CLSD is a free online Bible Study hosted by Cross View Lutheran Church in Edina, Minnesota, in partnership with the LCMS Minnesota South District and Concordia University, St. Paul. It’s designed to help believers grow as disciples to make disciples.
Keynote Speakers for the 2026-2027 offering include Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing & Rev. Dr. Dean Nadasdy. In the fall, Dr. Lessing will teach: Genesis 12-50 – From Abraham to Joseph.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Lectures and Q&A with the presenter are live-streamed here on Wednesday nights. Fall Session started last week on Wednesdays at 6:30pm Central: Sept. 16, 23, 30, Oct 7, 21, 28, Nov 4, 11, 18. However, you can still view the online archived session if you missed it.
WEEKLY SESSION FORMAT 6:30 – 6:35 PM | Opening 6:35 – 7:15 PM | Presenter Lecture 7:15 – 7:25 PM | Q & A with Presenter All times are United States Central Time
In the spring, Dr. Nadasdy will teach Christians and Their Culture. Each session includes a 40-minute presenter lecture with an attached small group discussion guide.
The class meets on eight consecutive Wednesdays in the spring of 2027 (March 31-May 19). Dr. Dean Nadasdy, former pastor at Cross View and seminary professor and district president emeritus, teaches the class. The class will address the Biblical understanding of the role of Christians in their culture by addressing such questions as these: Should Christians escape or embrace their culture? How does a Christian converse with the culture? What cues does the culture offer Christians for their witness? To what extent should the language and arts of the culture shape the Christian? What is the role of the Christian in politics? The class includes weekly study and small group discussion guides.
FIRST - Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend?
In theaters starting today, "Daniel and the Fiery Furnace" is an epic live-action biblical drama that brings the origin story of the prophet Daniel to life against the backdrop of exile in Babylon. As Daniel rises within a powerful and unforgiving empire, a ruthless king issues a decree demanding absolute worship under penalty of death. When three faithful men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow, they choose to be cast into a blazing furnace rather than betray their God. In the face of impossible odds, their defiance ignites a miracle that is seen around the world.
Daniel and the Fiery Furnace might be the first theatrical Bible movie produced with the intention of making a sequel: The movie’s official crowdfunding website says there will be a follow-up about the lions’ den, and some moments in this film tease the story to come. (You might even want to stay to the end of the credits.) Regardless of whether it gets its second installment, Daniel is worth seeing.
Early reviews have been pretty good. Check out show times at your local theater.
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Moving on, I talked about Brad Stine yesterday...
Named "God's Comic" by The New Yorker, stand-up comedian Brad Stine has combined humor with religion to become the world's most influential Christian comedian. Brad’s “style is frantic, aggressive, and caustic, with echoes of Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, and George Carlin.” Brad Stine has been the comedic trailblazer of politically incorrect, Christian and Conservative comedy with an energetic approach and no topics off-limits, he is the only comic that uses his Judeo/Christian worldview for social commentary and pointing out laughable faith-based everyday experiences.
His new podcast, 'Brad Stine Has Issues', covers cultural issues with his signature brand of comedic sarcasm and satire with insight that will be appreciated by everyone who loves laughter, liberty, and the freedom to tell the truth without fear.
Here is comedian Brad Stine with his boldest stand-up special yet. In Laugh While It’s Legal, Brad Stine pulls no punches as he takes on cancel culture, political correctness, and the upside-down logic of modern America. With his signature blend of righteous outrage and razor-sharp wit, Stine challenges the cultural gatekeepers, defends free speech, and dares audiences to laugh at what we're all thinking but too afraid to say.
Brad Stine is an American comedian and author. His father was an auto-body repairman and front man for a local musical combo called the Regents, and his mother was a housewife who was a devout Christian. He is the second of four children. He decided to become a comedian in kindergarten when he and a classmate put on a puppet show.
Stine's style has been described by Newsweek as "conservative " with a "rat-a-tat delivery" and by The New Yorker as "frantic," "conservative," and "ADHD," with echoes of Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks and George Carlin. He has been described as "a clean Denis Leary" and his material targets "liberals, humanists, political correctness and judgmental Christians." He was a featured performer for Promise Keepers Evangelical Christian organization in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and once again in 2012 and also in 2014.
