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Reflections

English, Religion, 1 season, 1300 episodes, 4 days, 22 hours, 40 minutes
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Join HT for a reading of the days Higher Things Reflection. A short devotion directed toward the youth of our church, written by the Pastors of our church, clearly proclaiming the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! Find out more about HT at our website, www.higherthings.org
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Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week After Pentecost

October 24, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism - Table of duties: To ChildrenDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 25:17-26:19; Matthew 17:1-13Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. And you thought the Bible was just for old people. No, it’s for young people, too, even children. That’s because what God has done for the oldest, He has also done for the youngest. Earlier in Ephesians, St. Paul writes to the baptized, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:3-4). “In Him,” or “in the Lord” is what changes everything for you and me. And that is where God placed us when we were baptized. At the Font, God washed you “in the Lord,” declaring you “holy and blameless before Him.” In fact, at the Font, God “made us alive together with Christ” and “seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:5-6). Baptized children are in the heavens now, seated with God, in Christ, “holy and blameless before Him!” Baptized children, then, are not lacking in any spiritual blessing. That is why St. Paul calls even children now to acts of kindness and love, beginning at home with their nearest neighbors, Mom and Dad. This is what it means to live out your baptismal identity as God’s child. There is no work for you to do to become “holy and blameless” before your Father in heaven. You are already that every day– so promises your Baptism into Christ. You can turn to your neighbor in love, beginning at home, not to become something you are not, but because of the something or someone God has already declared you to be “in the Lord.” His child.As your proud Father in heaven, God rejoices over you as you do your chores at home, study your homework, clean your rooms, play nice with each other, and obey your parents. “In the Lord” is the key. For God does not rejoice simply because of the work that is being done. He rejoices because of the ones who are doing the work: you. That is God’s mercy, God’s love for you, “in the Lord.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our works cannot salvation gain; They merit only endless pain. Forgive us, Lord! To Christ we flee, Who pleads for us endlessly. Have mercy, Lord! (LSB 581:12)-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/24/20244 minutes, 25 seconds
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St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr

October 23, 2024Today's Reading: Matthew 13:54-58Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10; Matthew 16:13-28Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. (Matthew 13:56-57)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We would have taken offense, too. Imagine being raised in a house where mom and dad thought the oldest hung the moon. No, I mean, literally hung the moon. It might have been hard enough with Jesus always on the honor roll, winning the Christian Citizenship award all the time, and being the envy of every other parent. But “Hanger of Moon and Stars” was a bridge too far. “And they took offense at him.”On this day, the Church celebrates the life of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr. Why? Because of the grace of God. For despite all the offense James had taken toward his Brother (John 7:3-5), the risen Jesus appeared to him first, before any of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:7), calling James to faith in Him as his Savior, too. What grace.Jesus does the same for you. Despite all the offense you take toward Him, Jesus comes to you every day in the promise of your Baptism, calling you to faith in Him as your Savior. Despite the offense you take toward Him, Jesus comes to you in the absolutions and sermons you hear from your pastor, calling you to faith in Him as your Savior. And, despite all the offense you and I take toward Him every day, Jesus still comes to us in the Holy Supper, calling us to faith in Him as our Savior, too, “for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus knows the indignation in our own hearts, all the offense we take over how He rules and governs this life. He knows our own stubbornness to believe that our Big Brother really is Who He says He is. It’s why the church sets aside special days like these: to remind everyone that He gets us. And not just that He gets us, but to remind us that Jesus never stops coming to us and calling us to faith in Him as our Savior, too. What grace. And James would be the first to say, this Jesus, this grace, is for everyone. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the Just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide Your Church. Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen. (Collect for St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr)-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/23/20244 minutes, 23 seconds
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Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week After Pentecost

October 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Hebrews 4:1-13, 14-16Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 21:1-23; Deuteronomy 22:1-24:9; Matthew 16:1-12Let 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. (Hebrews 4:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As with Israel of old, the promises God makes with us seem too good to be true. When we die, we will not die but live forever. When we face His judgment, God will find no sin at all to accuse or condemn us. Does God even know us? When God calls out to “strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11),” He is calling us to ignore every other voice but the one calling us back to our Baptism into Christ. For God knows how many our sins are, how overwhelming our guilt is, how insurmountable the odds of us doing anything to help ourselves in His judgment. Either Jesus saves us all the way, or we will not be saved.In his commentary on Galatians, Luther writes, “I remember how Doctor Staupitz used to say to me: ‘I have promised God a thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my promise. From now on I am not going to make any more vows. Experience has taught me that I cannot keep them. Unless God is merciful to me for Christ's sake and grants unto me a blessed departure, I shall not be able to stand before Him.’”  Luther goes on to point out how this was “a God-pleasing despair. For no true believer trusts in his own righteousness, but says with David, ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’” (Ps. 130:3).What we need from the throne of grace is not more time or energy. For poor, miserable sinners who ever offend God and justly deserve His temporal and eternal punishment, what we need, what truly helps us, is the grace from above that says, “I love you. I forgive you. I got this. And true to My Jesus, true to My Word, I save you.”But that is the promise God makes with Jesus on the cross for you, with Jesus in your Baptism for you, with Jesus on your pastor’s lips for you, and with Jesus at His Supper for you. Yes, your rest, too, has been won. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world seeks to be praised And honored by the mighty Yet never once reflects That they are frail and flighty. But what I truly prize Above all things is He, My Jesus, He alone. What is the world to me! (LSB 730:2)-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/22/20244 minutes, 22 seconds
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Monday of the Twenty-Second Week After Pentecost

October 21, 2024Today's Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Matthew 15:21-39As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. (Ecclesiastes 5:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does someone need to buy Solomon a Snickers bar? Why all the doom and gloom? The country singer who “never saw no hearse pullin’ no U-Haul” couldn’t hold a candle to Solomon today. But it is not doom and gloom Solomon is preaching. He is preaching faith and life because Solomon is preaching Jesus.From clothing and shoes to house and home, food and drink to good government and good weather, land and animals to family and friends, Solomon says it all comes from our heavenly Father. But Solomon also knows what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians centuries later: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).Solomon preaches about how this life is unpredictable. One day, you can be sitting on top of the world, and the next day, the world can be sitting on top of you. It’s vanity, he says, a great evil. But that is where the promise of Jesus’ death on the cross comes in. The cross is where you are promised your identity in this life and the next: God’s own dear children.Whether you are on top of the world or the world is on top of you, Solomon says not only is your heavenly Father there and in control for you, He has placed you right where He wants you and is smiling on you the whole time. Why? Because you never sin? No, but because He is your Father. That’s why. Your sins do not own you anymore. Your sins do not, cannot, define you now. They lost that power over you when Jesus died for them on the cross.Whether you accumulate a lot or nothing at all in this life, you can smile and rejoice, too, because God’s got this. And He’s got you. With Jesus washed onto you in your Baptism, proclaimed over all your sins in His Word, given to you at His Supper, your life will not, cannot, end now. You are God’s dear child. He loves you. So you need not be afraid of today or any other day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, Content with it I’ll be: My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me! (LSB 730:3)-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/21/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost

October 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:23-31Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:25-27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You may have sung the hymn “What is the Word to Me” before. I used to think it was a question. It’s a statement of faith. “What is the word to me With all its vaunted pleasure When You, and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure!” (LSB 730:1)  Truth is, it is easier to believe in God’s love when you have what the world calls “treasure”– when you have money and everyone else loves you, or when you are getting “A’s” in everything and are always knocking it out of the park. But what about those times when you are not? What about those times when you are poor, and it seems like no one likes you? When you are not getting good grades and are always failing at everything? What about those times when all you see are your sins, and you can’t find any reason at all to believe in God’s love? What then? Jesus. That’s what then. Jesus on the cross for you. Jesus in your Baptism for you. Jesus in holy Absolution for you. Jesus in the sermon and in the Word for you. Jesus in the Supper for you. Jesus is how God calls you treasure, His treasure. This Jesus is how God saves you from all your sins. This Jesus is how God comes to you and declares you righteous in His sight and as His dear child.  If this salvation depended on you, it wouldn’t be possible. Thank God His salvation does not depend on us at all. It depends on Jesus. Jesus only. Jesus always. Jesus period. Not everyone else loving you, but God loving you. Not you saving the day, but God saving the day for you. Not in anyone having what the world calls treasure, but in God having what He calls treasure– you.  Jesus not only makes this salvation possible; He makes it yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, Your divine wisdom sets in order all things in heaven and on earth. Put away from us all things hurtful and give us those things that are beneficial for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/20/20244 minutes, 28 seconds
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Saturday of the Twenty-First Week After Pentecost

October 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 22 - Psalm 34:1-4, 17; antiphon: Psalm 34:18Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 18:1-22; Matthew 14:22-36The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The beauty of Holy Scripture is that it clearly tells us who God saves… the broken, the weak, the weary, the downtrodden, the sick, and the dying… just to name a few. Too often, though, we hear those around us stating things like: “God is worthy of our praise,” “Praise the Lord always,” “Make a joyful noise,”… and so on. Often enough, though, these quippy truisms fall flat… after all, we sinners still live in a fallen and sinful world.Praise is a wonderful thing, but we live in an age where our understanding of this word has unfortunately affected our theology. For example, many expect praise for doing the things that they ought to be doing. How often have you sought accolades for cleaning your room or rearranging the desk in your office? Twenty-eight years ago, right around 1996 (ancient history to most of you), athletes were ‘awarded’ ribbons just for participating… praise was given just because you tried and gave it your all. This way of thinking is corrosive and exceedingly terrible in the regular world, but in many ways, it’s infiltrated theology… many in 2024 believe that God is pleased with us just because of the effort we put in. Others believe they are entitled to the Gifts that God gives and are moved to praise God only when their needs are met.  David writes Psalm 34 for our benefit and to reveal to us that praise is rightly given to God, not because He wants or needs it from us. He doesn’t want our praise so He can reward the one who praises the most… David says that we praise God continually because He never stops giving! He never ceases to give us all of the things that are most needful. Notice also… David writes that although we might praise God for what He’s done for us individually, there is all the more joy when we praise God together in the wonderful realization that He’s bought us back from sin and death, too! We praise Him because we, in our sin, know that we deserve nothing but eternal death and condemnation… yet the judgment we’ve received from Him is this: on account of Christ and for His sake, we are judged NOT GUILTY… righteous on account of Christ. Like prisoners set free from shackles and certain death, we rejoice together at our amazing good fortune… as those once dead in sin, we rejoice as the living in Christ who has given us life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O wondrous Love, whose depth no heart hath sounded, that brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded! All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying while Thou wert dying. (LSB 439:7)-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/19/20245 minutes, 1 second
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St. Luke, Evangelist

October 18, 2024Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20; Matthew 14:1-21“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nothing in Jesus' ministry happened by accident… nothing in this world happens without our Lord’s knowing it. So St. Luke records that Jesus sent out 72… to whom were they sent? What would they say? Just this… that Jesus had set His face to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and would be visiting them in various towns and cities on His way. Jesus sent the 72 to get the people ready. He sent them so that they wouldn’t be surprised and so that they’d talk to their friends, family, and neighbors about Jesus, the one who’d set His face to Jerusalem’s cross, was coming to them.And here’s the thing… 72 wasn’t enough. There were countless towns and villages, countless poor, widowed, and fatherless who needed care and consolation, countless sinners steeped in their sin, drowning in guilt and remorse, shame and despair… what could 72 do among so many? Nothing is the answer… unless they were sent by the Lord, who would do something for all people. What is so endearing about St. Luke, among many things, is that he was a physician, a medical doctor… chosen by our Lord not because He was special in and of himself, but because God had set him aside to write the Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts that records the birth and early growth of the Christian Church. St. Luke was there to witness the Lord’s ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. He traveled with St. Paul and saw with his own eyes the promise of Jesus. The harvest was plentiful… it is plentiful… Jesus sows the seeds and gives them growth… Jesus does it all, and yet He commends Luke to write for our benefit… not of the work that we must do to reap the harvest, but to labor together as ones redeemed by Christ in the vineyard together, to rejoice greatly that we have a place in the vineyard and yet there is still room! It started with 72, and the Christian church has been growing ever since. In fact, it’s never gotten smaller… for those departed saints who sleep the sleep of death rest secure as they await their raising, we who have been born are shepherded, cared for, and forgiven from womb to tomb, and yet there are many still to come for whom the Lord Jesus has died to save.We pray for what the Lord promises… not results… not that we would even be ‘successful…’ Luke writes, “Pray for the Lord to send laborers,”… and so He does. Perhaps it’s you men who will preach and teach as pastors. Perhaps it’s you young ladies who will see to the mercy arm of the Lord's church in diaconal ministry. We pray that the Lord will send laborers to provide us with the eternal Gifts of our Gracious God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You have commanded us to pray that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest. Of Your infinite mercy give us true ministers and teachers of Your Word who preach nothing contrary to Your Word. Grant that we, being warned, instructed, nurtured, comforted, and strengthened by Your Word, may do those things which are well pleasing to You and profitable for our salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/18/20245 minutes, 21 seconds
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Thursday of the Twenty-First Week After Pentecost

October 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism - Table of duties: To ParentsDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22; Matthew 13:44-58Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No doubt you recall that after your study of the Small Catechism in confirmation, you breathed a sigh of relief that you were almost finished… only examination remained… and then your pastor pulled a fast one… the Table of Duties. Just what is this table about? We’ve heard of the two tables of the law and the Lord’s Table… yet there was one more… the table that gave us time to reflect on vocation… our stations in life. While specific matters didn’t pertain to us (men cannot be wives, women cannot be husbands, etc.), the table of duties painted a gracious and wonderful picture of the relationship between Christ and his Church. So you might be wondering if you’re a child: What does this article about fathers not provoking children to anger mean? Here’s how you fit in. As we are God’s children, He is our Father. And, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, God has given earthly authority over us and for our good, as we confess in the 4th Commandment to honor mother and father.It might seem like St. Paul is warning fathers of the stuff that they’re not to do. He certainly is doing that, but what’s implied by St. Paul is this… fathers are given to care for, protect, work for, and sacrifice themselves for the well-being of their wives and children… this is good and wise. The most important part of all of this is that fathers are to lead us to the Heavenly Father and the Gracious Lord Jesus, who gives all the best Gifts. THAT is the best gift a father can give… Jesus and His forgiveness and life.  So what about not provoking children to anger? Thankfully, it’s as simple as this… Fathers are to avoid unfair, cruel behavior or blatant favoritism. Fathers are to give as Christ gave: freely, abundantly, and to all given to their care. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Heavenly Father, You have blessed us with the joy and care of children. Give us calm strength and patient wisdom so that as they grow in years, we may teach them to love whatever is just, true, and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/17/20244 minutes, 21 seconds
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Wednesday of the Twenty-First Week After Pentecost

October 16, 2024Today's Reading: Matthew 13:24-43Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 14:28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. (Matthew 13:28b-29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A few verses before our text for today, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10)  “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13) Jesus doesn’t speak in parables to confuse anyone; sin has accomplished this since the Fall. Neither does Jesus speak because the disciples or we Christians are better informed or more deserving of what Jesus gives… Jesus speaks openly and plainly because He is life and truth and also because it’s the Holy Spirit that gives faith, brings people into the church, and keeps us in the church, as the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed states.Jesus explains the parable in Matthew 13, and what He explains is what you and I see every day. That mixed up and growing together in this world are sinners and saints… people who you can tell the difference between. But Jesus would have us know that the one sowing the seeds of dissension, the Devil, is sowing seeds of sin, hatred, doubt, and temptation that grow up in us, too. Thankfully, then, Jesus doesn’t say that we should scrap the whole mess and start over again with better material, hoping for a better result. Christianity isn’t first and foremost about sinning less… Christianity is about Jesus, who buys back sinners with His precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Jesus would have us see that the seeds of doubt, despair, and dissension are eradicated not by tearing them out, ripping them up by the roots, and throwing them into a burn pile. Our Lord lovingly provides stern law… law that reveals the weeds and thistles that choke out faith in us… He provides pure sweet gospel by His church and His pastors to hear those sins confessed. From the mouth of the pastor, those sins are put to death. In the ears of the man who hears your confession and from the mouth of the pastor as from God Himself, the words of life and forgiveness are given freely to us.The good seed, Christ Himself, has planted Himself in us. It is His word watered by Baptism and fed with bread and wine that is Body and Blood that gives life and sustains us in this fallen world. Life this side of heaven is fraught with sin and great temptation. Thanks be to God for Christ, our Lord, who has won salvation and bestowed that victory to us in His church. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You justify the ungodly and desire not the death of a sinner. Graciously assist us by Your heavenly aid and evermore shield us with Your protection, that no temptation may separate us from Your love in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/16/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week After Pentecost

October 15, 2024Today's Reading: Hebrews 3:12-19 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Matthew 13:1-23But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Hebrews is a definitive book that states so well the freedom we have from fear, death, and the Devil. So exhortation/ encouragement is spoken of here as an ongoing action. It is for today, for each other, that we provide exhortation, encouragement, and comfort… and that can be accomplished in no other way than in preaching the full counsel of God. At first, this sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? That would mean we’d need to know the entirety of Scripture, all that God has done for us… and that’s certainly true… reading, marking, and hearing the Word of God is certainly important enough for God to give us a commandment that says we should gladly hear the Word of God. There’s more, though… we hear the Word of God together, we talk about what our Lord says to us in the Word of God, and we wrestle with the text and discuss it. What better place to do this than the Lord’s church? As St. Paul mentions to us in Acts 20, he never failed to preach the whole counsel of God… what does this mean? Just this: that Christ Jesus was born to suffer for us, bear our sins to the cross, die, and rise again for our justification! That’s the whole counsel of God, and here’s the best part… what does the writer of Hebrews mean when he writes, “as long as it is ‘today?’”  A friend of mine once asked me a good question… “Do you live in yesterday? Perhaps you believe that you live in tomorrow?” “Of course not,” I said… to which he replied, “Of course you’re right!” It’s always today. What greater joy do we have as the baptized children of God than to believe and trust that our Lord Jesus has been raised from the dead to bestow to us eternal day, the light of His word, and His forgiveness today and forever! It’s always today, and yet, within each day, we are bought and redeemed. The deceitfulness of sin continues, the temptations of the Devil and world seek to harden us… so it will be until the Last Day… so our Lord gives us His good counsel, sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to attend to the Word, and to give faith, hope, and trust in the Lord Who abides with us in His church. So we exhort, provide good counsel and correction to erring brothers, encourage one another with the word of Christ the Crucified, and always are given to the comfort and the stilling of troubled consciences in the word of forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, for my many sins I justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy, You sent Your Son, my dear Lord Jesus, Who won for me forgiveness and everlasting salvation. Grant good and faithful exhortation from my brothers in the faith that in contrition I would make a true confession, that dead to my sin, I may be raised up by Your life-giving Absolution. Grant, I pray, your Holy Spirit, that I may be ever watchful and live a godly life in Your Service and in service to my neighbor. Amen. -Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/15/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday of the Twenty-First Week After Pentecost

October 14, 2024 Today's Reading: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32; Matthew 12:38-50They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. (Amos 5:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Amos was a shepherd who tended sycamore trees. More important than that, though, was the truth that God, according to His good pleasure, made Amos a prophet to Israel. God made Amos a prophet… and wonderfully, it pleased God to send a sinner as a prophet to preach to sinners both to repent of their wickedness and to receive the forgiveness of God. But they hated Him Who spoke at the gate. Sure, they hated Amos… it was easier for them to do that… the truth, though, was not that they hated Amos… they hated God… because they hated the word of God that Amos was sent to speak. The Israelites took advantage of the poor, they cheated in business, they lied and shouted down those who told the truth, they neglected the beggars, and they remained silent when they should have spoken against the sin around them. They worshiped golden idols… every sin against God and men could be found among the people Amos preached to.Amos and all the Prophets were sent because God loved His people… and yet, all many of God’s people could see were pesky men who came to lay out every sin before them. That usually had the result of making the people feel bad, and it made them angry. So it’s important to know that Amos and the prophets weren’t sent to make them feel bad… Amos was sent so that the people of God could see what was killing them… and in this, Israel was to see God’s love and care for them: their dire need and lack, and God’s abundant forgiveness and peace. How would the people know that God loved them? He’d sent them a prophet… God’s mouthpiece to turn them to repentance… God’s prophet to give them the forgiveness of God. Amos was booted out of Israel… Jesus was tortured and killed… St. Paul was ultimately killed in Rome… and a man is sent to preach and rightly divide law and gospel to you. In great love, our Gracious Lord loves us and sends a pastor to assure us that Jesus has removed our sin, shame, and guilt. He puts His words into our mouths, and He fights the powers of darkness. Jesus restores our voice to speak in faith toward Him and in fervent love toward one another. What a wonderful blessing and promise that even in the sinful and fallen world, we don’t fight alone! In fact, we don’t do the fighting at all; Christ does all that is needed for you. “It is finished,” He said… finished for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You have commanded us to pray that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest. Of Your infinite mercy, give us true teachers and ministers of Your word who will fulfill Your command and preach nothing contrary to Your Holy Word. Grant also that we, being instructed, warned, nurtured, and comforted by Your Word, may do those things which are pleasing to You and profitable for our Salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/14/20244 minutes, 56 seconds
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Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost

October 13, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 10:17-22Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12; Matthew 12:22-37“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Law questions get law answers. The rich man has two things on his mind as he approaches Jesus. First, Jesus is one of the Good Guys… a man wise in teaching about the things of God. Second, the rich man wants to know how eternal life is inherited. What should become apparent to us is the strange nature of the man's second thought. Inheritances aren’t earned… Inheritances are bestowed.  The problem for the rich young man is often our problem; we understand that Eternal Life is the greatest thing of all, but unfortunately, we’re often tempted to think that it’s something we earn by what we do. Being “good” is necessary for salvation, but we don’t ask often enough, “What does ‘good’ mean?” While we often place a lot of emphasis on doing good… we often fail to ask WHO is doing the good and for Whom is the good one doing it. Jesus asks, though… “Why do you call me good?”  Do you say I’m good because of what I’m teaching or how you’ve seen me acting? He calls Jesus a teacher… Jesus is certainly that, but why does the man call Him good? The answer to this is that the rich man sees Jesus as a teacher, which He is, and that He sees Jesus as just one good teacher among many.Jesus is so much more than a teacher, though; as He says to the rich man… “No one is good except God alone.” These words are both true and comforting. They’re comforting in the sense that God has come into our midst. Jesus is Goodness in the midst of sinners who aren’t good, and He’s come not just to teach, not to give new laws, new paths, or to provide an example… He alone is the Good One… sent by His Father, as the blessed Good One, Who fulfills both tables of the law, crediting His work to us by Baptism and bestowing the inheritance of forgiveness and life freely.No one is Good but God alone, that’s true… but St. Mark writes and the Spirit opens our ears to see that Christ alone has accomplished all that is good and right. He’s fulfilled all the law, bore the weight of our sin, died to put our death to death, and has risen again to justify us… that is… to bestow forgiveness and life to us… to bestow the inheritance of the kingdom of God, salvation and eternal life to us in the church. The Good Teacher IS the Good Shepherd… who has bestowed His goodness to us, Who lives in us by His word and makes us good, beautiful, righteous, and perfect. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, whose grace always precedes and follows us, help us to forsake all trust in earthly gain and to find our treasure in You, our Heavenly treasure; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/13/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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Saturday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 21 - Psalm 112:3-6; antiphon: Psalm 112:1Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments (Psalm 112:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blessed is the one who fears? Yes! And not only that, but the Psalmist says that we praise the Lord because of this fear.  Isn’t it a sin to fear, though? It is a sin to disbelieve, distrust, and to trust other words than the word of God. So the blessedness the Psalmist speaks of is the same fear Martin Luther writes of and that we have proclaimed for years in our Catechism studies… we are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Our Lord says in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” And yet, this fear of the Lord isn’t terror… it isn’t even a quaking or trembling before Him because of uneasiness… there is no uneasiness at all. Jesus our Lord tells us exactly Who He is, what He’s done, and that He’s doing it for us. Jesus became sin for us… and St. John records in 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart (FEAR NOT); I have overcome the world.”Don’t fear the world… there’s nothing left to fear. Don’t fear death… it’s been overcome. We believe, teach, and confess that Christ has justified us and saved us by His blood… but the Psalmist writes that we are blessed: not just in temporal ways, not just eternally, but the God who saved us is pleased to go with us on our way… what a blessing that is.We’re blessed that God’s stern law causes us to despair of our own righteousness and be brought to our knees in humble repentance before the Lord Who has died to save us. We are blessed that we are redeemed, bought back, reclaimed, washed, renewed, and given a new name in Baptism… He’s saved us from evil, from the Evil One, and proclaims that we should cease to do evil. We’re blessed because Jesus not only increases our hunger and thirst for righteousness but provides the very feast of forgiveness and righteousness to His church.  Luther puts it this way: “God here praises us for our good life and are promised eternal comfort against all trouble. We are blessed because we are given to a sincere confidence in God’s grace.” (Reading the Psalms with Luther: 271)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, the Reward of them that fear You, and the Defense of Your people, Who in Your Son Jesus Christ, had promised grace and everlasting righteousness to them that believe, establish our hearts by Your grace that, rooted in the faith of Your Word we may be able to stand in the day of trial. Strengthen us to resist the enticing lust of sin, and triumph over Satan, death and hell through Jesus Christ. Amen (“Praying the Psalms with Luther” Psalm 112; page 272)-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/12/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Friday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 11:20-30Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Matthew 11:25-26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What a strange statement… “I thank you that You’ve kept things hidden.” Isn’t the ‘job’ of the Christian church and of Jesus’ ministry to reveal all the good stuff that Jesus does and accomplishes for us? Don’t we as Christians want to know that the church we’re a part of is ‘making a difference’ in the world around us?  What are the things that the Father has kept hidden? From whom has He kept them hidden? He’s kept hidden the reality that Jesus is the Messiah, come to save people from their sins… and He’s kept it hidden from the Galileans (specifically) who refuse to repent of their sins and hear that Jesus is the One who’s come to forgive them. It’s a case of the Father giving the ‘wise and understanding’ over to their own devices and their own sin. It’s not as if Jesus has hidden anything from the Galileans; John the Baptist had also proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ… it’s just that the Galileans had thoughts of their own… ways that they said and thought things should go.  But to the little children… that is, to the desperate, despairing, and penitent sinner who had seen their great lack, their great need of forgiveness– it’s to these that Jesus gave forgiveness.  We’ve been taught much about what being a Christian ought to look like, and unfortunately, it usually revolves around what we do to clean our acts up, do all the right things, and be seen as the shining light and example to those around us… but here in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells another story; it is to the penitent sinner… the one crushed by the law, the one who is sorrowful over their sin, the one who wonders just how they can be redeemed and saved… it’s to these little ones, these little children (babies, teenagers, moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas) who are little children not because of age… but because we are completely and fully dependent on Jesus, who forgives their sin and bestows life now and unto eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, for my many sins I justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy, You sent Your dear Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, Who won for me forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation. Grant me a true confession that, dead to sin, I may be raised up by Your life-giving Absolution. Grant me Your Holy Spirit that I may ever be watchful and live a true and godly life in Your service; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/11/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Thursday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism - Table of duties: To wivesDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We hear Paul’s text with modern ears and are, at best, surprised. We hear ‘submit’ and begin to wonder: “My goodness, if we were to return to this way of thinking, then all the progress we’ve made for women and little girls will be undone!” Submission is a dirty word… a word that sounds like something we’d say to a subject or slave of a King. It makes sense in our sin… in a world that we’ve been tempted to believe is run and ruled by power. So regardless… in our sinful minds, it’s not that we don’t like the word submit… we’re more concerned with who will submit to whom.That’s where the second part of the text comes in… submission is to be ‘as to the Lord.’  So submission has less to do with power and everything to do with what Jesus has done for us. “Submit to your husband” is, of course, a directive, a command, but Paul also tells us why wives submit… they submit to husbands as to the Lord because the whole bride of Christ, the Christian church, submits– gives herself over to the care of Jesus. Jesus isn’t interested in ruling over us as a tyrant king… He’s not looking for us to do things for Him. He’s true God and true man. As God, He has need of nothing… and as a man willingly became sin for us, to carry sin, put it to death in order to buy back His precious bride from sin, death, and the Devil. He’s the perfect Husband, the Perfect Man, and willingly becomes the least, the weakest, the servant of all in order to redeem His bride.Submission isn’t ceding power, and it isn’t a matter of who’ll be the boss… God alone is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier– everything necessary for this body and life and the life to come is taken care of… submission is a deference… a deferring and a trust that the man will lay aside everything, bear the burdens and sins of his family, his wife, die unto himself, and perhaps even physically die for the sake of wife and children. It’s a trust that husbands will be the heads of households, take responsibility for the instruction of the family, take them to the house of God to receive what the Good Shepherd freely gives, and to give of himself as Christ gave Himself for His Bride the church. Submission isn’t about power or even losing power… it is about true trust that the Lord of us all takes care of us by the church: in families and in husbands and wives who by grace have children… who in turn become husbands and wives themselves… and so creation and the Church continues from generation to generation. Submit to, as you do to the Lord, who has died and risen FOR YOU. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Most Gracious God, we give thanks for the joy and blessings that You grant to husbands and wives. Assist them always by Your grace that with true fidelity and steadfast love, they may honor and keep their marriage vows, grow in love toward You and for each other, and come at last to the eternal loys that You have promised; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/10/20245 minutes, 13 seconds
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Wednesday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 10:24-42Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus has come to forgive sins… as much is mentioned earlier in Matthew’s Gospel (1:21). So our text for today tells us not why Jesus came but the result of Jesus coming among us. This means we are to think of the text in this way… “Do not think that I came only to bring peace upon the earth, I came not only to bring peace but even more a sword.” (Gibbs; Concordia Commentary Matthew 1:1-11:1 pgs 536, 538).Jesus came to bring peace (Luke 2:14) through His innocent and bloody death, and that forgiveness of sins will be preached to all people in the church and by the people Christ has died to save… but many reject this teaching of peace given in forgiveness. Many say, “I don’t need what you say your Jesus has come to give.” It can be frustrating for sure, especially if we take that rejection personally… but why would we take it personally? Are those who reject Christ’s innocent suffering and death, His free forgiveness, and the bestowal of life and salvation rejecting us or our works? We might think so… missionaries are sent far and wide– sometimes they’re heard, and other times they are not… Pastors sometimes preach to closed ears and hardened hearts; Jeremiah the prophet himself was told that the people of Jerusalem would not hear him (Jeremiah 7:27), and it may be that as you proclaim the truth of Christ’s victory over sin and death, as you proclaim salvation won by Christ alone, that parents, siblings, or others close to you will not listen.  It is the Gospel, the truth of life and salvation given and bestowed freely, that is the stumbling block and the rock of offense… this Gospel stands in opposition to our inborn temptations to believe that we, of ourselves, by our good works, by our merits can save ourselves… such is not so. We are saved by grace, through faith in Christ alone. He has bestowed unimaginable peace to us… peace between God and us, us and our neighbor through the forgiveness of sins. It is the peace that passes understanding– and it is yours by Baptism, by the graciousness of Christ your Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and most gracious God and Father, we implore you to turn the hearts of all who have forsaken the faith once delivered to Your Church, especially those who have wandered from it or are in doubt through the corruption of Your Truth. Mercifully visit and restore them that in gladness of heart, they may take pleasure in Your Word and be made wise to salvation through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/9/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Tuesday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Hebrews 2:1-13, 14-18Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah the prophet told us: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Isaiah 7:14).   That’s good news to we who live in a suffering and sinful world. It is wonderful news to we who suffer to know that there is One who was made lowly to suffer for us that we would be comforted in sorrow and sadness and forgiven of our sins which lead to death… AND having been thus forgiven, we wouldn’t fear death!That’s a tall task! Who doesn’t fear death!? We can handle the fear of public speaking, the fear of flying, the fear of snakes or spiders… but death… that’s another deal altogether. Just how is this done? Think back to Holy Week… Jesus entering into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna… He wasn’t under allusions that the people in Jerusalem liked Him or even liked how He was going to save them. Jesus knew well what was required of Him; sin deserves death, and Jesus had become sin for us… not that He was sinful but that He carried ALL our sins in His body, for us. Death was necessary, and Jesus goes to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday willingly and joyously because what He was doing was all for you. So, Jesus wins salvation on the Cross and gives salvation by His resurrection through the church. He did it as God… but more importantly for us, He was a Man like us.That means that He knew temptation, pain, suffering, and tears… that’s part of how He helps us when we’re tempted… that’s how He helps us in pain and sorrow and tears… not just that He knew them once back in the day… but because He’s with us now. He attends to us, cries with us, holds us to Himself in the church, and wipes our tears away while comforting us with His Word. He’s with us in our cradles, in the good and tough days of school and work. He’s with us when we’re old, and He’s with us in the hour of our death; He who has known death abides with us. He who has been risen from the dead provides comfort that though we die, Christ, Who was raised from the dead, will raise us on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant us your unworthy servants Your grace, that in the hour of death, the adversary may not prevail against us but that we may be found worthy of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/8/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Monday of the Twentieth Week After Pentecost

