Rev. Stephen Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 11:1-7. The author of Hebrews launches into a long list of examples of those who did not shrink back from their confidence but instead lived by faith. The faith of the Old Testament saints was certainty in the promises of God, even though they did not see them. Before naming any specific individuals, however, the author includes us among those who live by this faith because we know...
Oct 31, 2023•55 min
Rev. Andy Wright, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 10:26-39. The author of Hebrews puts instruction and admonition together in this section as he warns his congregation against contined deliberate sin. He calls to their memories the consequences for those who set aside the Law of Moses under the old covenant in order to impress upon them the utter seriousness of rejecting Jesus as the once-for-all sacrifice for their sins. Instead...
Oct 30, 2023•55 min
Rev. Jeremy Swem, pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 10:19-25. The blood of Jesus gives us confidence to enter the holy places. His flesh is the new and living way by which we draw near to God. In Holy Baptism, Christ has cleansed our consciences from sin so that we approach God in full assurance of His favor. In that confidence, we hold fast the confession of our hope and consider how to stir up each other to good works as we...
Oct 27, 2023•56 min
Rev. David Appold, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Paducah, KY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 10:1-18. The sacrifices commanded in the law were a shadow of the fulfillment Christ has brought. Their constant repetition was a regular reminder of sins; the blood of bulls and goats were powerless on their own to forgive sins. That's why Christ came, in fulfillment of Psalm 40, not to sacrifice more animals, but to offer up His own body on the cross to sanctify us. Jesus has ...
Oct 26, 2023•56 min
Rev. Sean Daenzer, director of worship for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and chaplain at the International Center in St. Louis, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 9:15-28. By His death, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant that gives us the promised eternal inheritance. His death has put His last will and testament into effect, so that we receive the forgiveness of sins that comes through His blood. By His blood, Jesus has entered the presence of God, but not to offer H...
Oct 25, 2023•55 min
Rev. Kyle Mietzner, battalion chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army at Fort Drum, NY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 9:1-14. The author of Hebrews details both the sanctuary and the services of the old covenant. He takes us on a tour of the tabernacle, working his way toward the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. There the high priest would go only once a year with blood to make atonement for sins. When Christ appeared, He brought to fulfillment b...
Oct 24, 2023•55 min
Rev. Sam Beltz, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Oskaloosa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 8:1-13. The author of Hebrews makes his point plainly: Christ is the high priest who serves as our minister in the holy places, seated at God’s right hand. The tabernacle given to Moses was intended to provide an earthly image of this heavenly reality. Because Jesus has obtained this ministry that is much more excellent than what was given to Moses, the old covenant is passing away...
Oct 23, 2023•58 min
Rev. David Boisclair, interim pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 7:20-28. The author of Hebrews emphasizes the oath that God made in establishing Jesus as priest. This gives us absolute certainty that what God has guaranteed in Jesus, He will accomplish for us. Jesus excels beyond the priests in the line of Levi because He is risen from the dead and will never die again. Whereas there were numerous Levitical priests because they...
Oct 20, 2023•55 min
Rev. Joel Heckmann, pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Okarche, OK, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 7:11-19. The author of Hebrews proclaims that what the Levitical priesthood could not do, Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek has done. If the Levitical priesthood had been capable of delivering us from sin and death, there would have been no need of another priest. Yet God has witnessed in Psalm 110 that Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, making J...
Oct 19, 2023•55 min
Rev. Luke Zimmerman, pastor at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 7:1-10. The author of Hebrews begins to expound more fully upon the importance that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is mentioned in the Biblical narrative in Genesis 14 as both king and priest, though neither his genealogy nor his death is recorded. Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils of war to Melchizedek, and Melchizedek blessed Abrah...
Oct 18, 2023•56 min
Rev. Sam Wirgau, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 6:13-20. The author of Hebrews brings up Abraham particularly as one to imitate in faith and patience. Yet this example focuses less on Abraham’s actions and more on God’s promises. Not only did God make a promise to Abraham after He provided a sacrifice in place of Isaac, but God even swore an oath by Himself. God’s Word on its own is already entirely certain, yet for the sake of o...
Oct 17, 2023•55 min
Rev. Matt Ulmer, pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church—Friedheim, just outside Decatur, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 6:4-12. This text is a difficult one from the book of Hebrews. The author speaks about those who have received the fullness of God’s gifts in His Church, yet reject those gifts in apostasy. Because there is no other path to repentance, those who reject this one way to salvation cannot be saved. Yet the preacher is confident that his hearers will not fall...
Oct 16, 2023•55 min
Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School in Terra Bella, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 5:11-6:3. Before he expounds more fully on Jesus as a high priest in the order of Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews pauses to warn his hearers against dull hearing. He has continued to give them only the basics of faith, although he desires to build on that foundation and lead his congregation to all of the joyful truths of the doctrine that God teaches. As Christians, ...
Oct 13, 2023•55 min
Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 5:1-10. The author of Hebrews continues to help us rejoice that Jesus is our great high priest. In the Old Testament, the high priests were chosen from men for the sake of men. In their own weakness, they dealt gently with sinners, yet none of them chose the office for themselves; they were appointed by God. As God makes plain in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, Jesus also was a...
Oct 12, 2023•56 min
Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor at Holy Cross and Immanuel Lutheran Churches, both in Lidgerwood, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 4:14-16. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to hold fast the confession of the Christian faith because Jesus is our great high priest. He has been tempted like us in every way, yet without sin, so that He sympathizes with us in our weakness. We approach Him with boldness and confidence, knowing that He will be merciful and gracious to us according to Hi...
Oct 11, 2023•55 min
Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 4:1-13. The author of Hebrews continues to preach on Psalm 95 in this part of his sermon. He calls his congregation to a right fear of God, lest any fail to reach God’s promised rest. The rest that Joshua gave to Israel when they entered the Promised Land was incomplete. We enter into God’s rest only through faith in Christ. He is the one who speaks to us through the Word of God, wh...