Brad has some great comedy routines and I will feature one tomorrow but today I would like to feature a more serious talk that he gave years ago that impressed me about why the Bible is credible...
Today I want to showcase a young group that I recently discovered that I am pretty sure you have not heard about... HVN & ERTH.
HVN & ERTH is a Christian worship collective formed about 6 months ago by college students in Los Angeles, centered on the exaltation of Jesus and rooted in Scripture. The group believes worship is not confined to one sound, but can be expressed through many musical languages while remaining reverent and unified.
Drawing from R&B, pop, gospel, jazz, and classical influences, HVN & ERTH unites diverse backgrounds into a cohesive worship expression that reflects the beauty of God’s creation while honoring both tradition and modernity. With a heart for the Church, they aim to create worship that fosters reverence, unity, and depth across generations.
They released their first EP, In The Beginning, about 3 months ago. I think they have a great sound and believe this is a group to keep an eye on. Take a listen and let me know what you think.
How does a suicidal 17-year-old battling anxiety, depression, and doubts about God’s existence, become the founder of his own ministry and one of today’s most influential young evangelists five years later?
Bryce Crawford is a Christian digital creator, street evangelist, and podcast host known for his viral content about faith. At age 17, after struggling with anxiety and depression, he planned to end his life on Christmas Day in 2020, but experienced a profound spiritual conversion during a final meal at a Waffle House. Here is his testimonial...
Since that night, Bryce has dedicated his life to sharing the gospel will everyone. He runs Bryce Crawford Ministries, hosts the Bryce Crawford Podcast, and founded the energy drink company Praise Energy. He has millions of followers across TikTok and YouTube, focusing his messaging on bold Christian evangelism and modern life. Since 2024, Bryce Crawford has already reached 2 billion people through digital media and is filling venues around the country at just 22-years old.
From crowded city streets, college campuses, pride events, gay bars, and everywhere in between, Bryce’s ministry is a powerful reminder that people are often far more open to the Gospel than we think. His story challenges Christians of every generation to move beyond fear, meet people where they are, and lovingly point them to the freedom and hope found in Christ.
Bryce recently had a tough conversation with Howie Mandel on Jesus and it feels like he tried his hardest to get Bryce to trip up, but he didn’t! This looks oddly similar to how the Pharisees questioned Jesus Christ and every attempt failed. This is something Christian face due to who we believe in, but I believe Bryce did a great job at handling these questions.
The hotly contested midterm election campaigns are in full swing and artificial intelligence is helping spread and amplify falsehoods, but you can fight back.
But whomever you intend to vote for, the potential to spread election disinformation is highly troubling, more so in this burgeoning age of generative artificial intelligence (AI) — the type that can churn out words, computer code, pictures and video based on text or other prompts from a user.
Seismic advancements in AI make it more difficult for you to figure out whether an announcement attributed to candidates and their representatives is actually from the campaigns. Supporters on the political fringes — and trolls who like to stir up trouble — have more tools at their disposal than ever before.
There are also lessons to be drawn from the 2024 presidential election. To varying degrees, candidates have always made exaggerated claims, and meddling in elections dates to the earliest days of politics. But AI-enhanced tools, amplified by the speedy and vast reach of social media, are digital carcinogens that can sow doubt about what is or isn’t factual.
“Election high jinks are as old as time, [but with AI] I do think there’s a step change from the past,” says Alondra Nelson, a Princeton, New Jersey-based professor at the independent research Institute for Advanced Study. A coauthor of Auditing AI, Nelson also served as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2021 to 2023.
The problem is both foreign and domestic, and it’s not just doctored text. Readily available online tools let anyone with even modest tech skills create bogus news websites, clone voices, manipulate photos and fabricate video that seems so authentic, it appears as though a candidate appeared at a place he or she never set foot in and said something never uttered.
For example, during the 2024 presidential campaign, an AI-generated robocall impersonating President Joe Biden’s voice urged some 5,000 Democrats in New Hampshire not to vote in a primary. A political operative tied to former Democratic primary challenger Dean Phillips admitted to creating the call. The Federal Communications Commission fined the operative, Steve Kramer, $6 million for the scheme.
