The Lutheran Witness Podcast

In this episode, we interview the Rev. Tyler McMiller, LCMS missionary in Italy, to learn about the work of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Italy (CLCI). McMiller serves a number of house churches across the peninsula and recent developments — the ordination of two new local pastors — have greatly expanded the ability of the CLCI to proclaim the Gospel across the nation. Watch engage.lcms.org for the full story in the fall issue of Lutherans Engage. 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.

We have now come through Lent and the Easter season, including the Ascension of Jesus to His Father’s right hand, and in June we celebrate Pentecost. In these studies, we have explored messianic prophecies in January through April, with an introduction to messianic typology last month. This month’s study will deal with a prophecy that is not exactly messianic, but features prominently in the New Testament: in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost. We also will explore the Old and New Testaments’ witness to the Holy Spirit and His work then and now.Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the June/July 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The Promised Spirit” on Joel 2:28–32 and Acts 2:1–22. 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.

“Type” has to do with forms, shapes, patterns, images. People demonstrate “typical” behavior when they act in a similar pattern time and again. In typesetting, a block with a typographic character on it makes an image of that character on the page. Our first four Bible studies in this year’s series have focused on straightforward messianic prophecies, which abound in the Old Testament. However, Jesus and His church are prefigured in other ways in the Old Testament. This is known as typology — seeing an Old Testament person or event (a “type”) as a pattern for a New Testament one (the “antitype”). This sort of interpretation is employed by the New Testament, which shows us how it can be done responsibly (and not fancifully!). For example, Jesus says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). Here Jesus teaches about Himself and His work by pointing back to Numbers 21:4–9, with the bronze serpent that saved snakebitten Israelites (the type) corresponding to Jesus as One who was lifted up on the cross that we might look to Him in faith and be saved (the antitype). In this study, we will look at more typological connections between the Old Testament and New Testament.Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the May 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Isn’t That Typical?” on Typological Connections throughout Scripture. 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.

Jesus says of the Old Testament Scriptures that “they … bear witness about Me” (John 5:39). This is especially true of two central messianic prophecies, Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and Psalm 22, which feature prominently in Holy Week services. In Isaiah 52–53, we gain remarkable details about Jesus’ crucifixion from a prophecy that was written more than 700 years before His death. In Psalm 22, the Holy Spirit inspired David, about 1,000 years before Jesus’ birth, to record words that apply in part to David himself but above all to the Messiah. It would not be a stretch to say that Isaiah 52–53 is a biographical portrait of Jesus Christ, and Psalm 22 is autobiographical, since Jesus took the words of David on His own lips at His crucifixion. Or perhaps we should view it the other way around, with “David’s Son, yet David’s Lord” (LSB 451:1; cf. Matthew 22:41–46) lending the words to His ancestor. Either way, opening the Old Testament leads us straight to Jesus.Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the April 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The Suffering Servant” on Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and Psalm 22. 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.

On Ash Wednesday (March 5), the church enters the holy season of Lent, in which we focus on Christ’s righteousness, sufferings and death, and the new testament in His blood. Much ink has been spilt over the decision of St. Jerome to translate the Greek "diatheke" as "testamentum" in his Latin Vulgate, which ultimately influenced the King James Version’s selection of “testament” as a translation of this term. This, in turn, led to our common division of “Old Testament” (2 Corinthians 3:14) and “New Testament” (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15). However, diatheke can also mean “covenant,” which is how many recent English translations, such as the ESV, render the term (except in Hebrews 9:16–17, where it opts for “will,” as in, “last will and testament”). Lutherans tend to prefer the translation “testament” over “covenant,” since covenants in the Bible sometimes require works on the part of humans. But in no case does a testament (a will) involve the works of the beneficiary — not to mention that it must be put into effect by the death of the testator. As we will see, even “covenant” can be understood correctly — provided that we pay attention to context and keep in mind the proper distinction between Law and Gospel.Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the March 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Covenant or Testament?” on Jeremiah 31:31–34. 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.

On the Epiphany of Our Lord (January 6), we followed the Wise Men as they brought gifts (Matthew 2:11) predicted by the Old Testament (Isaiah 60:6) to Jesus, “He who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). The Wise Men even found Christ using the Old Testament: at first, through the fulfilled prophecy of Numbers 24:15–19 concerning a star and a king’s scepter in Israel; ultimately, through the fulfillment of Micah 5’s words about the Good Shepherd of Judah being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2–5). And not only does the whole Bible reveal Jesus as King, it also shows that He is God’s Prophet, one like — yet greater than! — Moses.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 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The Prophet Like Moses” on Deuteronomy 18:15–19. 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.

The Old Testament is about Jesus, which is reason enough for us to open our Bibles and read it regularly. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Jesus opens our minds to understand the Hebrew Scriptures (Luke 24:45) and teaches us how to read them. “Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled... Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:44, 46–47). This year’s “Searching Scripture” columns will lead us through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. This month we focus on the foundational messianic prophecy of the blessed “offspring” (or “seed”) of the woman first given in Genesis 3 and then reiterated to the patriarchs.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 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The Blessed Seed” on Genesis 3:9-15. 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.

This issue of LW focuses on the community of family. Peter reminds us that Christians have a much larger family, our “brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 1:2: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” While we properly focus most of our attention on our local communities of family and congregation, our Lord has a global mission: “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Peter’s emphasis on the common suffering of Christians throughout the world is a reminder that we are part of something much greater than ourselves, as Paul also writes: “There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4–6).Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the December 2024 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “A Worldwide Community” on 1 Peter 5:8-14. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Elect Exiles” and will walk through the First Epistle of St. Peter. 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.

This issue of LW focuses on the LCMS community, which is made up of “flock[s] of God” (1 PETER 5:2) under “the chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), who sends men to shepherd His holy people (in Latin, pastor means “shepherd”). If both preachers and hearers heed Peter’s advice, congregations will be blessed with peace and concord; if they don’t, dissension and conflict will ensue. Peter encourages humility for all Christians (1 Peter 5:6–7). Although he doesn’t mention the example of Jesus in this passage, He should be on our minds as we act in humility toward one another and humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8).Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2024 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “A Humble Community” on 1 Peter 5:1-7. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Elect Exiles” and will walk through the First Epistle of St. Peter. 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.

Hear about our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Christ in Chile! In our special crossover series "From Wittenberg" with The Lutheran Witness Podcast, the Rev. Roy Askins (Executive Editor of The Lutheran Witness) speaks with President Rev. Juan Pablo Lanterna of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile / Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile (ILC-Chile). In this conversation, President Lanterna discusses the history of the church, its current state, and its challenges. The church was founded 70 years ago through the Lutheran Hour radio program and has grown to eight churches and numerous preaching stations. The church body recently worked to create a new Spanish hymnal. It also operates a large school and is actively involved in disaster relief efforts, particularly after a recent earthquake that affected 50,000 people. President Lanterna emphasizes the importance of international cooperation and the power of the gospel in overcoming challenges. Find the ILC-Chile online at soyluterano.cl.Learn more about LCMS Church relations at lcms.org/about/leadership/president/church-relations.Find The Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org.