Our Annual German Dinner for Community and Friends

Our annual German Dinner is here! When: Saturday, October 21. Time: 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Where: Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church’s multipurpose building, 71 Kimberling Blvd, Kimberling City.  (The […]

Church History, Lesson 14: The Rise of Monasticism

Recap and Intro When Valerian became Emperor in 257 AD, he began the first Empire-wide persecution of Christians.  Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, was sent into exile.  The next year, […]

Reformation 2: 2 Kings 5:1-3, 9-14; Romans 6:1-4; John 3:1-6, 16: Baptism

A Syrian commander, a well-respected military leader, who won the respect of his King.  Still, something can come along in your life and undo much of what you built up […]

The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 3

Recap and Intro Last week we went over The Parable of the Sower.  Jesus explained the parable to His disciples: All the seed sown on three of the four soils […]

Church History, Lesson 13: Christianity in North Africa, Part 3

Cyprian (200-258 AD) Intro Much had changed since Tertullian’s time.  Being a Christian was still a crime, but by 240 AD, someone needed to talk to an older adult to […]

Reformation 1: Isaiah 55:10-13, 1 Peter 1:22-25, John 1:1-5, 14: The Word

“Now, if I told you once, I told you a thousand times.”  A dressing-down entwines itself in those words.  Often, we scold children through this warning, with an explanation trailing […]

The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 2

Recap and Intro A parable is a comparison, from the Greek “para,” meaning as “in parallel” and “balo,” meaning “to cast.”  Through a parable, the speaker casts a net or […]

Church History, Lesson 12: Christianity in North Africa, Part 2

The Writing Down of What Was Handed Down Intro Tertullian (160-225 AD), the first Latin Church Father, provided us with much of our Church language and ways of thinking.  He […]

Matthew 6:24-34: Seek First …

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rescued His people from Egypt, protected them through the sea, and led them through the wilderness.  On manna formed from the dew and […]

The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 1, Introduction

What are Parables? To introduce a parable, Jesus often used this phrase, “The kingdom of God is like …”  In a non-parable-like fashion, Jesus revealed the structure of a parable: […]