The Biden robocall exemplifies how technology can be deployed to widen divisions and suppress votes in certain communities, says Claire Wardle, an associate professor of communications at Cornell University and a cofounder and former codirector of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University. Essentially, changing even a few minds could tilt the scales in a close election.
Here’s what to look out for:
1. If the message seems off, it’s probably false
What lent a modicum of legitimacy to the Biden robocall is that call quality these days is far from perfect. Damage can be wrought “if it sounds enough like somebody,” Wardle says.
The smartest thing voters can do under such circumstances is ask themselves whether it passes the smell test.
“[Did] it really make sense to you that Joe Biden is making a call telling you not to vote in the primary?” asks Hany Farid, who recently rejoined the faculty at Dartmouth after serving as a digital forensics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and member of Berkeley’s artificial intelligence lab. “Take a breath, because the fact is, whether you’re 50 and above or a Gen Z or a millennial, we do tend to move very fast on the internet.”
2. ‘Cheap fakes’ can be as effective as slick fakes
The budget version of a deepfake, created with Adobe Photoshop or other editing software rather than AI, can wreak havoc too, Wardle says. Cheap fakes might alter when an image was captured, make an older candidate look more youthful or change the context entirely.
Back in 2020, a manipulated video of Nancy Pelosi made the former speaker appear as if she were intoxicated and slurring her speech. It went viral.
During the last national election, pictures of President Donald Trump circulated on social media showing him in a crowd of smiling Black voters and posing with a half dozen young Black men. AI created both images at the request of a radio host, who later acknowledged they weren’t real. Trump has courted Black voters, but just 15 percent of them cast their ballot for him in 2024, according to the Pew Research Center.
More recently, an AI-generated deepfake video of Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico depicted the candidate in a dress similar to the one Julie Andrews wore as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, singing a parody of My Favorite Things. The attack ad, published by a conservative group called Citizens for Sanity, changed the song lyrics to mock Talarico’s views on transgender rights.
3. The obvious red flags will be fewer
Polished deepfakes present their own challenges. The red flags that once tipped off an AI-generated image are largely gone. Rarely will you see six fingers, an unattached earlobe and other weird body parts or backgrounds that strike you as dubious. Fake videos, or what have been derisively referred to as AI slop, are increasingly made to look and sound remarkably real.
According to the cybersecurity firm DeepStrike, deepfake content is multiplying exponentially and rose from about 500,000 in 2023 to more than 8 million by last year.
“How do we know a movie like Independence Day is a movie and not news of an alien invasion?” asks Joan Donovan, an assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University. “This is where your own knowledge of how the world works is going to be to your benefit. If something seems too scandalous, too outrageous or too novel, then seek other sources and do a little bit of your own fact-checking, or find out if reputable news organizations are also reporting on it.”
That fact-checking should extend beyond words. Consider doing a reverse image search that may help you learn about when and where a photo was taken.
4. What’s flagged as fake may be true
We understand that AI can be used maliciously. Wardle worries about another possibility.
“That this technology exists allows a politician who does something wrong and gets caught to say, ‘Oh, that’s a deepfake. That wasn’t me. That wasn’t a hot mic moment. Somebody manipulated that,’ ” she says. “It gives the kind of plausible deniability to the people who are up to no good.”
Nelson agrees: “You can search for a trusted news source to verify it. But here’s the catch: Deepfakes also give bad actors cover when they claim a real image or video is fake to skirt the truth.”
5. ‘Pink slime’ may be lurking in your browser history
Pink slime isn’t something from a horror flick, but it can creep up on you just the same.
The term, which you may associate with meat slurry used in processed foods, refers to websites that masquerade as local news outlets with official-sounding names. Their undisclosed financing comes from political operatives on the left and the right.
What marks a pink slime site? “They load quickly, have no paywalls, have no pop-up ads,” Wardle says. “Stories are written by people who are trying to support their own candidate or smear the other one.”
