Justin Rossow
Fostering Hearing God’s Word Together, Online
By Justin Rossow Part of any preaching ministry is fostering hearing ears and receptive lives. Scripture invites us to ruminate on God’s Word, to steep our hearts, minds, and daily lives in His promises. In today’s Social Media culture, preachers have unprecedented tools for supporting the mutual conversation of the saints in the weekly lives […]
Hope for the Future and a Bright Red Nose
By Justin Rossow Of course the hood on his sweatshirt is up: the young African American man in the Walgreens line in front of me looks like he is doing his best to fit a stereotype. Late teens, early twenties; jeans below the hip; six inches of stylish boxers showing above a wide, leather belt; […]
My Prodigal Father: A Story to Upset the World
by Michael Zeigler, Pastor, Epiphany Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO In Luke 15 Jesus tells the story of a prodigious, extravagant, reckless, and—in the eyes of some—wasteful father. Of course, the story itself is fictitious; as Jesus was inclined to do, the Lord just made it up. Nevertheless, this story has the ring of truth. […]
Avoiding The Lutheran Meat Grinder
By Justin Rossow The proper division of Law and Gospel is one of the essential elements of Lutheran theology, and therefore of Lutheran preaching. But when good theology gets turned into rote practice, the result can be hazardous to your spiritual health. You can get a handle on the definitions of Law and Gospel relatively […]
Paul and Lydia
By Justin Rossow Sometimes you preach a metaphor IN the text. And sometimes you preach a metaphor FOR the text. In Acts 16, Paul meets Lydia at a river. A literal river. Nothing metaphorical about it. But the sermon below takes the image of a river–of tubing and whitewater rafting on a river–as a metaphor […]
Retooling Your Sermon Development
By Justin Rossow Introduction: Retooling Your Preaching, Part 1 This fall I got to spend a couple of days at beautiful Camp Arcadia with deacons in the Michigan District for their annual retreat. We had a great time talking about preaching and exploring different tools that serve faithful proclamation. This blog series on Retooling Your Preaching is […]
The 7 Tools for Development in Action
By Justin Rossow When we preach, we make decision about how we are going to spend our time in the pulpit. Consciously or not, we choose how we are going to help the hearer create meaning out of the sermon. If you would like to be more intentional about how you shape the “moments of meditation” […]
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