Christianity has a lot of unspoken suffering and challenges. Suffering Servants is our attempt to bring these every day struggles into the modern context by reading books, articles, and conversing about the ever changing culture and the Church's response to such change. We also have conversations with other "suffering servants" about their sufferings in life and what God has revealed to them through those sufferings. Ultimately, no matter how awful things get for us here on earth, we know th ...
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The Youth4Life podcast answers THE question of today's generation: Why should I be 4 Life? Recorded with a live youth audience, each Youth4Life podcast focuses on a single life topic and provides facts, discussion starters, and opportunities for youth to become Gospel-motivated voices 4 Life!
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Catching Up and The City of God (Augustine)
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It's been a while since we've chatted! On this episode, Pastors Tyler, Nick, and Jim get caught up on all the happenings at our churches and lives and then we take a look at an article about Augustine's City of God. While it was written centuries ago, there is still practical application to our church's struggle within the world today. Enjoy! Folli…
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Y4LIFE Favorite - Surrogacy with Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer
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Like the episode? Let us know! Youth4Life Podcast Favorite - Surrogacy with Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer Guest Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer returns to talk about where surrogacy came from, the different ways surrogacy is used in our culture, and the practical and ethical issues with this practice. -------------------------------------------------------…
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Y4LIFE FAVORITE - Beginning of Life Bioethical Issues with Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer
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Like the episode? Let us know! Youth4Life Podcast Favorite - Beginning of Life Bioethical Issues with Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer Talking about in-vitro fertilization and other assistive reproductive technologies can be confusing. In this episode, Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer, Associate Professor of Theology and Bioethics at Concordia Irvine, breaks d…
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Y4LIFE FAVORITE - Godly Womanhood with Deac. Rose Adle
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Like the episode? Let us know! Youth4Life Podcast Favorite - Godly Womanhood with Deac. Rose Adle Deaconess Rose Adle is on the podcast this week to teach us about what godly womanhood looks like. She starts in Genesis with Eve, who she was created to be, and how the fall into sin altered her relationship with Adam and with God. She also talks to u…
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We're taking a break this week from some serious things to have a little fun! Together we take a look at a "Top 30" list of things to do during the summer in Michigan. We hope you enjoy and maybe laugh a little bit. Top 30 Things To Do In Michigan During SummerBy Rev. Tyler Cronkright
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Y4LIFE FAVORITE - Biblical Manhood with Rev. Jeff Hemmer
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Like the episode? Let us know! Youth4Life Podcast Favorite - Biblical Manhood with Rev. Jeff Hemmer Pastor Jeff Hemmer, author of the book Man Up!, joins us on the podcast this week to teach us about Biblical manhood. He presents his definition of masculinity, then takes us to Scripture to dive into what it says about masculinity and manhood. -----…
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Y4LIFE FAVORITE - Addressing Gender Brokenness with Rev. Brian Barlow
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Like the episode? Let us know! Youth4Life Podcast Favorite - Addressing Gender Brokenness with Rev. Brian Barlow Pastor Brian Barlow (vicar at the time of recording) discusses gender identity, homosexuality, and what role the Gospel has in addressing the brokenness of sexual confusion. He shares his testimony with us and gives us the hope that can …
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On this episode, we read an article about Richard Dawkins' claim that he is a "cultural Christian." What the heck does that mean in our society today? Can one truly be a cultural Christian? How does that impact our walks with Jesus and our interactions with our neighbors? All that and more on this week's show. Enjoy! Richard Dawkins and Mere Cultur…
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The Great Dechurching Will Hurt Poor People
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On today's episode we explore a very recent article about the decline of "mainline" churches and what are the implications of that for the marginalized, if any at all. Why are our churches declining when some preach to the "itching ears"? Do we just strive to be in a place of belonging? Is the government effectively providing for the poor? What abo…
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Like the episode? Let us know! It’s time for an update! Where do states stand on the abortion issue? Which laws are being challenged and which challenges have been overturned? And have there been any other major victories since the Dobbs case? And our questions don’t end there! What about medication abortion? What is the current status of this pill…
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The Cost Of Discipleship - RC Sproul
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Today we explore a thought provoking sermon from RC Sproul on counting the cost to follow Jesus. Can we truly count the cost? Do we even understand what the cost is? None the less, Jesus says to us, "follow me." Follies are back this week and include "oppressive" Christianity and Jesus needing forgiveness.…
