A Warning against apostacy

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146.1-2

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He will reign forever prophet, priest, and king. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of his kingdom, grant that we may sing your praise and trust in you alone; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Hebrews 5.11-6.12 (The letter to the Hebrews stresses that the Christian faith has its roots in the Old Testament and confesses Christ as our great high priest.)

^5.11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

^6.1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² and of instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do if God permits. ⁴ For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. ⁷ For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

⁹ Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. ¹¹ And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you that Christ Jesus is our final and ultimate priest, interceding completely on behalf of sinners like me. Thank you! Do our ears ever sharpen? Do we ever mature beyond the need to be schooled and re-schooled in the elementary doctrine of Christ? Only if you permit it, Father.  In this noisy world, guard me and your whole church against the fiery peril of falling away from him. Lead us to the better things – the things that belong to salvation and to the full assurance of hope until the end. In Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdJ1L4ue9bc  

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.

 

Christ our Holdfast

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146.1-2

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He will reign forever prophet, priest, and king. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of his kingdom, grant that we may sing your praise and trust in you alone; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Hebrews 4.14-5.10 (The letter to the Hebrews stresses that the Christian faith has its roots in the Old Testament and confesses Christ as our great high priest.)

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

^5.1  For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”;

⁶ as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: in Christ Jesus you hold me fast to yourself. Beset with the weakness of our own same flesh, he deals gently and faithfully with wayward sinners like us, offering up himself for our rescue. So, grant unto me and your whole church the new obedience of faith… that deep trust which fears, loves, and holds fast to you rather than to our own will. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm28k3C-_cI

“Thy kingdom come…”

What does this mean? God’s kingdom comes indeed without our prayer, but we ask in this petition that it would come also to us.

When does this happen?  God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit so that, his grace, we believe his holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.

 

 

What Jesus does for forsakers

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146.1-2

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He will reign forever. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of his kingdom, grant that we may sing your praise and trust in you alone; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  John 17.1-19 (It is the hour when Jesus will be arrested and forsaken by his disciples. What does he do? He prays for the very ones who will deny him and flee.)

¹ When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, this is love: that Christ would lay down his life for forsakers like me in order to keep us in your name and your Word. Thank you! While we are in this world protect us from the evil one, fulfill your joy in even us, and sanctify us in the truth of your Word. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HH__-1Zbs  

“Thy kingdom come…”

What does this mean? God’s kingdom comes indeed without our prayer, but we ask in this petition that it would come also to us.

When does this happen?  God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit so that, his grace, we believe his holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.

Put not your trust in princes...

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146.1-2

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He will reign forever. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of his kingdom, grant that we may sing your praise and trust in you alone; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Psalm 146

¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
⁷     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
⁸     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, you are no earthly prince whose breath departs and whose plans perish. In Christ Jesus you keep faith and reign forever. Until my own breath departs, rescue me and my congregation from Satan, the world, and ourselves and rest our trust where it belongs: in Christ alone. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HH__-1Zbs

“Thy kingdom come…”

What does this mean? God’s kingdom comes indeed without our prayer, but we ask in this petition that it would come also to us.

When does this happen?  God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit so that, his grace, we believe his holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.

 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits--
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.         Psalm 103.1-5

 Excerpt from Gratefulness, by George Herbert

Dear Lord,

Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,

Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

See how thy beggar works on thee

                        By art.

 

Wherefore I cry, and cry again;

And in no quiet canst thou be,

‘Till I a thankful heart obtain

                        Of thee.

 

Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;

As if thy blessings had spare days:

But such a heart, whose pulse may be

                        Thy praise. 

Amen.

 

“Give us this day our daily bread,”

What does this mean?

God gives daily bread to all people though sinful, but we ask in this prayer that He would teach us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.

What is meant by “daily bread”?

Daily bread includes everything required to meet our earthly needs, such as food and clothing, home and property, work and income, necessities, devout parents, children, and communities, honest and faithful authorities, good government, seasonable weather, peace, health, an orderly society, a good reputation, true friends and neighbors, and the like. (Small Catechism, by Martin Luther, Reclaim© 2011)

A beloved new hymn for you to sing along… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

Benediction: “The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6.24-26

God's last word over you

Verse for the week:
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. In him your reign has broken in for us in our iniquity and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of your kingdom, rescue our bones from our own bondage and hide us in Christ; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Deuteronomy 18.15-22

¹⁵ “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶ just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. ²⁰ But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— ²² when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for sending your Son to be the ultimate and final prophet… your living Word for us. The great fire of your law stands… and Christ alone quenches its demands. He is your righteousness for us, the unrighteous. Give me and your whole church ears to hear him again, and again, and again each day for he alone is trustworthy and true. I ask this through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAigUNye_jI

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ – true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the virgin Mary – is my Lord.

At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil – not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death.

All this he has done that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.

  

What to do with your sin...

Verse for the week:
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. In him your reign has broken in for us in our iniquity and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of your kingdom, rescue our bones from our own bondage and hide us in Christ; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Psalm 32 (the setting is the week leading up to Jesus’ passion. He has just entered Jerusalem, the city of peace, where he will be flogged and crucified.)

¹ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.      Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.      Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance.      Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
⁹ Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, in Christ alone you forgive and cover my sin, you reduce my iniquity to zero and finally remove all my deceitfulness. Thank you, thank you. A bit in my mouth can only curb so much; you will to have all of me: heart, mouth, deed, and life. So dear Father, teach me to confess my sin rather than cover it up… that I may rejoice and be glad in you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMo8TDFxiQ

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ – true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the virgin Mary – is my Lord.
 At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person.
He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil –
Not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood
And his innocent suffering and death.
 
All this he has done that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom,
And serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,
Just as his is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.