Author: John Braun
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John Braun is the previous executive editor of Forward in Christ magazine. He is a member at Trinity, Watertown, Wis.
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“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the greatest of our many blessings. But how...
“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Hope builds dreams on faith in a future. When our eyes opened to catch the first light...
Four leaders comment on faith and fellowship as we celebrate the unity that has endured for 150 years between the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Wisconsin E...
“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). He hugged his son and said, “I have faith in you.” And he did. With an important g...
The church door is open. My wife and I walk inside, take our bulletins, and find a seat. We usually sit in the same general spot. We haven’t varied the patter...
Many congregations have been busy finding workers to teach the Savior’s lambs. “We have 45 children who need teachers when school starts.” St. John Luther...
It should be easy to write about love. But perhaps it’s easier these days to write about personal rights and spew outrage and anger at all who disagree. We un...
Last spring when the trees showed only a hint of green, we drove south to warm weather. When we arrived, the palmetto palms were green and gave cool shade from ...
“Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I think all Christians do that in their own way. My prayers are sometimes done in church with others. At other ti...
May. Mom. Mother’s Day. Who would argue that mothers are part of every culture, language, and place where humans live? So we celebrate God’s gift. When God ...
For centuries before Jesus came to Earth, thousands from many generations waited for his coming. They watched for his coming, but they saw nothing except the wo...
It was just 30 pieces of silver. But that was enough. He betrayed Jesus, a friend who chose him and loved him. The others Jesus also chose elected Judas to take...
All will be well. As Christians we sometimes think that we are surrounded by the protective bubble of God’s care and nothing bad ever happens. How often we ex...
January owes its name to the Roman god Janus—a god with two faces, one facing forward and the other backward. As one year ends and another begins, looking bac...
Mary was a special woman, chosen for an exceptional part in God’s plan. But Matthew does not characterize her as anyone special. He just says that the mother ...
Troubled teens find the gospel in an unexpected place. “Talk Time.” That’s what Anthony and Tyler call it. Tim Mueller, pastor at St. John, Watertown, Wis...
The last few words of the Bible include the words, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Perhaps the woes and distress we note in our world today encourage us to pray for the...
Special? You? Me? We hope that we might be special to someone: our spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, friends, even those we work with. Perhaps we dread ...
As children we were conditioned to obey. When we were told to do something, our parents expected us to do it. Make your bed. Behave. Do your homework. But we di...
When we think of Christian hope, we quickly turn to the passages from God’s last revelation to us. We long for the time when God will “wipe every tear from ...
An unexpected discovery from the past has a message for today. I remember my Granny. That’s what we respectfully called her. She was a small, determined woman...
The words may be a bit different at times. But whether it’s the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed, we join in confessing our faith in an almighty God. On ...
I love the sunrise and often watch the sunset at the end of the day. Sometimes seeing sunrises takes a special effort to start my day early, but sunsets only re...