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Standing 4 Life in a Culture of Death - with Dr. Gene Vieth
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Like the episode? Let us know! Life issues have a tendency to become controversial topics. Take, for example, the issues of abortion, co-habitation, promiscuity, pornography, and gender ideology - they’re probably not the first topics you’d broach at the lunch table. It’s easy to remain silent. If we do, there’s no accusation of hypocrisy or self-r…
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Hearers But Not Doers, Deceive Themselves - Walther
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After a big transition for the pastors, we are BACK! In the beginning of our sermons we often pray, "Lord, help us to become more than just hearers of the Word, but doers of it as well. Amen." Today we talk about what that means. Church Father CFW Walther writes a sermon in 1849 about the dangers of JUST hearing the Word and going through the motio…
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What's On The Table? News Stories from April 2024
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Like the episode? Let us know! Table Talks 4 Life are BACK! This week the Y4Life Team is joined by Lizzie Gatchell from CUC4Life to talk about what's been in the news recently. From the 'Dignitas Infinita' recently released by the Vatican to a 28 year old woman opting to end her life through euthanasia to what actor Aaron Taylor Johnson has to say …
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Like the episode? Let us know! What’s all the fuss with Alabama? Perhaps you’ve heard about a court decision in Alabama that’s just a little bit (okay, more than a little bit) controversial. Perhaps you’ve heard that the court’s decision declares embryos created through IVF are human beings. And perhaps you’re wondering, What exactly does that mean…
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Hope for the Homeless with Pastor Tyler Cronkright
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Like the episode? Let us know! Homelessness. Visit any major city (and most smaller ones!) and you’ll find people struggling with housing insecurity. Perhaps it looks like a high school student floating from one couch to the next. Or maybe you see evidence of homelessness under an overpass or on a park bench. In some places, homelessness has become…
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The Prosperity Gospel: Your Best Life Now?
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We're back with another heresy today. We all know about the loud and obvious prosperity Gospel...but what about the subtle prosperity Gospel of positivity, optimism, and speaking blessings? How can we tell if what we are hearing is the prosperity Gospel? How can (should we) we defend against it? All this and more on this week's episode! Follies of …
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Martyred for the Faith with Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
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Like the episode? Let us know! "Our suffering reminds us that Jesus has suffered in our place." -Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller The Gospel is dangerous to those who would rather reside in the dark, but Christians are called to be carriers of the light, and to carry that light even unto death. Countless confessors of the faith throughout history have suffer…
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Curious Cases - with Pastor Mark Renner
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Pastor Tyler is joined this week by Pastor Mark Renner to talk about Pastor Mark's new book, "Curious Cases: A Series of Short Pastor Case Studies." In this book, Pastor Mark explores different situations that have arisen in the church, or that might arise in the church, and how might we as THE Church work with God's people. It is a book that can b…
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What about the mysteries of God? Can we be in the dark about some of God's ways and works? Today we talk about an ancient heresy called "Gnosticism" that continues to rear its ugly head in 2024. A belief that pits the physical against the spiritual, Gnosticism is a denial of the human nature of Jesus Christ and the holding on to the "spiritual natu…
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Persecuted 4 Life with Melanie Standiford
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Like the episode? Let us know! Being for life can be risky, and that risk sometimes comes with very real consequences. Just ask Melanie Standiford, a for-life Christian who lost her job because of her for-life views. Was it worth it? Join us this week to hear Melanie’s story and find out how you can prepare for and stand with hope in the face of pe…
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Pastor Nick joins us again as we talk about a heresy that we all may have heard, subscribed to, and even believed in at some point: the sneaky "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." The temptation for many Christians is to worship God and ask God to fix our problems, to make us feel "better", and to be soft and comforting. While God can fix our problems i…
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Like the episode? Let us know! This week, Aimee Cima joins us all the way from Cambodia! She and her family have been serving in southeast Asia for more than 15 years where they are actively involved in upholding the lives of those they serve. Aimee will show us what life and mercy work looks like in Cambodia and Asia as a whole. J.P. and Aimee, al…
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This episode was recorded on Ash Wednesday, so naturally we talked about the significance of the ashes we receive on our foreheads and how that has been taken for granted in the Church. Follies include Canada (obviously) and Super Bowl themed church services.By Rev. Tyler Cronkright