October 7, 2024Today's Reading: Genesis 2:18-25Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Dominion, according to the dictionary, is supremacy or dominance, but our text from Genesis tells another story. God created man in His image, in His likeness, and in verse 19 of our text, we see God sitting back as He brought all of creation to Adam to see what he’d name the stuff… it must have been quite a sight. It was to Man… to Adam, the crown jewel of creation, that God brought all the creation and heard that Adam called them Aardvarks, Platypi, and Zebras. God created and waited to see what the crown jewel, Adam, would call them. We humans are God’s favorites! The dominion God gives to Adam to name stuff isn’t about control or power, though; it’s the same joy that a mother or father has in seeing what their little ones will call one of the things they created out of paper and crayons, mud, stones or macaroni noodles… there is joy, not because of power, supremacy or superiority, but because something has been created and has been given a NAME!  We see it in what Adam calls the creature taken from his own body. She’s different from him… and yet she’s wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that Adam says, “At last… there’s the helper, taken from my own flesh… she’s me, and I’m her… but we’re different… beautifully different.” Woman is what she is: ‘from man.’ That’s the name Adam gives her, and yet she has another name: Eve… Eve… like Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve… meaning that from her will come other wonderful and blessed humans, little girls and boys… our greatest of grandparents all the way up to us. The man will leave His parents and cleave (hold fast) to his wife… sure, they’ll still be two distinct people, different in many ways, but in Holy Matrimony, they’re one… complete with all the differences, and, by the grace of God, of one mind, of one direction. Regardless of whether a man or woman gets married, there still remains the truth that man and woman are the two genders God created… we are different but complimentary. We don’t always think the same way, but that’s part of the beauty and wonder… that our Heavenly Father sent Jesus ‘the Man’ to buy back His wayward bride. He is the greater Adam who has given us His Name, ‘Christian,’ for all we have has been taken from and given to us from His precious blood and pierced side. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is His new creation by water and the Word. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her and for her life He died. (LSB 644:1)-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/7/20245 minutes, 3 seconds
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Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost

October 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:2-16Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. (Mark 10:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Children, especially the littlest children, are completely dependent. Adam and Eve were created perfect… and the gift of children that came by Holy Matrimony was not just a promise of a future for all mankind but was given as a joy and a gift that revealed to man just how God graciously takes care of us in all our dependency.  Adam and Eve needed God to provide everything… and they loved their dependence. This didn’t mean they just sat around and did nothing, though… there was plenty for them to do for each other. Adam cared for Eve, taught her, and was overjoyed to love his wife. Eve was served by Adam, and she loved to serve her husband… and that’s what’s wonderful about what Jesus teaches the Pharisees and us in our text. The Pharisees weren’t arguing about who was the greatest just to be seen as the best… they sought to ‘be served’ by those who were not as great as them. Jesus teaches us and them that they’re not the greatest because of their high stature, their law-abiding, or anything that they do at all. The greatest is like a little itty bitty baby who’s dependent on mom and dad for EVERYTHING! The greatest is the servant, as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 23:11. The One who receives the Kingdom of God is like Adam and Eve before the Fall– totally dependent on God for all things. The person who will enter heaven is the person who is given the kingdom like a little needy child. That’s the person Jesus says “receives the kingdom of God…” That’s who Jesus (who, though He was God, became the servant of all) says enters heaven… the needy children who’ve been given everything. Receiving the Kingdom of God, receiving Jesus is simply this… He does everything for us… gives all that is His to us, forgives us, and He does so by means of water, bread, wine, body, blood, and the word in the Divine Service, and the Holy Spirit brings us there and gives us the faith of a little child… faith that says, “Amen, amen it is so!” Christ my Lord abides with me. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Father, Your patience and loving-kindness toward us have no end. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may always think and do those things that are pleasing in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/6/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

October 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 20 - Psalm 127:3-5; antiphon: Psalm 127:1aDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21; Matthew 8:18-34“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame” (Psalm 127:3-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Every year, someone releases a list of words and phrases that should be banished. One phrase that has not yet appeared on that list, but probably should, is, “Children should be seen and not heard.” That little gem of a saying makes children seem like some kind of burden that society must endure. It is difficult enough to be young; the last thing needed is for the young not to be valued. Even parenthood suffers in our time. Pregnancy is treated like an illness or disability, motherhood is looked down upon, and fathers are depicted as inept in popular culture. At times, it seems that family life in general is under attack. This is nothing new. Children were not universally valued in the ancient world. They were not even considered people unless their father accepted them. In fact, infant exposure was common, and unwanted children were left outside to die. In contrast, the ancient Israelites highly valued their children. Having children meant that God’s covenant still stood. Children mean that God was going to fulfill His promises. Children meant that the future of God’s people was assured. Motherhood was something to aspire to, and fatherhood was to be respected. So great was the desire for children that to not have children was considered a punishment. Neither the Israelites nor the early Christians practiced infant exposure. God’s people have always had a different approach to children and family life than whatever culture they found themselves living in. This means that you are already a blessing just by existing. You are not a burden, a bother, or something that is in the way. You are a heritage from the Lord; you are a reward. You are an arrow in your parents’ quiver. You are the fulfillment of a promise. Your future as one of God’s people is assured. The promises that are for your parents are also for you. The death of Jesus on the cross was for your parents, and it was for you. Now, you are an arrow, but in the future, you may have your own quiver full of arrows, and the promises of God that are for you will be for your children. Now, you are a blessing, and in the future, you will be blessed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In Christian homes, Lord, let them be Your blessing to their family; Let Christian schools Your work extend In living truth as You intend. (LSB 866:2)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/5/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Friday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

October 4, 2024Today's Reading: Matthew 8:1-17Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’” (Matthew 8:16-17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What if your health was an indication of your spiritual status? This was the general belief in the time of Jesus. If you were sick, it was most likely the direct result of a particular sin. Certain illnesses were even believed to put you outside the realm of salvation entirely. Leprosy was that kind of illness. Lepers could not be part of public society in any way. They were supposed to stay away from healers, and no one could touch a leper. Jesus not only heals the leper, but He touches him. Anyone witnessing this event would have been left with questions about the identity of Jesus. What about ethnic identity? The Jews were God’s people, and the Gentiles were not. Next, Jesus meets with a Roman Centurion. This, too, was a person considered to be outside the realm of salvation. Again, Jesus does the unexpected and agrees to come to the centurion’s house and heal his servant. Jews simply did not go into Gentile dwellings. The Centurion lets Jesus know that His word is sufficient, and Jesus praises him for his faith. Again, this leaves those who were there with questions about the identity of Jesus. Jesus then heals Simon’s mother-in-law, a normal Jewish woman. He goes from the surprising, even shocking, to the mundane. Again, Jesus' actions naturally lead to questions about His identity. Then, that evening, He casts out demons from many who were oppressed and heals all who were sick, and we finally are given the context to understand what Jesus has been doing and who He is. Jesus is the suffering servant mentioned by Isaiah. What Jesus is doing here is tied to the salvation of Israel and the ingathering of the Gentiles. What Jesus is doing here has to do with His mission as Messiah. In healing illness and casting out demons, He is showing that in Him, the redemption of Israel has arrived. In Him is the forgiveness of sins. In Him is the salvation of the whole world. There is nothing that lies outside of the realm of the salvation that Jesus brings. You are in the realm of Jesus’ salvation. No illness or ethnic identity is a barrier to the cross. Jesus has taken your illnesses and bore your diseases. You are free to rise up and serve Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God loved the world so that He gave His only Son the lost to save, That all who would in Him believe Should everlasting life receive. (LSB 571:1)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/4/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Thursday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

October 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism - Table of duties: To HusbandsDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Table of duties: To Husbands may seem like a strange topic for a devotion where almost no one in the intended audience is a husband yet, and half of the intended audience will never be one. Despite this, there is more than enough here for everybody, regardless of sex or marital status. Young men need to learn how to treat their future wives, and young women need to learn that they are indeed worthy of respect and honor. In fact, the words of Peter deal with more than the relationship between husband and wife and instead point to the relationship between men and women. This is where the language of ‘weaker vessel’ comes in. The Roman Empire had clearly defined roles and social spheres that men and women were supposed to occupy. Men were by nature believed to be better at defending the home, while women were thought to be better at keeping watch over it. Men were made for the outdoor tasks and women for the indoor ones. Men and women were mutually dependent on one another, but men were thought to be superior and had more social status and opportunity in the empire than women did. This is one area where the culture of the Roman Empire ran into friction with the theology of the church. The salvation won for all by Jesus on the cross does not recognize any difference in social status between men and women. They are equally saved and have the same status before God. All Christians are heirs of the grace of life. This is what lies behind Peter’s words about living in an understanding way and showing honor to women as the weaker vessel. Their status as fellow believers is what determines how they are to be treated, not their status according to the culture. The words here are addressed to the husbands because they are the ones who held the authority in Roman culture. The gospel is not limited by social norms. Men, you can treat women with honor because of what Jesus has done for you, and women, you are worthy to be treated with honor because of what Jesus has done for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Most gracious God, we give thanks for the joy and blessings that You grant to husbands and wives. Assist them always by Your grace that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep their marriage vows, grow in love toward You and for each other, and come at last to the eternal joys that You have promised; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. -Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/3/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

October 2, 2024Today's Reading: James 5:1-12, 13-20Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:13-15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christianity is often presented as the way to a trouble-free life. All you have to do is give your heart to Jesus, and all life’s problems will simply disappear. If any problems remain after a person converts, then that is their fault. Their conversion was not real, and their faith was feigned. Real Christians, according to these people, do not have problems. This kind of teaching simply does not hold up to any kind of scrutiny. Plenty of Christians have suffered real problems and suffered them with real, genuine faith. God never promised His people a carefree life. Look again at our passage from James. Luther is known for calling the Epistle of James a “book of straw,” but it is almost like he read the passage quoted above when, in the Large Catechism, he asks the question: “What is God? A ‘god’ is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need.” James says much the same thing when those who are suffering are told to pray, and the cheerful are told to sing praise. This shows that God is present with you in both good times and bad. Christians can suffer and rejoice. Christians can, in any of life’s circumstances, turn to God.Ultimately, this is because the circumstances of this life, whether good or bad, do not change the promises that He has made to His people. None of the circumstances of this life change the reality of your resurrection. The language about saving the sick doesn’t mean that if you get sick and pray, you will be healed. The prayer of faith cannot diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Instead, the prayer of faith clings to the promise of God that in the resurrection of Jesus is the resurrection of all believers. Your sins have been forgiven, you are saved, and even should you die, the Lord will raise you up. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Still Your children wander homeless; Still the hungry cry for bread; Still the captives long for freedom; Still in grief we mourn our dead. As, O Lord, Your deep compassion Healed the sick and freed the soul, Use the love Your Spirit kindles Still to save and make us whole. (LSB 848:2)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/2/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

October 1, 2024Today's Reading: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34“And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them.’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!’”(Numbers 11:27-29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You don’t have to be around Lutheranism very long before you start to hear arguments about who can do what in the church. You might even hear references to the fourteenth article of the Augsburg Confession. We even speak about it in shorthand, saying simply, “AC XIV.” We even say it in such a way that you can hear the Roman numerals. The Confessions are clear in this matter: no one is to preach or teach in the church without a proper call. Unfortunately, this has become overinterpreted to mean that only the pastor can speak the gospel or that only the pastor can speak in a theological way. This is simply not what the article says. While there are things that are reserved only for the office of the ministry, there is plenty of theological speaking that any Christian can do. The Spirit is not given only to pastors. You can see this in our reading from Numbers. Moses refuses to punish Eldad and Medad for prophesying in the camp when they were supposed to be with the rest of the elders. Instead, he says, “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them.” Other Old Testament passages will speak about the Spirit being poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28). In fact, the Spirit being poured out on all people was one of the signs that would signal the arrival of the Messianic Age. This is the pouring out of the Spirit that took place on the first Pentecost that resulted in a large number of people hearing the mighty works of God in their own language. This is the same Spirit that is given to all Christians. This is the same Spirit that you received in your Baptism. This is the same Spirit that allows you to hear His Word, receive His Gifts, and proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. This is the same Spirit that allows you to speak the gospel to your friends, family, and anyone that God has placed into your life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christ, our true and only light, Enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear Your voice And in Your fold with us rejoice. (LSB 839:1)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
10/1/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Monday of the Nineteenth Week After Pentecost

September 30, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 9:38-50Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15; Matthew 6:1-15“Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’” (Mark 9:50)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The church is always bigger than you think it is. It is bigger than the congregation you attend, and it is bigger than the church body that that congregation is part of as well. In other words, there is no true visible church on earth. We confess the church, but we do not get to see it. This is why Jesus tells His disciples not to stop people from outside their circle from casting out demons in His name. The distinctions between people that used to define who was in the community and who was outside the community are erased in the shadow of the cross. Good works, even mighty works, can be done in Jesus’ name by people who are not part of your circle. Jesus goes on to teach His disciples that if good can be found outside their circle, then evil can also be found inside of it. This is what lies behind the language of cutting off the hand, foot, or eye if they cause you to sin. This is not language exhorting individuals to get elective surgery to cure their sin problem. There is no such thing as a sin-ectomy. You do not have to cripple yourself to be part of the kingdom. Amputation is not a mighty work done in Jesus’ name. What this means is that some who are in the community may not be part of the community. This is where the importance of the salt language comes in. What makes you one of the people of God is having that salt within you that can only be given to you by God. This is the salt that comes with the Gift of faith: the belief that the mightiest work of all, Jesus’ death on the cross, was a death that was for you. This salt makes you part of the church that cannot be seen but only confessed. This is the salt found in the waters of Baptism and the salt that flavors the Lord’s Supper. This is the salt that is the taste of eternal life. This is the salt that makes even the most ordinary act of giving a fellow believer a drink of water a mighty work done in Jesus’ name. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Everlasting Father, source of every blessing, mercifully direct and govern us by Your Holy Spirit that we may complete the works You have prepared for us to do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/30/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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St. Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’” (Luke 10:19-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Did you know that as believers, you have nothing to fear from Satan and his army of fallen angels? That is what Satan and, indeed, all demons are: fallen angels. Did you know that when you were clothed with Christ in Baptism, Satan lost any power or claim that he had on you? Did you know that because you have been marked as a child of God, demons actually fear you? This is not a matter of Christians being especially intimidating in a manly or warrior-like fashion. Indeed, Satan and his minions retain a special fear of women, for it was through a woman that God promised to bring forth the savior.  Power and authority over demons– that is a pretty exciting thing, and it’s a reality for Christians. This needs to be kept in mind in the face of popular Christian fiction that depicts believers as helpless pawns in some ongoing cosmic battle between God’s angels and Satan’s angels. Not to spoil anyone’s reading for entertainment, but the battle is over. It’s not ongoing. As Revelation 12 reminds us, war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. This does not describe some future battle that we need to pick sides for but speaks of a past battle, one that is already over. Satan and God should never be seen as equals caught up in a struggle that we somehow can tip one way or the other. Satan needs to be seen for what he is defeated and cast down from heaven and trying to take anyone down with him that he can.As exciting as this is, power over Satan and his fallen angels isn’t even the main thing. This is not why we gather for worship on a Sunday. We do not gather to celebrate our authority over Satan and his demons; we do not gather to impress each other with new and painful wrestling holds with which to torture them, although that might make for a popular youth activity. We gather, as always, to receive the forgiveness of sins that Christ won for us on the cross. We gather to receive God’s Gifts. We gather for the strengthening of faith. We gather because Jesus has called us. We gather because our names have been written in heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/29/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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Saturday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 28, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 19 - Psalm 135:1-3, 13-14; antiphon: Psalm 135:13Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Matthew 5:1-20“Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.” (Psalm 135:13-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The things of this world that call out for our attention and praise are often not worthy or lasting. Celebrity is fleeting, and influencers come and go. Today’s pop sensation is tomorrow’s “Where are they now?” What was trendy and popular last season is in the blowout bin this season. They cry out, “Watch me, listen to me, pay attention to me,” but it is all one-sided. Nothing lasts; nothing is eternal, and nothing can expect to be praised forever. What is true for the things of this world is also true for the things that claim to be spiritual. The psalm from which our introit is taken will go on to point out that the idols of the nations do not speak, see, hear, or have life in them. They have no way to give what they promise. They are not worthy of praise. In all of existence, there is only one that is worthy of eternal praise; there is only one whose significance does not wane. In all existence, there is only one Lord, and His name endures forever. He alone is due eternal praise. He alone will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants. Nothing else can or will do that, and here is the best part: “Praise the Lord” is not an order or command. Praise does not have its genesis in the Law. The only ones who can praise the Lord are the ones that He has enabled to do so. The praise He receives is the response of His people to what He has done for His people. The Lord has had compassion on you; the Lord has vindicated you. He has added you to His people, and you can answer the call to praise His name. This is the entire theology of Lutheran worship at work. God has compassion on us and vindicates us, and our response is praise. His compassion and vindication came in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus, which was for you. You have been moved from death to life. Your eyes, ears, and mouths have been opened. You are now a part of the people of God who can praise His name. The praise offered Him is eternal because He has made His people eternal. He is worthy of eternal praise, and He has made you eternally able to praise Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father, we praise Thee, now that night is over, Active and watchful, stand we all before Thee; Singing, we offer prayer and meditation: Thus we adore Thee. (LSB 875:1)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/28/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Friday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 4:12-25Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””(Matthew 4:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry probably went unnoticed by most. In the wake of John the Baptist’s arrest, Jesus withdraws from Judea, heads to Galilee, and talks a few local fishermen into leaving their jobs to follow him instead. To those who knew Simon and Andrew and to Zebedee, the father of James and John, it may have seemed like a bad career move. Certainly, their families were all inconvenienced by their sudden vocational change. In the big picture, however, these events would have been insignificant to the rest of Capernaum and unknown to those in Jerusalem. What is happening here, though, is a game changer as long-prophesied events begin to unfold just as Isaiah had said they would.Jesus beginning His public ministry in Galilee is part of the fulfillment of God’s plan to save His people. The area where Jesus calls His first disciples and begins to preach about the kingdom of heaven being at hand is the first area of the old Northern Kingdom of Israel that had fallen to the Assyrian Empire. Now, the first area to fall is the first area to hear the preaching of the gospel. The first area to go into darkness is now the first area where the light begins to dawn. The light that began to dawn in Galilee continues to shine in our own time. The first followers Jesus called to Himself heard His preaching of the kingdom of heaven and, in time, began to preach the same kingdom to others. Over the centuries, that preaching has continued, and you hear it in every sermon at your own congregation. What began in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali has spread throughout the world, and the kingdom of God continues to be at hand wherever you may live. The message of repentance that was for them is for you. The kingdom that was promised to them has been promised to you. The Jesus that called them is the Jesus that has called you. What began in Galilee did not stay in Galilee, and what God has begun in you will go beyond you as the light continues to dawn in the darkness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christ, who taught the Twelve The truth for ages sealed, Whose words and works awakened faith, The ways of God revealed: Instruct us how we pray, By Your empowering Word. True teacher be for all who seek Their light, their life, their Lord. (LSB 856:2)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/27/20244 minutes, 37 seconds
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Thursday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 26, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism - Table of duties: of citizensDaily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:13-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What kind of relationship should a Christian have with civil authority? Most of the answers given to this question tend to fall into the categories of fight or flight. In other words, Christians are told to withdraw from the civil realm and not take part in the public life of their community, or they are told to fight for their rights against an encroaching civil authority. This turns out to be a very American approach, and history is filled with examples of both approaches. There has to be more to the Christian life than the false choice between monasticism or activism. We are not called to live hidden behind walls, nor are we called to live on the march with protest signs in our hands and chants on our lips.  In fact, you don’t find a lot of either of these extremes in the Scriptures. Instead, we find the same advice given over and over again in the passages that make up this section of the Table of Duties about submitting to civil authority and acting as good citizens. This advice does not change when the civil authority is hostile. Peter directly addresses Christians who lived under a government that believed they were bad citizens. Despite this, he tells them to be subject to the human institutions. This is similar to what Jeremiah tells the exiles in Babylon, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7) Ultimately, this is because no matter what kind of civil authority we live under, we are in exile from our true home. Each and every Christian, no matter where they live in this world, are actually citizens of the Jerusalem come down from heaven. Whether you live under the authority of an emperor, a governor, or a president, you are actually subjects of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You don’t have to hide from civil authority, nor do you have to fight civil authority because, in the end, your true citizenship is elsewhere. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, keep this nation under Your care. Bless the leaders of our land that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Grant that we may choose trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the general welfare, and serve you faithfully in our generation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/26/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 3:1-17Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’” (Matthew 3:13-15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Baptism of Jesus is one of those events that most Christians know about but have not really spent a lot of time thinking about. In fact, many Holy Land tours offer a Baptism in the river Jordan so that you can do just what Jesus did. It’s as if they believe that the water of that river is somehow more holy than all other water on earth. The Baptism of our Lord did not just occur so that tourists would have something to do when visiting the Holy Land.                    John tries to stop Jesus from being baptized because what he was doing was meant for sinners. Jesus had no need to be baptized. Jesus should have been standing there, telling the people that if they were more like Him, then they would be dry. Jesus, in submitting to a Baptism meant for sinners, has taken the first steps toward bearing the sins of the whole world. He begins his public ministry standing in the place of sinners acting as a sinner. He will end his public ministry on the cross, submitting to a death meant for sinners. His journey to the cross really begins here at the river Jordan.                   In the Baptism of Jesus, water now becomes the Gift of God for salvation. The Baptism of Jesus is the beginning of the death of death itself. In your Baptism, you entered into eternal life. In your Baptism, you got the whole death thing over with. It was not just the water from the river Jordan that is holy; because of Jesus, all water is holy, including the waters in which you were baptized. For Luther, Baptism was where he turned when things were at their darkest. In the face of sin, death, and even Hell itself, Luther’s response was always, “But I am baptized.” His cry can be your cry. In your Baptism, God made promises to you that nobody can take away. In fact, in your Baptism, you were recreated, and you became a child of God with whom he is pleased. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.This the baptism that our Savior Greatly longed to undergo; This crimson cleansing needed So the world God’s love might know; This the mission of Messiah As He stepped from Jordan’s stream, He the chosen and anointed Son of God, sent to redeem. (LSB 404:3)-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/25/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 24, 2024 Today's Reading: James 3:13-4:10Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; Nehemiah 10:1-13:31; 1 Timothy 6:3-21“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sin is not so much an act as it is a condition, and that condition manifests itself in many ways. What James is describing in our reading is sin manifesting itself in quarrels and fights among Christians. What is being described is not the fighting over doctrine or the debate that takes place between Christians in the arena of theology. Instead, it is Christians fighting amongst themselves over the things of this world. This is Christians being overly concerned with status, possessions, and wealth. In other words, this is Christians acting as if they are not even Christians. This is Christians acting like some of the characters in Mean Girls. James goes so far as to refer to them as adulterous and murderers. This is the reality of our fallen nature. Our passions are truly at war. They are at war within us, and they are at war among us. This has led some to observe that the biggest argument against Christianity is Christians themselves. Of course, this is not a complete description of what it means to be a Christian. James also writes of the wisdom that comes from above. This wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy and good fruits. This wisdom comes from outside of us; it changes us. The wisdom from above changes the way that we live here in the below. This is the wisdom that allows us to humble ourselves and be exalted. The truth is that both of these descriptions of Christians are true at the same time. We are simultaneously both sinner and saint. We have the wisdom that comes from above, and our passions are at war. Our sinful nature remains, but God’s wisdom keeps coming from above. It comes in baptismal remembrance, it comes in the Absolution, it comes in the preached word, and it comes in the Body and Blood of Jesus in Communion. In fact, our passions from below are in a losing battle. God gives more grace. That which comes from above is always stronger than that which is below. You are now sinner and saint, but someday, the sinner will be overwhelmed by the wisdom that comes from above, the war will be over, and only the saint will remain. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, Content with it I'll be: My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me? (LSB 730:4) -Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/24/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Monday of the Eighteenth Week After Pentecost

September 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2“But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.” (Jeremiah 11:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are called to love our enemies, yet here is Jeremiah asking to see God’s vengeance upon those who are persecuting him. It is a desire that has been repeated by many of God’s people over the centuries. It is a desire that seems to come naturally to most people. Who doesn’t want to see their enemies get what is coming to them? This would seem to set up a disconnect between our reading and our prayer. How can we love and do good to those that we want to see God take vengeance upon? We pray for people; can we also pray against people? The answer to this comes from what we confess about the nature of God Himself. God has been revealed to us primarily as a God of mercy, but not as a God of mercy only. Psalm 94 even refers to Him as, “O Lord, God of vengeance.” God can and does take vengeance, but that is part of what is called His alien work. This means that God, who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind, is also the God who forgives sins and has made you one of His people. Salvation is God’s work alone, and vengeance is also His work alone. This is why Christians can pray against their enemies, as Jeremiah does in our reading. In doing so, we confess that vengeance properly belongs to God and not to us. We don’t need to act in God’s place to punish our enemies because those actions are His and His alone to take. At the same time, we also know that our present enemies need not be our eternal enemies. The cross that covers our sins also covers theirs. The Jesus that is for you is also the Jesus that is for them. The waters of Baptism that washed you can also wash them; the supper that is yours can also feed them. At any point, our enemies could hear the gospel, repent, and join us in the one true faith to life everlasting.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty, everlasting God, You commanded us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for those who persecute us. Therefore, we earnestly implore You that by Your gracious working, our enemies may be led to true repentance, may have the same love toward us as we have toward them, and may be of one accord and of one mind and heart with us and with Your whole Church; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. -Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/23/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

September 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 9:30-37Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; Ezra 1:1-10:19; 1 Timothy 5:1-16[Jesus said,] “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”” (Mark 9:35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The disciples don’t look very good in our reading. They don’t ask the questions they should be asking, and they don’t answer the questions that they are asked. Instead, they spend their time arguing about their status. All in all, the disciples are behaving in a childish way. It may even be easy to criticize them for their behavior. How could they have been distracted from the important teaching that was going on right in front of them? Think about this, though: if the events of the reading had happened in our time, the disciples would have been concerned with clicks, likes, and the number of followers they had on social media. In other words, the disciples' behavior is not all that different from those of us who are overly attached to our smartphones and our social media presence. The disciples may have been distracted by thoughts about their status because they knew they were eventually headed for Jerusalem. They may have thought that Jesus was going to finally reveal Himself to be the Messiah. Sure, the language about being handed over, killed, and rising was confusing, but the Messiah was going to need people in high places when He began his rule. The disciples were the obvious choice to take those places. They may have thought that they were perfectly positioned to be influencers in the new world order. They had to protect their brands. This is why Jesus speaks of them being last and servants of all. Put simply, Christianity is not lived out from the top down. It is not like being an influencer on social media, where people look for guidance on what to wear, what to eat, and what to think. Christianity is lived out in the world. It is lived out among the flesh and blood people that God has placed into your life. It is lived out in service to the neighbor. This is because your status as a Christian was founded on the greatest act of service ever. Your status as a Christian was founded on the crucifixion of Jesus. He served you by going to death in your place. He gave up His status to give you an identity as a child of God. He continues to serve you with His Gifts that make it possible for you to serve others. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
9/22/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

