Friends For Life — LCMS Life, Health and Family Ministries: S3Ep3. The State of the Family Estate | Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller
To call the family an “estate” may sound dated, but it turns out that Luther’s theology on the three estates is perhaps more timely than ever. What does Luther mean when he identifies the three estates of family, church, and state? How is the family the foundation of them all? What does this actually mean for modern families today? Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller joins Steph on this episode of Friends for Life!
Bio: Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller is pastor of St. Paul and Jesus Deaf Lutheran Churches in Austin, TX. He is the author of Lord, Teach Us to Pray (2023), Take They Our Life: Martin Luther’s Theology of Martyrdom (2019), A Martyr’s Faith for a Faithless World (CPH, 2019), Has American Christianity Failed? (CPH, 2016) and Final Victory: Contemplating the Death and Funeral of a Christian (CPH, 2010). He is host of What-Not, The Podcast, posts videos on YouTube at wolfmueller1, and has a number of other theological projects that all end up on his blog, www.wolfmueller.co. Bryan is a member of the Doxology Collegium. He and his wife Keri live with their children in Round Rock, TX.
Martin Luther once wrote: “Without trials ... a person can know neither Scripture nor faith, nor can he fear and love God. If he has never suffered, he cannot understand what hope is.”
How Long?
We ask, “How long will you defend the unjust, O God, and show favor to the wicked?” God points to the cross and ...
Ethics and Suffering
How are Christians to respond to this shift in the ethics of medicine today? The path that seems most appropriate ...
We cannot separate our faith life from our career or business. Our service through our vocations is an expression ...
With This Ring
At the wedding ceremony the bride and groom exchange wedding rings. They are circles to symbolize the permanence of this relationship. There are three additional aspects these rings portray.
What Is Marriage?
It is not our human prerogative to redefine marriage for the sake of political correctness, social justice, or to accommodate the changing times. As God does not change, but is ever faithful, so marriage does not change and ever proclaims the faithfulness of God to His people.
What About … Living Together Without Marriage?
This resource is reprint of a tract from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s “What About …” series. Pastors and ...
The Venture of Marriage
God fashions marriage so a man and woman learn to be true to each other. Through marriage, God brings us into relation with one who is different but who also reflects back something of the truth of our own nature. That image is the bold and daring vision we have to offer the world.
Then Comes Marriage
Marriage is a blessing, a gift from the God who created us. In holy matrimony, bride and groom vow to remain faithful “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” The sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage go hand in hand.
The Mystery of Marriage
This article is a summary of the theology of marriage that can serve as a foundation for evaluating the implications of reproductive technologies from a Christian perspective.
The APA Does It Again
Psychologists who say fathers are not necessary prove the limits of social science.
Ten Commandments for Healthy Marital Communication
Couples should remember to continuously fine-tune their communication skills. Doing so will enhance a good marriage and stabilize a rocky one. Effective communication can mean the difference between a lasting, quality relationship and a lifeless marriage or a divorce.
Surrogate Motherhood: A Clerical Case
The whole point of marriage as a paradigm of God’s relationship with His people is to illustrate the oneness of what we are given in marriage and in the gift of a child as its outcome. Careless sentimentality in reproductive ethics erases this message of God to us.
Marriage, Life and Family: Reflecting the Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) created and gave gifts reflecting Himself, especially the gifts of marriage, life, and family. As the Holy Trinity is the unity of three, so also marriage, life, and family form a unity of three that echoes the reality of God. This is our starting point.
Make Yours a Stock Market Marriage
Like the stock market, marriages have their ups and downs. Knowing that and staying the course increases your chance of success in either.
