🇺🇸 250 years of America. 500+ years of the Reformation. What do they have to do with each other?

In this episode of The Reflection Podcast, we journeyfrom a small German monastery in the late 1400s to Philadelphia in 1776 to see how the Lutheran Reformation helped shape the world the Founders inherited.

Discover how Martin Luther’s teaching on grace, vocation, and freedom of conscience planted seeds for the freedoms we enjoy today.

This isn’t a political episode. It’s a historical and theological reflection on how God works through His Word to bring freedom, responsibility, and dignity into the world. Perfect listening as we prepare to give thanks this Thanksgiving!

🎧 Listen now, and share this episode with someone who loves history, theology, or the story of how God works through His people.

Join us for worship at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in HawthornWoods, including Thanksgiving Eve at 7:00 p.m. and Thanksgiving Day at 10:00 a.m. followed by a free Thanksgiving meal. Learn more at stmatts.net.

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For more than 160 years, God has sustained His Church in a little corner of Lake County, Illinois. What began in 1863 with thirteen German Lutheran families has grown into generations of Word and Sacrament ministry, Christian education, missionary outreach, and faithful witness.

On this episode we journey through the remarkable history of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. Along the way, we'll explore the world in which the congregation was born during the Civil War, trace the waves of immigration that shaped its identity, witness the challenges of war, depression, social change, and pandemic, and hear the stories of ordinary Christians whose faithfulness left an extraordinary legacy.

You'll hear the story of a pastor's conversation with one farming family that ultimately helped produce generations of pastors and church workers. You'll hear about the challenges of speaking and worshiping in German during World War I. You'll experience the joy of growth, the heartbreak of a devastating church fire just days before Christmas, and the determination of a congregation that continued to gather around God's Word no matter the circumstances.

More than a history lesson, this episode is a testimony to God's faithfulness across generations. Through changing times, changing cultures, and changing communities, the mission has remained the same: proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.

Whether you're a member of St. Matthew, a student of church history, or simply someone who loves stories of faith and perseverance, this episode offers a window into how God works through ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things over time.

"One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts." (Psalm 145:4)

Join us as we look back with gratitude, celebrate God's blessings in the present, and look forward in faith to what He will do next.

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What were the Great Awakenings? Were they genuine movements of the Holy Spirit, emotional excesses, or something in between?

In this episode of The Reflection Podcast, Pastor Ed Blonski explores the major revival movements that shaped American Christianity, from the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s through the revival campaigns of Dwight L. Moody and the rise of Pentecostalism. Along the way, we examine the lives and ministries of key figures such as Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, and Dwight L. Moody, and consider how their influence continues to be felt today.

This episode explores:

• The religious landscape of Colonial America before the First Great Awakening

• The ministries of Tennent, Edwards, and Whitefield

• The rise of revivalism and the debate between "Old Lights" and "New Lights"

• The Cane Ridge Revival and the frontier camp meeting movement

• Charles Finney's "new measures" and their impact on American evangelicalism

• The Third Great Awakening and its connection to missions, social reform, abolition, and temperance

• Dwight L. Moody's transformation of mass evangelism

• The Azusa Street Revival and the growth of Pentecostalism

• Whether America may be experiencing another spiritual awakening today

• A Confessional Lutheran assessment of revival movements, conversion, and the Means of Grace

Throughout the episode, we ask an important question: How should Christians evaluate revival movements? From a Confessional Lutheran perspective, we rejoice whenever Christ is proclaimed and sinners come to faith, while also examining revival theology through the lens of Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and God's promised means of grace.

Featured Figures

• Gilbert Tennent

• Jonathan Edwards

• George Whitefield

• Charles Finney

• Dwight L. Moody

• Ira D. Sankey

• Walter A. Maier

Resources Mentioned

• Gilbert Tennent: Son of Thunder by Milton J. Coalter Jr.

• Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden

• Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography by Iain H. Murray

• The Divine Dramatist by Harry S. Stout

• George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore

• Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism by Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe

• A Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody by Lyle W. Dorsett

📖 Learn more about St. Matthew Lutheran Church

👍 If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone interested in American history, church history, theology, or revival movements.

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How did the Bible come from God’s Word spoken to God’s Word in your hands?

In this episode of The Reflection Podcast, a ministry of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, we begin Season 7 with a new format and a deep dive into one of the most important questions of the Christian faith: How We Got the Bible.

We’ll trace the story of Scripture from oral tradition to written text, from Moses and the prophets to the Septuagint, from the eyewitness testimony of the apostles to the formation of the New Testament, and from ancient manuscripts to the Bible translations we read today.

Along the way, we’ll consider how God preserved His Word through centuries of copying, translating, preaching, teaching, and confessing.

This episode also explores why Christians can trust the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, living Word of God—historically reliable, textually preserved, theologically unified, and centered in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

Whether you are new to the Bible, returning to Scripture, or looking to better understand how God’s Word has been handed down through the centuries, this episode will help you see the Bible as a miracle of history, a gift of grace, and the living Word that brings you Christ.

Learn more about St. Matthew Lutheran Church here.

Subscribe to The Reflection Podcast, share this episode with a friend, and join us for more reflections on faith, Scripture, and everyday life.

Gospel of Jesus Bible Study

Conversation with former curator of the Museum of the Bible

On this episode climber, mentor, and storyteller Craig DeMartino joins me for a powerful conversation about faith, perseverance, and discovering purpose in every season of life.

Craig shares how the outdoors shaped him, how community forms us, and how God meets us in moments of challenge, growth, and calling.

Whether you’re a climber, an adventurer, or someone navigating a season of change, Craig’s insights will encourage you to live with intention and hope.

Join us as we explore courage, resilience, spiritual growth, and the surprising ways God leads us forward.

Listen, be encouraged, and share this episode with someone who needs a word of hope today.

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us.

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Text it to a friend, post it on social media, or tell someone about it over coffee.

You never know who might need to hear this message today.

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On this episode, I talk with Joel Biermann of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis about Christian leadership, the challenges facing the Church today, and the hope that continues to anchor God’s people. Dr. Biermann—longtime professor, pastor, and current candidate for president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod—reflects on the experiences that shaped his calling, the role of theological formation in a changing world, and what it means for Christians to stay centered on Jesus amid cultural uncertainty.

Whether you’re Lutheran, from another Christian tradition, or simply curious about faith, this conversation offers clarity without insider language (or at least we explain that language!), depth without jargon, and a thoughtful look at how the Church can engage the world with both conviction and compassion. Dr. Biermann brings a steady, pastoral voice to questions of identity, mission, and the future—and invites listeners to consider where God may be calling them to lead, serve, and hope.

Day 7: For Work, Rest, or Play by Joel Biermann

The Quest for Holiness by Adolf Koberle

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They met as kids, grew up together, then started a life together!

Meet Jonathan and Christa Petzold.

He's an author and pastor of church in Northeast Illinois.

She's an author and doctoral student and pastor's wife.

And they are living in Christ!

You can find out more about the Petzolds and get their books here.

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us.

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You never know who might need to hear this message today.

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Imagine what your life would be like if you were to do the things that Jesus says - which is in red letters in many Bibles?

That's the premise of the Red Letter Challenge by Zach Zehnder and that is what we talk about on this episode!

Check out the Red Letter Challenge website here.

Purchase your copy of Red Letter Challenge here.

You can find out more about Zach and his ministry here.

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us.

Next, hit that like button or give us a thumbs-up—it’s a small gesture that makes a big difference.

Finally, share this episode!

Text it to a friend, post it on social media, or tell someone about it over coffee.

You never know who might need to hear this message today.

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