Scripture First
Three millennials sit down with Lutheran theologians to understand how Scripture is working in our lives. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, sin, faith, forgiveness, Luther, and more are on the table as Mason Van Essen, Kiri Haugen, and Adam Guthmiller discuss each week's upcoming lectionary Bible passage with Luther House of Study's theologians to hear the context in and around Scripture before it's preached in church.
Episodes
360 episodes
Everyone is Convicted | Matthew 27:11-54 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode we stand at the cross in Matthew 27, where every voice—religious leaders, Pontius Pilate, the crowd, and even the guilty—joins in accusing Jesus, and no one walks away innocent. As Christ refuses to justify himself and remains s...
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42:25
Jesus Doesn’t Keep You From Dying | John 11:1-45 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In this episode we walk into the tomb at Bethany and confront a story people often soften into empathy, when it’s really a preview of why Jesus came—to conquer death itself. As Martha and Mary hope Jesus might have prevented death, he instead d...
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37:09
How Blind Are You? | John 9:1-41 with Lars Olson
In this episode we watch Jesus do what Luther says Christ always does: use the law to uncover real sin, then speak a promise that creates faith, revealing himself as the great “I am” who gives living water as pure grace. As the Samaritan woman ...
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42:29
Jesus’ Rhetorical Question | John 4:5-42 with Sarah Stenson
In this episode we watch Jesus do what Luther says Christ always does: use the law to uncover real sin, then speak a promise that creates faith, revealing himself as the great “I am” who gives living water as pure grace. As the Samaritan woman ...
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36:17
How Can These Things Be? | John 3:1-17 with Lars Olson & Dr. Chris Croghan
In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night — confident, credentialed, fluent in the language of signs and law. But Jesus won’t be managed. “Very truly,” he says — and when Jesus speaks, reality happens. The kingdom of God is not something you...
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31:24
Ahead of Us | Matthew 4:1-11 with Dr. Chris Croghan
On this First Sunday in Lent, we follow Jesus into the wilderness where the Spirit leads him—not by accident, but on purpose—into confrontation with sin, death, and the devil. In this episode we wrestle with why God would lead his b...
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25:37
God’s Speaking vs God’s Word | Matthew 17:1-9 with Lars Olson
On Transfiguration Sunday, just before Lent begins, we climb the mountain with Peter, James, and John and watch Jesus reveal who he truly is. Our conversation with Lars Olson leans heavily into Luther’s Law and Gospel distinction: G...
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31:39
Naming Sin, Sin | Matthew 5:13-20 with Sarah Stenson
What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? In today’s conversation, Sarah Stenson tells us, “If you want to preach the gospel and help people, you must be sharp and rub salt into their wounds.” This leads to a discussion about t...
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32:31
You Will Be Hated | Matthew 5:1-12 with Lars Olson & Sarah Stenson
The Beatitudes. The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. We ask Sarah Stenson and Lars Olson: What is Jesus conveying in this sermon and how can preachers build on that in their own sermons? How do Ch...
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37:31
Victimhood as Identity | Matthew 4:12-23 with Dr. Chris Croghan & Lars Olson
Jesus calls his first disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Dr. Chris Croghan and Lars Olson explain how Matthew’s version is unique compared to Mark’s version and Luke’s version as well as the importance of r...
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41:05
What Does “Lamb of God” Mean? | John 1:29-42 with Lars Olson
John the Baptist sees Jesus coming and declares, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”We ask Lars Olson: Why is John the Baptist such a key figure in Lutheranism?What does Lamb of God me...
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29:04
Baptism is for Sinners | Matthew 3:13-17 with Sarah Stenson & Dr. Chris Croghan
Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Dr. Chris Croghan and Sarah Stenson make that abundantly clear in this week’s conversation. But that leads to the question, why did Jesus come to John to get baptized? In baptism, Jesus begins...
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31:24
Grace and Truth, Truth and Grace | John 1:1-18 with Dr. Chris Croghan
In John Chapter 1, John speaks in this one thing after the next kind of cadence, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.”Dr. Chris Croghan helps us break out of the methodical natu...
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21:42
Jesus Didn’t Come to Prevent Suffering | Matthew 2:13-23 with Sarah Stenson
There are texts like this one where we can’t make sense of the suffering. Herod authorizes the killing of thousands of children to protect his political power, and we’re left putting God on trial: why would He allow this? But that’s...
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32:26
Wild, Crazy, Illogical, Out of This World | Matthew 1:18-25 with Sarah Stenson & Lars Olson
Sarah Stenson and Lars Olson teach us in today’s episode that the temptation with this text is to tone down just how crazy this story is into something tame, understandable, and familiar. But, as you’ll hear, this story is truly out of this wor...
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25:33
A Reed Shaken by the Wind | Matthew 11:2-11 with Lars Olson
Even John the Baptist, the prophet who points his long, bony finger to Jesus, is left to question, "Are you the one who is to come?” Lars Olson teaches us that John, just like all of us, expects Jesus to make the world a better plac...
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26:42
The Ax is at the Root | Matthew 3:1-12 with Dr. Chris Croghan
Dr. Chris Croghan joins Scripture First to break down the many preaching moments found in this lectionary text about John the Baptist including: Why the wilderness is significant,The definition of repentance,T...
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37:23
You Can’t Keep Yourself Awake | Matthew 24: 36-44 with Sarah Stenson & Dr. Chris Croghan
Many think Advent is a time to prepare for the birth of Jesus, but, as this text illuminates, there’s no time to prepare. Jesus has broken in and the clock has struck midnight. Dr. Chris Croghan and Sarah Stenson teach us that this ...
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21:32
The King Dies | Luke 23:33-43 with Sarah Stenson
It’s Christ the King Sunday and you’re about to hear how Jesus is dying the death of a criminal. On Christ the King Sunday we are declaring that Jesus has authority and power over all, yet we are talking about his crucifixion, not his resurrect...
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27:06
Idols | Luke 21:5-19 with Lars Olson
Right after Jesus directs their attention to the woman giving her last two coins to the temple, they remark how beautiful the temple itself is. Jesus proceeds to tell them not only will every stone of the temple be thrown down, He w...
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26:25
This Old World Will Suck You Dry | Luke 20:27-38 with Dr. Chris Croghan
The Sadducees try to pose an impossible question in the law to Jesus: if seven brothers marry the same woman, whose wife is she in heaven? Dr. Chris Croghan teaches us how Jesus schools them in their understanding of the law and the...
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21:42
The Poor Get a Sermon | Luke 6:20-31 with Sarah Stenson
For this All Saints Sunday, Sarah Stenson teaches us what it means when Jesus describes those who are blessed. To be blessed means God has expended his benefits to you. And what are God’s benefits? Mercy and unfairness. In this old ...
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29:27
I Thought I Was Already Free… | John 8:31-36 with Lars Olson & Dr. Chris Croghan
Reformation Sunday. Jesus says the truth will set you free, but most people will hear this and try to turn it into a to-do list to earn their freedom. Lars Olson and Dr. Chris Croghan flipped this text by saying the truth is the tru...
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22:29