Oct 10, 2023•56 min
Rev. Jeff Hemmer, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL, and assistant to the president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 3:7-19. The author of Hebrews reminds his congregation what the Holy Spirit says to them in Psalm 95. As they come into God’s presence in the Divine Service, they dare not do so lightly. As unbelief attacked the people of Israel in the wilderness, so it would attack the congregation if they do not take ca...
Oct 09, 2023•55 min
Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 3:1-6. The author of Hebrews calls upon the congregation as his holy brothers to slow down and consider Jesus. He is the One sent by God to be their high priest. As God had appointed Moses to be faithful at His tabernacle where He lived among Israel, even more has the Father appointed Jesus to be the faithful Builder of His Church. Moses was faithful in God’s house as a steward. As the Ch...
Oct 06, 2023•55 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 Hebrews 2:5-18. Although it cannot always be seen that everything is in subjection to Jesus, the author of Hebrews assures the congregation that Jesus does, in fact, reign over all things as our ascended Brother. In our suffering, we see Jesus, the One who tasted death for us and brought our salvation to completion. Jesus shares in our flesh and...
Oct 05, 2023•55 min
Rev. Shawn Linnell, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 2:1-4. Having laid out the superiority of Jesus over the angels, the author of Hebrews now speaks of the necessity for his congregation and for himself of paying closer attention to the voice of God speaking to them. There is the danger of drifting away from God’s message of great salvation in His Son. That’s why the preacher calls his congregation to listen carefully to God’s Word ...
Oct 04, 2023•53 min
Rev. Dr. Brian Kachelmeier, teacher for Wittenberg Academy, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 1:5-14. The author of Hebrews quotes from seven Old Testament passages to teach his congregation that Jesus, the Son of God, is superior to the angels. He quotes these texts as the living voice of God spoken to the congregation. As they hear the Father’s voice speaking to the Son, they are being strengthened in faith toward Jesus as their only Savior. The angels are not exalted to this high...
Oct 03, 2023•56 min
Rev. Dr. John Kleinig, professor emeritus of Australian Lutheran Collge in Adelaide, South Australia, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 1:1-4. The anonymity of the author of Hebrews ends up reinforcing one of the primary points of the book. Understanding Hebrews more as a sermon for the Divine Service rather than as a letter, we see that the pastor doesn’t desire the congregation to hear his own voice. He wants the congregation to hear the voice of God Himself. Although God’s voice ...
Oct 02, 2023•58 min
Rev. Ned Moerbe, pastor at Memorial Lutheran Church and School in Houston, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 27:1-34. Leviticus 27 may seem out of place, yet here the LORD teaches His people an appropriate response to the covenant that He is making with them. Their voluntary offerings will serve to support the work of God’s sanctuary, the place where He dwells among them so that they can receive His holiness to their blessing. The LORD’s regulations concerning His people’s vow...
Sep 29, 2023•56 min
Rev. Joel Haak, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church and School in Fraser, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 26:1-46. The LORD brings the book of Leviticus to a climax as He addresses Israel personally to teach them how He deals with them both in grace and wrath. The entire chapter is founded on the reality of the 1st Commandment: the LORD is Israel’s God, and Israel is His people. As they walk in His Word, they will receive the blessings of His holiness. However, when they refu...
Sep 28, 2023•55 min
Rev. Martin Dressler, pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Blackjack, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 25:1-55. As the LORD provides Sabbath rest for His people, so He provides Sabbath rest for His land. Every seventh year, the Israelites were to leave their land fallow, and the LORD promised that He would provide for them even more abundantly. The Year of Jubilee was the ultimate Sabbath rest for the land and people, as every fiftieth year all debts were to be forgiven and all...
Sep 27, 2023•55 min
Rev. Jeffrey Ries, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Tacoma, WA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 24:1-23. The LORD speaks to Moses concerning two furnishings in the tabernacle: the golden lampstand and the table for the bread of the presence. These proclaimed Christ as the light of the world and the bread of life. When a man who was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man blasphemed the name of the LORD, the people made sure that they dealt with him according to the LORD...
Sep 26, 2023•54 min
Rev. Steve Andrews, pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Lee's Summit, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 23:1-44. As the LORD orders holy places for His people, so He orders holy times for His people. The Sabbath was the LORD’s gift of weekly rest for His people, so that they would trust that He is their Creator and Redeemer. The Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Weeks were clustered toward the beginning of their year, and the Feast of Trumpets, the Da...
Sep 25, 2023•54 min
Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 22:1-33. The LORD continues to provide for holy priests to serve in His presence. The priests who would partake of the holy food needed to be clean, lest they profane the name of the LORD. Because the food had come from the LORD’s table, which He extended to the priests’ tables, His statutes needed to be followed. Those offerings that were brought before the LORD were not to be a ...
Sep 22, 2023•55 min
Rev. Brian Flamme, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell, NM, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 21:1-24. The LORD lays out requirements for priests who will serve in His presence. Because they draw near to God’s presence, they must take great care lest any uncleanness from death upon them profane God’s holiness. Requirements for a potential wife for a priest further emphasize that he must not be defiled as he serves as a mediator between God and sinners. Physical requireme...
Sep 21, 2023•54 min
Rev. David Boisclair, interim pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Leviticus 20:1-27. The LORD continues to outline the ways that His holiness will be manifest in Israel. The worship of Molech and the accompanying child sacrifice must never be practiced in Israel; this is an abomination that must be cut off from Israel. Seeking after mediums profanes God’s name, as does cursing the parents God has given. Various kinds of sexual immorality...
Sep 20, 2023•55 min
