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.

 

The best thing to pray for...

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:  John 12.44-50 (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.)

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, in Christ you rescue us from our own deafness and darkness and reunite us with yourself. Thank you! Your word judges my sin and speaks forgiveness, life, and salvation for me. Please Father, daily give me and your whole church ears to hear. 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=2pQuShbAGyk

“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. 

You and the great multitude of forgiven sinners...

Verse for the week:
“Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people!” Psalm 3.8

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make of your church a people who confess that salvation belongs to you alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Revelation 7.9-17  (The Revelation to John was written between 95-100 AD. Under the reign of Caesar Domitian, Christians were persecuted and commanded to curse Christ and pledge the allegiance to the Roman Caesar as their lord and god. John writes not to predict the future, but to give Christians courage for today and hope for tomorrow.)

⁹  After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, salvation belongs to you and to the Lamb… and you choose to bequeath this gift to me and the great multitude of unworthy ones who are your church. Thank you! The tribulation we endure today is really not much compared to what your church has borne throughout the generations… but our sin is great and foul. So dear Lord, you do the wash… and dress me and my congregation in Christ alone. In his 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=B-_-rXYe_x0

“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith.

In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church day after day he fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. 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.

 

Your three foes...

 ...and your Champion.

Verse for the week:
“Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people!” Psalm 3.8

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people who confess that salvation belongs to you alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 3

¹ O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
² many are saying of my soul,
    “There is no salvation for him in God.”      Selah

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
⁴ I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill.     Selah

⁵ I lay down and slept;
    I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
    who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷ Arise, O Lord!
    Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people! 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, from the holy hill of Golgotha you have answered me and the whole history full of desperate believers…  you have answered in Christ crucified and raised for our rescue. Salvation belongs to you, O Lord. Thank you! My foes are not as numerous as King David’s, but they certainly close upon me: the devil, the world, and my own sinful self. So, strike them and break their teeth, that I may lay down and sleep and wake again sustained by 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=vyedsfF6hNk

“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.

 

"I will change your speech..."

 says the Lord.

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,”  Psalm 135.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people humble and lowly who seek refuge in your name alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Zephaniah 3.9-13  Zephaniah preached to Judah & Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). His message proclaims clear judgment and hope. He decries pridefulness and lifts up the humble who call upon the Lord.

⁹ “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
    to a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
    and serve him with one accord.
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Cush
    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
    shall bring my offering.

¹¹ “On that day you shall not be put to shame
    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
    your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
    in my holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave in your midst
    a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
¹³     those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, in Christ you make me no longer a dispersed one and you take my proper shame as your own. Thank you. Change my speech, therefore, each day… day after day… to a pure speech. Make me and my congregation a people humble and lowly and therefore fearless… a people who do no injustice, speak no lies, and who seek refuge in your name alone. 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=ymKxTkrRNBA

“What does baptism mean for daily living?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (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.

 

Hush, the day of the Lord is near

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,”  Psalm 135.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people humble and lowly who seek refuge in your name alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Zephaniah 1.7-14  Zephaniah preached to Judah & Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). His message proclaims clear judgment and hope. He decries pridefulness and lifts up the humble who call upon the Lord. Today’s reading picks up where yesterday’s ended.

⁷ Be silent before the Lord God!
    For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and consecrated his guests.
⁸ And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
⁹ On that day I will punish
    everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
    with violence and fraud.

¹⁰ “On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹ Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
who are thickening on the dregs of their wine,
    those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
¹³ Their goods shall be plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the mighty man cries aloud there.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, your Day is indeed near and because of Christ’s sacrifice you have consecrated me as one among your guests. Thank you! You are most certainly not an impotent bystander who does neither good nor ill; you punish the proud and you raise the lowly. So, in the nearness of your Day, silence my yapping and stir me from thickening myself on too much wine… give me to my neighbor’s service in your name, O Christ. 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=ymKxTkrRNBA

“What does baptism mean for daily living?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (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.

The Sweeper

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,”  Psalm 135.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people humble and lowly who seek refuge in your name alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Zephaniah 1.1-6  Zephaniah preached to Judah & Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). His message proclaims clear judgment and hope. He decries pridefulness and lifts up the humble who call upon the Lord.

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

² “I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³ “I will sweep away man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and the fish of the sea,
and the idols with the wicked.
    I will cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
⁴ “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
⁵ those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by Milcom,
⁶ those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for stretching out your hand against our idolatry and infidelity. In Christ alone, you sweep these away from me and your church. Keep sweeping Lord… until I and your church fear, love, and trust you above all else. 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=ymKxTkrRNBA

“What does baptism mean for daily living?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (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.

 

All hail whose name?

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,”  Psalm 135.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people humble and lowly who seek refuge in your name alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 135.1-7

¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,
² who stand in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

⁵ For I know that the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

Prayer of the Day: Your name, O Lord, yours and no other, your name is worthy of praise. You alone do as you please… and what pleases you in heaven and on earth is to give yourself in Christ… to condescend to rescue sinners like us from sin, death, and the power of the devil that we may be your own possession… yours and no others. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, 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=D6Ly-VfWSiU

“Thy kingdom come…”

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

When does this happen?  God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by 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.

