The Lutheran Witness Podcast

KFUO Radio - LCMS
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The Lutheran Witness provides readings of all the articles posted on LW website, witness.lcms.org. The Lutheran Witness is an official periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (Visit lcms.org to learn more). Subscribe to the print edition of LW at cph.org/witness. For additional stories and articles that help you interpret the world from a Lutheran perspective, visit the LW website.

  1. FEB 5

    Following the Formula, Article II: Free Will — LW Searching Scripture, February 2026

    “Free will” is not a phrase found in the Bible. The concept seems to have been brought into Christian theology by the church father Tertullian (160–240), who likely borrowed it from Stoic philosophy. Augustine (354–430) wrote a treatise called "On Free Choice of the Will" early in his career but altered some of his views later, which led to much debate and confusion on the issue throughout the Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) wrote a treatise on free will against Martin Luther, to which Luther replied with his "Bondage of the Will" in 1525. The second article of the Formula of Concord upholds Luther’s biblical teachings on free will but also clarifies misunderstandings about Luther’s teachings that had persisted in the decades after 1525. The central question of this article is: After the fall, what are unregenerate human beings able to do, from their own will and intellect, toward their conversion and regeneration? (See FC SD II 2.) The answer logically follows from the preceding article on original sin, which exposes us as guilty, condemned sinners under God’s wrath. Until the Holy Spirit converts us to Christ, we are powerless to enter a saving relationship with God or even prepare ourselves to receive God’s grace. This teaching also safeguards the truth of the Gospel: God does everything necessary to save us and we, by faith, receive His salvation totally as a gift. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the February 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article II: Free Will” on Article II in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep II on Free Will (p. 477–479 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article II at kfuo.org/2025/02/03/coffee-hour-020425-free-will-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    28 min

  2. JAN 8

    Following the Formula, Article I: Original Sin — LW Searching Scripture, January 2026

    Readers of The Lutheran Witness are likely familiar with the Formula of Concord (FC) — not only from its inclusion in the Lutheran Book of Concord, but also from the monthly reading plan published in these pages last year. This year’s “Searching Scripture” will walk through the 12 topics explored by the Formula — original sin, free will, election, Law and Gospel, and so on — in order to examine the biblical basis for what Lutherans confess in this edifying and timeless statement of faith. Almost 450 years after its publication, the Formula remains relevant. Its topics continue to be points of contention among various Christian denominations. As the Formula confesses, Lutherans unite in concord around teachings drawn from “the true, firm ground of the holy, divine Scriptures” (FC SD Summary 17). Along with the other documents in the Book of Concord, the Formula is not “unnecessary and useless wrangling,” but addresses “articles of faith or the chief points of Christian doctrine” and demonstrates what we “should regard and receive as right and true according to God’s Word of the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures.” It also tells what we “should reject, shun, and avoid as false and wrong” — lest we seek the wrong salvation. “The truth must be preserved distinctly and clearly and distinguished from all errors” (FC SD Summary 15–16). This truth can only be established from God’s Word, which Jesus says “is truth” (John 17:17). We respond, “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160). Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the January 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article I: Original Sin” on Article I in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! Before starting, it may be helpful to read FC Ep I on Original Sin (p. 474–477 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article I at kfuo.org/2025/01/07/coffee-hour-010725-studying-original-sin-in-the-book-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    26 min

  3. 12/03/2025

    "Son of David, Son of God" LW Searching Scripture, December 2025: Isaiah 9 & 11

    As our year of focusing on the Old Testament comes to a close, it is fitting that we conclude with texts from the Messiah’s first “biographer,” the prophet Isaiah, whose career spanned 740–680 B.C. Thanks to the Lutheran composer Handel, whose “Messiah” is especially popular around Christmas and Easter, many of Isaiah’s prophecies are quite familiar (in fact, about one-third of the movements in “Messiah” are from Isaiah!). As we open these Old Testament texts, we discover the incarnate Lord and the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that He came to bring. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the December 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled "Son of David, Son of God" on Isaiah 9:2–7 and Isaiah 11:1–10. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    28 min

  4. 11/05/2025

    “The New Heavens and New Earth” LW Searching Scripture, November 2025: Isaiah 65-66

