As the successors of the Norwegian Synod, members of the ELS remember the oak trees at Koshkonong, Wisconsin, where in 1844 a Lutheran pastor from Norway gathered a small group of immigrants. The words of Psalm 78 directed the pastor as he answered the question, “Can God Furnish a Table in the Wilderness?” God fed His…
Posts by Dennis Fritz (Page 10)
The Anniversaries Continue. In 2017, we observed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation; in 2018, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) is observing the centennial anniversary of its reorganization. A series of historical centennial readings will be posted each week entitled: “Proclaim the Wonders God Has Done: 1918–2018” as the ELS celebrates one hundred years of…
There is a story of a pastor who, one day, met a young boy standing outside his church, carrying a rusty cage, in which several birds fluttered nervously. The pastor inquired, “Son, where did you get those birds?” The boy replied, “I trapped them out in the field.” “What are you going to do with…
“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.’”-Isaiah 40: 3, 5 Christmas time is upon us again! Is there anyone who sees it…
As Thanksgiving approaches, and especially on Thanksgiving Day, individuals and families reflect on what they have to be thankful for in the past year. There are many families that have had significant events that have taken place. For instance, a loved one who was in serious condition and was not expected to survive but, with…
If you attend any Lutheran church during the month of October, there’s a good chance you’ll hear something about 2017 being the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. You’re likely to hear about Martin Luther posting “95 Theses” on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, which kicked off a discussion of what he…
The unofficial “end” of summer is traditionally considered Labor Day, the first Monday of September. Labor Day began in this country the late 1800s to celebrate the American worker. The thought behind the celebration was, Where would our country be if we didn’t have such great people working every day? That sentiment is why Labor Day is a…
LET HIS LIGHT SHINE! “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) When the author and poet, Robert Louis Stevenson, was 12 years-old, he found himself, one evening, looking out into the dark from…
When you’re a kid, and you go to the beach, lifeguards are the mean people who enforce the rules and ruin your fun. Maybe later in life, before you have kids of your own, you think lifeguards are necessary because so many parents are careless and negligent. When you’re the parent, things look different. You…
I suppose you might call it faith if you believe in the sun, even on a cloudy day. We probably all have that kind of faith. There are places where it might cloud over for weeks at a time. It’s easy to get discouraged by the grey sky. Yet, even in cloudy weather, we know…