September 21, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16, 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Matthew certainly sacrifices something. He sacrifices his certain income and the wealth and status that goes along with it. And every Christian sacrifices something in order to follow Jesus. There are certain roads closed to us once we belong to Christ. It cannot be otherwise. But that is not what Jesus is talking about when He cites the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). In Hosea, the sacrifice is the sacrifice for sin, offered in the temple over and over again. God says that the people are like a morning cloud that comes and goes, fickle and wavering. They come and offer the prescribed sacrifices, but then they depart from God in their idolatry and sin. Tax collectors were perceived as doubly evil by the people around them: they made their living off what they collected over and above what was required in taxes, and they collaborated with Israel’s oppressors in Rome. Their critics among the Pharisees and the leaders of Israel no doubt gave the proper sacrifices at the proper times, upholding the Law of God. Their outward acts are righteous and holy. It wasn’t just the Pharisees who believed it about themselves, but the people around them would have thought so as well. Jesus appears as both the sacrifice and the mercy. Once He shows up, the line of righteousness does not run between Pharisees and tax collectors but between everyone and Jesus. There is no one healthy, no one righteous. And Jesus has come to call every sick person and every sinner.Everything depends on where you stand. If you stand with the outwardly righteous, Jesus will be a threat and an enemy. But if you know that you are a sick sinner, Jesus is the healing physician and the forgiving mercy of God. Matthew sits there at the table with Jesus, not in self-righteousness, but in the perfect relief of being the object of the mercy of Jesus, who would be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. That is where you and I find ourselves, as well: at the table of Jesus’ mercy, in the all-encompassing forgiveness of God, eating and drinking as forgiven sinners with the sacrificial Lamb of God. Thanks be to God for His gracious calling and merciful welcome of sinners such as us!In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/21/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost

September 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 18 - Psalm 37:5-7; antiphon: Psalm 37:4Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act” (Psalm 37:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Waiting for the Lord to act when things do not appear to be going the way they should be going is one of the most difficult things to do. We see whatever evil is going on. Does God? If He does, why does He allow it to continue? When will He intervene? Will He? In Psalm 37, David says, “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil” (37:7-8, emphasis added). God certainly knows all the evil in the world, and He knows it far better than we will ever know it! He knows not only all the evil that is happening right now but all the evil that has ever happened and will ever happen. But God does not only know of evil. Not only will He set it right when evil-doers are caught and punished; not only will He put all things right on the Last Day, ridding His creation of sin, death, and the devil; He has already put evil right on the cross. Jesus’ crucifixion is where all evil comes to its full expression, in the killing by creatures of their Creator. And Jesus takes all that evil, including your sin and mine, and dies under its weight. By doing that, He buries sin and death in His grave and leaves it there when He rises from the dead. It is true that we still see evil in the world after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, but that is only the death rattle of this old creation. The present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). God has made this known to us by His Spirit. And He has made us part of this same story in our Baptism; the same old/new, death/resurrection line now runs through us as it does through the creation. Because of this, we can be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7). When Christ is revealed, then He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body (Philippians 3:21), and “He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Psalm 37:6). Your future is assured by Christ’s resurrection, so you can be patient as God works all things together for our good in Christ. He who has called you according to His promise in Christ is faithful. He will surely do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In the midst of evil, O God, grant us the assurance of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and all evil, so that we may wait patiently for the revealing of that victory in the whole creation. Amen. -Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/20/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost

September 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: of civil governmentDaily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20, 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes, we think that if other people are not doing what they are supposed to do, then we can do what would otherwise be wrong. We think that we will do what we’re supposed to do when they do what they’re supposed to do. We’ll obey our parents when they do everything God has commanded them to do. Husbands will only sacrifice themselves for their wives when their wives submit, and wives will only submit when husbands act like Jesus. Likewise, we think that we will be subject to the governing authorities when the governing authorities do what God has given them to do. But all of those are contrary to God’s word. The fact is, of course, that the sinners in the government, in families, and in marriages will never do everything that they are supposed to do. But God’s Law does not have exceptions. We don’t get to decide whether we will follow God’s word based on what other people do. We obey God, not people. And obeying God means that we obey those whom He puts into authority over us, whether parents or governing authorities (which are extensions of the Father’s authority). The explanation of the Fourth Commandment reminds us: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” What does this mean? What should we do when the government does not act according to God’s will to protect the innocent and punish the evildoer? The most obvious example is when governments persecute Christians. What will submission to the governing authorities look like in that case? It will mean continuing to hear God’s word and receiving His sacraments. The government may abuse its authority and put us in prison or put us to death. Even so, we trust the God who instituted them more than those He put into authority. As Jesus says to Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus does not deny Pilate’s authority to put Him to death, but He tells Pilate that his authority comes from God. We must continue to do what God has given us to do according to our vocations. We pray that everyone else properly carries out the vocations God has given them. We pray that when they do not act rightly, God will replace them. Above all, we pray that God will have mercy on all of us in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, you have put into place all authorities. Cause them to serve according to Your will, for the good of all people. Give us full trust in You, so that whatever anyone does, we are assured of Your mercy in Christ. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/19/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost

September 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Haggai 1:1-2:23Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; Haggai 1:1-2:23; 1 Timothy 1:1-20“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The people who returned from exile in Babylon had begun to rebuild the temple, as Cyrus, the Persian king, had allowed them to do. But then, in the face of opposition and threats, they stopped building. So God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to exhort them to start again and give them a promise about His ongoing presence among them. In the face of the idolatry and the blasphemy of the priests and people, the prophet Ezekiel saw the glory of Yahweh depart from the temple (Ezekiel 9-10). Now, after the exile, God promises through Haggai and Zechariah that the glory will return to the temple and that the glory will be greater than it was previously. But this will not be a glory according to human expectations. “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes” (Haggai 2:3)? The appearance does not match the reality of the promise. The temple is tied to the giving of peace, of shalom, which is a whole, entire peace and well-being, where everything is right and there are no more enemies against God’s people. God has them rebuild the temple, even though they are currently surrounded by threats and opposition, based on His promise and their trust in Him. But the temple always points forward to the day when there will be no more threats, only shalom. So Jesus promises that the temple will be torn down and He will rebuild it in three days. He cleanses the temple because something greater than the temple is here. When that hour comes, when it appears as if Jesus, the place of God’s presence and shalom, is being destroyed, that is actually the glory of God being revealed in the world. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23), and “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself” (12:32). Jesus says that His servants will be where He is, and where He is, in that place, God will give shalom. We wait, like the returned exiles, for the day when all enemies and threats will be removed from this creation, but He gives us His saving presence now—even in the midst of our enemies—at the Table, in the flesh and blood of our temple, Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, be present with us in the midst of all threats to body and soul, and keep us from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil, until we have the fullness of Your peace and glory in the new creation. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/18/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost

September 17, 2024 Today's Reading: James 3:1-12Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Philemon 1-25; Colossians 4:1-18“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isn’t it strange how little control we have over our tongues? Why do we continually have to apologize to people because we “didn’t mean to say that”? What did we mean to say? And if we meant to say something else, why didn’t we say that? The tongue is a restless fire, and the words we say can burn down or build up. And it’s not only James who says it. Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” (Matthew 12:36). The words we speak mean far more than we often think. There is an old campfire song that goes, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” It only takes a single word to change completely a relationship. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can also harm and destroy. It should not be so.But it is also a word that restores, heals, and forgives. It doesn’t start with our words, trying to “take them back” or fix what we’ve said and done. Sin is not like that. There is no fixing what has been broken in the past, what has been burned down, and all the idle and useless words we’ve spoken. It is only an entirely new word, a pure word, a living word, that can rebuild and restore. The Word made flesh enters a world of lying words, damaging words, and killing words and embodies the life and forgiveness of God. He hears words like “Crucify!” and He speaks words like “Forgive.” He hears words of death, and He speaks words of life. He hears words like “If He is the Son of God, let Him come down from the cross and save Himself,” and He speaks the dying word, “It is finished.” But this Word will not be silenced. He rises from the dead, and the first word He speaks to the disciples in the Upper Room is “Peace.” Peace between God and people; peace between people. Peace that heals where our words have broken; peace that pours quenching water on our burning, igniting words. Peace that spreads from the risen Jesus to His people, spreads from one of His baptized believers to another, spreads from the baptized people of God to those who do not know His peace. His Word is not idle or useless or powerless. His Word alone does at all times the good that He means to do: I forgive you. Take and eat, take and drink; this is My Body and Blood, given and shed for you. His Word is everything, for us and between us, until we see the truth of His Word: “Look! I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5)! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, cleanse our tongues with Your forgiving word, so that we, too, may speak healing and forgiving words to one another. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/17/20244 minutes, 44 seconds
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Monday of the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost

September 16, 2024 Today's Reading: Isaiah 50:4-10Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Zephaniah 1:1-3:20; Colossians 3:1-25“He who vindicates me is near…” (Isaiah 50:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the words of Isaiah the prophet, we hear our Lord, the Man Jesus, who suffers as the holy and righteous Servant of God. As a man, He hears the Word of God, learns it, grows in the knowledge of it, and obeys it (see Luke 2:52). He does not exercise His human will in rebellion to His Father’s (and His) divine will. He goes willingly to the suffering and death that is the wages of human sin. He gives His back to those who strike and His face to those who pull out the beard. He does not hide from disgrace and spitting. The Lamb goes uncomplaining forth.  But He doesn’t do this for Himself. He does it for you. His knowledge, earned in the flesh by His life, suffering, and death, is for all the unrighteous, for those who do not do the will of God, who do not want to hear His Word, and who rebel against Him. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11).He knows His Father and has full human trust in Him. So He knows that He will not be left in the humiliation of the cross or ashamed in His trust. The Father raises Him from the dead and vindicates Him. So we, too, have been given Jesus’ holy confidence in the Father: “Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty?” (Isaiah 50:9a). Paul says it this way: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:31-34).The One who has been vindicated in righteousness, the Holy One whom the Father would not let see decay in the grave, now stands alive forever, interceding for you by His death and resurrection. If this is how God has helped you, neither sin nor death nor anything else can condemn you as guilty. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is Christ Jesus, our Lord. If God is for you, who can be against you?In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord God, You have justified and vindicated us in Christ. Cause all those who walk in darkness to trust You, the Light of the world, and keep us forever in that same faith. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/16/20244 minutes, 37 seconds
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Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost

September 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 9:14-29Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11, 14-33; Nahum 1:1-3:19; Colossians 2:8-23“But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Between predictions of His death and resurrection, Jesus’ divine glory is displayed on the mountain, and Jesus gives life to an apparently dead boy in the valley. This is beyond the disciples; it comes only from firm belief and prayer. Jesus is the true believer and the doubtless pray-er, but He is in the midst of an unbelieving generation. Apparently, the other nine disciples had been waiting at the foot of the mountain for Jesus, Peter, James, and John to return. While they were gone, a man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus, but since Jesus wasn’t there, either the man or the disciples decided to try the exorcism on their own. Jesus comes down the mountain, and the disciples, the crowd, and the scribes are arguing with each other. Jesus says, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mark 9:19) When Moses came down from the mountain and found the people worshiping a golden calf in place of Yahweh, God said that Israel was a stiff-necked, stubborn, idolatrous people (Exodus 32:7-10). People have not changed from that generation to this. We still alternate between pride and helplessness; we still waver between trust in God and the gods we make with our own hands or in our own minds. “I believe; help my unbelief!” There is no cure except death and resurrection. We have been this way since childhood— from conception. So Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray, to weep, and to bear all the unbelief of all generations. This is how long He puts up with us: to death on a cross, to the grave. This devil, this death, this sin; they can only be driven out by death and resurrection, just as He says. And He gives a glimpse of it with this boy. “And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:26-27). So the Jesus who died and rose stretches His hand out to those dead in sin and pulls them up from the water by His Word, and we arise to live in new life before Him forever. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Romans 6:8). I believe; help my unbelief! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, our support and defense in every need, continue to preserve Your Church in safety, govern her by Your goodness, and bless her with Your peace; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/15/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Holy Cross Day

September 14, 2024 Today's Reading: John 12:20-33Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Jonah 1:1-4:11; Colossians 1:24-2:7“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The cross looks like defeat, but faith sees the victory of Jesus over sin and death. The cross looks like helplessness, but faith sees the power of God for salvation. The cross looks like humiliation, but faith sees the exaltation of Jesus and His coronation as King. “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” The death of Jesus on the cross is a result of sin. And since everyone who has ever lived on the earth (except Him) is a sinner, the cross is where He draws all sinners to Himself. He “came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:17-18). The Greeks said to Philip, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:20). In response, Jesus spoke of His coming death as His glorification and said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also” (12:26). The servants of Jesus are with Him in His death: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). Jesus gathered you to Himself on the cross by your baptism so that you would be always with Him, not only in death but even more– in His resurrection. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). This is the mystery and contradiction of the holy cross: here, Jesus wins victory in defeat, power in weakness, and exaltation in humiliation. “Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, sound the loud triumphant lay; tell how Christ, the world’s redeemer, as a victim won the day. … Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, be for all the noblest tree; none in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thine equal be; symbol of the world’s redemption, for the weight that hung on thee” (LSB 454:1, 4)!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, was lifted high upon the cross that He might bear the sins of the world and draw all people to Himself. Grant that we who glory in His death for our redemption may faithfully heed His call to bear the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/14/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Friday of the Sixteenth Week After Pentecost

September 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 17 - Psalm 31:14-16; antiphon: Psalm 31:24Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 32:1-22; Hosea 1:1-14:9; Colossians 1:1-23“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’” (Psalm 31:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does it mean to have a God? We confess that the First Commandment requires us to “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” So whatever it is in which we put our trust is our God. Whatever we fear can easily become our God. What we love with our time, money, and energy is our God. Let’s not try to get out from under this judgment of God’s law. We are no different from the Israelites, who made another God when Moses did not show up for a month. When we do not find the answers we want or think we need, when our money, the government, or our families seem more immediate, and we turn to them most quickly when we are in trouble, then we have our gods exposed. But the God who delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt refused to let the people have any other gods. No other god made everything that exists. No other god delivered them from slavery. No other god would bring them into the land that Yahweh had promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). God does not want us to make other gods for ourselves, not so much because we should choose Him out of all the gods there are, but because there are, in reality, no other gods. “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any” (Isaiah 44:8).So the only God there is sends the only Son in order to gather all of us god-makers back to Himself. Idolaters are as idolaters do, and so the only true God gets crucified as a false god. But the resurrection demonstrates that He alone is God. “Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is, of Sabaoth Lord, and there’s none other God” (LSB 656:2). And the Spirit of this Jesus preaches the true God back into our ears and hearts by His Word, and creates a true fear, love, and trust. And now we rejoice with all the believers in the true God, and we pray with the psalmist: “But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, Your dwelling is with us in Christ. Dwell with us always, that we may be Your people, and that You may be with us as our God (Revelation 21:3). Keep us as Your people until the final day, when we say, Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him! Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation (Isaiah 25:9)! Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/13/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Thursday of the Sixteenth Week After Pentecost

September 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of Duties: What hearers owe their pastorDaily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Along with the rest of these passages in this part of the Table of Duties, or the “House Table,” this is a difficult word. We live in an age where it’s everyone for him- or herself, where we do not trust leaders of any kind to do what is good and right for us. Even if we know that not every leader of a certain type is represented when individuals fail, still we have heard a lot of stories about leaders, including pastors, failing to live up to their office or their promises. So why would we obey them and submit to them? Here, the author of this letter is clearly talking about pastors, since it says that “they are keeping watch over your souls.” And just as it is no advantage or benefit for children to disobey their parents, so there is no advantage for Christians to refuse to hear their pastors. Pastors, like parents, are no less sinful than hearers or children. They do indeed fail, just as parents, children, and all Christians fail. When pastors fail, it can be much more public, which is why James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:1-2). It is also why three of Paul’s letters in the New Testament are addressed to pastors. But the fact that pastors are sinners does not remove the obligation to hear the Word they preach, and obey and submit to their preaching of that Word. Just as we must obey our parents, who are sinners, so hearers obey the word and promises attached to the Office of the Holy Ministry. Our confidence and certainty, however, are not tied to the person who may fail in his office or promises. We are bound to the Office into which God has put men and the promises He has attached to that Office. And God does not fail! In spite of pastors’ failings, God will deliver to you forgiveness of sins through the Office of the Ministry. God will deliver to you the certainty of His own promises in Christ. And that’s good news, not only for hearers but also for pastors, who will have to give an account to God of their ministry. God keeps pastors faithful in their Office and keeps hearers faithful to the Word delivered through that Office! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, Your Son sent apostles, and the apostles sent others after them to preach Your Word and administer Your Sacraments. Grant us grace to hear Your Word and receive Your Sacraments in faith, so that together we may all come to eternal life. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/12/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week After Pentecost

September 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Philippians 3:1-21Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When it comes to salvation, there is Jesus, and there is everything else. We can divide everything into categories: is this Jesus? Or is this something else? If it is something else, it cannot save me, and it has no life in it. Daily, weekly, we are brought back to this reminder that “all the vain things that charm [us] most” are empty. When we put our trust in something other than Jesus – otherwise known as an idol – it will always fail us. People fail us, the government fails us, money fails us, we fail ourselves. So, write it all off now. Count it as loss. Consider it “rubbish” (which is a polite word for what goes in the toilet). All of it together is nothing compared to the far better thing that Jesus is your Lord. He has purchased you not with the perishable, empty things of this world, like gold and silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. And that purchase price is confirmed by His resurrection, which makes that gain eternal. The goal is to be found in Jesus, having His righteousness, which will lead to resurrection, whatever suffering might come to us in this life. Paul had a pretty good claim to boast in his own righteousness: everything in his life, his genealogy, his belonging to the covenant, his blamelessness under the law as a Pharisee. But even that would not put him with Christ, and therefore with God’s eternal life. There was, for Paul, Jesus on one side and everything else on the other. One meant a righteousness of his own in which he could boast, and the other meant life and resurrection. He realized that the only one worth boasting about was Jesus. “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God.” Is this thing, whatever it is, something other than Jesus? Then I will lose it anyway. Is this Jesus? God will not only give me Him and His righteousness through faith, but He will give every other good thing along with Him (Matthew 6:33). “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood (LSB 425:2)-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/11/20244 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week After Pentecost

September 10, 2024Today's Reading: James 2:1-10, 14-18Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13, 10:18-29; 2 Kings 13:1-18:8; Philippians 2:12-30“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. James reminds us that there are no exceptions under the Law of God. Just as Jesus Himself says that even lust is adultery, and even hatred is murder (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28), so James says that there are no exceptions to the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” You could keep the whole thing, but if you stumble at even one point, if you fail to love even one person, you are guilty of the entire Law. The Law is whole, not divided. So, a failure to love one person is, before God, the same as failing to love everyone. Love, like the Law, cannot be divided up.Our failures to love are failures of faith. There is no true faith that does not produce works. We cannot claim to have faith if it does not show itself in works. The reason such faith is dead and cannot save is not because it does not have works, but because it is not faith. As Paul tells us in Ephesians, the one who walks around in sin and trespasses is dead in those sins. But the one who has been saved by grace through faith alone walks around in good works (Ephesians 2:1-2, 8-10). Being dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus always produces love for those around us.Of course, we still fail at love because we still have an unbeliever living in our flesh. The Old Adam refuses to believe, and so refuses to love. Jesus, however, completely trusts His Father, and so loved, and loves, completely. He loved us so completely that He would not leave us dead in our sin. “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7). Until our sinful flesh dies completely, we live as two because both Law and Gospel are entire: a living believer in the Father through Christ, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and a dying unbeliever, dead in sin, refusing to love. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:24-25).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; My ev’ry act, word, thought be love (LSB 683:2)-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/10/20245 minutes, 12 seconds
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Monday of the Sixteenth Week After Pentecost

September 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7aDaily Lectionary: 2 Kings 6:1-23; 2 Kings 6:24-8:2; Philippians 1:21-2:11“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not!’ Behold, your God…will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What I like about those words, “anxious heart” is that “anxious” is directly related to speed or haste. The “hasty heart.” And isn’t that how it is for us? Anxiety comes because we believe everything depends on us. We have trouble depending on other people, let alone on God. God seems distant from us, which causes us to feel like we have to work harder, and the harder we work (at school, at work, at relationships, at life), the more anxious we become. Everything speeds up, everything is now, and we find ourselves in the center of that swirling, self-involved storm. This is part of the point of the Sabbath command in the Old Testament. It is not only about resting our bodies from work; it’s about resting our bodies, minds, and souls from thinking that everything depends on us. No doubt, we have responsibilities and things we have to do. The various relationships into which God has put us have the requirement of loving service attached to them. But our worth and our identity are not in our work or our success. As soon as we think they are (and pastors are no more immune to this than anyone else!), our working and doing speed up, and anxiety comes crashing down on us. God wanted to make sure His people knew that all things depend on Him and not on them. They (and we) are not God. But now the Sabbath is not one day only, in which we rest from our work and hear God’s Word (although we certainly need that and received it yesterday). Now, the “Sabbath rest” of God is found entirely in Jesus, who fulfilled the Sabbath command when He rested on the seventh day from all His saving work that He had done. And you are always in Jesus, baptized into His Name. In Christ, you are completely surrounded by God’s rest, which is not simply taking a break from work but being protected from all the enemies of God’s people, particularly sin, death, and the devil. God has come to save you, to “pay you back,” not with punishment for sin, but with the blessing of Christ and His eternal life.   Everything around you says to hurry, speed up, go faster, and do more. But rest and find peace in the promise of Jesus that everything depends on Him. Because you belong to Him, you can go about your daily work without anxiety, without a hasty heart. Be strong. Fear not. Your God has saved you and will keep you until the day when all things are restored and the dry deserts of anxiety give way to the refreshing springs of peace.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, think on me, By anxious thoughts oppressed; Let me Your loving servant be And taste Your promised rest (LSB 610:2)-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/9/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

September 8, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 7:24-30, 31-37Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 5:9-27; Philippians 1:1-20“And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’” (Mark 7:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus puts His fingers in the deaf ears of the man and touches the man’s garbled tongue with His holy saliva, and He looks up to heaven and sighs. It is a word that can also mean “groaning.” Just as Jesus weeps at the grave of His friend Lazarus, here He groans at ears and a tongue that do not do what He made them to do.It was not always this way, of course. In the beginning, there was no sighing, no groaning. But it was not long before groans and sighs show up. The noun shows up in the Greek translation of the Old Testament already in Genesis 3! In the curse that follows sin, God says to Eve that He would multiply her pain and groaning (Genesis 3:16, Septuagint). Groaning goes with sin, with the burden of our sin and the sins of others that weigh us down. Sighing is the nature of the whole creation. In Romans 8, St. Paul says that the whole creation groans together, and not only the creation but we groan also (8:22-23). If you’ve ever gotten to the end of a day, or a week, or a semester, or a year and found yourself sighing; if you’ve ever found yourself grieving, struggling, guilty, or ashamed, and you groan or sigh because you can’t see a way out or a light at the end of the tunnel, you know the nature of this creation. It is hard to hear the Word of God, and it’s hard to speak God’s promises, even to yourself. Things are not the way they’re supposed to be. But Jesus knows, too. Just as God heard the groaning of Israel in slavery (Exodus 2:24; 6:5) and their sighing under their oppressors (Judges 2:18), God has heard your sighs and groans. Not only are all things made through Him, but He entered this world in a body made for Him. And though He is without sin, He, too, groans because He is in the midst of it. It is all around Him, and it is not the way He wants it to be. He groans and weeps and suffers and dies. He rises from the dead, and as a sign of that resurrection, He puts His fingers in the deaf man’s ears and loosens his tongue with a touch. So He opens your ears to hear again His promises and your tongue to sing His praise. This, too, is a sign of the coming resurrection, when, as God promises through Isaiah, “the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/8/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 7, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 16 - Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 28:8Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:38-5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.” (Psalm 28:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What separates those who have faith in God and those who do not? If you look just at the outside of someone’s life, you may not see much of a difference, especially when it comes to having difficulties or experiencing suffering. Believers and unbelievers alike face hard times in their lives and even great tragedy. Being a Christian doesn’t give us a pass from heartbreak or disaster, but we do know who to put our trust in when we are overwhelmed with hardship. We turn in faith to God and call on his name.  In this psalm, we find David at his rope’s end; he feels himself sinking under the weight of his struggles. He doesn’t turn inward to find inner strength; he has none. He doesn’t turn to other people or things to give him hope or peace. No, David turns to the one who will not let him down, no matter how bad things may seem. He turns to the Lord, who is his rock and his refuge. That’s what faith does, and that’s who faith trusts: the one true God who promises to hear us and never abandon those who belong to him. David is teaching us what faith looks like in the middle of the whirlwinds and storms of life.  David is not only a portrait of every believer but a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus. He, too, was not exempt from suffering, even though he was God. He, too, felt abandoned at the grimmest time of his earthly life – being crucified and dying on a Roman cross. He cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). And yet, Jesus never loses faith. He endures in faith and finally calls out in his dying breath, “Into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46) That’s faith talk. That’s what faith does, even in the darkest of times when you feel God is nowhere in sight.  David prayed, and he invites us to pray in the thick of our struggles through the words of this psalm, “The Lord is my strength and my shield, in him my heart trusts, and I am helped” (Psalm 28:7). We may not see it, and we may not feel it, but faith prays and trusts in the Lord who is our saving refuge. David’s prayer and ours finally finds its “amen” in Jesus. “Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Psalm 28:9). Our Good Shepherd has laid down his life for us and will carry us through life and into the joys of heaven! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above: Often have your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner’s fall; Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all. (LSB 423:1) -Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/7/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Friday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 6, 2024 Today's Reading: 2 Kings 4:8-22, 32-37Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:8-22, 32-37; Ephesians 5:15-33“And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.”  (2 Kings 4:16-17)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is in the business of resurrection. He brings life into the non-living. It’s who He is– He is life, and it’s what He does– He is the giver of life. God may give life directly by Himself, or He may use someone or something else, but He is always the source.  In the beginning, God brought forth life out of nothing by His Word and Spirit. He breathed life into dead dust, and Adam became a living being. He gave life to Sarah’s womb, and she bore a living son, Isaac. Scripture is full of stories such as these, and they tell the wonderful story of the life-giving God who is in the business of making alive what is dead.  Elisha, the prophet of God, told a woman from Shunem that she would have a son, although she and her husband could not have children. Sound familiar? Sure enough, God was true to His Word, and she bore a son. Tragedy struck, and her first-born only son died. In faith, she sought out Elisha and told him the news. Elisha entered into the room of her dead son, prayed to the Lord, touched him, and he awakened from death.  “Talitha cumi… Little girl, I say to you, arise” (Mark 5:41). Jesus spoke these words over the lifeless body of Jarius’ daughter. Death had to bow to the Lord of life. Jesus’ words breathed resurrection life into her, and she became a living being.  Word, breath, Spirit, and life – God’s instruments for resurrection given to the dead to make alive. “And you were dead in [your] trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). What hope do we have of life when we are already born dead? Like Adam, Sarah, Jarius’ daughter, and the son of the Shunammite woman, who needed life to be given to them, so do we, and God did.  “God, being rich in mercy…made us alive together in Christ, by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4). Jesus died! He was buried! And on the third day, he rose again from the dead that he might be the firstfruits of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20). And if Jesus is the firstfruit, that means there are certainly more to follow.  Christ has covered all your sins by His death, and He has conquered your grave through His life. We Christians do not fear death. No, Jesus’ words trump our sin and our death. They hold no power over us. His Word has been spoken over you. They are words of life. You are forgiven! Arise! Eternal life is yours! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.It was a strange and dreadful strife When life and death contended; The victory remained with life, The reign of death was ended, Holy Scripture plainly saith That death is swallowed up by death, Its sting is lost forever. Alleluia! (LSB 458:4)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/6/20245 minutes, 6 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of Duties: To bishopsDaily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:19-25; 4:1-7; Ephesians 4:25-5:14“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:9In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s good to know what you are getting into when deciding on a vocation. I remember taking a college and career class in high school. We would explore different professions, finding out the educational requirements as well as the job description for a particular occupation. I’m not sure if the job of “pastor” was included on the list we could choose from. If it was or wasn’t, you could not find any better job description for a pastor than the one given to Titus by the Apostle Paul.  The pastor only has one job: hold firm to the Word of God and faithfully hand it over; that’s the job description. We know there are other responsibilities a pastor has, but if they fail in their primary duty, does anything else really matter?  “Hold firm to the trustworthy message as he has been taught.” Thank God for all those who have put the Gospel into our ears. Thank God for all the pastors and teachers who have been true and faithful voices of his Word. This is why Paul encourages a young pastor named Timothy to guard the Gospel that was entrusted to him so he may hand it over to others who will faithfully pass it on as well. It is easy to lose sight of the job description for both pastors and parishioners. Paul knows this, so he is persistent with young pastor Timothy to fight the good fight, wage the good warfare, and do not neglect the gospel of Christ entrusted to you. Hold firm! Declare and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the duty of a pastor – to be a faithful voice of Jesus. And you can be sure the Devil will do all he can to tempt pastors to deviate from their primary calling. Timothy needed Paul, and he needed the support of his congregation to be strengthened to carry out his duties faithfully. So let us, too, be a source of encouragement and strength to those who are called to be servants of God’s Word. Pastors need our prayers and need our support to continue to fight the good fight. As we do this, we, too, find ourselves in battle, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. Help us, Lord, we pray. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, gave to His holy apostles many excellent gifts and commanded them earnestly to feed His flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and the people obedient to follow it that together they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Collect For the Holy Ministry)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/5/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 4, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-24Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:1-18; Ephesians 4:1-24“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” (Ephesians 4:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul is behind bars! He’s got time on his hands, which gives him time to think, to pray, and to write. What’s on his mind? You and me and all those who have come to faith in Christ. He has words of encouragement to build us up as we live out our faith together.  “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” This is not Paul laying some law on us that we “must do” to be a worthy Christian. You can see it that way if you think living out your Christian life is something that is up to us. That would be a burden too heavy to live under, wouldn’t it? Where is freedom in that? Where can we find joy in that? No, rather, Paul is urging you to live out who you are already in Christ in light of how God has called you.  You have been called not by the law but by the gospel. You have been called out of darkness into Jesus’ marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). So, we now walk as children of the light because that’s who we are (Ephesians 5:8). You have been called by grace through faith to believe and to receive our Lord’s gospel Gifts and those Gifts are at work in you!  Paul goes on to describe the life reborn by God’s grace; it is a life marked by humility, gentleness, patience, and selfless love. Isn’t this how God has acted toward us: Humbling himself – becoming a man to save us; having compassion and being tender-hearted toward us – giving us what we don’t deserve; being patient and not calling us to judgment but rather working repentance and faith in us; loving us even when we were unlovable? Paul’s urging is not another law. Rather, he is passionately calling us to live out who we already are in Christ. And Christ is at work in us so that our lives are masks of His. This, too, is all Gift – Gifts given by the Spirit of God. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). In other words, you are free! Free to live your life hidden in Christ with Christ living in you! This is your calling. This is the worthy life of faith, fixing our eyes on Jesus as we live out our life of faith together. Christ for you! Christ in you! Christ through you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, direct us by Your Spirit that we may daily grow in grace and the knowledge of our Savior until we shall stand before You in the joy of everlasting glory. Amen.  -Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/4/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 19:1-21; 1 Kings 20:1-22:53; Ephesians 3:1-21“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are in a war! Make no mistake about it: being a Christian has thrown us into battle. Our enemy is three-fold: the world, our flesh, and the Devil himself. Satan is the Commander-in-Chief overseeing and enabling his troops for battle; he is behind every opposition to faith, every doubt that undermines faith, and all the temptations that cause faith to stumble. Our combat is against spiritual forces of evil!We are way over our heads when it comes to this fight. Who has the strength and weaponry for such combat? We are outnumbered and are fighting against an enemy we can’t see. It makes a person want to give up! What hope do we have to win such a war? That’s what Israel thought when Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to check out the land God had promised them. All they saw was an enemy they could not defeat on their own, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:31). They wanted to go back to Egypt, back into bondage, rather than trust God’s promise that the land was theirs. They trusted their eyes and not their ears; they were trusting in their strength and not in the might of God to deliver on his promise.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). There it is! The key to victory! We enter daily into battle not in our own power but in the strength of our almighty God. And we fight with our ears! For it is through our hearing that faith is given and strengthed to trust in our Lord’s unfailing promises and Gifts. He gives us armor to fight against and withstand the devilish attacks. It’s not our armor but God’s, and He dresses us up for battle with Gospel gear wrought by Jesus himself.  The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit – the word of God – all these are Gifts for you. They all have one thing in common: they all find their source in Jesus. You are dressed up in him – your Baptism assures you of that. Greater is he that is in you and he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). So we enter into daily battle in Jesus with faith grabbing onto him, and in him we are more than conquerors! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God’s Word forever shall abide, No thanks to foes, who fear it; For God himself fights by our side With weapons of the Spirit… They cannot win the day. The Kingdom’s ours forever! (LSB 657:4)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/3/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Monday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost

September 2, 2024Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ephesians 2:1-22“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. (Deuteronomy 4:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This was the question asked of Jesus by a Jewish lawyer, an expert in the Law of Moses. How did Jesus answer him? He pointed the lawyer back to the words Moses had written down in the Law; “Do this and you will live.” It’s really not all that complicated, inheriting eternal life. It’s actually quite simple: keep the Law given to Moses, and you will live forever with God in the Promised Land of Paradise. It's true; you can climb the ladder into heaven without Jesus – you can save yourself. God promises eternal life to you, but there is one condition. You must keep the entire law of God perfectly from the heart. To simplify things further, you could reduce the whole Law of God into just two: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself– that’s it. Do this, and you will live. God guarantees it.  God isn’t playing games with us by making an impossible promise. He knows we can’t be perfect, as He is perfect. He knows we do not and cannot love Him perfectly from our hearts, let alone love others in complete selflessness – but that really is the point, isn’t it? God uses the Law to bring us to the point where we realize we can’t keep our end of the bargain. God wants to bring a confession out of us, “Who then can be saved?” When the Law has done this, we are ready for Jesus’ answer: “With man it is impossible, but not with God” (Mark 10:27).Jesus has done what we cannot do. He alone whole-heartedly loved and obeyed His Father. God sent His own Son not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, every bit of it. Jesus has made what is impossible for us possible! He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law for you (Romans 8:3-4). What’s the catch? What’s the condition so that we might be certain that eternal life is ours? There is no condition; there is only the promise: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). There is nothing left to do that Jesus has not already done, and Jesus has done it all for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Law reveals the guilt of sin And makes us conscience-stricken; But then the Gospel enters in The sinful soul to quicken. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live; The Law no peace can ever give, No comfort and no blessing (LSB 555:8)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/2/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost

September 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 7:14-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19; Ephesians 1:1-23“Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?...What comes out of a person is what defiles him.” (Mark 7:18-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever heard the question asked, “Do we sin because we are sinners, or are we sinners because we sin?” How one answers this question reveals what they think is the source of our sin problem and how we can “fix it.”  The Pharisees, as true devotees to the Law, believed we are sinners because we sin. On the surface, this idea makes sense and seems true to experience; after all, it is the dominant view of the religions of the world. Yet, what is at the heart of this view of sin and us– because it is a matter of the heart. The gist is this: a person is born with a pure, undefiled heart and only becomes a sinner when one chooses to sin. So, what’s the remedy? Stop sinning! Make better choices! Control yourself, and you will become less and less sinful. We can clean ourselves up by keeping the dos and don’ts of the Law. A person, in theory, by avoiding sin, has the power within to make themselves pleasing to God. In other words, we become our own saviors. Jesus had a problem with this sort of religious self-cleaning attitude and practice.  Jesus gets to the heart of the matter by getting to the source of our “sin problem.” We sin because we are sinners. We have a heart problem. We were born with an unclean, defiled heart, and we can’t “fix it” by changing our behavior or by our self-determination to do the things we know we should and to stop doing the things we know we shouldn’t. You do not cure a disease by simply making the symptoms go away, and you cannot cure our sin problem by doing this or avoiding that. We need a new heart, and we can’t fix that! We need a physician of the soul to do heart surgery.  Jesus not only helps to identify our sickness (our hearts), but He actually does something about it. He’s not into symptom management; rather, He goes after the disease for it’s a fatal one. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:12). Jesus has taken our disease upon Himself and dealt with it once for all. He has given us a new heart wrought by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:9). God no longer sees us as “sinners who sin” but as new creatures in Christ purified in him! You are a walking miracle of redeeming grace! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O my Savior, help afford By your Spirit and your Word! When my wayward heart would stray, Keep me in the narrow way; Grace in time of need supply While I live and when I die. (LSB 611:5)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
9/1/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourteenth Week After Pentecost

August 31, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 15 - Psalm 51:7, 10-12; antiphon: Psalm 51:2Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 10:1-13:14; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:7, 10-12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 51 is a prayer of a broken man. David has nowhere to hide; his sin is exposed. He has nowhere to turn except to the one he has sinned against. David knows he has a gracious and merciful God, and so it’s to God he turns with pleas for forgiveness and restoration.  Can you relate to David and his prayer? Are we as honest and as utterly broken over our sin as David? When we are caught red-handed and the darkness of our heart is exposed, where do we turn? Where do we go? We, too, turn to David’s Lord. We find God’s tender answer to our pleas for forgiveness in Jesus. After all, He is the one in whom all the prayers for mercy find their “amen.”  Jesus knows our struggles and our failings, and He did something about it. He shed his blood so that “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus also knows how we are prone to question, “Am I really forgiven? I don’t feel like it.” The Devil loves to create doubt in us as well, “How can God forgive you? Look what you’ve done! Again!”   God does not want his children to live in doubt. His forgiveness is real, complete, and certain. He wants you to be certain, too, so that you might live in the joy of his gracious love, so he gives you the Gift of Baptism.  In Baptism, we find all of David’s pleas before God answered in the promises of your Baptism. By the water of your Baptism, God has washed you and made you clean from all your sins (Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Acts 22:16). You have been born again from above by water and the Spirit, making you a new creation with a new heart (John 3:3-5). Through your Baptism, you are joined to Christ, and so He is present with you always. He has wrapped you in the garments of salvation; you are clothed with Christ (Isaiah 61:10; Galatians 3:27). In your Baptism, you now live walking in newness of life – God upholding you by His Spirit (Romans 6:4). What grace! What love! For you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In Baptism we now put on Christ – Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav’nly Father. (LSB 596:4)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/31/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Friday of the Fourteenth Week After Pentecost

August 30, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Daily Prayers: Asking a Blessing & Returning ThanksDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34; 1 Kings 14:1-16:28; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. [He] gives food to every creature...the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. (SC Returning Thanks)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is faith talking. Faith can’t help but want to talk to God. It’s what faith does; it prays. Those of faith look to God, trusting who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do for us. Faith grabs a hold of God’s promises and speaks them right back to Him, believing He is making good on them. Prayer is a Gift from God himself. The faith to believe and the desire to call on Him are all Gifts from above. Faith does not come naturally to us, and neither does prayer. Faith must be gifted, and prayer must be taught, and both of these are accomplished by God’s Word and Holy Spirit. Martin Luther knew this, which is why he includes at the end of his Small Catechism prayers for the morning and evening as well as before and after meals. It is most appropriate that a book written to teach the Christian faith ends with teaching us how faith ought to pray. God is good and is a gracious giver of good Gifts. When we believe this, we can’t help but give thanks. God created me and still takes care of me, believing this we can’t help but recognize that every day is a Gift from God and declare with the Psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). We know by faith that each day we are faced with temptations to sin and are harassed by the world and the Devil himself, so we pray that God will keep us from sin and protect us from evil and the Evil One. In faith, we realize and confess that we daily sin, so we are bold to pray that our heavenly Father forgives us all our sins where we have wronged Him and others. By faith, we trust our Lord will provide all we need to get through the day, so in prayer, we look to him, knowing he graciously supplies with an open hand.  Faith can’t help but give thanks for all the ways our good Father in heaven daily cares for us, especially when we have come to believe He does all this not because we have earned or deserve it but solely out of His goodness and merciful love for us. God’s goodness and mercy meet you every morning and follow you not only through your day but every day of your life. Indeed, the Lord delights in those who put their hope in His unfailing love. That’s what faith does. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, for all Your benefits, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/30/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

August 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:42-12:19; 2 Corinthians 7:1-16“When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” (Mark 6:29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist is dead, beheaded at the order of King Herod. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and like many of the prophets of old, he was killed for being a faithful voice of God. He preached the law in its fullness; “repent” was his cry. Yet John was unique among the prophets, for he was able to point to the one who came to fulfill the law and usher in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God - “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). By this, John fulfilled his calling to be the one to pave the way and prepare the people for the coming of God’s Messiah.  People didn’t know what to make of John. He was a radical in the way he dressed, how he lived, and the message he preached. It didn’t matter who stood before him; his message was the same, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). He was a law preacher who frightened some and angered others; however, his voice wasn’t meant to be the last one heard. One was coming after him, who would proclaim and give the very forgiveness that law-breaking people need. People didn’t know what to make of Jesus. Some thought the miracle-working preacher was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Others thought he was Elijah or a great prophet. Even John the Baptist, his cousin, sent some of his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one or should we look for another?” Jesus’ reply leaves no doubt what we should make of Jesus, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:20, 22-23)  God sent John to be a witness. He did so through his preaching, his baptizing, his finger pointing to the Lamb of God, and even through his skeptical question, “Are you the one?” The Good News that Jesus preached is God’s answer to John’s “repent.” There is no sin Jesus’s blood does not cover; there is no person whom God’s Lamb did not die for. Jesus’ death and resurrection is our hope for everlasting life. John is dead. His body was laid in a tomb. His bones are still there. But the tomb of John’s Savior and yours is still empty. Jesus is risen! So will John, and so will you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.John confessed Him as the Savior– “Look, the sinless Lamb of God!” Yet he dared not loose the sandals Of the One God’s love had shod. Oh, how fair the feet of Jesus, Bringing news of peace to us, Christ, the herald of salvation, Preaching mercy from the cross: (LSB 404:2)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/29/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week After Pentecost

August 28, 2024 Today's Reading: 2 Согinthians 6:1-18Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26; 2 Согinthians 6:1-18“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God has good ears. He always listens to the cries of His people and never turns a deaf ear to them. God has a gracious heart prompting Him into action to rescue those who cannot deliver themselves out of their troubles. God told Moses that He heard the cries of His people and would deliver them out of slavery in Egypt, and he did. Jonah cried to the Lord out of the belly of a fish; God heard and answered Jonah by delivering him onto dry land. Jesus heard the cries of two blind men, “Lord, have mercy on us.” He touched their eyes, and immediately, they recovered their sight!  All of these whom God delivered could say with the psalmist, “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free” (Psalm 118:5). We could say the same for us. Like Israel, we were in bondage. We were enslaved to sin without any way out. Like Jonah, we were caught up in our rebellious, self-serving ways only to be headed for Hell. Like the blind men, we were groping around without sight and forever lost in darkness. God has heard; he has listened. His gracious heart compels Him to answer your pleas for help; it pleases Him to do so, and He has delivered you. Jesus is God’s answer for all of our cries of Hosanna, “save us, we pray.” Jesus comes; He seeks, and He saves the lost. “In a favorable day of salvation I have helped you.”God is extravagantly rich in His grace. It will never run out for you, and He will never tire of handing it over to you. As a matter of fact, He keeps on giving, so you are sure not to miss out! He sends a preacher to proclaim His forgiveness for you; He delivers the forgiveness Christ won for you through the words of Absolution; He attaches His saving and forgiving Word to water in Baptism and to bread and wine in our Lord’s Supper. Let us not neglect so great a salvation; let us not receive the grace of God in vain. Now is the day of salvation, today and every day. God hears; He comes, and He delivers! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.By grace God’s Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace, and grace alone, that brought Him from His heav’nly throne. (LSB 566:3) -Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/28/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week After Pentecost

August 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:22-33Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 9:1-9, 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Wives, submit to your husbands…Husbands, love your wives.” Here we have the apostle Paul’s Holy Spirit-inspired instruction for a God-honoring Christ-centered marriage: submission and respect on the part of the wife and selfless, sacrificial love on the part of the husband. This certainly isn’t the kind of picture drawn up in our current day and age of how relationships ought to work. Submissive wives and selfless husbands, the idea seems outdated and offensive.  Yet, isn’t this how Christ has loved us? Think about how Jesus demonstrated His love for us in His actions. He humbled Himself by becoming a man– God taking on human flesh. He submitted Himself to His Father’s will, even to the point of dying on a cross. He loved selflessly and sacrificially by laying down His life for us, dying our death, taking our punishment upon Himself, and giving up all His rights so that we would have the right to become part of God’s family.  It is out of this love of Jesus for us that we are now free to love one another; after all, this is the kind of love that the Holy Spirit is working in and through us. What does this kind of love look like? It submits to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21), not just wives to husbands but all of us to one another. As Christ loved us selflessly, giving Himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2), we also live together in this kind of selfless love, not just husbands toward wives, but this love marking all our relationships with each other.  This kind of love is counterintuitive and most definitely countercultural, but isn’t that the nature of the Gospel? It offends our inclination to want to keep score and get what we deserve. Grace throws all of that out the window and frees us from focusing on ourselves and instead to look to others in love. This is how God has loved you. This is the kind of love God is working in us for others. This is the kind of love a God-given marriage is built upon and how husbands and wives love one another as Christ continues to love them. May our Lord grant us the grace and working of His Spirit to love one another as Christ has loved us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In this union I have joined you Husband and wife, Now, My children, live together As heirs of life: Each the other’s gladness sharing, Each the other’s burdens bearing, Now, My children, live together As heirs of life. (LSB 922:5)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/27/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Monday of the Fourteenth Week After Pentecost

August 26, 2024 Today's Reading: Isaiah 29:11-19Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah 29:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you love books, I can think of no better time to be living than now. Books are everywhere: in print, on-demand, digital books you can read on your phone, and books you can listen to in your car or while you work out. The Christian Bible remains the most widely published and read book in the world today; it is easily accessible through every form of media presently available – you can even listen to the Bible through your wristwatch!The Bible is unlike any other book ever written; it is the very Word from God– words breathed out by God through human authors. It is alive, and it is active! It exposes and it enlightens. It kills, and it makes alive. Yet, someone can read the Scriptures and not see it as if they were blind. One can listen to God’s Word and not hear it as if they were deaf. The Spirit of God must open the ears of the spiritually deaf to hear and believe! “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Spirit of God must enlighten the spiritually blind so that with their heart they see and believe in the Gospel.  This is the Lord’s doing; this is the God’s work. By His Word and Spirit, He lays bare our hearts and exposes the darkness within. He reveals our thoughts and intentions of the heart so that nothing is hidden from His sight. He works in us repentance that confesses what God has exposed to be true: I am a sinner; and then, the miracles of miracles, God works faith in us to believe His Gospel Word. “...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10).  “Out of our gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” This is the grace of God at work in us, giving us the eyes of faith to see and ears to believe in His outrageous words of promise– words that do and give what they say. God’s Word is unlike any other word put down in a book, for God’s Word is living and giving – giving faith, forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation! So, take up and read! Hear and believe! These Words of God are for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (LSB: Prayers -148)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/26/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

August 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 7:1-13Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-186 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Mark 7:6-7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Old Adam in us loves math; he is forever adding and subtracting, multiplying and dividing. When it comes to God’s Word, the Old Sinner in us falls into the temptation to add to the Word of God or to subtract from it. We make the Scriptures say more than they do by adding our ideas and reasoning to the inspired Word, or we take away from the words of Scripture, especially when those particular words don’t fit our views of who God is and how He works out His plan of salvation. The Pharisees were at the top of their class in mathematics. They added their own ideas of law-keeping to the Scriptures as if following these man-made laws would multiply their righteousness before God. They were so caught up in religious accounting, micromanaging the dos and don’ts of the letter of the law, that they neglected the very spirit and heart of the law – to love God and neighbor by faith. This kind of love can only come from faith, and by this faith alone does God count one as righteous; without faith it is impossible to please God.  God has solved our math problems in Jesus. The accounting books have been settled on the cross of Christ. There, all our sins were nailed to His blood-stained cross, and there, our Lord took all our sins upon Himself and canceled our record of debt against God’s holy law! You are washed, you are clean, you are forgiven, you are made holy and blameless, all on account of Jesus. There is nothing to add to His cross, and we dare not subtract from it. This is the miracle of the Christian faith that we actually and simply believe what God has declared to be true for us on account of Jesus. I know the math doesn’t add up, but God is not bound by our formulas for how we think we are to be saved. Grace throws the math out the window and welcomes you to believe the logical ridiculousness of the Good News for you in Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”  (Jude 24-25)-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.
8/25/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Bartholomew, Apostle

August 24, 2024Today's Reading: John 1:43-51Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-18; 1 Kings 6: 1-7:50; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1:45-46)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The many blunders of the disciples seem overwhelmingly comical. First, Philip says to Nathanael (Bartholomew) that, ‘We have found him…’ Really, Philip? Jesus *literally* just found you and called you to follow Him. But, okay– you, with Peter and Andrew, ‘found Jesus.’ Next, when Philip excitedly tells Nathanael about it, he replies with judgment:  ‘Can anything good…?’ As if Nathanael knows what good even is. These guys are hilarious! Honestly, we would have been better disciples than these guys… right? Sinners tend to make everything all about them. We filter that which we see or hear through our own experiences. Nathanael was unimpressed when he first heard about Jesus - a guy from Nazareth? That doesn’t seem all that good. He knew all about Nazareth, and this ‘Jesus’ couldn’t be that impressive.Sinners’ low threshold of ‘good’ is even more apparent when Nathanael meets Jesus and is blown away by the fact that Jesus knew he had been sitting under a fig tree; that was all it took for Nathanael to be impressed. It seems a bit silly that this guy was chosen as a disciple– he seems kinda lame and underwhelming. And yet ‘good’ is truly seen in how Jesus interacts with Nathanael and all His followers. Jesus chooses regular, kinda lame, underwhelming people to be His own. He would take that which makes them imperfect (their sin) and makes it His to carry and His to pay for. Jesus loved Nathanael. Jesus died and rose again to save him from his sin. Nathanael is a saint because Jesus’ Death and Resurrection was for him.You and I? Well, we can be kinda lame and underwhelming too. We have sin, and it causes problems. We make ourselves the center of the story and declare our own version or understanding of situations ‘good.’ We need to be called out of our self-centered deadness and given new life. Thanks be to God that in Baptism, that happened. We are saints through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We, like Nathanael, are counted as Jesus’ followers. We receive His Word preached, His Body and Blood in the Supper, and Absolution spoken in the Divine Service. Thanks be to God that He sent His Son Jesus to save and redeem the whole world– including those who might be kinda lame and underwhelming.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise; The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise. The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng, Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song: “O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son, And Holy Spirit, Comforter – forever Three in One!” (LSB 941:2) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/24/20245 minutes, 10 seconds
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Friday of the Thirteenth Week After Pentecost

August 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 14 - Psalm 26:1-2, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 26:8Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 3:1-15; 1 Kings 3:16-4:34; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. (Psalm 26:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s been a long week. Sin made stuff hurt. Work was hard. Living with fellow sinners was hard. Seeing your own insecurities was hard. The devil pokes at all the bruises that we try to hide. We know that we aren’t enough, but we try to keep trying. The world is an unkind place to be. We see ‘better’ all around us, and yet we can never quite achieve it. Indeed, every morning, the Old Adam gets up with us, chained to us, even as it is daily drowned in our Baptism. And yet, this Psalm invites us to rejoice that Sunday is coming; the Divine Service is coming! We get to be in God’s House! We get to be where He promises to be. We get to be forgiven alongside our neighbors (those other sinners) and breathe a sigh of relief. We get to be reminded that sin, death, and the devil have been defeated. We get to receive assurance that our identity is found in Jesus; He is enough, and so we are enough. We join David in this declaration– we love the habitation of God’s House! We love that we get to be where His glory dwells! And what is that glory? God’s glory is His perfection given to you through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. God’s glory is His plan of salvation– to redeem you. God’s glory is the unfailing love and faithfulness in His creation and adoption of you. God’s glory is the Gifts we receive in His Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Maybe today was a tough day. Maybe today was a decent day. In either case, you get to take a moment and remember, like David, that you are a child of God. You get to be reminded of your identity found in your Baptism. You get to join your thankful voice and declare that you, too, love God’s House and rejoice in the place where His Gifts are for you. Sin breaks us down and causes pain. And yet, we have relief, joy, and hope because our Lord always keeps His promises and delivers them exactly where He said they would be. Look forward to the Divine Service in His House, where you will be reminded that you are forgiven, loved, and redeemed. Have hope that your God always keeps His promises– and that includes giving you grace, life, and peace. Thanks be to God that we get to continually go to God’s House! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here stands the font before our eyes, Telling how God has received us. The altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice And what His Supper here gives us. Here sound the Scriptures that proclaim Christ yesterday, today, the same, And evermore, our Redeemer. (LSB 645:4) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/23/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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Thursday of the Thirteenth Week After Pentecost

August 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Daily Prayers: Morning PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27; 1 Corinthians 14:1-16:24; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. (Morning Prayer) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This little sentence delivers so much comfort. ‘Into God’s Hands.’ The very hands that bore nails during His unfair, yet very good, crucifixion. The very hands that are marred with scars from His sacrifice. Those are the hands about which this prayer is speaking. ‘Commending myself.’ To be honest, there is nothing commendable about me (and all sinners). In fact, on our own, we are dead. We sinners are not great caretakers. Our every decision is marred with sin. We are inherently selfish and short-sighted. So, commending myself - presenting myself before God - sounds a bit terrifying. But this prayer has already reminded us that the hands into which we are presenting ourselves are Jesus’ hands. They are hands that showed their love in this way: bearing our sins and defeating our enemies. So, commending ourselves before God does not have to be terrifying but is relieving. We are Baptized. We are covered by Jesus and get to remember that every time we pray. ‘My body and soul, and all things.’ A lie that sinners tell ourselves is that our bodies are our property to do with as we choose. We think we stand independent and want to be segregated from our neighbors. Lord have mercy. In this prayer, we are reminded that our bodies, our souls, and all things are tied together. And, they are commended - presented - to God. Into Jesus’ nail-scarred hands, all things are presented, are declared good through Baptism, and are redeemed. There is comfort and assurance in this little sentence in a simple morning prayer. As you pray, using this prayer, the one that our Lord taught, or your own simple words, slow down and think about the amazingness of Who you are talking to and how He loves and cares for you. Prayer doesn’t seem to make sense:  the perfect God of all things would desire to hear from us? And yet, that is exactly what we have. We get to bring all of our cares and concerns - even our whole selves - to Him and be cared for in His loving and merciful Hands. As you pray and after you pray, be confident and sure that your Savior has heard you, loves you, and will continually show you mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy: Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,  Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day. (LSB 738:1)-Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/22/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week After Pentecost

August 21, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:14-31Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15-35; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. (1 Corinthians 12:18-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is such a profound statement that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes. God, in His perfect wisdom, arranged all the members of the body. He put together the human body with perfect care, intentionality, and purpose. In context, these words describe the Body of Christ– the Church. Again, the profoundness is amazing! God created every single person with intentionality, purpose, and care. He gifted each person with their abilities, opportunities, skills, and strengths. This is awe-inspiring! You are you– created uniquely and special. And yet, well, why does my sinful nature chafe at this…? In our sin, we despair at being unique or different. In our sin, we really would rather be the foot instead of the elbow. In our sin, we would rather be ‘important’ instead of merely attached. In our sin, we would rather be ‘that person’ and not ourselves. Sinners are constantly comparing, competing, minimizing, or attempting to be ‘better’ by our own merit. We struggle against the boundaries of who we are. We are sure that if we could just be fill-in-the-blank (faster, thinner, taller, smarter…), we would be fill-in-the-blank (enough, happier, content, accepted). ‘If only we could…’ is how we think. Lord have mercy. Today, rejoice in your Baptism– that you are clothed with Jesus. Remember that you were created with a purpose and have been given Gifts that God chose for you. Look at your neighbor with admiration and wonder: God gifted them differently, and how amazing is that! Consider the settings in which you have been placed– your vocations. Are you a sibling? Spouse? Parent? Student? Teacher? Friend? Thanks be to God! You were created, chosen, redeemed, and mercied by a Loving and Faithful God. You are clothed in Jesus, redeemed by His Blood, and have been given life. Your life is uniquely yours. The abilities and talents you have are meant to show care and love to the neighbors you have been given. Most of all, remember and rejoice that you are part of God’s Family. You belong in the Body of Christ. You are connected to Jesus. The Old Adam that you drag around with you is going to keep wanting to compare and despair. But remember, even in those moments, the Truth is that you are loved, forgiven, and intentionally created by your Heavenly Father, Who did not spare His perfect Son but sacrificed Him for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts Christ freely gives He gives to you and me To be His Church, His bride, His chosen, saved and free! Saints blest with these rich gifts Are children who proclaim  That they were won by Christ And cling to His strong name. (LSB 602:1). -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/21/20245 minutes, 9 seconds
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Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week After Pentecost

August 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:6-21Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 12:1-25; 2 Samuel 13:1-19:43; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do not be foolish. That seems like a pretty easy suggestion by Paul. Who likes to be foolish anyway? However, context matters. The entirety of Paul’s sentence matters: understand what the will of the Lord is. Now we have something to consider. The will of the Lord is foreign to sinners. We sinners like to compare ourselves to others and come out on top. We sinners like to win. We sinners like to scrap and fight and work towards being the best. But in all of that, the definitions of ‘better’ and ‘best’ are according to our own sinful standards, and that is, well, foolish. We sinners see ‘now’ and think ‘only.’ We must succeed at all that we do right now. We must be enough by our actions, work, and choices. We must accomplish all our self-made goals. Do you notice what (who) is at the center of all this work? Yep– we the sinners. This is foolish. In contrast, God created His people for relationships with Him and with one another. God gives us neighbors to care for and by whom we are shown care. Most importantly, God’s will is that all people know that He is their God; He sent their Savior Jesus; He has forgiven their sins. God would have all people know that they are forgiven, loved, and mercied; this is God’s will. This is what we sinners foolishly forget or ignore. Repent of your short-sightedness; repent of your foolishness. Go to the Divine Service, make the sign of the cross and remember your Baptism, hear the words of Absolution, hear God’s Word spoken to you, and eat and drink Jesus’ Body and Blood. In these Gifts, we sinners are saved from our foolishness. In these Gifts, we are told God’s will and are reassured that we are enough in Jesus. In these Gifts, we are covered by Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Through these Gifts, we can love and see our neighbors as blessings. Thanks be to God that He is merciful to foolish sinners - all foolish sinners - including the one looking back at you in the mirror. Rejoice that you are a Baptized Child of God and that you are not left in your foolishness but are found in Jesus.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me And on His shoulder gently laid And home rejoicing brought me. (LSB 709:3) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/20/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Monday of the Thirteenth Week After Pentecost