A study by the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale University found that people often trust fake local news sites more than real ones. “People can come across these sites and be tricked into thinking they were real and trustworthy when they are algorithmically generated,” writes Yale political scientist Kevin DeLuca in an article posted on the ISPS website. “But that's not the most troubling aspect to me. These sites seem to take money from campaigns or political operatives and write pieces that are biased or have some sort of angle, with this veneer of a legitimate news site.”
NewsGuard, an organization founded by media entrepreneur and journalist Steven Brill that rates the trustworthiness of news and information websites, launched the 2024 Elections Misinformation Tracking Center. At the time, it found 963 websites worldwide that repeatedly published false claims about elections and 793 social media accounts associated with those sites. Partisan sites masqueraded as local news outlets under names such as The Philadelphia Leader and The Copper Courier.
So how do we determine what is true?
1. Stop It is important to ask whether you know and trust the author, publisher, publication, or website. If not, use the other fact-checking moves that follow to better understand what is being looked at.
2. Investigate the source Knowing the expertise and agenda of the person who created the source is crucial to our interpretation of the information provided. This will determine its significance and trustworthiness.
3. Find better coverage If the original source is questionable, find a better source to determine accuracy of claim. Most big, true news stories get covered by multiple major news outlets.
4. Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context By finding the original source of reporting or the photo in question, you can get a more complete picture of the issue or a research finding that is more accurate. The main aim here is to get to the point where the people doing the writing are the people verifying the facts.
And finally, remember to pray for discernment because we know where the real truth comes from...
Collin Moulton is one of today’s most engaging and sought-after clean comedians. Celebrated for his personable style and infectious humor, Collin has been performing stand-up comedy for 25 years at the highest level and in that time has developed an exciting, fun and engaging style that fits his natural personality and thirst for life.
His connection with every crowd is fun, meaningful and gets to the core of what we all came here to do in the first place… Laugh and enjoy in the realest way possible!
He has toured with Jeff Garlin and opened for Dave Chapelle and Robin Williams and he has also co-written comedy specials for other comedians all while living a life worthy of his incredibly fun, insightful, and hilarious storytelling style.
This special... The Anti Animal Vegan is something you might only hear from Collin Moulton, but the reasoning behind his anti animal feelings is pretty hilarious. Whether you're someone who is a vegan, or you're someone who doesn't like animals, this full Dry Bar Comedy special from Collin Moulton is full of hilarious stories that are sure to have you laughing from start to finish.
Warren Peay is a fairly new artist that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. He is a soulful Christian artist from Bamberg, South Carolina and was a worship leader for Colston Branch Baptist Church. I think his music is like a mixture of Zack Williams and Larry Fleet.
Warren gained national attention in 2023 as a top contestant on American Idol Season 21, where his heartfelt lyrics and powerful voice captivated audiences and advanced him to the Top 8. Known for his humble, down-to-earth persona and deep-rooted faith, he consistently brought authenticity to each performance, often choosing Christian songs that reflected his mission to glorify God.
Since his American Idol journey, Warren’s music career has continued to blossom. He was featured on Zach Williams’ song “Sunday’s Comin” and even had the honor of opening for Zach at the 2024 Shenandoah County Fair. Additionally, he was a featured artist at UnityFest, bringing his message of hope and faith to even larger audiences. His Instagram profile captures his journey, sharing performances, behind-the-scenes moments, and reflections that highlight his passion for music. As he prepares to release new music and hit the road, Warren looks forward to sharing his voice, faith, and message with a growing community of listeners.
In the past year Warren has released some great music that reflects the heart of his journey—rooted in faith, personal growth, and real-life experiences like "Gimme A Hallelujah" and "Learn Something Old". His latest release from last month is "Passing Through"...
FYI... for Living Word Church members and anyone in the Willmar, Minnesota area, Warren will be appearing at Living Hope Evangelical Free Church on Friday, December 18th, 2026. The concert title is Christmas In The Round: An Intimate Evening of Songs & Stories and he will be joined by artists Mark Schultz, Britt Nicole, and the band, Presence Music. You can get tickets HERE. (This event benefits Rising Hope Foundation, which provides long-term recovery to girls freed from the abuses of Human Trafficking.)