Christ has predestined you for...

 Verse for the week:
“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” Psalm 81.8

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours. Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Romans 8.18-30

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, in Christ our salvation is now already given… and yet we still cling to our old bondage. Keep working out the new birth of my baptism daily. As I groan under this birth, subject me to the futility of my own will, conform me to the image of your Son, and encourage me by the glory that is to be revealed to those whom you have predestined, including me. 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=ymKxTkrRNBA

“What does baptism mean for daily living?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (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 your ears were made for...

Verse for the week:
“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” Psalm 81.8

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours. Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 81.8-16

 ⁸ Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
⁹ There shall be no strange god among you;
    you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
¹⁰ I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹ “But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.
¹³ Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!
¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶ But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father,  you made my ears not for the strange god of myself nor any other, but to listen to  your voice alone. Thank you. Each moment, set Christ on the throne of my stubborn heart and mind so that the devil, the world, and my sinful self may be subdued and I may be fed with the finest wheat rather than their chaff. 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=OAigUNye_jI

“Thy will be done…”

What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us.

When does this happen?  God’s will is done when he hinders and defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the coming of his kingdom.

And his will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will. (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.

Why do we bear children?

Verse for the week:
“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” Psalm 81.8

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours. Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Isaiah 65.17-25 (The Lord has brought his people back from the disciplinary “timeout” that was the Exile to Babylon, 587-539 BC, and is giving them a fresh start back in the land of Israel.)

¹⁷  “For behold, I create new heavens
    and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
    or come into mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
    in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
    and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
    and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
    and the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
    and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain
    or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
    and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
    while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
    and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: in Christ our salvation is now already and yet still not yet. While we wait on this earth for your new heavens and new earth, grant that we may abide in him and he in us… that your vineyard may yield the fruit of faith rather than wild grapes… that we may bear children not for calamity but as a blessing from you for their descendants. 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=yr2opLCCVyI

“Thy will be done…”

What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us.

When does this happen?  God’s will is done when he hinders and defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the coming of his kingdom.

And his will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will. (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.

 

Want to see God?

Here's where to look.

Verse for the week:
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62.1

Prayer for the week: Lord God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses. Grant that we may persevere in the course you have set before us, to be living signs of the Gospel and at last, with all the saints, to share in your eternal joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Colossians 1.15-20  (Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned for his confession of Christ as Lord, sometime between 54-58 AD. He wrote to a congregation that was threatened by false teachers who sought to soften and replace the offense of the cross with  plausible philosophical arguments and empty deceit.)

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, your will for all creation since the beginning is made visible for us not in our towers of babble or monuments of our culture… but in Christ on the cross, the lowest, most despised thing on earth… this is where you reveal yourself for us. Thank you! Without Christ, life itself falls apart… in him, I am daily his new creation and all things hold together… even in this dying world. Bring me and your whole church back always to the firstborn of all creation, the one who makes peace with us and for us by the blood of his cross, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In his 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=MW_F1MMH2r4

“What does baptism mean for daily life?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.  

St. Paul writes in Romans 6:   “We were buried therefore with Christ by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (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.

 

Where God reveals himself, Part 2

Verse for the week:
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62.1

Prayer for the week: Lord God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses. Grant that we may persevere in the course you have set before us, to be living signs of the Gospel and at last, with all the saints, to share in your eternal joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Colossians 1.15-20  (Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned for his confession of Christ as Lord, sometime between 54-58 AD. He wrote to a congregation that was threatened by false teachers who sought to soften and replace the offense of the cross with  plausible philosophical arguments and empty deceit.)

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, your will for all creation since the beginning is made visible for us in Christ on the cross… this is where you reveal yourself for us. Thank you! Without Christ, life itself falls apart… in him, I am daily his new creation and all things hold together… even in this dying world. Bring me and your whole church back always to the firstborn of all creation, the one who makes peace with us and for us by the blood of his cross, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In his 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=MW_F1MMH2r4

“What does baptism mean for daily life?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.  

St. Paul writes in Romans 6:   “We were buried therefore with Christ by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (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.

Where God reveals himself

Verse for the week:
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62.1

Prayer for the week: Lord God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses. Grant that we may persevere in the course you have set before us, to be living signs of the Gospel and at last, with all the saints, to share in your eternal joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Daniel 3  Daniel means “God is judge.” God speaks in this book to uncover this truth.

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³ Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. ⁹ They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.  But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.^[d] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, Christ on the cross, in the furnace with us, for our rescue… this is where you reveal yourself for us. Thank you! Repent me and your whole church of all the “sixty-cubit images” we would set up, worship, and seek to protect. Dismantle all these projects of ours… and bring us back always to the firstborn of all creation, making peace with and for us by the blood of his cross. 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=MW_F1MMH2r4

“Thy will be done…”

What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us.

When does this happen?  God’s will is done when he hinders and defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the coming of his kingdom.

And his will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will. (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.