August 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods (Joshua 24:16). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To be honest, the people’s response here seems laughable. ‘Far be it from us…’? Seriously!? The Israelites were the worst. They. Kept. Sinning. They would repent and follow the Lord, only to be led astray by another people group, another king, another god… They would suffer, crawl back to God, and repent. The Israelites were not faithful. Frankly, they weren’t even honest. They made this statement, but really, they were going to stray again. This statement seems silly. Good thing I’m not like…oh…wait…Sinners sin. We are the worst. We perpetually fail. Maybe we’ll try again, but it’s hard. Sometimes, we seem to make a bit of progress, but then we mess up again. We chafe against the boundaries that God calls good. We see our neighbors as competitors or nuisances. We suffer the consequences of sin. Maybe we aren’t so different from the faithless Israelites. Thanks be to God that He remains faithful when we are faithless. Thanks be to God that He continued as the Israelites’ God, even as they would stray and follow idols. Thanks be to God that He gives us the same mercy. We feel the consequences of sin, but we are not defined by them. We drag the Old Adam around with us, but we are identified by our Baptism and are saints. We are loved and forgiven. The Israelites hoped for and looked to the coming Savior. We look back to Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, knowing that it happened for us. We remember our Baptism and know that we are washed in Jesus’ Blood. We go to the Divine Service, receiving His Body and Blood for us. We rest in God’s promises, made and kept for us. When we wake up to a new day, hopeful that today will be different…we cling to the assurance that every day is a day that we are covered by our Baptism. We can, in faith, declare our desire to love and serve our neighbor– to show them the forgiveness we have in Jesus. But when we fail, like the Israelites, and go back to the same sins and idols, we rest in Jesus. We claim His faithfulness as our own; we live in our Baptism, hear from His Word that we are forgiven, and cling to His promises.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am Baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus’ Blood? (LSB 594:2) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/19/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

August 18, 2024 Today's Reading: John 6:51-69Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:18-29; 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:16It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These words speak of the reality that all Baptized Christians know all too well. In the Divine Service, we rejoice in the Words we receive. Our sins are forgiven. Jesus died and rose again for us. We eat Jesus’ Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins. We are redeemed and forgiven, mercied and loved. God’s Word gives life. It does what it says it will. The problem, though, is that we still have this flesh - and ‘it is no help at all.’ The battle of the sinner and the saint happens every morning. We wake up, by God’s Grace, and are given another day to live redeemed and love our neighbor. But the Old Adam drags itself along, needing to be daily drowned. We sin and are sinned against. We hurt our neighbors instead of helping them. We receive pain instead of help from our neighbors. It hurts living in and with this flesh. We have hope, though. We have The Word - Jesus Himself - as our Advocate, Savior, Friend, and Redeemer. We are not seen in our sin but are covered by our Lord. We cling to God’s Word that declares us His in our Baptism. We live another day Baptized– with the hope of the Resurrection as our reality. We remember that Jesus paid for our sins and the sins of our neighbor on the cross and defeated them by rising again. We remember that in the Divine Service, we eat and drink Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper and truly are forgiven. Indeed, the flesh is no help at all. But, you are not defined by your flesh. The Spirit has given you life. Jesus’ Words hold and declare you loved, mercied, forgiven, and redeemed. You have life in Christ, your Savior, Who is with you now and always. You have the identity as a Baptized Child of God. You live in Christ, and even while you struggle in this flesh, you have the assurance of life everlasting.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to life eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/18/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Saturday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost

August 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 13 - Psalm 111:1-5, 9; antiphon: Psalm 111:10Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. (Psalm 111:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Creating the intricate and yet wholly expansive world with His Word. Destroying His entire creation with water and yet preserving life through one family in one big boat. Parting bodies of water for His people’s safe passage. Feeding His prophets with the help of birds. Using the small and weak to defeat the large and strong. Bringing the dead back to life. Calming nature. Feeding a lot with a little. Healing the sick with Words. Dying on the Cross and Rising again. Great and delightful. Studying the great works of the Lord is beautifully overwhelming and delightfully humbling. Consider the fact that the Creator of all, the Author of perfection, also created you. Sin broke God’s perfect plan. He created a world for His people, but doubt and mistrust ruined it. And yet, before His creation even came to be, He had a plan for the redemption of His people. He promised Jesus even as the perfect and holy creation was marred. God continually provided for His people and weaved together the story of their, and our, salvation. We, Baptized children of God, get to look back and marvel at all that our Lord has done. We, His Beloved, get to read, learn, study, and remember all the mighty and amazing works that God has done. And the awe-inspiring fact about studying the works of our Lord is that their amazing qualities continue to bring about jaw-dropping wonder. Today, consider the works of the Lord. Remember that the Lord Who designed the hummingbird, the hammerhead shark, and the banana tree also made you. Remember that you were dead in your sin, lost in damnation, but God, in His mercy and faithfulness, sent His perfect Son Jesus to die in your place. Remember that He breathed new life into you at your Baptism and continues to sustain your body and life. Remember that you get to attend the Divine Service, receive Absolution, hear about the great works of the Lord, receive Jesus’ Body and Blood for you, and have hope for today and tomorrow. We, God’s Beloved, delight in studying about God’s works, for we know that through His abundant love, grace, and mercy, these works are for us and for our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him! All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen Sound from His people again; Gladly forever adore Him! (LSB 790:5)-Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/17/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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Friday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost

August 16, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: Who receives this sacrament worthily?Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” (Small Catechism, Who receives this sacrament worthily?) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. ‘Truly worthy’ is an interesting phrase. In my broken mind, I immediately wonder, can I be ‘kinda worthy’ or ‘mostly worthy?’ How much ‘unworthiness’ can be included before I lose the ‘truly worthy’ status? What if I was worthy yesterday but am not worthy today? This seems really tricky. Should I *not* take the Lord’s Supper? I mean, I can’t say that I am truly worthy all the time, right? Wait. Maybe this isn’t as ‘all about me’ as I think it is…We sinners love to measure. We want to be the fastest, the tallest, the prettiest, the most successful… if there is a comparison or a measurement, we want to achieve the best. So, to our sinful minds, we also want to be the worthiest. ‘If I am more worthy than *that sinner,* I’m doing pretty good.’ We tend to approach these words as a challenge to prove our worthiness. However, that is not how God’s grace works. These words are in the part of the Small Catechism that is about the Lord’s Supper. Jesus’ Body and Blood are beautiful, freely given Gifts. There is no ‘achieving’ worthiness by trying. The sinner in me, though, is still unsure. If we admit that we are truly unworthy, even dead, in our sinfulness, how can anyone actually receive the Lord’s Supper? We remember our Baptism. In Baptism, every sinner was drowned, and a new creation was born. In Baptism, we were covered with Jesus. In Baptism, we are clothed with Jesus’ Death and Resurrection; we are good, holy, perfect, and yes— truly worthy. These words point to Jesus. He is truly worthy, and He has covered you in your Baptism. These words tell us that Jesus died and rose again FOR YOU. These words are believed by faith, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit and sustained by eating and drinking Jesus’ Body and Blood. These words point to Jesus; He breathed you back to life in your Baptism, He paid the price for your sins, He defeated sin, death, and the devil, and He continues to sustain you now and into eternity. Yes, Baptized Child of God, in Jesus, you are truly worthy.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Salvation unto us has come By God’s free grace and favor; Good works cannot avert our doom, They help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone; He is our one Redeemer. (LSB 555:1) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/16/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord

August 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-45, 46-55Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 5:1-25; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy (Luke 1:54) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever considered the memory of God? He was before there was time. He literally created everything that is in this world. He is All-Knowing. He, well, knows every moment of sin, pain, and suffering that His creation has caused and endured. He watched the perfection break. Sin grieves our Lord. And yet, before the moment that Adam and Eve sinned, God had a plan to redeem His people. God promised a Savior Who would pay for the sins of the whole world; in every moment of sin and brokenness, God chooses to forget it. Instead, our Lord remembers His promise to be merciful and give forgiveness. The Old Testament includes a lot of accounts of sinners sinning and God remaining faithful. There is a continuous cycle of warning, sin, hurt, repentance, and forgiveness. The Old Testament is pointing sinners to the Promised One— He is coming! There will be a child born of a virgin! He will pay for the sins of the whole world! God is faithful and merciful. In today’s reading, Mary is singing about the amazing miracle that she has experienced. The angel of God came to HER and declared that she will carry Jesus, the Savior of the Nations! She visits her cousin Elizabeth; baby John, still in Elizabeth’s belly, knew Who was growing within Mary. There is great rejoicing! Mary sings a song of praise. In this song, she witnesses to what she knows about God and about God’s character. And she, like others who had read and knew the Scriptures, trusted that God is merciful. God does keep His promises! God is patient with His people and remembers them with mercy. We, too, have a very similar pattern as those in the Old Testament— we know God’s Law, we sin anyway, we suffer hurt and pain, we are called to repentance, and we are forgiven. We, like Mary, sing God’s Word in faith; we come to the Divine Service, we receive absolution, we hear God’s Word preached, and we eat His Body and Blood. We, too, rejoice that God’s memory is merciful; He remembers His people and always keeps His promises. Today, we rejoice with Mary, the Mother of our Lord. We, like her, are reminded of God’s faithfulness and mercy. We, too, give thanks that God does not remember our sin but remembers His mercy. We, too, receive His Gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O sing of Christ, whose birth made known The kindness of the Lord, Eternal Word made flesh and bone So we could be restored. Upon our frail humanity God’s finger chose to trace The fullness of His deity, The icon of His grace. (LSB 362:1) -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/15/20245 minutes
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Wednesday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost

August 14, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:35) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We sinners become easily distracted. We think we can multitask, but usually, we end up starting too many projects and finishing too few of them (or we complete them, but they are not done well). This spills over into our vocational roles, too. We are excited about a new job/home/relationship and fixate. We replace the time we have to receive Jesus with work or effort for something else. Vocational roles are Gifts, but we sinners tend to create idols out of Gifts. Paul is teaching the Corinthians (and us) that we should not replace God with anything or anyone. The First Commandment reminds us that there is only One True God, and we are to worship Him only. Paul is pointing back to God and teaching that vocations are good, but they are not God. Being a husband, a wife, or remaining single— are all good roles to fulfill. But none of them redeem you or save you. Our identity is in our Baptism. We are washed in Jesus’ Blood and given a new life; we are holy, redeemed, and part of God’s family. Our identity defines us now and into eternity. We get to love and serve specific neighbors in our lives. Think about those around you: parents, siblings, spouses, friends, teachers, classmates, etc. It is good to love and care for those around you. But we sinners need the reminder that God is first, and He is the Good and Right Recipient of our love and devotion. And it is only from His love that we can even begin to know how to love and care for those other neighbors. Boundaries and vocational roles are good Gifts from a Gracious God. Rejoice that you have God’s love and mercy and are claimed as His Child. Share His love with those around you and continually remember that God is God, Gifts are Gifts. When you make the Gifts your god, repent. Come to the Divine Service and receive Jesus’ Body and Blood. Hear the Gospel. Remember your Baptism. Then, go back to your neighbors - those Gifts - and tell them about God and His love for them.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.So use it well! You are made new – In Christ a new creation! As faithful Christians, live and do Within your own vocation, Until that day when you possess His glorious robe of righteousness Bestowed on you forever! (LSB 596:6)-Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/14/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost

August 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:17-5:2Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does it mean to imitate God? The sinner in me would enjoy having the ultimate power. I could call down fire on people who I don’t like - those sinners (not me) - those *other* sinners. It seems great to think about having all the knowledge, all the power, and all the authority. I could do whatever I wanted! But maybe that’s actually the problem. As sinners, we work by the Law. We want things to be fair. We want others to get punished. We want to ‘get away with something.’ In general, we are the worst. In fact, we are dead in our sins. And yet, God comes to us while we are dead and breathes new life into us. In Baptism, He washes us in Jesus’ Blood and claims us as His own. We humbly receive more than our sinful minds can even understand. So, what does it mean to imitate God? Well, the rest of the verse gives us some context— we imitate God as beloved children. We get to witness to others what it means to be beloved! We get to share the Gospel— the Good News that Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world and that we are truly forgiven. We have God’s love. We have God’s mercy. We have God’s Name. We have God’s kept promises! We have the best message ever! As sinners, we have to be reminded that we are the worst— we would prefer to live and die by the Law. But as Baptized saints, we rejoice in being the Lord’s beloved. We rest securely in our identity as children of God. We go to the Divine Service and receive in our ears, on our lips, and in our mouths the assurance of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. That is what we get to imitate. That is what we get to reflect to those around us. And when we fail, as we will, we remember: we are beloved children. We come back to God and receive His forgiveness anew. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, ‘tis not that I did choose Thee; That, I know, could never be; For this heart would still refuse Thee Had Thy grace not chosen me. Thou hast from the sin that stained me Washed and cleansed and set me free And unto this end ordained me, That I ever live to Thee. (LSB 573:1)-Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/13/20244 minutes, 27 seconds
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Monday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost

August 12, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-8Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 28:3-25; 1 Samuel 29:1-30:31; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. (1 Kings 19:4b-5a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elijah did some amazing things through the power of God: he declared a drought to an evil king, helped a widow eat, raised a dead son (1 Kings 17), confronted that evil king, called down fire against false gods, and killed their prophets (1 Kings 18). Those sound like amazing mountaintop experiences; it seems as though Elijah should be feeling nothing but excitement! But then we get these verses… he wants to die, declares to God that ‘it is enough,’ and takes a nap.  These words are so relatable. How many of us have had a great or fine or awful or just okay day and decided that it’s been enough? We’re done. We want to get off the ride, call a ‘life timeout,’ and just stop. Things hurt. People are mean. Our own weaknesses stare us in the face. It’s more than enough— it’s too much. Maybe we want to die. Maybe we need a nap. But everything hurts. After Elijah lays down to sleep, an angel - a messenger from God - comes to him, wakes him up, and invites him to eat. There was food and water for Elijah. After he eats, he rests. Again, God’s angel wakes him up to eat and encourages him to travel on. There is care for Elijah’s body and spirit. The depth of God’s mercy is boundless. When Elijah declares to God that he is done, God meets Elijah with grace. Have a nap, Elijah. Have some food and water for strength, Elijah. Listen to my messenger and live, Elijah. God is the same with us. He is with us in the deepest, darkest moments we experience. He sent His Son Jesus into our sinful world to show us mercy. Jesus declared, ‘It is finished’ from the cross—He was enough to fulfill the Law and pay for the sins of the whole world. God gives us rest in the Divine Service— come and receive. Hear your forgiveness declared. Hear the promises that I have kept for you. Hear about your Savior Jesus. Eat His Body and drink His Blood. Go back into the messy world, forgiven, loved, and knowing that you are not alone. We, like Elijah, have dark moments. But take heart, Jesus defeated the dark for you. And, in your Baptism, you are never alone and always have God’s peace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer, Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer. All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o’er us: Have mercy on us, O Jesus! O Jesus! (LSB 434:1)-Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/12/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

August 11, 2024Today's Reading: John 6:35-51Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25; 1 Samuel 27:1-28:2; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:41)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To be honest, it seems astonishing that the Jews in this reading would DARE to grumble about Jesus and His announcement that He is the Bread of Life. I mean, He is JESUS! And, honestly, they had previously heard about or experienced various miracles He had done. All this talk about bread came after Jesus fed over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. In fact, the Jews were ready to make Jesus the King! So, where in the world do they now get the idea that they can grumble and complain that Jesus isn't who they think He should be? Oh. Wait. Jesus is teaching about Who He is and what He will do. He is the Bread of Life. He is the One Who will pay for the insatiable hunger that the Law demands. He is going to starve death and breathe life into the whole world. But that isn’t what the Jews are interested in. They want their immediate needs met. They want full bellies, and they want them now. How dare they? But wait..have I ever grumbled over something that was actually a Gift? Oof. We sinners are very short-sighted. We see the now, we see the immediate problem, we feel the pain, and we want a solution. Thanks be to God that His mercy is for the now and for the not yet. He cares about our pain and our immediate needs; He invites us to pray about them daily and promises to hear us. And yet, He is also the Bread that will cease all hunger. He will feed His people for eternity. In our pain, weakness, and, yes, even grumbling, we have a merciful and loving God Who gives us Himself. Jesus went to the cross to pay for our sins and rose on Easter, defeating all of our enemies. In the Divine Service, He gives us Himself - His Body and Blood - for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. When you (like me) feel the pain of your current moment, you get to look back to the cross and forward to the Lord’s Supper. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus is the One Who loves and cares for you now and for forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Father, Your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Grant that Christ, the bread of life, may live in us and we in Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/11/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saturday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 12 - Psalm 34:8-10; antiphon: Psalm 145:16Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:23-44; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Introit for Pentecost 12; Psalm 34:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Many of our readings this past week revolved around the theme of eating. God gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness. In our last Catechism reading concerning bodily eating and drinking in the Sacrament, Dr. Luther invited us to rejoice in the words of Jesus: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Even yesterday’s reading from 1 Corinthians 3 concerning the ministry began with Paul’s concern that the Corinthians get solid spiritual nourishment. Last Sunday’s Gospel ended with the people’s intrigue over Jesus’ words about the bread of heaven that gives life to the world and the people’s desire to know more (John 6:34). Jesus will flesh that out more in tomorrow’s Gospel reading.Tomorrow’s Introit follows suit, reminding us that the Lord sees to our needs. You have a God who provides for you and takes care of you. It’s just as we confess in Luther’s explanation of the First Article of the Creed, “He richly and daily provides me all that I need to support this body and life.” In the explanation to the Third Article, we confess that in the Christian Church, God the Holy Spirit “daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.” Your God provides now and for eternity.The Psalmist graciously invites you to “taste” this delightful truth. David prayed this when God had delivered him at a time when he was on the run from Saul, shortly after David and his men were given the Bread of Presence to satisfy their hunger (1 Samuel 21). The Psalm is not some guarantee of earthly prosperity. It’s a word of witness and encouragement of one individual from the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us as we run the race looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1). David was running the race, trusting God’s promise, His presence and protection for refuge in the midst of real danger.You come to the Divine Service for refuge in the Lord. You bring your sins and all of your scars from running the race with endurance. Taste and see that the Lord is good! Taste the sweet Absolution that declares you forgiven by the One who suffered, died, and rose for you. Taste His body on your tongue and His blood on your lips, and know with absolute certainty that the Lord is good. Blessed are you as you take refuge in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.That this forever true shall be He gives a solemn guarantee: In this His holy Supper here We taste His love so sweet, so near. (LSB 634:3)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/10/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Friday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 9, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:5-6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your pastor is a gift from God. It doesn’t matter if he’s your favorite or not. It doesn’t matter if his sermons aren’t the most exciting ones you’ve ever heard. What matters is that he is faithful to God as he preaches, teaches, provides pastoral care, and leads a holy life. You may attend a church that has a long history or one recently planted. Either way, a foundation was laid. That foundation is Christ and Him crucified. Your pastor’s preaching builds on that foundation. The irony about many in the Corinthian congregation is that they thought they were super spiritual when they were really quite immature. In the first two chapters, Paul oriented them away from themselves toward the cross of Christ. The Corinthians thought all that to be foolishness. Surely, the Christian faith can’t be about a suffering and dying Savior; it must be about signs and wonders, speaking in tongues and with great spiritual eloquence. Paul chucks all of that when he says, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1).Their spiritual immaturity manifested itself in so many ways, including their favoritism with regard to pastors. Apollos was supposedly a very talented preacher. Paul himself was trained in rhetoric. But he reminded the Corinthians that he did not come among them with lofty speech so as not to detract from Christ (1 Corinthians 2:1). Paul planted churches. Apollos watered. God gave the growth. It was all Jesus. It’s no different today. Your pastor waters. He carries out his call faithfully to give you Jesus.The Corinthians were gifted people. There were amazing pastors who served them. But look at what a disaster Paul encountered there: pride, divisions, sexual immorality, idolatry, and the list goes on. Nevertheless, he addressed them as brothers. He took them to task with the Law for being immature and of the flesh. But he reminded them whose they are: “You are Christ’s.” So it is for you, dear Christian. Rejoice that your pastor does the same. He nourishes you with God’s living and powerful Word and the Sacraments so that you grow into Him, who is your Head, even Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Help, Lord Jesus, help him nourish All our children with Your Word That in fervent love they serve You Till in heav’n their song is heard. Boundless blessings, Lord, bestow On his faithful toil below Till by grace to him be given His reward, the crown of heaven. (LSB 681:3)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/9/20245 minutes
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Thursday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things? Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.” (Small Catechism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Did your mother ever say to you, “Eat something, and you’ll feel better”? Often, eating does make us feel better when we’re down. Eating can give us pleasure. But the opposite can also be true. For those who struggle with overeating, eating can bring guilt and shame. Either way you look at it, eating can do something. However, when it comes to the Sacrament of the Altar, obviously, eating is part of it, but it’s not the main thing. It’s not what does great things.You can go to the Lord’s Table, receive His Body and Blood under the bread and wine, and feel great! There are times that I’ve gone to Communion and I return to the pew feeling such peace. That’s wonderful. But there are other times when I’ve received the Sacrament and still felt guilty and unworthy because of the weight of my sin. It’s not really about what you do or what you feel. In his explanation of the Sacrament of the Altar in the Small Catechism, Dr. Luther points you to the words of Christ Himself: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”Every time that the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, the pastor speaks the very words that Jesus spoke when He instituted this most holy meal. These aren’t magic words, but they are powerful words. They are the words of Jesus for you. You hear Christ’s words also during the distribution. As you receive the cup, the pastor or maybe an elder in the church usually says, “The blood of Christ shed for you.” Then you eat and drink.Eating and drinking are part of the Sacrament, sure. After all, Jesus instituted His Supper for us Christians to eat and drink. But our actions never bring about God’s grace and forgiveness. God does it all. Jesus accomplished your salvation on the cross. Faith grabs hold of this amazing Gift of forgiveness offered to you in the Supper. Faith clings to those sweet words of Jesus, trusting His promise and resting in the peace of sin forgiven. And even faith is a Gift of God worked by His Holy Spirit. To God be the glory! Great things He has done and still does for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We eat this bread and drink this cup, Your precious Word believing That Your true body and Your blood Our lips are here receiving. This Word remains forever true, All things are possible with you, For you are Lord Almighty. (LSB 622:4)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/8/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Wednesday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 7, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 20:24-42Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:24-42; 1 Sam. 21:1-23:29; 1 Cor. 1:1-25For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” (1 Samuel 20:31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Saul was paranoid. He was obsessed with retaining his royal power. Even though he knew that David had been anointed king of Israel in his place, his jealousy and his pride fueled a murderous rage against the son of Jesse. Saul’s rage was so intense that even his own son Jonathan got caught in the crosshairs and almost became a casualty. Saul was only interested in an earthly kingdom; he saw his son as the future heir.Sometimes, in our short-sightedness, we get lost in our little earthly kingdoms and forget that God’s kingdom is much bigger. Whether it involves our place in the family, with friends, at school, at work, or even at church, we like to have it our way and maintain things just the way we like them. Last Sunday’s Gospel revealed what kind of king the Israelites wanted: one who could feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, with plenty of leftovers. They couldn’t see beyond their own self-interests either. So it is with the Old Adam.Israel wanted a king so they could be like the nations, even though Yahweh God had called them to be distinct. Yahweh Himself was their king. Nevertheless, Yahweh made provision for a king. Saul proved to be a failure, following his own impulses rather than God’s Word. Yahweh chose another king–David. In 2 Samuel, we see again that God is working something much bigger than establishing the nation Israel in the Promised Land. He’s at work to establish His eternal kingdom in Christ. He’s at work for you.No wonder Satan drove Saul into a murderous rage against David! Something bigger than the kingdom of Israel was at stake. Kings wanted Jesus, the Son of David, dead. Remember murderous Herod? The religious establishment wanted Jesus dead, too. They lied, deceived, and plotted to kill Him. He didn’t fit into their vision of the kingdom. They nailed the King of the Jews to a cross. Their murderous plot succeeded. But like St. Paul says, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). At the cross, God was at work for you, for your eternal salvation. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, you have a place in God’s eternal kingdom. Rejoice and sing! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Crown Him the Lord of Life, Who triumphed o’er the grave And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save. His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring And lives that death may die. (LSB 525:4)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/7/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Tuesday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:1-23; Acts 28:16-31There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call– one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4–6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ephesians 4 confesses that the Holy Christian Church is one, even as our God is one. The Church is a reflection of her Lord. Sadly, it doesn’t always appear to be one here on earth. In the two thousand-plus years since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, countless denominations of Christian churches have appeared. It can be confusing and discouraging. It can even be offensive to some, so much so that they abandon the Church altogether.We can’t make the Church one by our doing. Many have attempted and still attempt to do so today by stripping away what they think gets in the way–doctrine, a pure confession of faith based on God’s Word. In the end, non-denominational churches end up being another denomination. They often put more focus on what the church does–love and good works, which may look great on the surface, but it is a false unity. The biggest casualty of all is the Gospel–the Good News of salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus for you. It gets lost and left behind as no longer useful.When you confess in the Creed, “I believe in the Holy Christian Church,” you recognize and affirm that the Church is an article of faith. It’s God’s beloved creation through the Gospel. Sure, the Church has an outward manifestation, too. The marks of the Church are the Word and Sacraments. Where Christ crucified is preached, there you will find true believers. There will likely be unbelievers there as well. Jesus said that the wheat and the weeds would be mixed together until He comes again (Matthew 13:30).If you look in the mirror of God’s Word, you see your own sinfulness. You’re pretty good at seeing the sinfulness of others as well. Thanks be to God that appearances are not all they’re cracked up to be! Thanks be to God, who works faith that clings to Jesus and His promises of forgiveness and life. By faith in Christ, you are justified, declared righteous, holy, and forgiven before God. The word “one” appears seven times in this passage–one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all. That’s the number of completion. It’s all His doing for you. Thanks be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Elect from ev’ry nation, Yet one o’er all the earth; Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses With ev’ry grace endued. (LSB 644:2)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/6/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Monday of the Eleventh Week After Pentecost

August 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Exodus 16:2-15Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 19:1-24; Acts 28:1-15“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” (Exodus 16:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week, we read that David cut off Goliath’s head so that the whole earth would know that there’s a God in Israel (1 Samuel 17:46). God’s power testifies to who He is. We have every reason to know Him: to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. But self-absorbed sinners often quickly forget. The Israelites proved this time and again.Their grumbling over empty stomachs happened on the heels of what God had done for them at the crossing of the Red Sea. They had seen His power over Pharaoh and his army. Freed from bondage in Egypt, they were making their way to the Promised Land. When Pharaoh and his army were in pursuit, God’s display of power and protection for His people was so incredible! He parted the sea for His people to cross, then put an end to Pharaoh and his army. Afterward, Moses and the people sang, “The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2).God’s miracles are powerful testimonies to who He is. But when the Israelites were hungry, they threw God’s mercy back in His face and accused Him of evil. “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3). But what was God’s response? “Behold, I am about to rain down bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). God provided manna and quail. God continually acted to show them that He was their one true God.While you were still a sinner, God acted. Christ died for you. St. Paul says that’s how God shows you His love for you (Romans 5:8). In Christ, you know for certain that He is your one true God. Paul says that in the context of suffering. The road from Egypt to the Promised Land could not have been easy. Your pilgrimage isn’t easy either. It’s filled with ups and downs. In the midst of such uncertainty, God rains down manna from heaven. He gives you His Son, not just some spiritual boost, but Christ’s very Body and Blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation. Now, you can sing God’s praises with joy as you journey from Baptism to resurrection on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell everyone what He has done. Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name. He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia. (LSB Divine Service, Setting One- Thank the Lord)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/5/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost

August 4, 2024 Today's Reading: John 6:22-35Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 18:10-30; Acts 27:27-44Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus exposes the motives of those who sought Him after the feeding of the five thousand. They were chasing after food that perishes. Their primary target was what they needed for day-to-day life. That’s important. You gotta eat! But it can’t be what drives you. We work to put food on the table and have money in our pockets to buy what we think will satisfy us. None of it lasts. Jesus calls us to look beyond our day-to-day needs to our eternal needs, to Him who gives life to the world.Doesn’t it please God to do our duty each day as we live out our vocations? Isn’t it God-pleasing to work and put food on the table for our good and the good of our families? What could be more godly than that? When Jesus challenges His hearers on this, they ask the natural question: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” So Jesus tells them what is God-pleasing: Believe in Him! Faith in Jesus pleases God.When people hear that the Christian faith is about Jesus, believing and trusting in Him for eternal salvation, many of them are disappointed and turn away. Isn’t religion supposed to make you a better you? Shouldn’t the Christian faith make this a better world? You know just how evil this world is. The “religious” Jews put Jesus to death. They rejected Him and His kingdom. You reject Him in your sins, too. God knows how evil it is. In Jesus, God stepped into this world. He became a physical, human part of it. He did this to redeem the world, to redeem you from all the evil of sin, death, and the devil.Jesus did come to make a better world. His resurrection is the greatest sign that the new creation is upon us. Faith clings to Jesus and longs for the end of this evil world and the dawn of the new, eternal one. Faith in Jesus, the Bread of Life, indeed pleases God. Your faith is nourished by the Bread of Life at His Table. He strengthens you with His Body and Blood to go out and love your neighbor, to provide for his or her needs, driving them right into the loving embrace of Him who gives life to the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Father, You gave Your Son Jesus as the heavenly bread of life. Grant us faith to feast on Him in Your Word and Sacraments that we may be nourished unto life everlasting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/4/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Saturday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

August 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 11 - Ps. 78:23-25; antiphon: Ps. 78:72Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9; Acts 27:9-26Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance. (Introit for Pentecost 11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In college, I sang a beautiful piece with two friends called “Panis Angelicus,” Latin for “bread of angels.” If I had to describe the sound of it all, I would say that it was heavenly. Music and other earthly gifts can work on our emotions, transporting us out of the humdrum of life to feel and experience amazing things. That’s truly wonderful. But as “heavenly” as it all sounded to me, as good as it felt, the emotional high faded not long after the music stopped.God gives us good gifts that make us feel good, but they’re not the be-all-end-all. When we talk about worship, much of our discussion often revolves around music. Some music, whether you’d label it traditional or contemporary, is highly emotional. That’s not necessarily bad, but it is when it drives everything. Worship isn’t about what we want. It’s not driven by our feelings, our likes or dislikes. Worship drives us to Christ.In Psalm 78, the Psalmist recounts the great deeds of the Lord, which should be shared from generation to generation “so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Psalm 78:7). He reminds Israel that God brought them out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and fed them in the wilderness. Nevertheless, the people continually forgot it all.Like Israel of old, we’re stubborn. We complain. We test God. We sin against Him. We forget His awesome deeds for us in Christ. The beauty of the Divine Service is that God remembers us. He gathers us in His presence. He reminds us of His awesome deeds for us. We confess our sins. We receive His word of pardon. We hear the Gospel, the story of Jesus and His saving works. We confess our faith in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We sing His praises. How does it all culminate? God gives us the bread of angels. He gives us the Body and Blood of Christ for forgiveness, life, and salvation. The liturgy prepares us and carries us to that glorious culmination at the Lord’s Table, where we eat the bread of angels. It’s literally heaven on earth. We’re in the presence of our Lord, at His banquet, with Him both host and meal.The antiphon from tomorrow’s Introit echoes, “With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand” (Psalm 78:72). Tomorrow in the Divine Service, Jesus shepherds you and guides you with His nail-pierced hands to His Table. He opens the doors of heaven and rains down upon you food in abundance. It doesn’t get more heavenly here on Earth than that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.King of kings yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords in human vesture, In the body and the blood, He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav’nly food. (LSB 621:2)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/3/20245 minutes, 3 seconds
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Friday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

