Not only does God believe in you, God believes in you even before you believed in God. See, God knows you. From the moment God “knit you together in your mother’s womb” (Psalm 139). There is no place you can be that God is not. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, “nothing can… Read More »
Q. Being in healthcare I have been with several people as they drew their last breath. All (more or less) are different. Several stare as if looking. Others smile as greeting. Some cry as mourning. Thus, I often wonder: What happens the moment I die? As a Christian? As a non-Christian? In the twinkling of an eye?
The short answer is, we don’t know exactly what happens when you die. I have seen some of the same things that you mention. Is there something going on there beyond just physical reactions of the body to death? Scripture doesn’t tell us much about that. What scripture points to in both the Hebrew Bible… Read More »
Q Why is faith more important than action?
We believe that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that saves us, not anything that we do. That does not mean that our actions are not important, they are to our neighbors and those in need. As Christians who happen to be Lutheran, we believe that when talking about how we are saved, the… Read More »
Q. As an adult I have been wondering how I may learn about the Bible. I have wanted to get a better understanding of it.
R. The best way to learn about the Bible is to read it. The Gospels are a good place to start. As narratives of Jesus’ life and ministry they tend to be more engaging. You can also use the Psalms as a daily devotional, just read one a day. There are also a number of… Read More »
Q. How do we know God is real?
R. Is love real? I think most of us would say, “Yes”, but we cannot see it, touch it, feel it in our hands. Except, we can do all those things because we do see it in the couple, married for fifty plus years, who still hold hands. We touch love when we hug our… Read More »
Q. When animals die, do they go to heaven?
R. The short answer to this is, we don’t know. There is not any clear biblical witness to whether animals go to heaven or not. What we know, is that God cares for all creation, including animals. God provides for the rescue of animals during the flood (Genesis 6). God calls creation and all that… Read More »
Q. How do you raise a family strong in the Christian faith with all the distractions of life?
R. It can be difficult to try and raise children in the faith. Not because what is required is difficult, but because there is so much competition for time. Things like football, baseball, show choir are more valued by society and the pressure to have children participate in them is strong. However, the answer to… Read More »
Q. Was Jesus Jewish?
R. Both Mary and Joseph were ethnically Jewish and there is every indication they were practicing Jews as well. We have evidence of this particularly in the Gospel of Luke chapter 2. Here we see Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus to the temple on the 8th day after his birth to be circumcised and there… Read More »
Q. Why do we not always confess/recite the Nicene Creed?
R. A creed is a basic statement of faith. There are two main creeds that are accepted by most Christian churches. The first is the Apostles’ Creed and the other is the Nicene Creed. The Apostles’ Creed is thought to be one of the earliest of the Christian Creeds and probably came from early Christian… Read More »
Q. How does someone know if they are called to ministry, ordained or otherwise?
R. I’m glad you asked. As Christians who happen to be Lutheran, we believe that we are all called to ministry. The ministry we are called to happens primarily within the relationships in which we live. So, I have a calling to ministry as a husband. I have a calling to ministry as a son.… Read More »