Keep an eye on Warren Peay. I think you are going to be hearing a lot more from him.
We have long discussed the issues with social media in today's society. Social media has both positive and negative effects on mental health and wellbeing. While social media can be a source of support and education, it can also lead to many negative problems.
Some of the major concerns include:
Extreme distraction and compromised productivity.
Unmanageable transmission of unverified information.
Incidents of data theft, extortion, and fraud by cyber-bullies.
Affected personal bonds due to surface-level relationships.
Growing issues related to social isolation and anxiety.
Building unrealistic expectations from everyone around.
With social media being so integrated into our daily lives, it is essential to be mindful of our usage. We should take regular breaks, minimize social comparison, and seek help if social media is affecting our mental health. Ultimately, social media can be beneficial or detrimental to our mental health, depending on how we use it.
The effects of social media on teens are particularly pronounced. Adolescent brains are still developing, making them especially sensitive to social comparison and peer validation.
The social media impact on youth includes higher rates of anxiety and depression, distorted body image from filtered content, reduced attention spans from short-form video, and FOMO (fear of missing out) that intensifies peer pressure. The effects of social media on teenagers also spill into school environments - online conflicts escalate publicly and quickly.
Recently, in a landmark social media case brought by attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. Arguing on behalf of a 29-state coalition, lawyers alleged the Facebook maker covered up evidence that its products were addictive and harmful to children. Meta faced possible fines up to $200B (context: Meta made ~$60B profit last year) and be forced to make fundamental changes to its apps and algorithms, like age restrictions and time limits.
Meta denied the allegations, citing its “longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
The high-stakes trial drew comparisons to the “Big Tobacco” rulings that held cigarette makers liable for lying about health risks. The case has been settled and social media is refreshing its timeline for teens.
Meta reached an ~$18B settlement with 52 attorneys general Wednesday, ending a historic federal trial over platforms’ alleged harm to teens. Facebook and Instagram denied wrongdoing but agreed to new default settings for underage users, some that only parents can toggle off:
a two-hour daily time limit;
apps blocked during “night mode” (midnight-6 am);
no push notifications in “school mode” (8 am-3 pm);
limits on “social comparison” features like likes and filters.
In a unique twist, Meta will only pay 70% of the settlement unless TikTok and YouTube set similar guardrails and pay ~$5.3B each. Meta’s competitors haven’t commented. Minnesota will receive between $214 million to $307 million after this landmark social media addiction lawsuit settlement.
The settlement still leaves Meta exposed to future regulations and further lawsuits. New Mexico and Florida (which didn’t sign on because “the payouts are peanuts”) have sued separately.
Christian Perspective: Whether you’re 12 or 62, social media promises to feed your cravings for affirmation and connection but often leaves you hollow and adrift. But there is Someone whose eyes are always on you, who welcomes you into genuine sanctuary, and who follows through on His promise to anchor your soul.
“Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:18-19 (NLT)
Social media has been described as more popular than religion, less trustworthy than politicians, and more addictive than cocaine. For some reason, we have failed to realize the grand idea behind all social media tools. That is, that they are tools and we need to treat them that way. Don’t let social media apps like Facebook and Instagram waste your time. Use them only when you need them: i.e., to share your work, chat with others when you need to chat, follow only the people who inspire you.
I wish I could give you a foolproof way to tell when a social-media claim is a fabrication rather than a fact. Unfortunately, our own senses deceive us. Material that looks and sounds genuine could be AI-generated — there’s no easy way to know. The ability for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to broadcast to the world any bizarre scheme that comes into their minds made the Internet as big as it is today. But it might not have been the brightest idea to unleash on the public numerous multibillion-dollar services that enforce little or no editorial judgment, quality assurance, or effective ethical standards.
And there are plenty of people who are only waiting to argue with you when you comment on something. But rather than spending your time liking statuses and responding to online trolls, there are other more pleasant things you can do with your time: actually talking with people, creating more meaningful stuff, reading, learning, teaching others, spending more time with your family.
Ironically this blog is technically a form of social media because I share user-generated content and allow reader comments, but I treat it as simply a publishing tool and am very careful about the type of content that I share.