August 2, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 17:20-47Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47; Acts 26:24-27:8This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel (1 Samuel 17:46).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wasn’t it enough that David slew the giant Goliath? Did he really have to cut off his head, too? Often, God’s acts of judgment seem extreme to us. It’s enough to turn a lot of people away from the Old Testament and even the Church. Sometimes, the blood and gore do seem extreme, but when it comes down to God’s enemies, He goes all the way to make sure that you are saved and protected from all evil. He leaves no stone unturned. God is almighty and powerful. God saves His people.So often today, Bible stories like David and Goliath are twisted into turning you and me into the hero. They’ll say if we believe enough or trust God enough, He’ll make us strong to defeat our enemies, whatever “Goliath” in your life stands against you. No! Sure, David was revered after he defeated the giant. He became more and more popular with the people. His success grew. But David didn’t slay the giant Goliath for his own glory. He did it so that “all the earth would know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46). After a small stone from a sling brought the giant down, David put the fear of God in the Philistines by leaving no doubt that their champion was dead by the hand of God. The Philistines fled.God acts so that all may know that He is God. It was the same for the Israelites when God acted to bring them out of Egypt. The ten plagues, the drowning of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, all of it was so that Egypt and the nations would know that Yahweh was the one true God. Yahweh is mighty in power. Yahweh saves His people.The blood and gore of the cross are gruesome, but God left no one in doubt that His only Son was dead. He was cut off from the land of the living (Isaiah 53:8). But so that all may know that He is the One True God, He raised His Son to life again, life imperishable. Not even death can stop the Lord from saving His people. Jesus has defeated death. He cut off its head.Isn’t it enough that Jesus died and rose? Does He have to wipe out all of God’s enemies? Even the New Testament can get pretty gruesome when it comes to the final defeat of God’s enemies. Jesus treads the winepress and is covered in the blood of those who defied the living God. Remember: God acts so that all may know that He is the One True God. In Jesus, He acts for you. At His return, the victorious Christ brings the final defeat of sin, death, and the devil and renders them powerless, all for you so that you can “live under Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness” (Small Catechism, Explanation of the Second Article). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Wisely fight, for time is fleeting; The hours of grace are fast retreating; Short, short is this our earthly way. When the Lord the dead will waken And sinners all by fear are shaken, The saints with joy will greet that day. Praise God, our triumph’s sure. We need not long endure Scorn and trial. Our Savior King His own will bring To that great glory which we sing. (LSB 668:3)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/2/20245 minutes, 36 seconds
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Thursday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

August 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19; Acts 26:1-23What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (Small Catechism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In today’s Old Testament reading, the Philistines and the Israelites are lined up for battle, with a valley between them. The Philistines stood strong with their champion, Goliath of Gath, in front, taunting the Israelite army, so much so that Saul and all Israel “were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:11). Israel had no such giant champion. At the end of the reading, David, the shepherd boy, arrives, not even to save the day but to deliver bread and cheese to his brothers and the commander of the army. And there, God does something extraordinary with what is ordinary. David defeats Goliath.In the Lord’s Supper, God takes something ordinary and makes it extraordinary. Sometimes, we Lutherans are like the Israelites, lined up for battle. A large portion of modern evangelical Christianity says that there’s no benefit, no Gift given to those who partake of the Lord’s Supper. They say that the Lord’s Supper is just bread and wine, symbols that represent the Body and Blood of Jesus in a meal that we eat merely to remember His sacrifice at Calvary. There’s a huge valley between them and us.Now, we’re not literally lined up for battle, certainly not against fellow Christians. But we are lined up for battle against the devil who takes every opportunity to diminish Christ, steal you away from Him and His Gifts, and leave you in doubt about His love for you. In the midst of your doubt and fear, God brings His Word and promise. Dr. Luther rejoiced in the words of Christ: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Faith clings to the promise of Jesus. Faith receives exactly what Jesus promises–forgiveness, life, and salvation.The Sacrament of the Altar may appear weak and insignificant. It may not make sense at all that in it, God gives you Gifts of eternal significance. But when you’re lined up for battle against the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh, the Lord stands ready to strengthen you in this holy meal with His divine Gifts. Even when you’re at your weakest in the fight, the Son of David comes with the provision of His Body and Blood, by which He defeated sin, death, and the devil for you. He sends you forth, not in fear and doubt, but strengthened in His certain victory over death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God descends with heav’nly power, Gives Himself to me this hour In this ordinary sign. On my tongue His pledge receiving I accept His grace, believing That I taste His love divine. (LSB 620:4)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
8/1/20244 minutes, 59 seconds
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Wednesday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

July 31, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 16:1-23; Acts 25:13-27Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.”  (1 Samuel 16:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Old Testament era, God’s Spirit came upon certain individuals and was manifest in different ways. Often, He gave the gift of prophecy, but not always. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God to equip him for craftsmanship in the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:3). God took “some of the Spirit” that was upon Moses to put upon seventy of the elders of Israel to assist in the work of serving the people (Numbers 11:17). When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. Joshua was “a man in whom was the Spirit” (Numbers 27:18). The Spirit of the Lord was upon judges like Othniel (Judges 3:10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Jephthah (Judges 11:29), and others. When Saul was anointed the first king of Israel, the Spirit came upon him, and he prophesied (1 Samuel 10:10).The Spirit also rushed upon David when he was anointed by Samuel as Saul’s successor, the king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13). Whereas the Spirit often remained for a time on others, the Spirit remained continually with David. He was the Lord’s anointed. Later, in Psalm 51, when considering the reality and gravity of sin, David prayed, “Take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). Perhaps he was remembering when God removed His Spirit from hard-hearted Saul, rejecting him as king over Israel. David continually needed God’s Spirit to serve God’s people faithfully as their king.The Holy Spirit descended upon the Son of David at His Baptism. John the Baptist said, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him” (John 1:32). The Spirit confirmed to John (and to you and me) that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Spirit confirmed that Jesus is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’ bloody Baptism on the cross and His resurrection, He sent forth His apostles to make disciples by baptizing and teaching.At your Baptism, the Holy Spirit rushed upon you and remains on you. He sanctifies and keeps you in the one true faith, anchoring you in Jesus to bear good fruit. Through the Means Of Grace, He forgives your sins, equips you for daily life in your vocation, and enables you to confess Jesus. He keeps you awake and watchful for the final resurrection. Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Lord Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord, With all Your graces now outpoured On each believer’s mind and heart; Your fervent love to them impart. Lord, by the brightness of Your light In holy faith Your Church unite From every land and every tongue This to Your praise, O Lord, our God, be sung: Alleluia, alleluia! (LSB 497:1)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
7/31/20245 minutes, 4 seconds
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Tuesday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

July 30, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 15:10-35; Acts 24:24-25:12Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Are your prayers big? Jesus teaches us to ask (Matthew 7:7-8; 21:22), so pray! Ask! Go big! We probably think our prayers are big. We pray for our loved ones who are sick and need healing. We pray for miracles, like when a dear one has cancer or is near death after a tragic accident. We pray that God would bring peace where there is war. Those are big prayers! But even the smaller ones can tend to seem big at the time, like asking God to make things work out with my crush or to get into the college I’ve dreamed about. But are any of these things really that big? I don’t mean to minimize our requests or discourage praying for any of those things. Jesus says to ask, so ask! Ask big!In Ephesians 3, St. Paul prays for the spiritual well-being of the Ephesians. He had just rejoiced in the mystery of the Gospel, namely that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (3:6). That’s BIG, bigger than what most Jews could think or ask. When some people brought Jesus a paralytic for healing, Jesus first forgave his sins (Matthew 9:2). A paralytic getting up and walking is big, but isn’t the forgiveness of sins even bigger?Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). That’s a BIG prayer. It’s one that you and I pray often, just as Jesus taught us. Thy will be done! It’s a hard prayer to pray when we want that loved one healed. But, just as Paul teaches the Ephesians, God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (3:20). God has indeed done the biggest thing of all. In Christ, God has saved you from eternal death by His suffering and death on the cross. That’s God’s good and gracious will for you and certainly bigger than anything we could ask or think.Paul prays that the Ephesians would get just how BIG God’s saving love is. It seems rather small that Christ dwells in your heart through faith, but in Him, you are filled with the fullness of God. By His Spirit, you experience the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love for you in Christ. Rooted and grounded in THAT love, with the power of His Spirit at work in you, everything else appears pretty small. Sure, you still pray for your loved one to be healed. Of course you do! But faith clings to the promise of eternal life in Christ. Faith clings to Jesus, even when our prayers aren’t answered in the way we had hoped. Faith rejoices that even death itself is undone in the One who loves you so much that He died and rose again for you.The last part of Luther’s explanation of the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Small Catechism reads: “God’s will is done when He strengthens and keeps us firm in his Word and faith until we die.” That echoes Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and for you and me. To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Hear us, Father, when we pray, Through Your Son and in Your Spirit. By Your Spirit’s Word convey All that we through Christ inherit, That as baptized heirs we may Truly pray. (LSB 773:1)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
7/30/20245 minutes, 46 seconds
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Monday of the Tenth Week After Pentecost

July 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Genesis 9:8-17Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 14:47-15:9; Acts 24:1-23I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Floods destroy! The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that floods are the #1 natural disaster in the United States and average over 2.4 billion dollars in losses per year for the past decade. Even just an inch of water can cause costly damage. A flood that destroys the earth? Wow!It’s not just the earth that was destroyed; it’s “all flesh.” Moses writes, “And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind” (Genesis 7:21). We see on the news and around us the destruction of homes, buildings, and other property devastated by floods. Some floods bring catastrophic death tolls. But none of that even compares to the destruction wrought by the great flood. All flesh perished, with the exception of eight people.Why were Noah and his family saved? Noah didn’t walk on water, but he walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Noah was righteous. That doesn’t mean he was sinless. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). True for Noah. True for you. Sin brings death. Noah died. He didn’t die in the flood, but he still died. Genesis 9 concludes: “All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died” (Genesis 9:29). But Noah died fearing and trusting in God.Noah and his family were preserved in the ark from death by water. They were saved from worldwide destruction. God promised never to destroy the earth again with water. He put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant promise. But that promise anticipated an even greater one. As the line of humanity continued, God’s promise to Adam and Eve to redeem all flesh through the son of the woman endured. God spared Noah and his family to save you from the evils of sin, death, and the devil. Jesus, God in human flesh, was cut off (Isa. 53:8), taking upon himself the punishment you deserve at Calvary.Now Jesus has unleashed a life-giving flood that saves you– Holy Baptism. In Baptism, God has established His covenant with you. You’re dead to sin and alive to God in Christ! You are righteous. You walk with God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus’ blood? (LSB 594:2)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
7/29/20245 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tenth Sunday After Pentecost

July 28, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 6:45-56Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18; Acts 23:12-35He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Mark 6:48–50)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Israelites needed a path through the Red Sea as they fled from Pharaoh and his chariots. Jesus needs no path. He doesn’t need a boat or a jet ski. He is Yahweh incarnate. He can take a stroll on the water. He is Lord over all creation. God tramples the waves of the sea (Job 9:8).After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent His disciples away in a boat. From John’s account of that miracle, Jesus went away quickly as the people tried to make him their king by force. He went off by Himself to pray but found himself alone on the shore without a boat by evening. He needed to get to the other side of the sea. So He sets out on foot. He saw the disciples in their boat, fighting the headwind as they made their way across. Mark says that Jesus meant to pass them by.“Jesus passing by” brings up images from the Old Testament. Yahweh passed by Moses and proclaimed His name and His Gospel-forgiving nature (Exodus 34). Yahweh passed by Elijah, and a great wind followed (1 Kings 19). On the Sea of Galilee, Yahweh incarnate almost passed by His disciples. They saw Him and cried out in terror and desperation, thinking He was a ghost. God is spirit, but real flesh in the person of Jesus. Jesus heard the fearful cry of his disciples but didn’t keep going. He got into the boat and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”Jesus hears your cries as you row against the headwind of sin and death, making no headway. He doesn’t just pass you by. He comes to you with the life-giving fruits of His cross. He comes to you in the water of Baptism and pulls you into the ark of His Church. He doesn’t merely pass you by at His Table but puts His very Body and Blood into your mouth. The disciples were astounded and still didn’t understand. But Jesus leaves you with no doubt of who He is for you– your God, your Savior, who carries you through death and the grave to life eternal. Take heart! He is God in the flesh for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and most merciful God, the protector of all who trust in You, strengthen our faith and give us courage to believe that in Your love You will rescue us from all adversities; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost)-Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships and assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. LouisAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Confessions play a vital role in the church—both centuries ago, and today. But, do they apply to the daily life of a layperson? Pastor Andy Wright offers a resounding “yes” in his book, Faithfully Formed. He quotes, summarizes, and synthesizes key teachings from the Confessions, revealing their relevance in the daily lives of ordinary people.
7/28/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Saturday of the Ninth Week After Pentecost

July 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 10 - Psalm 145:1-3, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 145:5Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 12:1-25; Acts 22:30-23:11Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you meditate? In our Psalm today, David does! It’s important for us to distinguish the meditation that Scripture extols from the meditation that the world would teach us. Meditation, as the world understands it, is usually intended to empty our minds or to broaden our minds to the point that we’re free from constraints. In God’s Word, meditation doesn’t “free our minds” but draws us deeper into His Word! Being empty-headed is not seen as a goal but as part of the problem! So, when David meditates on God, his attention is focused on the “glorious splendor of [God’s] majesty” and “[God’s] wondrous works.” In other words, what does it mean for God to be God? And what does this look like in time and space? David answers the first by saying that God is “unsearchably great!” That’s not usually a phrase we use, but it’s the truth. No amount of searching, contemplating, or imagining could adequately describe how great the Lord is! But, in a way, you should expect nothing less than an answer like that. After all, if a god isn’t beyond understanding, almighty, majestic—he’s not much of a god, is he? That’s why the second part is so very important for our own meditation upon the Lord! What is God like? Let me tell you what He has done! That’s what the rest of Psalm 145 essentially says. You know what God is like because of what He has done for His people. God’s actions speak plenty loud—they shout His great love for us! They show us His redemptive work, time after time. And these actions are chiefly known through the sending of His Son. Do you want to know what kind of a God we have? Look to the cross. Peer into the empty tomb. Listen to Jesus’ words of peace and forgiveness. Hear Jesus as He tells us that He goes to prepare a place for us. Trust that He has restored you into the favor of God as dear, forgiven children. It shouldn’t surprise us that Christian meditation isn’t about us at all. It’s about Christ. We fix our eyes on Him, lest we become distracted by the temptations and allures of this world. God has invited us to meditate upon this unsearchably great majesty, on these wondrously loving works. And that meditation keeps us anchored in Christ! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Before You, Lord, we bow, Our God Who reigns above And rules the world below, Boundless in pow’r and love. Our thanks we bring In joy and praise, Our hearts we raise To You, our King! Amen. (LSB 966:1)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/27/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Friday of the Ninth Week After Pentecost

July 26, 2024Today's Reading: Catechism: What is the Sacrament of the Altar?Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 10:1-27; Acts 22:17-29The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is it?! That’s the question I hear children ask their parents at the Communion rail all the time. I’ll admit that I’ve heard a wide range of answers whispered into those little ears in response. There are a few I’ve heard that have left me thinking, “Don’t cringe!” Recently, I heard an answer that actually made me grin. “He’s right here,” said the little boy’s grandma, as she held the host in her hand, “and in heaven, too.” Perfect. I love it. Praise God. We shouldn’t budge an inch on this. “What is this bread?” one of our hymns asks… “Christ’s body risen from the dead!” comes the answer! We have here, from our Lord Jesus, the food from the table He prepares before us— the meal from the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. When Jesus instituted this Blessed Meal, He did so that we might receive the great benefits of His Gospel in a tangible way through one of the most common experiences we can imagine: eating and drinking. Bread is a nearly universal staple of mankind; this began with Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden. “By the sweat of your brow, you will eat bread,” God told our first father. Bread is the food of the Fall. It requires multiple steps, processes, and preparation to create, and it is fleeting. Israel learns that man can’t live by bread alone in the wilderness, and the manna God gave them spoiled in a day’s time! But Jesus takes this food and repurposes it. Just as man lives by the Words that proceed from the mouth of the Lord, we are given daily bread that will never spoil but endures to eternity! Just as Christ’s body is given for us Christians to eat, so also is His precious blood poured out for us to drink, trusting His words. Paul reminds us that eating and drinking the bread and the cup is a participation in the Body and Blood of Jesus. We are connected to Christ through eating and drinking in faith. So come, dear Christian, to the altar. It is Christ. It is for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, our God, in Holy Baptism You have called us to be Christians and granted us the remission of sins. Make us ready to receive the most holy Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins, and grant us grateful hearts that we may give thanks to You, O Father, to Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/26/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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St. James the Elder

July 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 9:1-27; Acts 21:37-22:16“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think it’s fair to say that James and John act and behave in the way that we likely would if we had no filter. What I mean by that is most of us would have a little restraint before we asked Jesus something like James and John did in Mark 10. They effectively ask, “What’s in it for us?!” Most of us were raised better than that! Right?! Maybe the sons of Zebedee’s raising should be called into question since, in Matthew 20, in a very similar situation, James and John’s mother made the same request of Jesus, only on their behalf. If we’re being honest, I think we all want some sense that what we get out of something will be “worth it” in comparison to what we’ve put into it. It only makes sense that the result and reward would line up with the sacrifice required. But that’s why the Christian faith is earth-shatteringly different from every other religion in the world. What you put into it doesn’t have any bearing on what you get out of it. All of your works, whether wicked or righteous, are filthy in the eyes of God. But the same is not true of Jesus. His works are perfectly pleasing to God. His works are exactly what God has commanded of His creation. And His works are exchanged to all who trust in Him for salvation. Jesus wasn’t concerned with giving out seats at His left or His right. He was concerned with preparing places at His wedding banquet. And that’s the beautiful thing about our Lord! He came to serve US! We all too often get things backward. Jesus sets things straight by coming not to be served but to serve. To give His life as a ransom for many—even for all! What’s left is for us to look all the more to Jesus, not asking for more, but trusting that He has in store for us exactly what’s best for us. Lord, give us such eyes of faith to see! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O gracious God, Your servant and apostle James was the first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ. Pour out upon the leaders of Your Church that spirit of self-denying service that they may forsake all false and passing allurements and follow Christ alone, Who lives with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/25/20244 minutes, 20 seconds
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Wednesday of the Ninth Week After Pentecost

July 24, 2024 Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 8:1-22; Acts 21:15-36“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of my favorite introductions in the Bible belongs to King David. You probably remember the scene. Saul had been rejected by the LORD, and Samuel was sent in secret to Bethlehem, to Jesse, and each of Jesse’s sons passed before him. None of them were pleasing in God’s eyes. “You have any more of those sons, Jesse?” You can almost hear the worry in Samuel’s voice…this was supposed to be the place, right?! But there was one more—he was watching the sheep. That boy would become the King of Israel. He would shepherd God’s people, and he would own the words of the 23rd Psalm, taking comfort by confessing, “The LORD is my Shepherd!” By the time the prophet Jeremiah lived, Israel had been ruled by a long line of kings who were anything but shepherd-like. So God intervenes. God Himself would step in to shepherd His people. He would gather them from the places they were scattered. He would lead them and feed them. But then He would raise up other shepherds. Better shepherds. Well, One Shepherd in particular. Jesus came as the fulfillment of this prophecy, and where David and the rest of the kings of Israel failed by sinning, Jesus didn’t. He came to bring righteousness to all who believed in His name. He came to be the righteousness of God through His perfect life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection. All of this He did for YOU! Think about it like this: God surveys the scene of those who have been set apart to serve as His shepherds. One by one, He sees that their lives are marred by sin, and they themselves have wandered like sheep! God’s great love sent Jesus to be the last and ONLY shepherd we’ll ever need. He has been through the valley of the shadow of death. He has emerged on the other side, alive again forever…and you, His dear sheep, will live in His house forevermore! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Savior, like a shepherd lead us; Much we need Your tender care. In Your pleasant pastures feed us, For our use Your fold prepare. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, You have bought us; we are Yours. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, You have bought us, we are Yours. Amen. (LSB 711:1)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/24/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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Tuesday of the Ninth Week After Pentecost

July 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 6:19-7:17; Acts 19:23-21:14; Acts 19:1-22So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19-21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is going to be a dangerous rhetorical question…Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in? Just so that question doesn’t hang out there in the void, I’ll answer: YES! YES! A thousand times, yes! There were times when I tried doing the popular things, and sometimes it worked, other times it didn’t. There were times when I didn’t do the popular thing, opting for what I knew to be the right thing, and that didn’t make many friends, either. In our reading today, we’re reminded of a distinction that existed in the first century that we don’t really experience today: Jewish vs. Gentile Christians. There are, unfortunately, divisions among Christians today, but it’s hard to imagine the kind of animosity that existed among those who had the promises, the covenant, the lineage, the Scripture—you get the idea. From their perspective, these Gentiles had always been unclean, even idolaters and enemies of God. And now they were just going to receive the same salvation as God’s people of old?! Without any kind of sacrifice?! Without any obedience to the law of Moses and the traditions of the elders?! But that’s the beauty of Jesus’ perfect, innocent blood. It brings people into the family of God. It tears down the division lines between those of Abraham and those of every other family on earth (remember that they would be blessed in Abraham’s offspring, too! Genesis 12:3, 28:14). Paul continues by saying that not only are Gentiles brought into the family of God through the blood of Christ, but God is using all believers to build Himself a house, a Temple, in which His glory dwells, established on the preaching of the apostles, with Christ Himself as the cornerstone, and you and me and all Christians fitting perfectly into the places that God has intended for us from before the foundation of the world! With a place like that, who could ever hope to fit into this world that’s passing away?! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Paschal Lamb, by God appointed, All our sins on Thee were laid; By almighty love anointed, Thou hast full atonement made. All Thy people are forgiven Through the virtue of Thy blood; Opened is the gate of heaven, Reconciled are we with God. Amen. (LSB 531:2)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/23/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Mary Magdalene

July 22, 2024 Today's Reading: John 20:1-2, 10-18Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 5:1-6:3, 10-16; Acts 18:1-11, 23-28Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. (John 20:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary Magdalene gets an unfair rap if you ask me. Scripture tells us that Jesus had driven seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2)—she may have been the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:36-50), but that’s speculation. Church tradition suggests some other sinful things about her past, and I’m not really here to disagree with the Church’s handed-down tradition, but let’s remember Mary Magdalene for what she got right—it’s really important. Mary, not to be confused with any of the other Marys in the Gospels, was there at Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection! While the disciples were running, hiding, and denying, she stood by and watched it all happen! While the disciples were in a grief-stricken stupor early in the morning on that first day of the week—and indeed the First Day of the new life that is in Christ for all who believe—she made provisions and journeyed to the tomb. No doubt, she was stricken with grief, eyes weary from tears, and when she saw the stone rolled away, she ran and told Peter and John. After they saw the empty tomb, they went their own ways. But not Mary. She stood there, lost in thoughts of what this could possibly mean, and then she saw Jesus. She knew Him when He called her name. Isn’t that just the greatest thing? Blinded by grief and unfamiliar with the resurrected face of Jesus, He calls her by name. He names us, too. That’s the blessing of Baptism. Your name is spoken out loud, not so that the congregation can hear it, and certainly not because God needed to hear it…but because you do. Yes, Christ appoints pastors in His stead and by His command, but Jesus calls your name as you are baptized into His name—and His death and resurrection, too! And our response is just the same as Mary’s: we go, we run, we spread to anyone and everyone we can find, and we joyfully announce that Christ—who was crucified, dead, and buried—is alive again forever! Or, as Mary so beautifully put it to the apostles whose hearts were broken: “I have seen the Lord!” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We sing Your praise for Mary, Who came at Easter dawn To look for Jesus’ body And found her Lord was gone. But, as with joy she saw Him In resurrection light, May we by faith behold Him, The Day who ends our night. Amen. (LSB 855:11)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/22/20244 minutes, 26 seconds
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Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