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Family Ministry and ADHD - with Josh Kittleman
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Joining me on this week's episode is my dear brother in Christ, Josh Kittleman, the Director of Christian Family Formation at Christ Our Savior in Livonia. Together we talk through his journey from small parish ministry, to the University level, and then to big parish ministry and what he has seen, learned, and experienced. We also are sure to hit …
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Like the episode? Let us know! India is a land of more than a 1.5 billion people and 333 million gods. Its people speak 1,652 different languages and endure caste discrimination. The vast majority of Indians are Hindu or Muslim; only 2% of the population is Christian. Yet Christians make a visible impact on society through their approach to life is…
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Pelagianism & Suffering Sacrificial Co-Laborers of Christ
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Pastor Nick joins in on the fun as FollyFest continues this week with the idolatry and attachment of Scripture to sports, removing God's Word from churches, the wokeness of Christian Universities, and pro-life activists being sentenced to prison. We tie all this into this week's featured heresy of Pelagianism. Do we have the ability to be "good"? D…
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Lots to catch up on today. On this episode we talk through a couple of follies that are hitting our culture - the remaking of classic movies, the stupidity of Christians, and a GenZ Bible to name a few. We then take a constructive turn to begin talking about some of the ancient heresies (a different kind of folly) that have plagued our churches for…
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Like the episode? Let us know! The transition from high school to college or from college to career, is an exciting one. Yet, it can also cause uncertainty, especially when those transitions change relationships within our families. Society would suggest that transitioning into adulthood precludes and even exempts us from responsibility to family. …
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Pastoral Apostasy and the Learned Lutherans
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In this frigid episode, we talk about the impact of the cold on our ministry. We then pick up the conversation where we left off last week about apostasy, but this time with a bit of a stronger emphasis on the pastor. We also take a look at an article by Carl Trueman, who writes what the church can learn from the Lutherans, in particular suffering.…
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Apostasy, Mystery, and The Means of Grace
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We don't talk about apostasy much in the church. "Falling away" is a very real thing that is plaguing the church and people don't even realize it. Scripture speaks of warnings many times and we would do well to heed to these warnings. In this episode, we talk about what apostasy is, how does one end up falling into this, and how can we prevent it. …
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Like the episode? Let us know! How can having a large family be a blessing? How do children help to create strong marriages? How do parents mold and shape children in a large family? Rev. Adrian Sherrill and his wife Linda join us this week to help answer these questions and more. Rev. Adrian Sherrill is senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in …
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We are kicking off 2024 with a bang, talking about Christian charity and what is our response to the love that Christ Jesus has shown to us. In this episode we review Christmas, both personally and at the Family of God (the good, bad, and ugly). We then take a look at an article written by a student that we felt missed the mark about why we as Chri…
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Like the episode? Let us know! Have you wondered what it might be like to be a birth doula? Do you have questions about midwives versus OBGYNs? What does it look like to be in a vocation that upholds life at birth? We'll explore all of these questions and more in this special edition of the Youth4Life Podcast! April Ann Wofford, a birth doula, join…
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Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! - with Rev. Nick Gapski, Rev. Dean Davenport, and Rev. Joel Werner
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It's the first Christmas episode for the Suffering Servants podcast! We are joined by two familiar voices (Nick and Joel) and a new voice (Dean) on the show today where we talk about a ton of Christmas happenings. Has Christmas become "too secular"? What can our response be? What is the significance of the Virgin Mary giving birth to a son? Does it…
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Recovery and Community - with Ron Hughes
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Today, as Pastor Hill finishes his vacation, Tyler is joined by a dear friend of the Family of God. Ron Hughes has been serving with us for over ten years and has become an intricate part of the ministry. Our people love him and gravitate towards him because of his experiences. On the show today, we talk about those experiences. As a veteran in rec…
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Like the episode? Let us know! Chad Bird joins us on the podcast this week to talk about when families face loss. He tells us about his son Luke, who died unexpectedly as a young adult, and the changes it brought about for his family. Chad will tell us about the ways that he finds strength in the midst of grief and how we can comfort and support th…
