The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

It's time for a new KFUO Radio intern! Benjamin Crawford, KFUO's Summer Intern, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what he's studying in college, why he was interested in the KFUO Radio internship, what he's learned so far and what he's looking forward to, and our classic Lightning Round of favorites.

How might the Lord use tests in our lives? Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, author of Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Learning from Jeremiah, joins Andy and Sarah for Part 4 of our series on Overcoming Life's Sorrows to talk about what it means for God to test us, how God's Word describes the state of our hearts, the difference between Biblical usage of "heart" and how we use it today, how tests were a part of Jeremiah's life, and how God provides for us through the tests.Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing is Professor of Theology & Ministry, Director of the Pre-Seminary Program, and Director of The Center for Biblical Studies at Concordia University St. Paul, and author of Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Learning from Jeremiah available from Concordia Publishing House. Find all episodes in this series at kfuo.org/tag/overcoming-lifes-sorrows.

How do churches serve their immediate communities, and what does an LCMS Chaplain do? Rev. Jeremy Gorline, pastor of Child of God Lutheran Church and School in St. Peters, MO (KFUO Radio's Church of the Week), and US Navy Reserve Chaplain, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about how Child of God Lutheran Church and School serves the community, how Rev. Gorline serves as an LCMS Chaplain, how Chaplains serve in the Armed Forces, and how his role as a Reserve Chaplain impacts and shapes the ministry at Child of God. Learn more about Child of God Lutheran Church and School at coglcs.com.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. How do we understand depression and help our loved ones with depression? Rev. Dr. Rick Marrs — author of Making Christian Counseling More Christ Centered (WestBow Press, 2019), Senior Professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, LCMS Pastor, and Licensed Psychologist, joins Andy and Sarah for Mental Health Monday to talk about the sorts of questions that people with mental disorders ask themselves and their counselors, how we help children understand mental disorders, what is the key to know when we need to seek help, a helpful way to think about depression, and the role of a pastor in treatment of depression. Find Dr. Marrs' booklet from Lutheran Hour Ministries Journey Through Depression at shoplhm.org/journey-through-depression.Find Dr. Marrs' book at westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/779045-Making-Christian-Counseling-More-Christ-Centered.Hear Mental Health Mondays each Monday at 9am CT! Find all episode with the tag "Mental Health Monday."

What's the journey to becoming a deaconess student? Virginia Schweigert, deaconess student beginning in Fall 2024, and her pastor Rev. Warren Woerth, Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, MO, join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about how Virginia learned about the deaconess vocation, why she was interested in pursuing this vocation as a second career, how her previous vocations will serve her in this work, how this journey has influence the congregation at Good Shepherd, and why forming church workers is important to both Pastor Woerth and Good Shepherd.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Where did the day of Pentecost come from, and how do we observe it today? Rev. Sean Daenzer, LCMS Director of Worship and Chaplain for the LCMS International Center, joins Andy and Pastor Cleland to talk about the history of the day of Pentecost. We look at the origins in the biblical Feast of Weeks and the Church's observance of Pentecost today.This program originally aired May 20, 2021.

Is it possible to make idols out of good things in life? Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, author of Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Learning from Jeremiah, joins Andy and Sarah for Part 3 of our series on Overcoming Life's Sorrows to talk about how we define idols, how we take good gifts and twist them into idols, how we get rid of these idols, and how our ever-present God addresses our loneliness and discouragement.Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing is Professor of Theology & Ministry, Director of the Pre-Seminary Program, and Director of The Center for Biblical Studies at Concordia University St. Paul, and author of Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Learning from Jeremiah available from Concordia Publishing House. Find all episodes in this series at kfuo.org/tag/overcoming-lifes-sorrows.

How does the host of Sharper Iron connect the radio ministry to his home congregation? Rev. Timothy Appel, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, IL (KFUO Radio's Church of the Week), and host of Sharper Iron on KFUO Radio, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what makes Faith Lutheran Church unique, how children and adults are formed in the faith, how the saints at Faith serve each other and the surrounding community, and how hosting Sharper Iron serves not only the wide KFUO audience but also Faith Lutheran Church. Find Faith Lutheran Church at flcgodfrey.org and all episodes of Sharper Iron at kfuo.org/category/sharper-iron.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Why is this important to us as Christians, and how do we understand the national conversation about mental health? Rev. Dr. Rick Marrs — author of Making Christian Counseling More Christ Centered (WestBow Press, 2019), Senior Professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, LCMS Pastor, and Licensed Psychologist, joins Andy and Sarah for Mental Health Monday to talk about how many people in the US are affected by health problems or mental disorders, why it's important to talk about Mental Health, how people with Mental Disorders still get treated differently than people with physical illnesses like cancer or heart disease or diabetes, how attitudes about mental health have changed with each generation, and where we see mental health conversations normalized in culture now.Find Dr. Marrs' book at westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/779045-Making-Christian-Counseling-More-Christ-Centered.Hear Mental Health Mondays each Monday at 9am CT! Find all episode with the tag "Mental Health Monday."

What is a Director of Church Ministries (DCM) program, and how are these students prepared to serve the Church? Paige Mielke — sophomore DCM student at Concordia University Wisconsin, and Grace Sugg — senior DCM student going to serve at Ascension Lutheran Church in Montreal, Quebec (Partnering with Mission of Christ Network), join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about the Director of Church Ministries program at Concordia University Wisconsin, why they each chose to pursue church work and the DCM program in particular, how their classes and formation have affirmed their interest in serving the church as a DCM, the classes they've taken to prepare to serve as a DCM, and their plans for the coming year. Learn mor about the Director of Church Ministries program at Concordia University Wisconsin at cuw.edu/academics/programs/director-church-ministries-bachelors/index.html.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.