Using social media becomes a habit and I think it is important to remember that habits shape our hearts. Like eating lots of veggies can train our taste buds to crave carrots over carrot cake, our habits of attention train our hearts toward Christ’s peace… or toward lesser things. Paul points to this dynamic when he calls believers to “put off” habits that lead to sin and steal our peace (Colossians 3:8) and to “put on” habits that train us to fix our eyes on Christ and experience His love (Colossians 3:12).
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit changes our hearts, but we can build habits that help us catch the Spirit’s wind rather than fight Him.
Timothy James Keller was an American Presbyterian pastor, Reformed theologian, and Christian apologist. He was the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around the world. Keller was also the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of The New York Times bestselling books The Prodigal God (2008), Prayer (2014), and The Reason for God (2008). The prequel for the latter is Making Sense of God (2016).
Keller was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He served as a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, for nine years while also serving as director of church planting for the PCA. Keller was recruited by his denomination to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 after two others had turned down the position. Redeemer Presbyterian Church grew from 50 people to a total attendance of over 5,000 people each Sunday as of 2008, leading some to call Keller "the most successful Christian evangelist in the city". In 2004, Christianity Today praised Redeemer as "one of Manhattan's most vital congregations".
The church's emphasis on young urban professionals, whom Keller believed exhibit disproportionate influence over the culture and its ideas, has given the church an unusual makeup for a US megachurch. The majority of the congregation is made up of single adults; it is also over forty percent Asian-American, and has many congregants working in the arts and financial services. In his preaching, "he hardly shrinks from difficult Christian truths, but he sounded different from many of the shrill evangelical voices in the public sphere." Keller often critiqued both the Republican and Democrat political parties and avoided taking public stances on political issues, resulting in a politically centrist church.
Listen as Dr. Tim Keller explores questions around faith and proof: How do we decide what to believe? How do faith and reason relate? Can you believe something that you can’t prove?
I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day holiday! I want to talk about another annual end-of-summer event...
This coming Sunday (September 13th, 2026) is Rally Sunday at Living Word Lutheran Church. This is the start of our education year, the kickoff for adult and children's Sunday School. All members are encouraged to attend and all visitors are welcome!
This year (with Pastor's impending retirement) features what may be the final episode of the "SONflower Sermon" series. A long-time annual tradition here at Living Word. Following service there will be games and activities for the kids and a potluck dinner.
Speaking of potlucks, I want to talk about a Minnesota classic... the tater tot hotdish. Tater tot hotdish is not a casserole. Do not call it a casserole. A casserole is something people in other states make on purpose. Hotdish is what Minnesota makes because there is a funeral, a potluck, a hockey tournament, a blizzard, or a Tuesday.
Every Minnesotan knows this without being told, but for you out-of-towners here are the specifics...
The formula has three parts. A starch on top, which is tater tots, arranged in rows by somebody with strong feelings about it. A binder, which is a can of cream of "something" soup, usually cream of mushroom, or cream of celery, and occasionally cream of chicken, and if somebody uses more than one kind there will be discussion. And a protein, which is ground beef browned with onion, plus green beans, peas, or corn, and which vegetable you use tells everyone exactly where in this state your family is from. Remember that these vegetables can be canned or frozen - never fresh.
That is it. Five ingredients, all of them available at the Cashwise in Willmar at 10:00 at night in case of emergency.
If you are in mood to really spice things up, you can add some black pepper. Never try to be creative by adding things like cheese or sour cream... that is unacceptable and downright sacrilegious.
The tot placement is where personality shows. Some people dump the bag. Some people line them up in tight concentric rows like they are shingling a roof. That second group is not doing it for aesthetics. They are doing it because their grandmother did it and they can still hear her.
The pan is 9x13. It has always been 9x13. It goes in the oven at 350 and comes out when the tots are brown, and anybody who pulls it early and serves pale tots has failed the household.
It travels. That is the actual genius of it. Foil over the top, dish towel underneath, straight into the back seat, and it arrives at the church still hot.
The Minnesota congressional delegation holds an annual hotdish competition in Washington. That is real. Our elected officials go to the nation's capital and compete at this.
