthly wealth. Wisdom’s characteristics...
Sep 09, 2020•53 min
Rev. Sam Wirgau, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 7:1-27. Solomon’s tenth address to his son once again picks up the warning against adultery; yet the First Commandment remains in view along with the Sixth. God gives His Word as a treasure which we look at constantly so that it reflects from our eyes. This treasure must be our constant companion, as close to us as our closest relative or friend, because temptations are always pres...
Sep 08, 2020•55 min
Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 6:20-35. Solomon proclaims the importance of the wisdom given in God’s Word by making use of the imagery found in Deuteronomy 6. God’s Word is given by parents to children to guard and guide them in every aspect of life. The wise king instructs his son with this Word particularly in this text as a guard against adultery. Though adultery may appear to offer goodness, it is actually ...
Sep 07, 2020•54 min
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 Proverbs 6:1-19. Placed between two addresses that speak against adultery, Solomon’s eighth address to his son may seem to address small matters. However, faithfulness in small matters tends toward faithfulness in large matters, just as faithlessness in small matters easily leads to faithlessness in large matters. Knowing that a man’s wo...
Sep 04, 2020•54 min
Rev. Hans Fiene, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Crestwood, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 5:1-23. Solomon reveals both the true allurements of adultery and its devastating results in order to instruct his son to avoid such wickedness. The Scriptures are full of examples of men and women whose lack of satisfaction with the God-given marriage bed led to all kinds of ruin in their lives. Solomon himself knew what adultery had done to his own father and mother, Dav...
Sep 03, 2020•55 min
Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 4:20-27. Today’s text is the sixth of Solomon’s ten addresses to his sons. The number “ten” suggests completion and also brings to mind the LORD’s Ten Commandments. This address speaks largely toward matters concerning the 8th Commandment. God’s Word demands our attention; we dare not take His commands for granted. Keeping His wisdom before our eyes and in our hearts, we receiv...
Sep 02, 2020•55 min
Rev. Harrison Goodman, pastor at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 4:10-19. When Solomon tells his son to hear, he teaches us that wisdom must be received. Wisdom does not come from inside a person, but it is a gift that comes from the Word of the LORD. This is the path of righteousness, with which Jesus identifies Himself: “I am the Way.” Because this way is given by grace, those who walk on it do not stumble, for they are in Chris...
Sep 01, 2020•53 min
Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 4:1-9. Solomon occupies the role of father teaching wisdom to his sons because he was once a son who was taught wisdom by his father. Jesus is the fulfillment of this. He receives all things from the Father and gives it faithfully to His Church. The Church now constantly occupies both places as Solomon did, constantly hearing the Word of God and faithfully repeating t...
Aug 31, 2020•55 min
Rev. Brian Flamme, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell, NM, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 3:21-35. The wisdom of Proverbs is not pragmatism. The wisdom of Proverbs is faith in the one true God. Solomon teaches Christians to have as their daily adornment God’s Word, which in every place points us to Christ as the Savior. He is the Cornerstone upon whom our lives are secure. In Him, this life has nothing for us to fear, whether waking or sleeping. In this way, the heave...
Aug 28, 2020•54 min
Rev. Ryan Ogrodowicz, associate pastor and headmaster at Grace Lutheran Church and School in Brenham, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 3:1-20. The LORD promises blessings to those who receive and keep His commandments. When our lives are normed by the LORD’s will in His Word, He promises His temporal blessings. This is true even as we recognize the incompleteness in this life due to our own sin, leading us to long for the final fulfillment in the resurrection of the dead. The ...
Aug 27, 2020•55 min
Rev. Gaven Mize, pastor at Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hickory, NC, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 2:1-22. Solomon continues to urge his son to heed his words and search after wisdom. Complacency must be put away, and diligence must take its place. The LORD does not snatch away His gifts from those who desire the wisdom that He desires to give; this is the proper fear of the LORD that the book of Proverbs lauds as the beginning of knowledge. This wisdom guards us in...
