The Radio Ministry of the ELCA
Rockdale, Texas
KRXT
98.5 FM
Sundays at 7:30 AM
Listen to past weeks' Grace Matters programs available online* the day after each airs.
"Grace Matters*," the ELCA radio ministry, offers an Advent calendar with brief readings.
SCHEDULED AIRINGS
December 2, 2007 — Peter W. Marty – Waiting: Who's Waiting for Whom?
2 Peter 3:8-15
In this first of a four-part Advent series on WAITING, host Peter W. Marty explores how lousy we can be at waiting. His interview guest is the Bible. Through an often overlooked passage of the Bible, Marty reminds us of an important key to growing our own patience in life -- recognizing how much other people and God wait upon us. Delightful Advent music complements this four-part series.
December 9, 2007 — Peter W. Marty – Waiting: With Great Anticipation
2 James 5:7-10
In this second of a four-part Advent series on WAITING, host Peter W. Marty talks about waiting that involves a goal. Some of our waiting is highly impatient because we know there may be very unwelcome news coming our way, but some of our waiting is packed with eager anticipation because we know there is a lively goal or a promise attached to the end of the wait. This makes all the difference in the world, especially for those who follow Jesus Christ.
December 16, 2007 — Peter W. Marty – Waiting: The Politics of It
Luke 18:1-8
In this third of a four-part Advent series on WAITING, host Peter W. Marty reveals a kind of waiting that does not deserve to have patience attached to it. This is the waiting for justice and righteousness for the world’s dispossessed. Drawing on stories from a Biblical widow to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marty argues persuasively for a form of Christian waiting that cannot afford to be too patient or passive. More music of the season complements the meditation.
December 23, 2007 — Peter W. Marty – Waiting: Expectant and on Tiptoes
Luke 1:39-45
In this final edition of a four-part series on WAITING, host Peter W. Marty brings the Advent season into the fullness of Christmas. Envisioning the anticipation of a gift that stretches beyond its contents, Marty pictures the truest form of waiting as something that will embrace us, hold us, and help us make sense of our lives. Through a touching story of a mother who understands the character of a God-With-Us love, this edition of Grace Matters will inspire Christmas joy in you.
December 30, 2007 — Jerry Evenrud – New Beginnings
Luke 15:11-32
For this end-of-the-year program, host Peter W. Marty focuses on the new beginnings that comes to our lives when grace is bestowed on us. Enjoy a New Year interview with guest, Jerry Evenrud. Evenrud is a retired church musician who travels with an extensive art collection of images from the Prodigal Son story in Luke’s Gospel. With the recent publication of a new full-color book with these images from around the world, a book titled "And Grace Will Lead Me Home," Evenrud explores the inexhaustible riches of this story which none of us can escape appreciating.
Welcome to The Rev. Peter W. Marty
Lutheran Vespers, now called Grace Matters, first aired in 1947 on a single station, WNAX, in Yankton, South Dakota. The program was founded by Pastor Harry Gregerson.
Pastor Gregerson continued as speaker for the program until his retirement in 1970. Pastor Conrad Thompson served as the speaker from 1970 through 1982. Pastor Thompson traveled extensively with his wife, Swanee, to visit with supporters across the Midwest. Following Thompson’s retirement in 1982, The Rev. Dr. Richard Jensen was called as speaker and director for the program. Jensen added contemporary music, and in 1983 John Ylvisaker composed the music for the benediction which still closes each broadcast, and has become synonymous with the program. Jensen was succeeded in 1993 by Pastor Larry Gedde who said, “I believe Lutheran Vespers is a treasure of our church because it is such a valuable means through which the gospel of God’s grace can be widely shared.” In 1994 Lutheran Vespers found a new voice in Pastor Walter Wangerin Jr. Wangerin filled society’s longing for a gracious neighbor in an impersonal world. In doing so, he continued the tradition of his predecessors, connecting radio listeners with the Good News of a gracious Lord who loves and redeems. Wangerin retired as speaker in January 2005. Pastor Peter W. Marty became the host on February 13, 2005, and the name of the program changed to Grace Matters.
The Rev. Peter W. Marty
Today, nearly 60 years later, Grace Matters is broadcast weekly on 180 radio stations, 2 cable television stations and by Trans World Radio to many parts of the world through transmitters in Central Africa and Guam. The program is heard in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand.
“I’d like to describe the new Grace Matters,” said Marty, “as a bit journalistic and a lot meditative. Each program is geared toward discovering how much grace matters in our lives. You’ll listen to conversation with people eager to see and know the grace of God active in their life and work. I intend for this program to be a lively one—resourceful, purposeful, and insightful for all people. Every time we pause long enough to contemplate grace, we end up with the same conclusion. That living in God’s amazing grace is just that—amazing.”
http://www.gracematters.org/index.html
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