Every other state has food. We have a delivery system for grief, celebration and winter, and it comes in a rectangle.
So join us at Living Word Lutheran Church on Sunday, Sept 13th. (There might even be a tater tot hotdish. 😋)
Rocky LaPorte is an American actor and a stand-up comedy performer. In 2005 he had his own stand-up special on Comedy Central Presents. After the comedian Tim Allen watched Rocky on The Tonight Show, he claimed Rocky as his "favorite new comic".
With his unmistakable accent and his hilarious yet endearing delivery, Comedian Rocky Laporte is becoming more well-known by the day. His performance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” brought him a standing ovation, and he’s been featured on his own “Comedy Central Presents” special which is currently running on Comedy Central.
Rocky’s opened for the likes of, Louie Anderson, Garry Shandling, Drew Carey, Tim Allen, Hootie and the Blowfish and the Righteous Brothers just to name a few. Hes done an enormous amount of charity work also. For St Jude’s for Children, N.F.L. Charities, Homeless shelters, cancer research and Police and Fire Dept fundraisers.
If you're looking for nuggets of wisdom that will probably change your life, then look no further than this full Dry Bar Comedy special from Rocky LaPorte. In this full special Rocky tosses out nuggets of wisdom that are sure to have any fan of comedy laughing from start to finish.
Did you know that the U.S. has been in debt every day since its inception? Uncle Sam’s IOU has topped $40T for the first time.
What is national debt? It’s the total amount of money the federal government has borrowed to pay its bills.
When government spending outpaces revenue (taxes), a budget deficit is birthed. The government borrows to cover it, and if it's not paid back quickly, that baby deficit grows into a big adult deficit. “National debt” is just the running total of all those unpaid deficits stacked up.
On Tuesday, the Treasury reported that the gross national debt reached $40.05T and has more than doubled since January 2017. In the last 10ish years, the U.S. has racked up ~$20.1T in debt (~$11.6T during President Trump’s two terms so far, ~$8.5T during former President Biden’s tenure).
Some major debt contributors:
Increased spending on federal line items like Social Security, Medicare, and Defense (~$7T)
COVID-19 relief (~$5.6T)
Tax cuts and extensions (>$2.2T)
A rise in interest payments on the national debt (currently ~$1T annually)
Why does the debt keep growing? There are many reasons, some of which include:
Tax cuts = less revenue
Spending increases (think: Medicare, Social Security, and foreign wars)
Recession responses (think: COVID relief checks)
Rising interest rates (the U.S. pays about $1T in interest annually)
So who do we owe money to?
Similar to how an individual’s total debt might consist of credit cards, a car loan, and a mortgage, the government’s debt consists of two types: debt held by the public (DHBP) and intragovernmental debt.
DHBP makes up about 80% of national debt. It refers to all the money borrowed from outside lenders. The government does this primarily by selling Treasury securities to things like state and local governments, mutual funds, and even individuals (so that bond fund in your 401(k) earns money because the government is paying you interest for loaning it money). Foreign investors hold ~29% of DHBP ($9.3T).
Intragovernmental debt makes up 20% of national debt and is debt that Uncle Sam owes himself… (yes, he can do that). For example, if the U.S. needs money to fund a war, and they take it out of the Social Security trust fund, that’s intragovernmental debt.
Economists say the threshold isn’t economically significant by itself, but pushes the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio to ~125% (Uncle Sam’s debt is 25% larger than the country’s annual production). Watchdogs warn the spend-more-than-you-make trend could lead to a wider economic crisis if unchecked.
Christian Perspective: Because our hope is built on God’s promises—not our financial futures—we can be content and even joyful in the face of massive national debt. In Christ, we are fabulously wealthy. The saints have “become rich” through the poverty of Jesus, guaranteed a “glorious inheritance” that can’t slip suddenly away when the economy takes a turn. No matter your thoughts on the national debt, Christians are called to manage their own finances wisely and to live generously, giving to those in need. Pray for guidance in doing both.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9
StompTown Revival, also known as STR, are an American Christian music duo from Nashville, Tennessee, and they started making music together in 2012. The duo are music producer Brandon Bee a Seattle-native, and the frontman from Circleslide and a San Antonio-native, Gabe Martinez. Bee performs vocals, guitar, the slide guitar, stompbox, keys, and bass guitar, while Martinez plays the vocals, guitar, and harmonica.
