“What stewardship is not is ‘what you do’. What it is is who you are.” As Dr. Nathan Meador reminds us in Part 3 of our “Reflecting Christ” series on Christian stewardship, we are created and redeemed by Jesus Christ as God’s stewards. It is something we observe, but it is activity that flows from our identity. It flows from receiving the mercies of Christ. In this episode we talk about both the deep reality and the practical application to our life in the church and the community, whether you're a college student or a corporate executive.

Recorded 17 July, A.D. 2025

Christians are “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36), for the Lord our God “is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38). “Those who deny that there is a resurrection” (Luke 20:27) neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God, but the baptized faithful know “that the dead are raised” (Luke 20:37). For the Lord, who was and is and is to come, knows Israel’s sufferings and has “come down to deliver them” (Ex. 3:8). Moses reveals the name of Yahweh to God’s chosen people, by which He is “remembered throughout all generations” (Ex. 3:15). In contrast to that sacred remembrance of His name, St. Paul warns against the antichrist, who “takes his seat in the temple of God” (2 Thess. 2:4). That lawless man preaches and practices the activity of Satan. Christians, however, are comforted by the coming of the Lord Jesus, who slays the antichrist and refutes his false doctrine “with the breath of his mouth” (2 Thess. 2:8). By His preaching, “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught” (2 Thess. 2:15). Hear, receive and believe God’s promise of love, comfort and good hope.

“A great multitude … from all tribes and peoples and languages” cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne” (Rev. 7:9–10). Uniquely loved, Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we, too, “shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Joined with the throng of angels and countless saints, we shall “serve him day and night in his temple” (Rev. 7:15). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ, propels us forward, fortifying each one of us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we are blessed. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure and the persecuted are all blessed, and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1–12).

Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with Tom and Bernita Krenzke, a fascinating and wonderful Christian couple. In this part of the interview we go more deeply into the key influences on their marriage, including how their cross-cultural training for missionary work also proved to be great training for marriage. This part of the interview, especially, is a lesson on humble and faithful Christian marriage.

Recorded 7 August, A.D. 2025

In honor of St. Paul’s annual marriage retreat that occurs in November, it is our pleasure to introduce you to Tom and Bernita Krenzke. They met as Lutheran elementary school teachers in Canada and we talk about the Godly vocation of Lutheran school teacher and how formative Lutheran churches and schools were for them. You’ll hear Bernita talk about growing up on one of the last homesteads in the continental United States and how that prepared her for marriage to Tom and service together at Lutheran Bible Translators in Africa. This is a story of two gifted and faithful people, willing to go where God leads, and always learning.

Recorded 7 August, A.D. 2025

Jesus Christ dwells eternally in His resurrected flesh, setting us free to live in hope and glorify God in our bodies.The true disciple of Jesus doesn’t just “dwell under the house” of His Word, as it were, it’s that the disciple “stands in complete trust” in His Word. And we—Christ’s disciples—have good reason for such a stand: The Son of God has set us free from sin and death by His death and resurrection. (See Jn 8.31-36) Yes, we are truly righteous in Christ, justified by God as a gift. (Rom 3.19-28) As recipients of this “eternal Gospel,” (Rev 14.6) with “God as our refuge and strength,” “we need not fear,” for “the LORD of hosts is with us.” (See Ps 46)

In Christ we are reconciled to God. His call to reconciliation is a call to wrestle with Him in prayer, to trust, and to follow.

Jesus taught “The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Lk 18.2-8) so that we might learn “. . . always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1, ESV) That’s a big deal because sometimes, like Jacob, we can do deceitful things. (see Gen 27) Even though we know that “all Scriptures is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim 3.16) even though we know that “God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose,” (Rom 8.28) we can tremble, like Jacob, when the Lord gives us an opportunity for reconciliation. But it’s especially in these moments of “wrestling with God” and His Word (Gen 32.22-30) that we really come to know our need for Christ and His forgiveness. It’s in those moments when we really learn to “fear, love and trust in God above all things.” (1st Commandment explanation)

“Of What Are We Stewards” is Part 2 of our “Reflecting Christ” series on Christian stewardship with Rev. Dr. Nathan Meador. In this episode, Dr. Meador talks about the consequences of what he calls “the first stewardship crisis,” leading us to THE most important thing of which God has entrusted us: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The steward, Dr. Meador says, is a “conduit of the Gospel.” “The Gospel,” he says, “is not about you, it’s for you.” God has entrusted us with the Gospel (the message of God’s reconciliation and forgiveness in Christ), for us and for the good of our neighbor.

Recorded 17 July, A.D. 2025