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Voices of Faith

This is my brave

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) I walked…
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Voices of Faith

Thanking God for adults without children

A married woman without children, remarks a character in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is the “very best preserver of furniture in the world.” We might never state our feelings so clearly,…
Using the Bible in context
Voices of Faith

Using the Bible in context

Editor’s note: In this five-part series, former ELCA Presiding Bishop Herbert Chilstrom examines the authority and interpretation of the Bible. Part one explored how we understand the Bible’s purpose and how…
The issue behind all issues
Voices of Faith

The issue behind all issues

Editor’s note: In this five-part series, former ELCA Presiding Bishop Herbert Chilstrom examines the authority and interpretation of the Bible. Part two will explore how to use Scripture in context. One…
Get up and go
Voices of Faith

Get up and go

In a lectionary reading for the third Sunday of Easter, Saul has a life-altering encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-6, [7-20]). Light from heaven shines down,…
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Voices of Faith

Them and us

When Peter returns from his junket to Joppa in the book of Acts, the elders at First Church in Jerusalem aren’t happy. Peter’s been mixing with the wrong kind of…
The ministry of contextual formation
Voices of Faith

The ministry of contextual formation

Over recent decades, I’ve witnessed much change across the church. As a professor and parish pastor, I’ve been able to observe the church and the seminary each from the lens…
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Voices of Faith

Seeing what we believe

Each year on the Sunday following Easter, we hear in our Gospel lesson the story of Thomas, “the Twin.” He’s been stuck with the nickname “Doubting Thomas,” yet the point…
The winning play
Voices of Faith

The winning play

A sacrifice is giving up something valuable to gain a greater treasure. As a child, I sacrificed my precious free time to participate in park district programming, which afforded me…
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Voices of Faith

The gospel is a promise

In [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 1:17). In the preface to The Complete Edition of Luther’s Latin Works (1545), Martin Luther recorded how this verse in Paul’s…
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Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Martin Kaste

Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Seattle National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent I believe that man is not the measure, and the simple fact of existence is evidence of divine will. An…