July 21, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 6:30-44Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 4:1-22; Acts 17:1-34; Acts 16:23-40When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes, I read a passage of Scripture, and it’s so familiar to me that I struggle to hear it as if it were the first time. Does that ever happen to you? Sometimes, we’re afflicted by an “I already know how this one ends” attitude. One of the things I’ve found helpful over the years is to zoom in on the details of a familiar account, not losing sight of what the main point is, but giving special attention to the way the Spirit moved the authors to tell their story. Today, we take up Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. It begins with Jesus inviting the disciples to join Him in a desolate place that they would reach by boat. The crowds had been intrigued by Jesus, and it seemed as if Jesus was trying to give His guys a breather. But the crowds followed them anyway…into a place where there wasn’t any food. Jesus cared for them the way a shepherd cares for sheep, showing compassion. After a back-and-forth conversation about who should give the folks something to eat, Jesus instructed them to give them something to eat. “200 hundred days’ wages couldn’t feed this mob of people!” They replied. “What have you got?” He asked. He gave thanks over the five loaves and the two fish…and then the disciples distributed them so that everyone had their fill. There were twelve basketfuls of leftovers, one for each disciple. Just like the disciples, we get worked down by the circumstances of this life. We are hard-pressed on every side. But Jesus has not left us alone nor desolate; like a shepherd, the Good Shepherd, He has compassion on us. He gives us more love than we can even fathom. His forgiveness and provision know no bounds. And the desolate place turns out to be the place called the Skull. How can there be life in such a place as this?! Look to the cross—to the place where the Shepherd lays down His life for you. Flowing from that innocent death are life and salvation, life overflowing into eternity. The Lord provides. Taste and see that He is good! Or, better put: take and eat, take and drink. This Shepherd’s Body and Blood are yours as a guarantee! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your Gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/21/20244 minutes, 37 seconds
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Saturday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 9 - Ps. 147:7-11; antiphon: Ps. 145:16Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 3:1-21; Acts 16:1-22You open your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The antiphon for tomorrow’s Introit should be familiar to us: “You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing.” In the Small Catechism, this verse and the one before it, “The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season” (Psalm 145:15), are spoken before each meal prayer is offered. This is the appropriate mindset for all Christians: to recognize that God is the Giver of every good and perfect Gift. His provision sustains all of creation. We don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear creation respond to God’s generous Gifts. And far too often, we fail to lift up our voices in thanksgiving and praise to God. This shortsightedness and thanklessness is sin. Part of being the pinnacle of God’s creation is that we are appointed to offer acceptable praise to Him for all His goodness to us and to all of creation. And yet, thankfulness doesn’t always come naturally to us. We simply forget that God, in His wisdom, sends rain on the wicked and the just… and sometimes He withholds rain from the wicked and the just, just the same. God created the predator and the prey. It’s easy for us to forget the scope of God’s perfect attention to detail, His active hand in every atom in creation. What is the remedy for this forgetfulness? Thankfulness. Giving thanks to God for the good that He has done. And widening our gaze to see that He has done good, not only for us but in every corner of creation for every second of its existence! God does more than satisfy the desires of every living thing; He sees that we are well-supplied beyond our wildest dreams! Put another way, He loves us with the perfect love of a Father. He has seen to all of the details and overseen the greatest needs that exist in creation. And in every instance, He has done what He always does! He opens His hand to feed us. He gives us what we need, even before we’ve asked. He supplies us with more than we need for this body and life– He supplies us what we need for eternity. He has given a Savior from sin, an antidote to death, and His Spirit to dwell inside us, perfecting our prayers and tuning our thanksgiving so that our voices may be added to the whole heavenly host, giving thanks to God forever! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His steadfast love endures forever! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Feed Thy children, God most holy; Comfort sinners poor and lowly. O Thou Bread of Life from heaven, Bless the food Thou here hast given! As these gifts the body nourish, May our souls in graces flourish Till with saints in heav’nly splendor At Thy feast due thanks we render. (LSB 774)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/20/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 19, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 2:18-36Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 2:18-36; Acts 15:22-41And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. (1 Samuel 2:35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This past school year, I taught Old Testament class at our local Lutheran High School. When we made it into the book of 1 Samuel, we were still in the “Judges” mindset of things, when “there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6, 21:25) And this seemed to be the case in the early chapters of 1 Samuel, too. Eli was the priest and judge at that time, and the young boy Samuel was in his care. But Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phineas, were worthless. That’s not my opinion, it’s in the text! (1 Samuel 2:12) They were worthless because they took larger portions of peoples’ sacrifices than they were authorized to take (2:13-16); they took advantage of the women who served at the tabernacle (2:22); and if all that wasn’t enough, we’re told that they didn’t know the LORD (2:12). Priests who didn’t know the LORD?! How could that be?! Believe it or not, there are “pastors” in “churches” today who teach a kind of agnosticism that says there “might” be a God…MIGHT?! Maybe you can tell that I’m a little fired up about this. It turns out that, in the case of Hophni and Phineas, Eli’s parenting was to blame. He attempted to correct them… but it didn’t work; it wasn’t enough. God’s will was to raise up another… a faithful priest to serve Him. Now, we’re tempted to think this is Samuel. I mean, he takes over the priesthood after Eli and his sons die. He’s a faithful priest, prophet, and judge. But this is one of those times when widening our gaze to look beyond the first likely candidate is helpful. And yes, looking past Samuel, we see the perfect Priest, Prophet, and King– Jesus Himself. In Christ, God has established His house forever. You, dear Christian, and all who call upon the name of Jesus for salvation have been given a place in that household, free from the fear of ever being deemed worthless; God delights in you for the sake of His righteousness! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and most gracious God and Father, we implore You to turn the hearts of all who have forsaken the faith once delivered to Your Church, especially those who have wandered from it or are in doubt through the corruption of Your truth. Mercifully visit and restore them that in gladness of heart they may take pleasure in Your Word and be made wise to salvation through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. -Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/19/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Thursday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism – What sins should we confess?Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:17; Galatians 6:1-18If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The conscience. It’s our concept of right and wrong. It’s the referee that tells you whether a thought, word, or deed was in or out of bounds. It’s the TV chef who tells you whether the dish that is your life is a delicious masterpiece, pleasing in God’s eyes, or whether it should be tossed in the trash and ridiculed mercilessly. Maybe that was a bit of a stretch. But we’ve all felt the weight of our sins pressing on us. We’ve all had those moments when we’ve felt utterly alone in that sin, ashamed to tell another soul just how bad we are. And in times like those, more often than not, our conscience just isn’t capable of delivering the goodness of the gospel that we need to hear. Don’t get me wrong; God gave us our consciences when He wrote His law on our hearts. But like so many of God’s good Gifts, our conscience is often co-opted for the evil plans and purposes of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature (The Lord’s Prayer– Third Petition Explanation). So what can we do? Where do we turn? Fortunately, the Good News isn’t something that we find inside ourselves, but in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus—all of which are applied to our wounded souls with words. Whether spoken or written, language is the vehicle God has chosen to combat the devil’s wiles. And to speak such words, God has ordained pastors. He has sent His Church into the world with the command to forgive sins and to speak peace into the turmoil of lives wrecked by guilt and shame. If you’ve never been to Confession, talk to your pastor about it! Most of the times that I’ve heard folks’ confession, it started out as a “Pastor, can we talk about something?” conversation. And in most cases, when someone needs to talk with their pastor, sin is at the root of the problem. Private Confession is almost like when you go to your doctor and he instructs you to “tell me where it hurts.” Whether you’ve committed sins or you’ve been sinned against, sin hurts. It damages consciences. It makes us “know and feel” sins in our hearts– but we don’t have to carry these sins alone! Burdens like these were atoned for at the cross, and Holy Absolution proclaims the very same. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, on You I cast my burden– Sink it in the deepest sea! Let me know Your gracious pardon, Cleanse me from iniquity. Let Your Spirit leave me never; Make me only Yours forever. (LSB 608:4)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/18/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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Wednesday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 17, 2024Today's Reading: Galatians 5:1-26Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 5:1-26But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Well? What’s next? That was the question in the churches of Galatia when Paul continued on his second missionary journey. They had come to faith in Christ when they heard the gospel that Paul proclaimed, but shortly after Paul left, other teachers arrived, suggesting that Paul had only given them the basics of the faith…now it was time to make their commitment to Jesus a little more serious. That’s how they get you. I’ve heard it called the “Jesus plus” problem. When Christianity tries to add something to Jesus, you wind up losing Jesus and putting your faith in whatever that other thing is (your works, your effort, your emotions). Paul heard about the Judaizers who were drafting right behind him and poisoning the well. It’s no wonder that Galatians is among Paul’s most emotionally charged letters! The whole book could be summed up in his questions, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3). You didn’t save yourself! What makes you think you’re going to keep yourself saved?! Of course, Paul isn’t anti-good works. But good works belong in the proper place, in freedom. The Christian church in America is often tempted to ask, “What’s next?” We foolishly think that we could ever graduate from the simple truth of the Gospel: Jesus loves you; He died for you; He lives for you. Paul sets us free in his letter to the Galatians– not free to live however we want– but free from the burden of keeping God’s law! What do we do with freedom like that? Paul says it like this: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) So your life as a Christian is less and less about you and more and more about Christ. As John the Baptist put it, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) And as Christ increases in us, the fruit of the Spirit buds, blossoms, and blesses our neighbor. Go forth in freedom, for Christ is alive in you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Fruitful trees, the Spirit’s sowing, May we ripen and increase, Fruit to life eternal growing, Rich in love and joy and peace. (LSB 691:1)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/17/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Tuesday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 16, 2024Today's Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14Daily Lectionary: Judges 16:4-30; Judges 17:1-21:25; Galatians 4:12-31Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him… (Ephesians 1:3-4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “What was God doing before creation?” the confirmation student asks his pastor. The pastor leans back and replies, “Well, St. Augustine answered that question like this: ‘He was preparing a punishment fit for those who ask such trifling questions…’” I think we can all hear the sarcasm in that answer… But in all seriousness, our lesson today gives us some insight into the mind and heart of God. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4). Now, before we get carried away, let’s make a few careful observations about this reading. First, when Paul talks about election/predestination, he’s always talking about “us.” It’s a conversation of comfort and joy for Christians– not a statement about those who don’t believe. Re-read the lesson, and notice how many times “our,” “we,” and “us” pop up! Second, pay close attention to that little preposition “in Him.” We’re not the elect of God apart from Jesus but IN HIM. It’s crucial for us to see that any time Paul’s talking about those who are saved, it’s always IN CHRIST. This corrects that error that some folks slip into when they teach that if you’re elect, you’ll be saved– one way or another– as if there could be a possibility of salvation apart from Jesus! Finally, pay attention to when all this stuff takes place. (It may be helpful to go back and read it one more time!) You’ve got God saving us in Christ from before the foundation of the world; you’ve got God giving us redemption through the blood of Jesus shed on Good Friday; and you’ve got God sealing us with the promised Holy Spirit when we heard the word of truth and believed it. This little section of Ephesians is packed full of blessings for you, dear Christian. If you ever doubt that God could love a sinner like you, flip to Ephesians 1 and take comfort in the knowledge that, before God said, “Let there be light,” you were on God’s mind: He has blessed us in Christ to the praise of His glory! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty Father, in Your Son You loved us when not yet begun Was this old earth’s foundation! Your Son has ransomed us in love To live in Him here and above: This is Your great salvation. Alleluia! Christ the living, To us giving Life forever, Keeps us Yours and fails us never! (LSB 395:4)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/16/20244 minutes, 35 seconds
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Monday of the Eighth Week After Pentecost

July 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Amos 7:7-15Daily Lectionary: Judges 15:1-16:3; Galatians 3:23-4:11Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ (Amos 7:14-15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I don’t envy Amos. If you haven’t read the book lately, I’ll briefly remind you of what this minor prophet was given to proclaim to God’s people. The book is nine chapters long. There are five verses of Gospel promise given at the very end of the book. For 136 verses, the full force of God’s law and judgment pour forth from Amos’ lips. Like most of us, I can’t imagine that Amos relished his calling to be the bearer of such. bad. news. And yet, this was his calling from the LORD. In our reading today, he makes it plain that none of this was his idea! God called him to leave behind his sycamore fig trees and his flocks in Judah. His ministry would be in the Northern Kingdom, pruning the calloused hearts of Israel, who had, in large part, forsaken the LORD. You may remember hearing about the “sin of Jeroboam” throughout the pages of 1 and 2 Kings. Jeroboam set up “high places” for the Northern Kingdom to worship (instead of traveling to the Temple in Jerusalem). If that weren’t enough, he created two (that’s right, two!) golden calves in Israel, instructing the people to worship the LORD at these. This is the state of things when Amos sees his vision of the plumb line. This tool is essentially a string with a weight at the bottom. Its job is to show whether or not something is pointing straight up and down. Going to build without one? You might wind up with a leaning tower of Pisa. When God showed Amos the plumb line, the message was clear: Israel was out of plumb. Such a structure must be torn down and rebuilt! But, you know…the Gospel promises in Amos speak to this very image: “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old…” (Amos 9:11) The LORD Himself will rebuild His people through the resurrection of His Son, David’s heir! In Him, we are built up, straight and true, a plumb delight in the eyes of God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Anoint them prophets, men who are intent To be Your witnesses in word and deed, Their hearts aflame, their lips made eloquent, Their eyes awake to ev’ry human need. (LSB 682:2)-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/15/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

July 14, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29Daily Lectionary: Judges 14:1-20; Galatians 3:1-22But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” (Mark 6:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. While John the Baptist was the first figure to appear on the scene in St. Mark’s gospel (Mark 1:4), his ministry and witness were abruptly halted when Herod had him arrested. We wouldn’t have even known that John had been arrested, except that Mark reported it as a timestamp for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Mark 1:14). In today’s reading, John has already been beheaded, and the body of the text recounts the events of his martyrdom at the hands of Herod. We should note from the start that Herod didn’t know what to make of Jesus. He was more open to believing that John had risen from the dead than the possibility that there could be another preacher following after him! This is a timely reminder that, in St. Mark’s Gospel, no one in the account really understands who Jesus is until the centurion sees Him dead on the cross and confesses Him to be the Son of God! But let’s get back to John. From Herod’s guilty conscience concerning John, the narrative steps back in time to John’s arrest for his preaching against Herod’s adulterous marriage to Herodias. Herod is here depicted as conflicted with regard to John. Sure, he imprisoned him, but he held him to be a prophet. It apparently never resulted in repentance, but he was, for a time, unwilling to put him to death. All of that changed on Herod’s birthday when a risqué dance and a foolish vow revealed just how spineless Herod truly was. John was reduced to a party favor for a puppet king. But Jesus says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18). Jesus promises Christians that we “…will be hated by all for [His] name’s sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:13). Persecution would be a terrifying prospect if our hope weren’t rooted in the death and resurrection of Christ! Since Christ is risen, we know our lives have been hidden away in Him through the waters of Holy Baptism. Death has no dominion over us! God grant us to joyfully pray: “Lord, it belongs not to my care Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share, and this Thy grace must give. If life be long, I will be glad That I may long obey; If short, yet why should I be sad To soar to endless day?” (LSB 757:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, You granted Your prophets strength to resist the temptations of the devil and courage to proclaim repentance. Give us pure hearts and minds to follow Your Son faithfully even into suffering and death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, TX.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/14/20244 minutes, 35 seconds
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Saturday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 8 - Psalm 143:1-2, 8a; antiphon: Psalm 143:11Daily Lectionary: Judges 13:1-25; Ruth 1:1-4:22; Galatians 2:1-21Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! (Psalm 143:1)In the Name + of Jesus, Amen. Someone once said, “We don’t pray so that God can hear us; we pray so that we may hear God more.”  Have you ever felt like your prayers are going unanswered? Are you just talking into thin air? King David knew that feeling, too, so he began his prayer with a simple yet powerful statement: “Lord, hear my prayer.” There is no other request, there is no begging or negotiating with God.But David didn't just stop there. He knew that God was faithful and righteous. That's why he rooted his prayer in God's character, knowing that God had made a covenant with His people and would be faithful to it. And because of God's grace and mercy, God’s ears were opened to David and Israel’s prayers.This Psalm reminds us that we have no right to be in the presence of God apart from His faithfulness and righteousness. But because of Jesus, who fulfilled God's covenant and granted us His righteousness, we can come to God with our desperate pleas. In the Divine Service, you hear your Lord speak to you! Forgiveness, mercy, and strength are yours. Now, in your life of prayer, you are given the words to pray back to God. We, too, do not beg or negotiate with God. We simply pray, “Thy will be done.”  You may notice in the Divine Service that we pray, “Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer” or “Let us pray to the Lord, Lord have mercy.”Our prayers are rooted in God’s grace and mercy given to us by the new and eternal covenant found in Jesus’ blood. Jesus has answered your greatest prayer for forgiveness, life, and salvation on the cross, and He speaks to you, “It is finished.” Your prayers rise to the throne room of God like incense, thick billowing, sweet-smelling smoke that God takes delight in. He has shown you mercy; He has shown you righteousness in His Son. Even when our prayers fail, Jesus’ blood now speaks on your behalf before the throne of God day and night, for He is faithful to you. In the Name + of Jesus, AmenRise! To arms! With prayer employ you. O Christians, lest the foe destroy you; For Satan has designed your fall. Wield God’s Word, the weapon glorious; Against all foes be thus victorious, For God protects you from them all. Fear not the hordes of hell, Here is Emmanuel. Hail the Savior! The strong foes yield To Christ, our shield, And we, the victors, hold the field. (LSB 668:1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/13/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Galatians 1:1-24Daily Lectionary: Judges 7:1-23; Judges 7:24-12:15; Galatians 1:1-24I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine sitting in a church, and your pastor starts the sermon by greeting you with "Grace and peace to you," but then suddenly switches to a serious tone and asks, "What are you people thinking? Have you lost your mind? Have you gone crazy?" You would probably be taken aback, right? But that's exactly what the apostle Paul did with the Galatians. And there was a good reason for it. The Galatians were on the verge of losing the only true Gospel to save them from eternal damnation. False teachers had distorted the Gospel of grace in Christ into a religion of works, and the Galatians had fallen prey to it. Paul's stern tone was meant to shock them into realizing the gravity of the situation, and he went on to explain why only one Gospel saves. This message is just as important for us today as it was for the Galatians back then. False teachers are still out there, trying to twist and distort the true Gospel of Christ into something else.Paul simply points the Galatians back to Christ, who gave Himself for our sins. By His death on the cross, He delivered us from “the present evil age.” He took the punishment we deserved and suffered death under God's judgment in our place. He is our righteousness, our redemption, and the atonement for our sins. Paul was rather serious with the Galatians over their corrupt gospel. It simply was not acceptable in his sight or the sight of God. Likewise, your pastor might seem serious and even narrow-minded when teaching and preaching the Gospel. There is a reason for all of this; no other Gospel can save us apart from our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise You for continuing among us the preaching of Your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send Your blessing upon the Word, which has been spoken to us, and by Your Holy Spirit increase our saving knowledge of You, that day by day we may be strengthened in the divine truth and remain steadfast in Your grace. Give us strength to fight the good fight and by faith to overcome all temptations of Satan, the flesh and the world so that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen  (Prayer For blessing on the Word, LSB 308)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/12/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism – What is Confession?Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:25-40; Acts 15:6-21What is Confession? Confession has two parts. First that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The sacred Scriptures tell us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NKJV). Does that really matter to you? You know you have sinned, you know you have fallen, you know you deserve death and damnation, but do you even care? Many of us act like it doesn't even matter. We show little regret and are mortified if we have to fess up to our sins.  If you ever read about people who commit terrible crimes like murder, you will find that almost all of them felt an undying urge to tell someone what they had done. The more they kept their crimes to themselves, the more they had to tell something to someone. This is how God deals with us, as His Law is written on all of our hearts. By His Law, our consciences are seared by the sword of His Word. We may act confident, but deep down, we are in chaos and terrified. The Law speaks to everyone those words spoken to our first parents in the Garden, “Where are you and what have you done?” whether you want to hear them or not. This is why the Law of God is good for us– it reminds us that sin is a part of our very nature. We will not be entirely free from it in this life.This is why God has given us the gift of Confession and Absolution. Confessing sins probably doesn’t seem like a gift; who wants to admit they are wrong? Yet God does not give us this gift to make sure we feel poor and miserable all the days of our life. He gives us confession to take our sins and to lay them on  Jesus on the cross so that He may do away with them once and for all.You may notice in movies or books that criminals who are sentenced to death are usually visited by a priest or pastor for the condemned to confess and receive forgiveness in Christ. This is why you have your pastor. In our sins, we stand condemned to death. Yet your pastor stands ready to hear your confession privately and fully confidential. He stands ready to proclaim that Christ has died and risen to take all of your sins and death and bury them in His tomb, never to return. The Absolution your pastor speaks is the greatest gift you can ever receive; it is your sentence of life that is to be lived eternally and without fear in the Glory of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, on You I cast my burden– Sink it in the deepest sea! Let me know Your gracious pardon, Cleanse me from iniquity. Let Your Spirit leave me never;  Make me only Yours forever. (LSB 608:4)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/11/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 10, 2024Today’s Reading: Judges 6:1-24Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24; Acts 14:19-15:5And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:15-16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever felt weak? It's not a feeling we like to admit, especially in a world that values strength. We're told to play to our strengths and never to show weakness. But what if weakness is exactly what we need? In Judges, the Midianites overpowered Israel for seven years until God chose Gideon, the weakest of the weak, to save his people. And God promised to be with him. It's a reminder that we don't have to rely on our own strengths or abilities. Jesus is the greater Gideon, who came in weakness for us and our salvation. Paul puts it this way: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8, NKJV).Jesus is the ultimate source of strength and victory by being the weakest among us. He has fought and won your greatest battles against sin and darkness, telling us, just like Gideon, “I am with you always…” (Matthew 28:20b, NKJV). When you enter into the Divine Service, you acknowledge your weaknesses and sins and surrender them to Jesus through repentance of all sins. Note how many times you hear in the Divine Service: "The Lord be with you.” This is a powerful declaration that you are in the presence of the Almighty, who fights for you, forgives you, and strengthens you through His Word and Sacraments. The world calls the sacred Scriptures: water, bread, wine- weak; but for us, they are the strength of Almighty God, who is here for you. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;” (1 Corinthians 1:27, NKJV). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (LSB 578:3)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/10/20244 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 9, 2024Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24; Judges 5:1-31; Acts 14:1-18But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You must accept the truth that you live and breathe for yourself. You crave control, demand things to go your way, and expect everyone to bow down to you. You are your own little planet revolving around you. But let’s face it: your life is miserable, full of pain, suffering, guilt, and shame. Your world seems to be falling apart, and you feel helpless. The Christian faith doesn’t promise to restore your world to your satisfaction. It demands your complete self-destruction. God's Law is designed to break you down and put you to death. But the more God tears down your world, the more you'll become aware of His infinite love for you. He breaks you down to build you up into His holy dwelling. He shifts your focus from yourself to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. But don’t mistake this for a means for everything to go all smooth and easy. God is not in the business to make you succeed, to be healthy, or to be wealthy. That’s not the purpose of building you up. God is your success, health, wealth, and life, even when Satan ravages you in body and soul. All of this was made possible by the blood of His precious Son, who died for you. This is what it means to live under the cross of Jesus. In your Baptism, you inherit the Kingdom of God, and you're given faith. Faith is about trusting God to be everything you need in life despite your sins and your own world falling apart. He is your strength when you’re weak and your health when you’re ill. His grace is sufficient for you, and His power can only be made perfect by your weakness. Your world may be destroyed, but take heart: you have inherited the Kingdom of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts that He may rule and direct us according to Your will, comfort us in all our temptations and afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all the truth, that we, being steadfast in the faith, may increase in all good works and in the end obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Holy Spirit, LSB 310)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/9/20244 minutes, 16 seconds
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Monday of the Seventh Week After Pentecost

July 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-5Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31; Acts 13:42-52And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. (Ezekiel 2:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We often consider Biblical figures like Ezekiel as “powerhouse” models of faith and devotion. However, when you stop and look at our reading today, I bet that Ezekiel wasn’t exactly thrilled at what God told him to do. God called Ezekiel to serve as his prophet. However, how God called him seems troubling. It could be described as disheartening. God says, “I send you to nations of rebels who have rebelled against Me.” He warns Ezekiel that they may not listen and not only won’t listen but will be stubborn about it. It is easy to point fingers at those who are rebellious or stubborn, but take a long, hard look in your mirror. In your sins, you have been rebellious and even stubborn about it, wanting to have your own way all the time. Paul puts it this way: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8, NKJV). God doesn’t need to seek you out. He doesn’t need to call you back to Him. In your rebellion, He has every right to fight back and destroy you. Yet, just like Ezekiel, God sends those to seek you out with His forgiveness and restoration. Just as He sent prophets and teachers, today, He sends you pastors to call you to repentance and to be restored by the blood of Christ.God sent Ezekiel to point His people to the promise of restoration through the Messiah. No matter the response to Ezekiel, God would seek and save His rebellious people. In the Office of the Ministry, your pastor is sent to point you to Jesus. Your pastor places before you Jesus, who comes to you no matter how rebellious or stubborn you are. Through the grace of Jesus, you are brought back into His Kingdom not as a rebel but as a beloved child and heir of everlasting life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God of the prophets, Bless the prophets’ sons; Elijah’s mantle o’er Elisha cast. Each age its solemn task may claim but once; Make each one nobler, stronger than the last. (LSB 682:1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/8/20244 minutes, 21 seconds
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Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

July 7, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 6:1-13Daily Lectionary: Judges 2:6-23; Acts 13:13-41Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Being offended is a common occurrence these days. Talk about your favorite music, politician, sports team, or food; inevitably, someone will get offended. You and I are no better. Everyone finds offenses, yet they cannot see what is in front of them in terms of God’s abundant blessings. This is because we are too focused on ourselves as individuals. We want what we want, and God better act the way we want Him to act; otherwise, the offenses fly. This is not new. It was also the case with Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth. People took offense at His presence and actions, even though He was using the right words to teach God's love and truth. This led Him to say, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” (Mark 6:4, NKJV). The offended people prevented Jesus from helping others, except for a few healings. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.Despite the offense, Jesus continued to show compassion, mercy, forgiveness, healing, and even resurrecting people from the dead. These actions were all offensive to many people, to the point where they cost Him His life. On the cross, Jesus became the greatest offender in the history of the world. He took on your sin and offenses against God and paid the price. On the cross, He was so despised and offensive that even His Father turned His back on Him, leaving Him alone and dead. Christ did all of this so that we could be accepted and pleasing in the sight of God. By shedding His blood for us, there is no more offense or condemnation in God's sight. We are now holy, innocent, and blameless in the sight of God, and all things are in agreement and in perfect order between us and God.The disciples were sent out with nothing but the Gospel, and Jesus told them there would be times of acceptance and offense. Today, the church is given the Gospel and nothing more. The world is offended by the Gospel. As we are brought into this new reality of life, we are called to practice things that offend many. We are called to love, help, consider others above ourselves, and serve without our own interest. Christ does this in and through you. You will be offensive; you will be offended. Our Lord says it Himself: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12, NKJV). Confess your sins and pray the Lord would not find offense in you but that He would heal and forgive. Pray that He would strengthen your faith in Him and fervent love towards one another. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, Your almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy. Grant us the fullness of Your grace that we may be called to repentance and made partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect of the Day for Pentecost 7)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/7/20245 minutes, 8 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 7 - Psalm 132:13-16; antiphon: Psalm 34:8Daily Lectionary: Joshua 24:1-31; Judges 1:1-36; Acts 13:1-12For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. (Psalm 132:13-15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Scriptures talk about several times where the people of God built a place for God to live with His people. In Isaiah, we read, “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?" (Isaiah 66:1, NKJV). Although God doesn't live in houses built by humans (Acts 7:48), He comes to live among His people.God dwelt with His people in the Old Testament in many and various places. In the New Testament, we hear how the Holy of Holies has become flesh for us. The Holy Gospel tells us: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NKJV).Today, we don't have the Old Testament temple or even Jesus in the flesh living among us, but this doesn't mean He is not present. This Sunday's Introit teaches that God promises to live with His people even today. That's why we go to church; that's where God dwells among us. At the church I serve, we have a quote from Genesis right outside of the entrance to the nave and sanctuary. The quote is from Genesis 28:17, which says, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” When you enter into the Divine Service at your church, you are entering into that place where heaven meets earth. By His Word, He is present at the altar, font, and pulpit as He speaks to you His forgiveness, washes you of your sins, and feeds you His wonderful provision of His Body and Blood. Angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven are with you as you gather around the feast of the Lamb in His kingdom that Has no end. Just as the Lord chose Zion for His dwelling place, your church is the resting place of the Almighty present before you to bless and keep you all the days of your life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, You have given Yourself to us in this holy Sacrament. Keep us in Your faith and favor that we may live in You even as You live in us. May Your body and blood preserve us in the true faith to life everlasting. Hear us for the same of Your name. Amen. (Thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament, LSB 308)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/6/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Friday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Joshua 23:1-16Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. (Joshua 23:8-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. My father died 20 years ago, and I have a lot of memories of him and some things I have forgotten. I can recount the joyous times with him and when I fought against him. The greatest memory was when I was able to sit with him the day before he died. My family was all there, and he was able to recall his life, his memories with us, and even impart some final words of wisdom. It was a beautiful thing, even in the face of death. In Joshua 23, we see Joshua as an aging leader. He has gathered the Israelites at Shechem, the sacred ground of their forefathers' covenant with God. Joshua imparts his final counsel, emphasizing the crucial balance of faith and living in the covenant of God. He urges the people to remain steadfast in their covenant with the Almighty. Joshua reminds them, “You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.” (Joshua 23:3, NKJV). He is passing on the Lord's words of wisdom to those who come after him. This is how our Lord works with you as well.  Even in the face of joy and sadness, sin and forgiveness, life and death, our Lord reminds you of all He has done for you. This is why you have the Sacred Scriptures, which recount all that the Lord has done for the life of the world. When someone dies, they usually pass along their last will and testament, an inheritance they prepared for their loved ones. On that first Holy Thursday, before His betrayal and death, Jesus passes on to His disciples and you the wisdom and gifts of His salvation. Each Sunday, you partake of Jesus' last will and testament given and shed for you in the blessed Eucharist. This sacred Gift is focused on you to point you to the inheritance prepared for you in eternity. Yet, as you come to the Lord's table, you are not alone. We hear the pastor chant, “...with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” At the Lord's table, you gather at the sacred ground of Jesus' cross with all of those who have gone before us. It is where we see the Lord and what He has done for us as He has fought and won for us our salvation. Each Sunday, you have that great reunion where you, Joshua, my dad, and all the faithful are seated around the Lamb's kingdom which has no end. Until then, we hold on to the covenant of Jesus' blood for us. It is veiled but revealed to you through the Word and Sacraments. This is wisdom for the ages; it is the Lord's ongoing gift of love and forgiveness for you. It is and will be a beautiful thing. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Feast after feast thus comes and passes by, Yet, passing, points to that glad feast above, Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy, The Lamb's great marriage feast of bliss and love. (LSB 631:7)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/5/20245 minutes, 4 seconds
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Thursday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 4, 2024Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism – FourthDaily Lectionary: Joshua 10:1-25; Joshua 10:28-22:34; Acts 11:19-30What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We have often been reminded to remember our Baptism and that we have been baptized into Christ, making us God's dear child. However, despite this knowledge, we often find ourselves feeling alone, stuck, and fearful of our own destruction and death. It seems that Baptism alone does not take care of the messes we create or those caused by others.Luther reminds us that although we are baptized, we are still stuck with our Old Adam. This part of us will never go away and will continue to tempt us to deny Christ and live for ourselves. The world also tells us to prove ourselves, make a name for ourselves, and be our own god, while the devil prowls around reminding you of your sins and that you deserve death.We are in a continuous struggle in life; we are forgiven, yet we still sin and will continue to do so until we die in this world. God's Law still remains, reminding us daily that we are sinners and that we love to follow our Old Adam. Paul puts it this way: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Romans 7:18-20, NKJV).Remembering our Baptism means living in the newness of life that Christ has given us. It is not just about recalling the date and time when water was splashed on you. It is about remembering that Christ put our Old Adam to death with Him on the cross, and we are now a new creation. Paul reminds us of this: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, NKJV). Jesus says this: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38, NKJV) A river can be a blessing, but it can also kill. As you remember your Baptism, repent. Cast off the Old Adam into the raging river of water and blood that flows from Jesus' side for you. By that same water and blood, you have the newness of life in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My faithful God, You fail me never; Your promise surely will endure. O cast me not away forever If words and deeds become impure. Have mercy when I come defiled; Forgive, lift up, restore Your child. (LSB 590:3)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/4/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Joshua 8:1-28Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28; Acts 11:1-18And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. (Joshua 8:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are those Christians today who have no use for the Old Testament. In fact, some people have thought that there must be two Gods found in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The Old Testament god is an angry old man, full of wrath, shooting lightning bolts and fire at everyone. He loves war, destruction, and bloodshed. The god of the New Testament is one of acceptance– kind and peaceful. He is always laughing, walking around with baby sheep, and happy with everyone. This view is far from the truth; the Lord our God is one. He does not change in both testaments of the sacred Scriptures. The Old Testament often refers to God as “The Lord of Hosts” or “Yahweh of Armies.” Yahweh of Armies is used to describe God's role as a protector of his people, even when they are engaged in battle. In Joshua chapter 8, Yahweh of Armies speaks the battle plan, which shows signs of God's mercy as He takes into account the sin and weakness of those He is fighting for. Although the destruction of Ai and Bethel may seem ruthless, Yahweh of Armies fights for His people by protecting them from their enemies and defending His holy name. Israel's army is involved in the fighting, even though they, as a nation, must repent of their sins. We are at war today. We are fighting against sin, temptation, and the devil, but the biggest enemy we face is ourselves. We have been the cause of war, destruction, and death. However, Yahweh of Armies fights for us by going to war for us through His suffering and death on the cross. Jesus fights what seems to be a losing battle. He goes to war by losing His life, seemingly losing the war against the enemies of sin, death, and the devil. But through His glorious resurrection, He has won the victory for us. In the Eucharistic liturgy, we sing the words of the Old Testament, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabaoth." The word “Sabaoth” means heavenly armies. The Old Testament always points us to Jesus, who fights for us even now today. By the Word and Sacraments, our Lord forgives and strengthens you to meet the challenges and spiritual warfare we face each day as we call on Him to fight for us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Son of God goes forth to war A kingly crown to gain. His blood-red banner streams afar; Who follows in his train? Who best can drink His cup of woe, Triumphant over pain, Who patient bears his cross below– He follows in His train. (LSB 661:1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/3/20245 minutes, 2 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 2, 2024Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15Daily Lectionary: Joshua 7:1-26; Acts 10:34-48For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everyone today desires equality, whether it is among races, creeds, sexual identities, or economic opportunities. Equality isn't bad. However, despite our efforts to achieve it, we still witness inequality around us. Even the groups fighting for their specific form of equality cannot agree. The truth is that life will never be completely fair, and there will always be inequality. Our Lord also tells us, “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good…” (Mark 14:7a, NKJV). As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Martin Luther stated in the explanation of the Eighth Commandment: “We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” This is our Christian duty, but we often fall short. We tend to live for ourselves, strive to improve our image, and even love money. We must repent of this foolish behavior and cling to the cross of Jesus. “...He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9b, NKJV). Jesus is wealthy beyond measure, having created all things for Himself and standing with no equal among us. Yet, from His birth, upbringing, ministry, passion, death, and resurrection, He became the poorest of the poor for us. He took on our sins, becoming sin, death, and the cursed one of God to make us equal with Him. Through the forgiveness of sins, we have wealth beyond measure. In the Kingdom of God, there is no equality; He has not been fair to us. If He were fair, we would be condemned forever. Thanks be to God that Jesus became poor so that we might have His grace's riches now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, Content with it I'll be; My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me! (LSB 730:3)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/2/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Monday of the Sixth Week After Pentecost

