In this episode of The Concordia Publishing House Podcast, Elizabeth Pittman is joined by Christa Petzold, author of the new curriculum Journey through Church History. Christa explores why we should study and teach our children church history and how we are a part of God’s family through our baptisms.

Find out more about Christa’s new work at cph.org/churchhistory.

Show Notes

Just as you are joined to Christ in your Baptism, you are joined to a family of believers who have gone before you. In Journey through Church History, Christa Petzold helps us discover men and women from church history who witness to Jesus Christ—martyrs, historians, apologists, theologians, translators, and more. Listen to the full episode as Christa previews the curriculum and shows how we can dig in and uncover our family tree rooted in Christ.

Questions

· Church history seems universal, why does it matter that we have a text that describes the history of the Christian church from a distinctly Lutheran perspective? How does church history look different when it’s written from say a reformed perspective?

· How early is too early to start teaching children about church history?

· Why is it important to start educating children about church history?

· The new Journey through Church History book covers a lot of ground! Can you talk a little bit about some of the historical persons covered? Why were there so few women covered? How did you select the people and topics covered?

· How does studying church history strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of Biblical truths?

· Some might think that this topic is too difficult or “above the heads” of younger children, and yet you included a coloring page in the Leader guide. How do you plan to use this curriculum with a broad range of ages in your homeschool situation? How might that translate for others doing the same?

· Which theological ideas that people fought over in the early centuries of the Church surprised you? I.e. Are we still fighting over some of the same issues as the early church?

About the Guest

Christa Petzold lives with her husband and four children in northern Illinois. She has a MA in Theology from Concordia University Irvine, a BA in Mathematics and Lutheran Secondary Education from Concordia University Wisconsin and is currently pursuing a PhD in History of Exegesis from Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis. She is a coauthor of Male and Female: Embracing Your Role in God’s Design, author of Gathered by Christ: The Overlooked Gift of Church, and author of Journey Through Church History Curriculum. She spends her time homeschooling, teaching theology, writing, and learning as much as she can about church history.

In this episode of The Concordia Publishing House Podcast, Rev. Dr. David Loy joins as guest to talk about how our vocations flow out of the love God has shown for us in Christ. He also previews the new book from CPH that he acted as general editor for, Faith at Work: Christian Vocation in the Professions.

Find out more about the new book by visiting cph.org.

Show Notes:

Listen to the full episode now as Rev. Dr. David Loy, dean of Christ College at Concordia University Irvine, talks about our called vocations as Christians, professions versus professionals, how Faith at Work can be used by readers from all vocational backgrounds, and more.

Get a copy of Faith at Work on…

cph.org
Amazon

Questions:

• How was the process of editing Faith at Work?
• What makes this book unique from others at CPH?
• Explain the difference between professions and professionals.
• Talk about vocation being the golden thread.
• Speak to the idea in one of the chapters that touches on non-Christians and whether they have vocations.
• The book was set up in two parts, with the first part emphasizing vocation and human flourishing. Why was it important to have it positioned like that?
• Talk about how you see the book being used in a classroom setting.
• What are some other ways that you may see this book being used by readers?

About the Guest:

Rev. Dr. David Loy is the dean of Christ College at Concordia University, Irvine.

In this episode of The Concordia Publishing House Podcast, Elizabeth Pittman is joined by co-host Peter Reske, CPH Senior Editor of Music/Worship. The duo hosts together to interview Dr. Jeffrey Blersch, professor of music at Concordia University Nebraska, and discuss all things church music, composition, and more.

Check out Dr. Blersch’s compositions with CPH at cph.org.

Show Notes

Listen to the episode now as Elizabeth and Peter discuss all things church music with Dr. Jeffrey Blersch. Dr. Blersch shares his background in church music, going back to when he was just eight years old, and his long career as a church musician, composer, and professor. Dr. Blersch also gives advice for students aspiring to be church musicians and majoring in music and shares some of his experiences as an educator and why it has influenced his work throughout the years.

Questions

· Share your musical background and how you got started playing the organ.

·What does your compositional process look like? Do you write at your desk? Piano? Organ?

·What’s your favorite medium to compose for? Organ? Choir? Instruments? Piano?

· If someone aspires to be a church musician/music major, what would you tell them to get started on that path and what it is like to go into those careers?

·Share some of your experiences as an educator that have influenced you and why they did.

·What do you enjoy about composing music?

·Tell us about some of your most recent publications and what inspired you to bring them to life.

About the Guest

Jeffrey Blersch is an associate professor of music and the university organist at Concordia University Nebraska, where he teaches all things organ. He is a working church musician and serves as organist and choral director for Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Staplehurst, Nebraska, but he still performs across the United States as a recitalist and a guest organist at hymn festivals. Inspired by his strong background in music, Jeffrey composes numerous organ and choral works with more than one hundred of his pieces published through Concordia Publishing House. His wife, Carla, is also an organist, and together they have three children: Aaron, Ryan, and Jenna.