    November brings us to the end of another church year, which focuses our attention on the last things, on death and resurrection, on heaven and hell. We confess in the creeds, “I believe in … the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”; “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” It is remarkable that these creedal truths were already as good as accomplished thousands of years ago, with prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by men such as Job (19:25–27), Daniel (12:2–3) and Isaiah (26:19). Some Christians take Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and other prophetic books of the Bible to be “guidebooks to the end times.” However, careful study of both the Old and New Testaments shows that their focus is on comforting the church on earth with knowledge of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death and the devil and His promise to take us to Himself for eternity. As we open the Old Testament and see our present and future revealed there, we will need to keep in mind the “prophetic perspective” that could be observed in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Joel 2:28–32, in which some predictions have been fulfilled in the messianic age but others must wait until the end of time. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The New Heavens and New Earth” on Isaiah 65-66. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    29 min

  5. 10/06/2025

    “Do Lutherans Do Allegory?” LW Searching Scripture, October 2025: Genesis and Galatians

    In 2013, a popular national TV host provoked a sharp reaction from Christian viewers when he asserted that much of the Bible is allegorical, meaning that the narratives of Adam and Eve, Noah, and Jonah are non-literal and symbolic. This is not how Christians have historically understood allegory. Even in the Middle Ages, when ingenious allegorical interpretation sometimes resulted in nonsense, Christians still approached the Bible with the conviction that it was literal and historical — they just thought they were finding additional symbolic or spiritual meanings. While the Lutheran Reformation reined in allegorical interpretation of the Bible, there is one divinely inspired allegory given in Scripture that stands alongside messianic prophecy and typology as an interpretive technique for opening the Old Testament. Whether or not St. Paul’s example gives license to Lutherans to do allegory — that’s debatable! Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the October 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Do Lutherans Do Allegory?” on selected passages from Genesis and Galatians. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    28 min

  6. 09/10/2025

    Nominations with the Synod Secretary

    In this episode of the Lutheran Witness podcast, we dive deep into nominations for offices, boards and commissions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The Rev. Dr. John Sias, LCMS Secretary, discusses why the Synod needs nominations, who to nominate, the types of roles these nominees fill and much more.  To learn more about the nomination process within the LCMS, visit lcms.org/nominate. For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.

    1 hr

  7. 09/02/2025

    “Sacramental Shadows” LW Searching Scripture, September 2025: Exodus 13 & 14

    Anyone who has studied the Third Commandment in confirmation class has encountered Colossians 2:16–17, which answers the question, “Why don’t Christians have to worship on Saturday (the Sabbath) as the Israelites did in the Old Testament?” St. Paul writes, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance [literally, “body”] belongs to Christ.” Not only does this passage teach that under the New Testament Christians are not obligated to keep Old Testament ceremonial or political laws (although the moral Law does continue to apply to all people of all times and all places), but it also leads Christians to ask, “Why would we try to cling to mere shadows of our Savior, when He is really present in His Body, the church?” We have Jesus as our Bridegroom, so we lack nothing. Nevertheless, the New Testament does use types, examples and shadows from the Old Testament to teach us about life in Christ and in the church. We can gain insights into the New Testament Means of Grace by opening the Old Testament. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the September 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Sacramental Shadows” on Exodus 13 & 14. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

    29 min

  8. 08/05/2025

    Providing for Refugees in Germany

    This edition of The Lutheran Witness podcast was recorded almost a year ago in Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. In this episode, we speak with Sandra, an American living in Germany and working with the members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. She discusses her life between Germany and the USA, and the great privilege and opportunity she has to help care for refugees in Germany.   For the full story, visit engage.lcms.org/persian-project-winter-2025. To learn more about the Independent Evangelical — Lutheran Church (SELK), visit lcms.org/partner-church-bodies/independent-evangelical-lutheran-church. Photo credit: LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford  For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.

    16 min
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The Lutheran Witness provides readings of all the articles posted on LW website, witness.lcms.org. The Lutheran Witness is an official periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (Visit lcms.org to learn more). Subscribe to the print edition of LW at cph.org/witness. For additional stories and articles that help you interpret the world from a Lutheran perspective, visit the LW website.

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