STR is a gospel-soaked roots duo that sounds like it crawled out of a backwoods tent meeting with a stompbox in one hand and a fuzzed-out hymnal in the other. The St. Louis-via-Seattle outfit leans hard into front-porch Americana—reaching back to the roots of gospel, blues and church hymnals for a brand new sound that's instantly recognizable with wheezing harmonicas, greasy slide guitar, hand-hewn acoustic riffs, and a literal stompbox heartbeat thumping beneath every chorus. Their self-titled 2012 EP, StompTown Revival, played like a crate-dug mixtape of old gospel, blues, and country spirituals shot through a modern PA. The project brought limited success, landing them on Billboard’s Christian and Heatseekers charts while taking their gritty revival sound to festivals like Rock of Ages and beyond.
They have a fun and interesting sound - a mix of gospel and blues with a touch of southern rock. The following video is about the origin of the group (and I also love the name, Stomptown Revival)...
The band went for many years before releasing new music. After several years focused on other creative paths, the duo returned in 2026 with renewed fire and their first new music since 2019, partnering with NRT Music to release the raw and soul-stirring single “Keep Me.” Martinez brings the sanctified rasp and harmonica wail, Bee stacks the slide, keys, and low-end groove, and together they turn Sunday-school truths into sweat-drenched revival songs that feel as ready for a juke joint as they are for a church basement. They finally have a new album coming out called Shelter. Last month they released the title track "Shelter". The latest release is called "Saints & Sinners"...
I like their sound. Check out a couple songs and see what you think.
Donnie Wahlberg is testifying to his newfound faith in Christ in a new video highlighting his spiritual journey over the past year, including the baptisms of both him and his wife.
Wahlberg posted the video on his birthday, Aug. 17, setting it to “God I’m Just Grateful,” a worship anthem by Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore that emphasizes the power of God’s grace, particularly His gift of second chances.
The video features several career highlights from the past year, including his appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and, in another clip, a performance with his New Kids on the Block bandmates – but it also spotlights significant spiritual moments, such as Wahlberg attending a Forrest Frank concert and being baptized alongside his wife, Jenny McCarthy, who also was baptized. Wahlberg also lent his voice to Frank’s collaborative album, "Jesus Is Alive."
Although older generations from the 1980s and 90s knew him for his voice, Wahlberg has since built a successful acting career, including roles in the television series "Blue Bloods" and "Boston Blue".
“To all who have wished me a Happy Birthday today – I thank you! To my family, my friends and my dearest Blockheads - I love you! I’m so thankful for your kindness, and support, you have been so encouraging,” he wrote. “Looking back over the past year of my life, the Lord has been renewing my mind, rebuilding my spirit, rearranging my priorities, recentering my focus, recharging my energy, reshaping my heart, refining my faith, restoring my joy and redeeming my life!
“I don’t know where I would be without Jesus, but I know where I will be with Him! All the glory is His! Thank you again and God bless you all!”
Among those wishing Wahlberg a birthday – and celebrating his bold faith – were actress Candace Cameron Bure ("Ainsley McGregor Mysteries") and actor Jonathan Roumie ("The Chosen").
“Crying over here,” Bure wrote on his timeline. “Praise the Lord!!! Jesus is King. Keep proclaiming it Donnie – happy birthday.”
“Birthday love brother!!” Roumie wrote.
Earlier this year, Wahlberg said on "The George Janko Show" that he credits his wife for his new faith in Christ.
“I sat down with my wife one morning,” he told Janko. “... And to the outside world, it's like, you are at the top – and I felt at the bottom. And I talked to my wife, and I said, ‘I have to connect with Jesus. I have to give my life to Him now.’ And she was like, ‘Of course.’”
Asked by Janko why he would get into heaven, Wahlberg answered simply, “because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior – and it’s by His grace.”