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Faith in the Face of Tyranny - The Bethel Confession
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We are back this week with an intriguing read: Faith in the Face of Tyranny. We talk through the importance of the Bethel Confession, a document composed by German pastors Herman Sasse and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with a similar skeleton to the Formula of Concord. What is the role of the Holy Scriptures in our lives? What about the Aryan Paragraph and …
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What's On The Table? News Stories from November 2023
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Like the episode? Let us know! This week, we head back to the table to discuss stories in the news, except this time, we're joined by two of our Y4Life college leaders! Emma and Anna join us this week as we discuss abortion laws, IVF, and the modern U.S. family. Emma is a student at Concordia University Nebraska and is active with the Bulldogs 4 Li…
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Suffering in the NICU - with Shelby Cooper
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"This episode is incredibly special to me. To sit and chat with one of my favorite people in the whole world truly is such a gift. I pray that you hear my sister's story of her multiple trips to the NICU with her son, Beckham, and with her, truly see the goodness of God even in our suffering." - Tyler We do not own the rights to the song "Goodness …
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Like the episode? Let us know! What does a family look like at its beginning? What does a couple do to prepare for the gift of a newborn? What are the gifts and joys a new baby brings? What are the difficult realities? Emilyann Wert, deaconess and teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joins us to help answer these questions. Emilyann Wert teaches 1st …
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On today's episode, Pastor Nick joins us as we continue our discussion on Pastor Bradley Gray's book, Finding God in the Darkness. Mental illness has a way of crippling the one that it ails and so often it feels like there is no way out. Empty words are spoken over the one who is suffering, yet there still seems to be no hope. What is the solution?…
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On this week's episode, we digest Halloween and all the happenings from the week. Then we take a turn and look at chapter one of Pastor Bradley Gray's "Finding God in the Darkness." Pastor Gray is writing from a personal traumatic experience from a few years ago in which God allowed him and his family to experience some intense suffering. What has …
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Like the episode? Let us know! We often think about the right that all children have- the right to life. But what about a child's right to his or her biological parents- both mother and father? Katy Faust, author of Them Before Us, joins us this week to discuss the life issues that surround children, marriage, and families. Katy Faust is the Founde…
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The One Who Stands Alone Falls - with Pastor Joel A. Werner
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"He who stands alone falls." Pastor Hill drops a great thought about men and women in the ministry who try to be "hero" servants and serve a great mission, but do it alone. This person has made themselves a prime target for the enemy to pick them off and suffocate them. What can we do? How can seminary training prepare pastors better so that they d…
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On today's episode, we introduce pietism! What role does piety play in our lives as Christians? Pastor Hill unveils 6 concepts that we would do well to pay attention to in our fight against an ever changing Christian culture: 1) Restore the Bible to the people 2) Revive the priesthood of all believers 3) Understand that knowledge devoid of action i…
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Like the episode? Let us know! Have you ever been involved with your local pregnancy resource center? Would you like to be involved with your local center? Join us as we talk with Katie Willman, pregnancy resource center director in Indianapolis. She'll teach us about the gift of pregnancy resource centers and how they serve moms, dads, and babies,…
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Transitions, Liturgy, and Concordia Texas - with Rev. Dr. Jim Marriott
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The Rev. Dr. Jim Marriott joins Tyler on this week's episode! Jim taught at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, where Tyler attended, and now serves as the Associate Pastor at small Texas church outside of Austin. He also teaches theology and music at Concordia University Texas where he is also the chairman of the theology department. On this episode,…
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Showing Christian Mercy Through Child Foster Care
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Like the episode? Let us know! Have you ever thought about participating in foster care? Rev. Robert Franck, pastor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Duluth, Minnesota, joins us to teach about the importance of foster care in our society today. He gives us a variety of ways that we can serve foster children, whether it is becoming a foster parent, …
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Secular Authority (Luther) - Part 3
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The guys are joined by Pastor Nick Gapski this week! Nick did his vicarage with the Family of God two years ago and was installed as the new Associate Pastor this past summer. Together, we talk about Romans 13 and what authority does the government really have over God's people. Are we to blindly submit to every mandate/law the government makes jus…
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