The Rev. Dr. Edmund A. Steimle
Denomination: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Organization: Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
Edmund A. Steimle (1907 – 1988)
For more than a quarter of a century, Steimle was a teacher of preaching at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was heard widely on The Protestant Hour from 1955 to 1974. His distinctive voice made for a unique and compelling style and approach to preaching. A generation of preachers has been inspired by his radio sermons. His preaching was friendly, low-key, down-to-earth, intimate, and direct.
Edmund Augustus Steimle was born on September 19, 1907 in Allentown, PA, son of Augustus and Emily (Bruning) Steimle. His father and grandfather were Lutheran pastors.
Education
Graduate, Philips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, 1926.
AB, Princeton University, 1930.
Bachelor's Degree, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1935.
AM, University Pennsylvania, 1934.
Doctor of Divinity, Wagner College, 1950.
Doctor of Divinity, Pacific Lutheran University, 1977.
Doctor of Letters, Muhlenberg College, 1957.
Doctor of Laws, Roanoke College, 1960.
Doctor of Laws, Gettysburg College, 1962.
Doctor of Humane Letters, Hamilton College, 1974.
Career
Teaching fellow, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1933-1935, Hagan professor of practical theology, 1952-1961.
Pastor, Jersey City, 1935-1940, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1940-1952.
Brown professor of homiletics, Union Theological Seminary, New York City, 1961-1975, emeritus, 1975-1988.
Visiting professor preaching, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1976.
Adjunct professor of preaching, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, 1976-1982.
Zimmerman lecturer Gettysburg Theological Seminary, 1960.
Gray lecturer Duke Division School, 1966.
Preacher on The Protestant Hour, 1955-1974.
Author
Are You Looking for God? And Other Sermons (1957)
From Death to Birth: Sermons (1973)
God the Stranger: Reflections about Resurrection (1979)
Preaching the Story (1980)
Protestant Hour Classics by The Rev. Dr. Edmund A. Steimle
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Edmund Steimle: Sentimentality or Religion
Tuesday April 28, 2020
In his sermon on James 1:22-27, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says the Christian religion is far more than a set of principles for living.
Edmund Steimle: Ride On to Die
Tuesday April 28, 2020
Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem was met with crowds shouting Hosanna, says Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle in his Palm Sunday sermon. People thought he was coming to rule. He knew that he was riding on to die.
Edmund Steimle: No Idle Tale
Tuesday April 28, 2020
In his Easter sermon, Lutheran preacher Dr. Edmund Steimle asks, Were the women at the tomb just hysterical? The resurrection is no idle tale. It is the true power for the brave.
Edmund Steimle: When the Lord Smiles on You
Tuesday April 21, 2020
In his sermon on Luke 5:1-11, acclaimed Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says any human suffering does not mean that God is not smiling on us. God smiling on us means we are able to get out of ourselves and serve others.
Edmund Steimle: Love Never Fails
Tuesday April 21, 2020
In his sermon on "one of the most magnificent passages about God ever written," 1 Corinthians 13, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says we need to know the love on a cross will not fail to be at the very heart and center of our religion.
Edmund Steimle: The Peril of Ordinary Days
Tuesday April 21, 2020
Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle focuses on Jesus's temptation in the wilderness, noting that we all have experiences of feeling let down. The dangerous day for one’s faith, whether yours or our Lord’s, are the dull, drab days.
Edmund Steimle: When God Is Deaf
Tuesday April 21, 2020
In his sermon about the Canaanite woman's plight in Matthew 15:21-28, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says we all sometimes feel God is deaf to our prayers and so it was in the Bible. Nevertheless, we must not be a stranger to God. We must persist.
Edmund Steimle: The Empty House
Tuesday April 21, 2020
In his sermon on Jesus's weird story in Luke 11:17-26, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says the aching void in our world is fairly crying for religion, for the Christian religion, for Christ. He wants to live in our empty house.
Edmund Steimle: God's Way Out
Tuesday April 21, 2020
In his sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says that the “what if’s” of life keep mocking the dream in our hearts. Paul told the Corinthians there was no temptation taken you but such as is common to all.
Edmund Steimle: God of the Mountain and the Plain
Monday April 20, 2020
Dr. Edmund Steimle offers a powerful message on the Transfiguration, calling us to a faith that combines the glory of the mountaintop with life on the plain below.
Edmund Steimle: God's Judgment...and Ours
Monday April 20, 2020
In his sermon on Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Lutheran preacher Edmund Steimle says God’s judgments are radically different from the highest standards of justice in our courts. We judge horizontally and God judges vertically. Why? Because God is love.
Edmund Steimle: The One-Talent Man
Thursday April 09, 2020
In his first Protestant Hour sermon, acclaimed preacher Edmund Steimle explores Jesus's parable of the talents and asks, Why did Jesus point a finger at the man who dug a hole in the ground and buried his treasure? It is all part of Jesus’s indefatigable campaign to reverse our ordinary scale of values.