Aug 26, 2020•54 min
Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 1:20-33. This text is the first example of an important feature in Proverbs: the personification of Wisdom. Wisdom is personified as a woman, not only because the Hebrew noun is feminine, but also in use of the poetic imagery of the book. In certain texts, Wisdom can be clearly identified with the Son of God, yet the unity of the Holy Trinity also means that the actions and words o...
Aug 25, 2020•55 min
Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 1:8-19. In the first address to a son in the book of Proverbs, Solomon reminds us of the central role parents play in instructing their children. Both father and mother should be on the same page in teaching God’s Word to their children. In the same way, teachers ought to teach their students faithfully, and pastors ought to instruct the flock in the true doctrine. Those opposed to God a...
Aug 24, 2020•54 min
Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 1:1-7. The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. King Solomon had received wisdom from the LORD in response to his prayer. He wrote and compiled that wisdom in the book of Proverbs. The wisdom literature in the book of Proverbs is unique from secular sources because the wisdom in the book of Proverbs begins and ends with the fear of the LORD. The proper fear of the LORD involves a...
Aug 21, 2020•54 min
“Wisdom and Instruction” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Proverbs. Although Proverbs is perhaps best known for its short sayings full of practical advice, the one true God has so much more in this book of wisdom. True wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. Christians walk His way of righteousness rather than the way of wickedness because we trust that all good gifts come to us through His Son Jesus Christ, who is His wisdom made flesh for our salvation. Sharper I...
Aug 21, 2020•2 min
Rev. Sam Beltz, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Oskaloosa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ruth 4:1-22. The book of Ruth has recounted very mundane events, yet through it all, the LORD has been at work. A foreigner, Ruth, has been incorporated into the people of God by faith as she has kept her eyes focused on the LORD’s Word. As the account comes to its climax, Boaz remains true to his promise. He goes to the city gate to speak to the unnamed kinsman redeemer who is a closer re...
Aug 20, 2020•56 min
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 Ruth 3:1-18. Naomi and Ruth have placed their hope in the LORD; now they act on the hope that the LORD has given them. Naomi tells her daughter-in-law to act boldly, though not improperly, in order to request help from Boaz. Following Naomi’s instructions, Ruth goes to the threshing floor for a private audience with Boaz. His uncovered feet awak...
Aug 19, 2020•52 min
Rev. Paul Pater, pastor at Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church in North Ridgeville, OH and Hope Lutheran Church in Sheffield Village, OH, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ruth 2:1-23. Though the situation for Naomi and Ruth seems hopeless, the LORD provides hope. In accordance with His merciful Word, Ruth goes to glean grain from the fields. Her “happening” upon the field of Boaz is no mere coincidence; the LORD directs events. Boaz is a faithful Israelite; upon learning that Ruth is gle...
Aug 18, 2020•56 min
Rev. Chris Hull, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Tomball, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ruth 1:1-22. The book of Ruth shows us how the LORD preserved the line of Christ even during the time of the judges. The family of Elimelech went to Moab during a time of great famine, where his sons married Moabite women. Though these actions may have been questionable, the LORD continues to show Himself faithful to draw people to Himself through His Word. He does this even during times of gre...
Aug 17, 2020•55 min
“A Faithful Family in a Faithless Time” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Ruth. Throughout the Old Testament, even during the worst of times, the LORD always preserved for Himself a remnant. He always preserved His faithful people, and He always preserved the line of the Christ. The delightful narrative recorded in the book of Ruth recounts how the LORD did precisely that during the days when the judges ruled. Even in the most hopeless moments, the LORD gives hope to...
Aug 17, 2020•2 min
Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Judges 21:1-25. The book of Judges comes to the end of the course that Israel has set for itself when everyone does what is right in his own eyes and rejects the LORD’s kingship over them. Rather than look for reconciliation and atonement from the LORD, the people of Israel continue with the foolish oaths that they have already made. On the o...
Aug 14, 2020•51 min
