"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.

In the midst of a deceived and arrogant culture...

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: Psalm 62

¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

³ How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹ Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰ Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

¹¹ Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
¹²     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
    according to his work.

Prayer of the Day: Once, O God, you have spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to you and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. Speak now and render unto even me, O Lord, your steadfast love through Jesus Christ… that in the midst of a deceived and arrogant culture, I may wait for you with calm diligence… in the name of 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=vyedsfF6hNk

“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.

 

Who needs discipline, part 2

Verse for the week:
“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46.1

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, You are light and love; the only true God. Make me steadfast in faith, filled with the knowledge of you and your son Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit, use me to love others and keep your commandments. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible reading for the day: 2 Samuel 7.8-17  This is one of the books that records the history of God’s covenant relationship with his chosen, yet rebellious people. In this excerpt, God instructs the prophet Nathan what to say to the beloved King David.

⁸ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. ⁹ And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ¹¹ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. ¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, ¹⁵ but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” ¹⁷ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: in Christ Jesus it is your will to take our stripes upon yourself and adopt sinners like me as your sons and daughters. When we your chosen sons and daughters commit iniquity, you discipline us with a human rod… but your steadfast love does not depart from us. Keep up your work upon us Lord, that your throne may be established daily among us. 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=LF2M8nvKK9k

“thy kingdom come…”

What does this mean? God’s kingdom comes indeed without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer 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.

 

Who needs discipline?

...you and I do.

Verse for the week:
“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46.1

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, You are light and love; the only true God. Make me steadfast in faith, filled with the knowledge of you and your son Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit, use me to love others and keep your commandments. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Hebrews 12.1-14 (Writing prior to 70 AD, the writer to the Hebrews declares Christ as God’s kept promise, the fulfillment of the Old Testament.)

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
    nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for the great cloud of witnesses who point us to Christ… not to “religious superhero Jesus,” but to Christ who endured the cross in order to rescue us out from under the weight of our own sin… that we may be his disciples. Thank you! Father, you discipline the ones you love; so speak into my ears…discipline me and your whole church… that the peaceful fruit of your righteousness may be yielded in us. 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=f1Le7-y9xVI   

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

What does this mean? Here God encourages to believe that he is truly our father, and we are his children. We therefore can speak to him with complete confidence, just as children speak to their dear, loving father.   (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.

 

 

He is your refuge & strength

Verse for the week:
“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46.1

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, You are light and love; the only true God. Make me steadfast in faith, filled with the knowledge of you and your son Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit, use me to love others and keep your commandments. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 46 (This psalm is part of a collection that many identify as the royal Psalms, so named because they preach to us our true king, Christ Jesus, and give us our rightful place in his kingdom… even as our neighbors and nations are raging and tottering.)

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.                   Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.                                Selah

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: our river of life, our fortress, is Christ alone. Politicians rage, our human kingdoms totter… and you call us to be still. Until Jesus returns, pour forth the living water of his word… even to and through us. Irrigate our drought-stricken souls with your living speech, that right in the midst of the conflict we may be steady and calmly vigilant… trusting in you above all else.  I ask this 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=bONV_YZCKdg  

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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.

God's last will and testament...

 ...are put in force now.

Verse for the week:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth..” Psalm 121.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, You are light and love; the only true God. Make me steadfast in faith, filled with the knowledge of you and your son Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit, use me to love others and keep your commandments. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Hebrews 9.11-18,25-28 (Written prior to 70 AD, the book of Hebrews declares Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.)

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

¹⁵ Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶ For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸ Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood… 

²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: Christ’s death under the cross has put in force your will for beloved sinners: redemption and rescue from our sins. Thank you. While your whole church and I wait eagerly for him to appear a second time to save us, defend us against the constant distractions of the devil and the cacophony of ourselves and the world that would obscure from us the forgiveness, life, and salvation which you have established for us in Christ; 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=y6xS9tt7cAA

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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.

 

The Holy Place Gives Way to the Holy Person

Verse for the week:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth..” Psalm 121.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, You are light and love; the only true God. Make me steadfast in faith, filled with the knowledge of you and your son Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit, use me to love others and keep your commandments. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Hebrews 9.1-15 (Written prior to 70 AD, the book of Hebrews declares Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.)

¹ Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. ² For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶ These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷ but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸ By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹ (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰ but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify^[f] for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

¹⁵ Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for superseding your first covenant: Christ Jesus is now the highest, most holy one for us, sitting at your right hand… this he became by humbling himself and going under the cross, all the way to the depths for our rescue. Thank you! He is now our high priest, and my conscience is purified from its dead works and set free to serve you… thank you; 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=y6xS9tt7cAA

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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 dull ears need

Verse for the week: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father, by your gracious choosing I am indeed your child and you are truly my Father, so I call on you now with complete confidence, through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Hebrews 5.11-6.6 (Written prior to 70 AD, the book of Hebrews declares Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.)

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 washings, 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. 

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for the elementary doctrine of Christ and for the full development of it. We are weaklings, too often immature and dull of hearing… but when we are weak, you are strong. So, in our weakness, dig out ears for us and make your strength perfect; preserve us on the foundation that has already been laid for us: Christ crucified. 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=4e8m1DUmCfI

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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.

 

 

Even death on a cross

Verse for the week: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father in heaven, by your gracious choosing I am indeed your child and you are truly my Father, so I call on you now with complete confidence, through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Philippians 2.5-11 (Paul writes from prison, though the place of this particular prison is uncertain, most likely either Ephesus or Rome. If Rome, then the date is likely 56-58 AD; if Ephesus, then 54-55 AD. Far from bemoaning, Paul wants the church in Philippi to know that his imprisonment is actually serving to advance the Gospel.)

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, Jesus’ name says it all: God saves. Yes you do; and you save me and the host of sinners not by rising above but by going under… under death, even death on a cross. Thank you!  So, conform my mind and the minds of my congregation to Christ’s… that rather than full of ourselves we may be emptied vessels, servants for your use. In Christ’s 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=7mLa0Z2YM4U

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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.

 

Through suffering

Verse for the week: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father, by your gracious choosing I am indeed your child and you are truly my Father, so I call on you now with complete confidence, through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Hebrews 2.10-18

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹ For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ¹² saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

¹³ And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you that you make your power perfect not in triumph, but through suffering… not in riding above, but in undergoing for our rescue. And so Christ calls us brothers and sisters in every respect… that he might be mercy and faithfulness for us and defeat the power of the devil for us. Thank you; 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=4e8m1DUmCfI

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”

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 may 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.

 

Just what your impatient self needs

Verse for the week: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father, by your gracious choosing I am indeed your child and you are truly my Father, so I call on you now with complete confidence, through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 37.34-40

³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
³⁶ But he passed away,  and behold, he was no more;
    though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: my salvation is not from myself, it is from you; in time of trouble you are my stronghold. Thank you. Rather than fret myself over the wicked, I am free to wait for you and keep your way while I wait, 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=kMf69QqS5r0

“Thy kingdom come…”

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