The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Minot, ND, and author of Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? available from Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah in our series on the Sundays in Advent to talk about the Gospel Reading for the First Sunday in Advent. What does Advent even mean? Why are we reading about Palm Sunday in Advent? What does it mean that Jesus arrives on a donkey?Matthew 21:1-9The Triumphal Entry21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’”6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”Read full chapterFootnotesMatthew 21:5 Or donkey, and on a coltEnglish Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org

Sharon Delmore from Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, MO, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about this year's Return to the Manger event on December 2 & 3, including some highlights from last year's event, how the story of the nativity is expressed in this event, and how visual and immersive artistic programs are an important part of the outreach of Lord of Life Lutheran Church. Learn more and reserve your seats at lordoflifelcms.org/dec-2-3-2023-return-to-the-manger.

Trish Erzfeld, tourism director with Perry County Heritage Tourism, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what's unique about the history of Perry County and surrounding communities, a brief history of the Christmas Country Church Tour, some of the sights and sounds and tastes people will experience on the Christmas Country Church Tour, and some of the most interesting places on the tour. Find details and download your tour map at visitperrycounty.com/christmas-country-church-tour.

Signe White — Executive Director of Camp Perkins and National Lutheran Outdoors Ministry Association (NLOMA) Joint Recruitment Chair, and Chase "Telli" Crawford, former Summer Camp counselor and current Camp Perkins staff member, join Andy and Sarah to talk about how camp is a formative experience for youth, Telli's story of camp and how it shaped how she wants to serve in the future, how young adults serve at camp, and what positions are available for summer 2024. Learn more about NLOMA and camp employment opportunities at nloma.org.

Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd — Navy Chaplain and 28th Chief of Navy Chaplains, and Rev. James Hopkins — Navy Chaplain, join Andy and guest co-host Jordan Harms from the LCMS National Convention for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about their paths to becoming Navy Chaplains, the need for chaplains today, the most challenging and rewarding parts of serving as chaplains, and how others can serve as Navy Chaplains. Learn more about LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces at lcms.org/armedforces.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.This program originally aired August 4, 2023.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.

Rev. Peter Bender, Director of the Concordia Catechetical Academy, and Rev. Dr. Al Espinosa, member of the board of directors for the Concordia Catechetical Academy, join Andy and Sarah to talk about what catechesis is, what the Catechism is, why catechesis is important, how the Concordia Catechetical Academy began, how the Concordia Catechetical Academy serves the church at large, and how the status as a Recognized Service Organization will help them better carry out this faithful work. Find the Concordia Catechetical Academy at peacesussex.org/cca.This program originally aired September 19, 2023.

Benjamin Kolodziej, Church Organist and Musicologist, joins Andy and Sarah for our series on the first 100 years of LCMS Music History to talk about the creation of The Lutheran Hymnal, the move from German to English in the LCMS, and the key people during these years of music in the LCMS.

Benjamin and Rebecca Helge, who serve the Lord in the Eurasia region based in the Czech Republic, join Andy and Sarah to talk about the communities where they serve, what's unique about the culture in these communities, the needs they meet and how they serve the community, the people they serve alongside, the relationship with the Lutheran church in the Czech Republic, and how they celebrate Advent and Christmas. Read their story and how to support their work at lcms.org/helge.

Christina Stackle, DCE at Peace Lutheran Church in St Louis, our Church of the Week, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the history of Peace Lutheran Church, special Advent and Christmas services at Peace, the Tree Lot, and the Boar's Head Festival. Find details for all of these events at peacelutheranstl.org.

Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor — Managing Director for Human Care and Ministerial Support and Director of Life Ministry with the LCMS Office of National Mission, and Rev. Ken Krueger — Vice President and Chief Customer Officer for Concordia Plans, join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about how each of them became church workers, why worker wellness is important to them, what worker wellness and the wellness wheel are, how the Synod is addressing worker wellness, and how different ministries across Synod work together to ensure worker wellness. Learn more about Church Worker Wellness at lcms.org/wellness and Concordia Plans at concordiaplans.org.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.