The Burr in the Burbs

"I cling to my Lord Christ like a burr on cloth." – Katherine Luther

Archive for April, 2005

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POTENTIAL: Not Everyone Gets To Be An Astronaut When They Grow Up. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “”, url: “http://www.burrintheburbs.com/2005/04/19/1106/” });

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 19th, 2005 at 12:04 am

Posted in Seminary

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MOTIVATION: If A Pretty Poster and A Cute Saying Are All It Takes To Motivate You, You Probably Have a Very Easy Job. The Kind Robots Will Be Doing Soon. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “”, url: “http://www.burrintheburbs.com/2005/04/19/1105/” });

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 19th, 2005 at 12:03 am

Posted in Seminary

Good Shepherd Sunday

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Today we read from the Gospel of John, chapter 10. Jesus identifies himself as our Good Shepherd. I believe that our relative unfamiliarity with sheep and shepherding has contributed to people’s inaccurate perceptions of what God is like and how He relates to us. Apart from being guided by Scripture, folks conceptualize God according to what [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 17th, 2005 at 10:27 pm

Posted in Seminary

Because Not Everything Has to be So Serious

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I got this idea from Bunnie Diehl, another Lutheran blogger. Here are some songs I never get tired of listening to. What about you? Or “yinz” as they say here in da burgh… sort of the rust belt version of y’all. Polyester Bride – Liz PhairDon’t Know Why – Norah JonesGhost of Stephen Foster – Squirrel [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 17th, 2005 at 4:32 pm

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A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures

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It concerns me that folks, especially in the US, spend so much time looking at two-dimensional images on screens and so little time interacting verbally with texts or other humans. This is especially detrimental for small children. Many Christian parents think that television is only objectionable if the content is indecent or anti-biblical. Actually, for [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 16th, 2005 at 11:28 pm

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Marty "Martyr" Minto

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The media has been reporting, or at least implying, that WORD-FM talk show host Marty Minto was specifically fired because he questioned the eternal whereabouts of the pope. I believe this to be sensationalistic. I was not a huge fan of his show, but I wish him only the best. As a [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 15th, 2005 at 8:39 pm

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Where are the Men?

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There have been some interesting studies recently about why most contemporary American churches have significantly more women on Sunday morning than men. A book published several years ago generated a lot of interest in the question. Leon Podles wrote “The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity.” Now there is “Why Men Hate Going [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 14th, 2005 at 6:23 pm

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Lutheran Bishops Mull Allowing Gay Clergy

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I am not one who spends a lot of time, in the pulpit or out, talking about homosexuality. Some churches seem to talk about little else. Just do a google of the word “homosexuality” and nearly any major American denomination and see how many tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of hits you get. But [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 12th, 2005 at 9:30 pm

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The Next Pope

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I’m certainly no expert on the Church of Rome or Vatican politics. But like almost everyone else, I can’t help but cast my prediction for who will be elected the next pontiff. According to WORLD magazine, there are 117 voting cardinals from 52 countries. All but two or three of them were [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 11th, 2005 at 10:49 pm

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What Is Faith?

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I must confess that I am in love . . . with this book! “The Fire and the Staff” by Pastor Klemet Preus has some excellent observations about how doctrine and life fit together. Here are just a couple of snippets to hopefully whet your appetite. FAITH: PASSIVE OR ACTIVE?You have one faith, not two faiths. [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 9th, 2005 at 5:00 pm

Posted in Uncategorized