Podcast
The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio
Hosted by KFUO Radio · EN
As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran.
The Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.
119episodes
Episodes
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Serving as a Regional Business Manager Overseas (Rebroadcast)
May 1100:28:54Tap to summarizeWhat is it like to serve overseas as a Regional Business Manager with the LCMS Office of International Mission? Regional Business Managers Joyce Erber (Africa Region), Stan Stigdon (Latin America and the Caribbean Region), and Sam Borgwardt (Asia Region), along with Rev. Dr. Mark Rabe, Director of Missionary Recruitment for the LCMS Office of International Mission, join Andy to talk about their roles as Regional Business Managers in the field, including how they serve on the field and some of the duties they have, who they get to work with, how their work supports those they serve alongside in their regions, what they've come to appreciate about the cultures in which they serve, and what makes a great candidate for service as a Regional Business Manager in the LCMS Office of International Mission. Find opportunities to serve at servenow.lcms.org.This episode originally aired on May 20, 2025.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Set Apart to Serve: Supporting Lutheran Educators and Schools
May 800:26:33Tap to summarizeHow do Lutheran School Associations support LCMS teachers and schools? Dr. Cole Braun (executive director of The Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools - ALSS) and Dr. Tom Wrege (executive director of Lutheran Education Association - LEA) join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve series to talk about their individual journeys into church work careers, the organizations each of them serve, how these organizations support Lutheran educators and schools, why Lutheran education is important to each of them, and how Lutheran education is responding to the needs of families today. Learn more about ALSS at alss.org and LEA at lea.org.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Hymns of Comfort in Times of War (Rebroadcast)
May 700:25:18Tap to summarizeWhat hymns bring you comfort when seeking peace? In this episode, Chaplain Brian Hamer joins Andy to explore the significance of hymns in the context of war and peace. They discuss the origins and historical contexts of three hymns: 'Silent Night', 'Now Thank We All Our God' and ‘O God, Our Help in Ages Past’. The conversation highlights how these hymns have provided comfort and hope during times of conflict, emphasizing their enduring relevance and trans-cultural nature.To view Chaplain Hamer's article, visit whatdoesthismean.org/lifted-voice--brian-hamer.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Meet the Council of Presidents: Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch
May 600:32:40Tap to summarizeWe travel to Indiana for today’s episode! The Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch (President, Indiana District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod) joins Andy and Sarah to answer the now infamous Lightning Round of Favorites (which every COP member will be subjected to) and to talk about his unique childhood and how that prepared him for a career in church work, why reading with his family is so important to him, how he balances life as a District President and pastor with family life, and what he loves about being a pastor in the LCMS today.Learn more about the LCMS President and Vice Presidents at lcms.org/about/leadership/president and the 35 LCMS Districts at lcms.org/districts.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Grief Ministry with Worship Anew
May 500:28:39Tap to summarizeDo you know an older adult (or someone who cares for them) experiencing loss or loneliness who could use a little encouragement? Matthew Leighty (Executive Director, Worship Anew) and Tommy Moll (Director of Content, Worship Anew) join Andy and Sarah to talk about how Worship Anew cares for people beyond broadcasting worship services. They share about the care packages available on request, the new Grief Ministry program to care for others in your life, the partnerships and volunteers that make these programs possible, and why it's important that Worship Anew cares for people beyond their flagship broadcasting program. Learn more about Grief Ministry with Worship Anew at worshipanew.org.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Following the Formula, Article V: Law and Gospel — LW Searching Scripture, May 2026
May 400:28:05Tap to summarizeLuther famously said that students of the Bible need “to retain the distinction between Law and Gospel” (AE 26: 406). This became the official position of Lutherans with Article V of the Formula of Concord: “We believe, teach, and confess that the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is to be kept in the Church with great diligence” (FC Ep V 2). If we want to be distinctively Lutheran today, this distinction between Law and Gospel must retain a prominent place in our interpretation of Scripture, preaching and catechesis.This task is challenging, because the terms “Law” and “Gospel” can be used in different senses. In the Bible, both terms can be used in a wide sense to refer to God’s work and speech, but they also can be used in a narrow (proper) sense, which is what this article focuses on. Properly speaking, the Law is what God tells us to do, think, say and be, and it threatens wrath and punishment on those who break His will; the Gospel is what God by grace has done and is still doing for our salvation through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This distinction also opens the whole Bible to us, reinforcing the proper understanding that the Old Testament is not just Law and the New Testament is not just Gospel. In fact, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contain Law as well as Gospel, and the Law (the Books of Moses) contains Gospel as well as Law!Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the May 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article V: Law and Gospel” on Article V in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month!This year, “Searching Scripture” is walking through the Formula of Concord (FC) from our Lutheran Confessions, exploring the biblical foundations for each topic. Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep V on The Law and The Gospel (p. 484–485 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan.Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article V at kfuo.org/2025/05/01/coffee-hour-050125-law-gospel-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord.Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Sharathon 2026: Set Apart to Serve Culture
May 100:10:34Tap to summarizeHow has Set Apart to Serve become a cultural shift in the LCMS? The Rev. Dr. James Baneck (Executive Director, LCMS Office of Pastoral Education and Set Apart to Serve) joins Andy and Sarah during Sharathon 2026 to talk about the cultural shift in the LCMS surrounding church worker formation, what he's learned about the LCMS through his work with Pastoral Education and Set Apart to Serve, how people can recognize their capacity for Christian service to their neighbors, what brings him joy in his work with Set Apart to Serve, and the impact he is seeing from the Set Apart to Serve partnership with KFUO Radio. Learn more about Set Apart to Serve at lcms.org/sas.Whether you listen on the radio, online, or by podcast, KFUO Radio walks with you through Scripture, prayer, and sacred music. Sharathon is April 30 through May 2. Join us as we celebrate the Gospel work God is doing through KFUO and proclaim Christ for You. Anytime. Anywhere. Give now or pledge at KFUO.org/sharathon!Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Sharathon 2026: Friends for Life
May 100:12:38Tap to summarizeHow can podcasts support Christians as they uphold the value of all life? Stephanie Neugebauer (Manager of Mercy Resource Development, LCMS Office of National Mission, and host of Friends for Life podcast) and the Rev. Andy Becker (Director of Family Ministry, LCMS Office of National Mission, co-host of Friends for Life Podcast) join Andy and Sarah during Sharathon 2026 to talk about the topics the Friends for Life podcast covers, why these topics are important to both of them, some of their favorite topics and guests, and why now is a critical time to have a podcast addressing these topics with gospel motivation. Learn more about Friends for Life and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform at kfuo.org/friendsforlife.Whether you listen on the radio, online, or by podcast, KFUO Radio walks with you through Scripture, prayer, and sacred music. Sharathon is April 30 through May 2. Join us as we celebrate the Gospel work God is doing through KFUO and proclaim Christ for You. Anytime. Anywhere. Give now or pledge at KFUO.org/sharathon!As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Sharathon 2026: Content Creation in the Age of AI
May 100:25:42Tap to summarizeHow does our current age of AI affect how we create content as humans? Dr. Bernard Bull (President of Concordia University, Nebraska) joins Andy and Sarah during Sharathon 2026 to talk about how he became a content creator, what he loves about the process of writing and creating content, how AI content creation is distinctly different from human content creation, what he's learned about how AI creates content, and some insights to guide those of us who create content.Whether you listen on the radio, online, or by podcast, KFUO Radio walks with you through Scripture, prayer, and sacred music. Sharathon is April 30 through May 2. Join us as we celebrate the Gospel work God is doing through KFUO and proclaim Christ for You. Anytime. Anywhere. Give now or pledge at KFUO.org/sharathon!As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
Transcribe →Sharathon 2026: KFUO Team in the Lighting Round!
Apr 3000:46:55Tap to summarizeIt's Sharathon 2026, and we're having a little fun! You hear KFUO team members on air or when you call in, but today you're going to learn a little more about them. The now infamous "Lightning Round" has become a staple of Coffee Hour episodes, so each KFUO team member answers the list of rapid-fire questions about their favorite things! Even Andy and Sarah are subjected to the Lightning Round this time. Get ready to know all about the KFUO team and whether you share favorite things in common!Whether you listen on the radio, online, or by podcast, KFUO Radio walks with you through Scripture, prayer, and sacred music. Sharathon is April 30 through May 2. Join us as we celebrate the Gospel work God is doing through KFUO and proclaim Christ for You. Anytime. Anywhere. Give now or pledge at KFUO.org/sharathon!As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.
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