July 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Lamentations 3:22-33 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:18-33The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Every day, we go through the motions of our daily routine– wake up, jog, make coffee, have breakfast, wash, rinse, and repeat. But some days, memories of our past mistakes and sins creep up on us, making us feel hopeless and weighed down. Read all of Jeremiah's words in Lamentations chapter three. Up until our appointed verse, Jeremiah's lament is all over his sin and the wrath of God. He, too, remembers and despairs over the sins of the past. “Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers And sinks within me.” (Lamentations 3:19-20, NKJV). It takes 22 verses for Jeremiah to get to the mercy and promises of God. God's message to us is clear, “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,... they are new every morning;” (Lamentations 3:22a; 23a, NKJV). This mercy has been poured for you freely by the blood of Jesus. The same blood that has washed you clean in your Baptism. As we wake up each morning, let us remember that we are baptized into Christ. You have been marked with the sign of the cross on your forehead and heart. This mark is permanent, a promise from the blood of Christ that can never be removed. Your Baptism is a reminder that there is forgiveness for all sins, and your past mistakes are no longer remembered by the Lord. They have been drowned in the depths of the sea, and as far as the east is from the west, they are no longer remembered. This is the faithfulness that Jeremiah speaks to himself and to the sin-ridden people of Israel. It is the faithful love of God that is here for you every morning. So try a new routine! Before the coffee pot turns on or you put on your jogging shoes, remember your Baptism daily. When you wake up, make the sign of the cross, say the Lord's prayer and the Creed, and remember that you are a child of God. You are changed, and no matter what the day holds for you, God's merciful forgiveness will never be consumed; He is faithful to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus' cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood? (LSB 594:2)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
7/1/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

June 30, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 5:21-43Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6:5; Acts 10:1-17And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. (Mark 5:25-26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you think of the Christian faith, blood is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. However, blood is a recurring element in the Bible. From the first sacrifice that God performed to clothe Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis to the song of Revelation that praises the Lamb that is slain whose blood sets God's people free, blood is a central theme throughout the Bible. In the story of the woman with a blood flow, we see Jesus present in flesh and blood among the crowd. The woman had an ongoing problem that she couldn't manage to stop, but when she touched Jesus' garment, her blood flow was immediately dried up, and she was healed. This is because Jesus came to let His blood flow for the life of the whole world, and it is what healed the woman, and it can heal you, too.All of us, including the woman in the story, are sinners who need cleansing. We need cleansing from our sins to stand before God whole, clean, and at peace with Him. That precious cleansing has been given to you at the font. The baptismal waters connected to the Word of God are where Jesus has planted His cross as a lifespring for cleansing and restoration. From Jesus' side on the cross, you have His blood and water flowing freely for you and for the life of the whole world. John puts it this way: “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” (1 John 5:6-8, NKJV). In Baptism, you do not touch the hem of Jesus' robe; rather, Jesus clothes you with His robe that covers all your sin. Not only does He clothe you, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, He declares you healed in both body and soul.Jesus came to suffer and die for our sins so that we could be forgiven, at peace with God, and saved for eternity, whole and sound. Believe in Him, trust in Him, for the blood of the Scriptures, the blood of Jesus Christ brings you life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, during His earthly ministry Your Son Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. By the healing medicine of the Word and Sacraments pour into our hearts such love toward You that we may live eternally; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect of the Day for Pentecost 6)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Your favorite study Bible is now available in a simple, intuitive app on your device! Distinctively Lutheran notes on the full ESV text, helpful articles, and custom user settings offer an engaging experience in God’s Word anywhere you go. Download The Lutheran Study Bible App.
6/30/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles

June 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-19Daily Lectionary: Joshua 4:1-24; Acts 9:23-43And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 16:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter’s confession, Paul’s conversion and witness. Both serving as apostles proclaiming the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles according to their mandate from Jesus Himself. Simon, Son of Jonah, called Peter, did not have Jesus' true identity as the Christ, the Son of God, revealed to him by his earthly eyes. Rather, it was revealed to him by faith, and Peter understood that the Father sent Jesus, His Son, to do the work of being the Messiah. Peter, after his restoration following his denial, continued the painful, hard work of proclaiming Christ crucified for you even to the point of his own execution.Paul, formerly called Saul, was a zealous enemy of the Gospel. Jesus had the last laugh, appearing to him on the road to Damascus. When Saul was blinded and following his conversion, he was baptized by Ananias. Paul, a servant of Christ, would travel and proclaim the Gospel as far as his legs would carry him. Paul, too, found himself imprisoned and facing execution for the word he proclaimed.These two men, by their confession, witness, and boldness in preaching the Gospel to all, are to be remembered by us today. Not because either of them is the rock the church was built on, but rather that these men clung to the rock that is Christ Jesus. The firm foundation that the church clings to is built not on the works and merits of men but on the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who purchased and redeemed us lost and condemned sinners, including Peter and Paul. These men confidently and shamelessly proclaimed God’s Word to all people, proclaiming the joy of no longer living under the yoke of sin under the Law but free to love one another and live by the grace and life given to them in Christ Jesus.This is not revealed by our own flesh and blood but by our heavenly Father who promised to redeem us by His Christ, His only Son Jesus, that we may be sons of God ourselves. Thanks be to God for His saints and martyrs of the faith and for preachers like Peter and Paul, who confessed boldly Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful and eternal God, Your holy apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of Your Son. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/29/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week After Pentecost

June 28, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 6 - Psalm 121:5-8; antiphon: Psalm 121:1-2Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17; Acts 9:1-22The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When your enemies have surrounded you, where else could you look than to the hills? The psalmist presents this to open Psalm 121. Immediately acknowledging that although their enemies are upon them, although there is evil in the world, their help comes from the Lord (v. 2). When all seems hopeless, when you feel like you just can’t win, or that failure has been the only consequence for you lately, call upon the Lord and look to Him for your help. God delivered His people from the hands of their enemies time and time again. Not only that, but God did not slumber or sleep on account of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Him. God promised to keep them from all evil and to redeem His people from sin and the evil one after the Fall.The Old Testament has example after example of this, all pointing to the one the Lord the prophets foretold, Jesus. The Son of God, who made heaven and earth, who would keep you and all believers in the true faith from all evil. Jesus, by giving His life, keeps you in His crucified arms. Receiving the condemnation of the Law for sin and the ridicule of the world, He dies our death in our place. Jesus does not slumber or sleep until the work of redeeming you from sin is done.It is in Jesus, the one who was promised, that the Lord is your help and your salvation. Jesus lays it all on the line for you. Where the Lord God, the maker of heaven and earth, sees you and proclaims you His beloved child. Just as comforting as these words were for the people of Israel as they went up to the temple, you sing and hear these words of the psalmist as already fulfilled and accomplished for you. God the Father has kept you as His own in His Son Jesus and continues through the work of His Holy Spirit, keeping your going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore.You have no need to look to the hills but look to Christ, and you will see your help and your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Then, gracious God, in years to come, We pray Your hand may guide us, And, onward through our journey home, Your mercy walk beside us Until at last our ransomed life Is safe from peril, toil, and strife When heav’n itself shall hide us. (LSB 899:5)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/28/20244 minutes, 27 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week After Pentecost

June 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism - 3Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24; Acts 8:26-40Certainly not just water, but the Word of God in and with the water does these things… - Dr. Luther, SC, Baptism 3In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Dr. Luther lays it all out so plainly: “For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism…” This is not just a washing or removal of dirt from the body (1 Pet. 3:21) but, as Luther says, “a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.”Just as Christ instituted, the disciples, now apostles, should go out through all the world, baptizing and making disciples of all nations. He doesn’t give specific step-by-step mandatory instructions or how one must perform a Baptism. He says you baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is so that, throughout your life here on earth, if the water and the Word of God were used at your Baptism, you could have the utmost confidence that the benefits of Baptism are yours. Do not let anyone trouble you otherwise with method if you were baptized with the means (the water and the Word) as Jesus Himself instituted them.This is the Gospel for you, where you have had God’s name put on you. God claims you in the waters of your Baptism as His child. What a beautiful blessing Baptism is. From it, we receive the Holy Spirit, faith, and the blessings and benefits of the Gospel in Jesus Christ, our Lord.Again, have no doubts of your salvation and place before God. You are His beloved child, marked in the waters of your Baptism where the water was administered and the word of God proclaimed, marking you as a member of the body of Christ, your crucified and risen Savior.Baptism is not just plain water, but water and the Word for you, to give you what the words and promises of God declare. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All who believe and are baptized Shall see the Lord's salvation; Baptized into the death of Christ, They are a new creation. Through Christ's redemption they shall stand Among the glorious, heav'nly band  Of ev'ry tribe and nation. (LSB 601:1)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/27/20244 minutes, 23 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week After Pentecost

June 26, 2024 Today's Reading: Job 38:1-11Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. (Job 38:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let’s face it: Job has been through a lot.However, God has heard enough. God Himself comes on the scene, so all must be well. Job’s problems are over. Not quite.While God allows the suffering and attacks to come upon Job and his family, God will assure Job that He is the one who will deliver Job from this. It’s easy for us to blame God when life doesn’t go our way. Job certainly has much to complain about, but God has come to remind Him, a simple man, not to peer into the knowledge of God.Now God is hiding Himself? How can I trust Him?! Yet, it is exactly in the God who hides Himself, veils Himself, rather, so that we can stand before Him and cry out to Him as Job does. Job encounters God, hidden, hearing His majesty and power displayed in all that He has done and proclaimed, but it's this awe-inspired, humbling debate Job has with God that puts it all in perspective. Job cannot deliver himself from his afflictions. God works through your suffering to turn you to where He is revealed to you. This is not God showing only His good side, but God fully revealed to you. See God and His love for you, despite the sin, despite the fallenness of the world, revealed to you in Job’s redeemer, your redeemer, Jesus. When your suffering seems great, and the world around you feels like it is collapsing. When you feel like God is far from you or punishing you. Don’t look to the world or inside yourself. Go to the Word that comforted Job—the same God of His word who delivers and preserves you. No suffering, no crisis, no outcome is too much for your God to deliver you from. Just as God has fulfilled His promises to Job and His people of old, His promises are all for you.Your God, the one who created all things, laid its boundaries, and established the limits of the universe, cares for you. His Son, Jesus, the crucified one, who has suffered in every respect of his humanity as we have, is interceding for you at His Father’s right hand. He has not forgotten you, and He will not forsake you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Frail children of dust and feeble as frail, In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail. Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end, Our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend! (LSB 804:5)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/26/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week After Pentecost

June 25, 2024Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities… (2 Corinthians 6:3-4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The day of salvation is not far off, but now St. Paul tells us. Paul, as a servant of God, has told the Corinthians before that he is all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) This not only applies to Paul but to all Christians. Now, Paul is not giving a license to sin, to be lazy, or to be slothful. What he is saying is that in whatever situation God has placed you in life and whoever God has placed in front of you, you are to love and serve them as we have been loved by God through His Son Jesus.This is not on you. God will put people and these works at the proper time, and we pray that we would be faithful witnesses of the Gospel and love our neighbors. In all afflictions, hardships, and calamities that come our way, we may commend ourselves to God and endure these things to the end of our lives. The Corinthians were a stubborn people, and our world is not so different. The Gospel is offensive to those who do not believe it. However, we do not shout at the world or run from its sinfulness and stubbornness. We also don’t seek out trouble for ourselves, either. Rather, we live out our lives according to the roles God has given us. As students or workers. As parents or children. As husband and wife. We love one another and bear one another’s burdens. We protect those who cannot protect themselves. Because, just as Paul says, the Christian is free to do these things. “Through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as imposters, and yet are true;” (v. 8)Thanks be to God that He has delivered us from bondage to sin and united us to His Son and His life-giving resurrection, given not to serve the passions of our flesh but free to love one another and widen our hearts for the sake of the Gospel.The sanctified life is the life of one justified before God in Christ Jesus. The daily life before your neighbor will follow. Remember your Baptism. The Holy Spirit is active and at work to keep you in the one true faith and move you where God desires you to be for your neighbor. This is the cruciform life of the Christian. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to your God to order and provide; In ev’ry change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul; your best, your heav’nly Friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. (LSB 752:1)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/25/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Nativity of St. John the Baptist

June 24, 2024Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:19-31“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John was special. I mean, being the cousin of the Messiah is pretty distinguishing. It was more than that, though. He was the one who his father Zechariah sang, “will go before the Lord to prepare His ways.” (v. 76) We can certainly learn a lot from John the Baptist. Maybe not fashion, and I don’t recommend switching to a wild honey and locust diet. However, he was the one who came crying out in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Luke 3:3) We learn what it means to faithfully witness against sinful people like the religious leaders of John’s day and even against political leaders like King Herod. What John did best was point people to the one who would come after him. John is the opener for Jesus. We could say this about all the prophets of old, really. They are preparing the people of God for the one who will save them from their sins. Who will rescue them from their enemies.The disappointment for the people of John’s day and in our own day is that this is not a guarantee of prosperity or political freedom in this life. John is sent to preach repentance to point people to their need for a savior. Jesus, our Savior, comes to rescue you from your enemies of sin, death, and the devil. While we sojourn here in our earthly lives, we will suffer much for the sake of the one John paved the way for.We suffer knowing that we have a much greater reward than earthly treasures. We pray that God would give us all that we need to support this body and life and that, if the time comes, we are faithful witnesses of our Savior. We will struggle against sin and the enemies of this world, but we will not be overcome. You can be certain as John was that nothing in this life can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. John’s birth foretells the Messiah’s birth, His baptism, and the beginning of His earthly ministry. John, as the prophet Isaiah and Micah foretold, points you to Jesus, who would, from the start, be on His way to fulfilling God’s plan of salvation to his people for the forgiveness of their sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/24/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

June 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 4:35-41Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; Proverbs 28:1-29:27; John 20:1-18And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus doesn’t have a smile on His face, and the disciples don’t seem like they have a handle on what just happened. After all, a storm of monumental proportions just occurred. They were goners, done for; the boat was filling with water. While the disciples are panicking, Jesus is…sleeping?This storm is nothing to Jesus, so why should He be worried about this? His disciples could just call on Jesus to handle this. But they don’t. In fact, the disciples fail, and their fear sinks their faith entirely. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (v. 38) Hold on a second; this is Jesus, the man who cleansed lepers, healed a paralytic, and restored a man’s withered hand. He has clearly shown He is Lord over all creation.Jesus does care, so He gets up and rebukes the wind and tells the sea, “Peace! Be still!” (v. 39) And to the disciples' astonishment, they realize there’s more to this Jesus than just healing miracles and exorcisms. This Jesus is the one who, despite their unbelief, saves them and ensures their safe passage. Hindsight is 20/20, and, looking back, the disciples had to have seen how foolish they were. We can feel quite comfortable in their shoes. The moment something goes wrong, a diagnosis from the doctor doesn’t sit well, the car won’t start, you bombed the test you prepared for all week, you said something you didn’t mean to your sibling or parent. The whole world can seem like it’s spinning out of control. Let me tell you, friends. The Jesus who commands the winds and the sea has come into our human flesh for you. He’s come to live under the Law and fulfill it perfectly for you. He’s come to see your struggle against sin and take its yoke from you. He’s come to die for you that you might not taste the sting of death. He rose for you and ascended for you, that you might know He is at your heavenly Father’s right hand, ruling over all things for you. Jesus, the Lord over all creation, the manifestation of God’s love and mercy, has come and will come again on the Last Day for you. And until that day, you have your fellow brothers and sisters to bear the burdens of this life, as well as the Means of Grace that Christ has promised to be there for you as often as you run to receive them. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, in Your mercy, guide the course of this world so that Your Church may joyfully serve You in godly peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/23/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week After Pentecost

June 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 5 - Psalm 107:29-32; antiphon: Psalm 107:28Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 25:1-22; Proverbs 26:1-28; John 19:23-42Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. (Psalm 107:28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Truly, as the Psalmist says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1) Although a man’s faithfulness waxes and wanes, the love of the Lord certainly does endure forever. This introit points us to the scene of our Gospel reading for Sunday.They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. (v. 28) Jesus is awoken by His disciples and does exactly as the Psalmist says, “He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” (v. 29) All leaving the disciples scratching their heads wondering, “And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:41)Our Lord is over all the chaos and the calamity of our world. He calms the storms and quiets the seas of our suffering and hardships in this life. We may suffer and cry out, “My God, when will the storm end?” Your God is there for you. He will not leave you or forsake you to the storms of your daily life. Cry to the Lord in your trouble; call upon the one who commands all of creation in the heavens and the earth. The one who created all things has created all things new in Christ Jesus. God Himself came into our flesh and suffered as we have. He brings you through the pain and tough times to the other side of the sea, to your desired haven (v. 29) so that you would see the steadfast love of your God and give thanks and praise to the one who has delivered you.No, Jesus is not calming seas and storms in front of you. However, He’s still present for you, working the forgiveness of sins, comforting your doubts, and calming your despair. He’s present for you where He’s promised to be found- in His word proclaimed by your pastor. He’s present, giving you life and salvation in the words of the holy Absolution. For where there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation.Christ Jesus calms the storms of sin and death by uniting you to His death and resurrection in the waters of your Baptism. He’s given for you to eat and to drink and strengthen you in your faith that you would weather the storm and know that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Evening and morning, Sunset and dawning, Wealth, peace, and gladness, Comfort in sadness: These are Thy works; all the glory be Thine! Times without number, Awake or in slumber, Thine eye observes us, From danger preserves us, Causing Thy mercy upon us to shine. (LSB 726, 1)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/22/20244 minutes, 37 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

June 21, 2024 Today's Reading: John 19:1-22Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22; John 19:1-22Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The circumstances of this were cosmic and eternal. Jesus is at His coronation. It's not all the bells and whistles like you would see at Buckingham Palace. Jesus’ coronation takes place as a criminal trial. Now Pilate does his best to get Jesus off. However, it’s no use; the political situation and the religious leaders are stacked against Pilate.Little did he know he would send the King of Kings to His throne to be unveiled for the world to see. Jesus is unlike any other king. Who, instead of a crown of jewels, wears a crown of thorns. The robe He wears is not meant to honor but to mock Him. What king would rule a people this way? What God would allow Himself to be treated this way by the ones He created? Your God does.Jesus bears the scoffing, the mocking, and the pain of each hour of Good Friday. Then Pilate washes his hands of Jesus and delivers Him over to be crucified.The time comes to deliver the King. Jesus, lead to the cross, like a lamb to the slaughter and uncomplaining forth He goes. Nailed to the cross lifted up high on a tree for all the world to see. Pilate’s inscription, those provocative words that make the Jewish people turn up their noses, proclaim that Jesus, Mary’s son from Nazareth, is crucified for being the King of the Jews. Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree (Gal. 3:13), yet by Jesus’s crucifixion, His coronation is complete. Taking on your enemies of sin, death, and the devil; in death, He is victorious. The crucifixion of Jesus is not a gloomy wake but a glorious exaltation of the Lamb of God, who, by death, conquered death and rests in the tomb to rise again on Easter morning.The circumstances were cosmic and eternal. Jesus goes to the cross for you so that you would cling to His cross as a source of light and life in the darkness of this sinful world. Risen and ascended at His Father’s right hand until He will come again in glory to take us into the life of the world to come. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What fading flow’rs His road adorn; The palms, how soon laid down! No bloom or leaf but only thorn The King of glory’s crown. The soldiers mock, the rabble cries, The streets with tumult ring, As Pilate to the mob replies, “Behold, behold your King!”  (LSB 444,3)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/21/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

June 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism 2Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-40It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. - Dr. Luther, SC, Baptism 2, Question 1In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What benefits does Baptism give? Baptism now saves you… (1 Peter 3:21) and in it, you are united to Christ’s life-giving death and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-4) If you ever need assurance of your salvation, that your sins are forgiven, that you are God’s child, and the devil has no claim on you, then turn to the words from God Himself. It is in His words and promises that God reveals to you how much you mean to Him.Baptism defines your life as a Christian. It is not a starting point but the daily reality of your Christian identity. In the waters of your Baptism, the death of your life to sin and your new life united to Christ are present. This paradox of being simultaneously sinner and saint begins. But the comfort of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation with the words and promises of God joined to the water is the daily reminder as we get up each day and wrestle against our old Adam.The words and promises of God in the last chapter of Mark are of great comfort, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) This is not meant to cause you to speculate on your faith and worry about you and your place in your salvation. Rather, it is to drive you to Christ, your savior, the One who your forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are founded in. He has rescued you from death and the devil and gives to you His child eternal salvation as the words and promises of God declare.Rejoice in your Baptism, and remember daily that you are a baptized child of God. There is no more peaceful, grander reality than this. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christian, firmly hold this gift And give God thanks forever! It gives the power to uplift In all that you endeavor. When nothing else revives your soul, Your Baptism stands and makes you whole And then in death completes you. ( LSB 596, 5)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/20/20244 minutes, 15 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week After Pentecost

June 19, 2024 Today's Reading: John 18:1-14Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:1-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They were afraid, yet he addressed them calmly. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” These men led by Judas to come and arrest Jesus of Nazareth came armed with torches, lanterns, and weapons. The disciples were afraid. Their beloved teacher, the One whom Peter confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God, would soon be taken away from them, and they would be scattered, just as Jesus said they would.So Peter goes down fighting, lopping off the ear of a servant, and then with all of his brother disciples, they high tail it off to where they can safely watch the Lamb of God be led to Golgotha to take away the sin of the world.They were afraid. Yet the One who knew all that would happen to Him goes willingly. The sham of a trial, the mockery and beatings He would endure. The rejection and ridicule by His own people. Yet He endured it all for you. The cup that the Father had given Jesus would be consumed by Him. To Peter and Pilate’s shock, it would not be kept away by force. Jesus would usher in the fullness of time and the kingdom of His Father. This is exactly what God had promised, yes, at the Garden of Eden after the Fall, but also from the beginning. The Word that through all things were created would be put to death. Yet by His death, eternal life is secured for all who believe. Through the ugliness of the cross on Good Friday, the serpent's head is crushed, death is swallowed up forever, and you and I are met with the welcoming hands of our crucified and risen savior. Doubts and fears may discourage us in this life, but know that Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, has come to put your fear at ease. He suffered for you, died for you, and rose for you so that you might take on all uncertainty in this life with the peace that He freely gives. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He died that we might die to sin And live for righteousness; The earth is stained to make us cleanAnd bring us into peace. For peace He came and met its cost; He gave Himself to save the lost; He loved us to the uttermost And paid for our release. (LSB 432, 2)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/19/20244 minutes, 26 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week After Pentecost

June 18, 2024Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; Proverbs 21:1-31; John 17:1-26For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We groan through the daily grind of our earthly lives. This tent that Paul speaks of, our bodies, gives us constant reminders of how fragile and temporal we are. The effects of sin on us and creation take its toll. If not like Paul through the bodily harm and threats from persecution, we see this long term through the aging and frailty of our own bodies.We do not suffer this as those who are unprepared or found naked, as Paul says. We, the baptized, are united to Christ Himself and made new creations. As we grapple with the suffering and times of despair in our earthly lives, we remember that we are in this tent of our bodies for a time. That’s not to say that we will leave our bodies for a spiritual reality, but that God Himself has prepared a body for you clothed in the glory and righteousness that is bestowed upon you in Christ Jesus.Even though we may see pain, injury, and ultimately death, we do not despair as the world does. We have the daily reality of our Baptisms to fall back on. In your Baptism, you were united to Christ’s death and resurrection. United to Jesus, you give thanks for the days here in our earthly tents, so to speak, but rejoice that all has been prepared, and when our mortal bodies meet death, they will be swallowed up with life.On the Last Day, we and believers of every tribe and nation will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. As the Lamb ushers in the end of time and reigns from His throne, the old tent will pass away, and life in eternity with our God will be the reality. Come, Lord Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All who believe and are baptized Shall see the Lord’s salvation; Baptized into the death of Christ, They are a new creation. Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand Among the glorious, heav’nly band Of ev’ry tribe and nation. (LSB 601, 1)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/18/20244 minutes, 14 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week After Pentecost

June 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28; Proverbs 18:1-20:4; John 16:17-33“And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (Ezekiel 17:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The kingdom of Israel, by this time, has been hauled away to Assyria. The kingdom of Judah, which remains, is struggling to prop itself up. Corruption and idolatry are where God’s chosen people have placed their trust. Yet the word of the Lord still comes to them through the prophet Ezekiel. These verses are taken from the ending of God’s parable of the eagle and a vine. The line of David had continued just as God had promised, but those who had taken the scepter generation after generation looked after their own interests.The Davidic line, by all measurements of success, had failed. Judah and her kings chased false gods rather than the God who preserved them. The God who stayed the Babylonian conquest for Hezekiah would no longer hold them back. The king and his princes, the people of Judah, will be hauled off to Babylon. This wicked generation will never see the land God gave to them again.There is hope, though. While God certainly punishes sin and the wickedness of His people, He remembers those who hold on to His word and promises. We all struggle with sin and feel lost in a world that tosses us around with the winds of desire. When you feel lost, cling to the One who brings the high trees of the world, the Babylons and great empires, to take the low trees, the faithful remnant high. You have the assurance that the faithful in Judah had through Ezekiel, the one who proclaimed it to them. “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (17:24)God does conquer the sin, the anxiety, and the fear of this life for you, not through political wheeling and dealing, not through chasing idols to earn worldly security. God takes all the sin, fear, and anxiety of us who struggle against our sinful flesh- He takes it upon Himself in His Son Jesus. He doesn’t take it and give you a list of how to make things right. Jesus takes your sin, covers it in His blood, and swallows it up in His death. Christ’s life of His resurrection is your life. God has spoken by the prophets and done it through Jesus His Son. Fear not; cling to the words and promises of God as they are given to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, the shoot that springs triumphant From the stump of Jesse’s tree; Christ, true vine, You nurture branches To bear fruit abundantly. Graft us into You, O Savior; Prune our hearts so we remain Fruitful branches in Your vineyard Till eternal life we gain. (LSB 540, 3)- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 
6/17/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

June 16, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 4:26-34Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.” (Mark 4:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus spoke to them in parables. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (4:34) Why did the crowd not get the full picture? What set the disciples apart? Let alone what does the kingdom of God have to do with scattering seeds or a tiny mustard seed?Jesus spoke to them in parables. The crowd was missing the point because they weren’t looking in the right place. Jesus was not telling them these parables because he wanted to make them think about the world or become the next great rabbi for them to follow. No, Jesus, even in the parables, cuts right to the image of the coming of the kingdom and the harvest at the end of the age.The sower sows the seed of the Word of God. From that point on, the sower can care for that seed. How that word convicts or grabs a man’s conscience is not his doing but God’s. Jesus spoke to them in parables because it is through simple words that God is active. Jesus spoke to them in parables so that those with even a mustard seed’s size of faith would hear these words from the Word of God made flesh itself and believe. That those words would take root, that God would grow that seed, care for it, and guide that person through their daily life to the harvest.God does this still today for those with great and little faith. God Himself is the worker and author of faith through the preaching of His Gospel and proclamation of forgiveness of sins. God desires not that man would stand far off trying to discern how to reach God, but that man would hear the words of life from Jesus, drown their sinful flesh, die in the life-giving waters of Baptism, and receive the life-giving meal of Jesus’s Body and Blood under the simple means of bread and wine.Jesus spoke to them in parables just as the Word itself was veiled in flesh so that those who believe would see God’s salvation for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, INAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.
6/16/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week After Pentecost

June 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 4 - Psalm 92:12-15; antiphon: Psalm 92:1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:15 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We have this predicament where the people we feel most comfortable taking shelter with are the ones who can relate to our flaws, faults, and sins. We feel the least comfortable confessing to someone who doesn’t struggle with the vices that are crushing us. It’s easy to confess to people who sin like me. They’re unrighteous like me. So they’ll never judge me. They can’t, or they’d be judging themselves. We take shelter with the sinners like us, but they can’t save us. They can only commiserate.  It magnifies what the Psalmist sees in the LORD. A rock for himself, yet one who has no unrighteousness in Him. The LORD is shelter for sinners. Stability for sinners. But He is more. He calls the faithful “righteous.” He knows them not according to their sins. He makes those His own, brings them to nothing on the cross for you, then rises free of them. You have no sins left. You are as righteous as He is now.  It changes the nature of confession. Confession is not built around commiserating together in a pit you can’t escape. Your sins aren’t too gross for God. They won’t make Him turn away or pull back. Not even if it’s the millionth time you’ve sinned. We confess to a God who isn’t like us so that we might become like Him. We who are unrighteous bring our unrighteousness to God, and He calls us righteous. Forgiven. Over and over and over again. It actually happens in church. It’s terrifying to confess your sins in front of your pastor. He’s not there to commiserate and tell you he did the same thing. But he was sent by God to forgive you and remind you that you are not unrighteous. You are forgiven and loved. In this forgiveness, we flourish and grow, giving thanks to the LORD. His praises are worth singing because He is our rock, our shelter that has actually saved us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Built on the Rock the Church shall stand Even when steeples are falling. Crumbled have spires in ev'ry land; Bells still are chiming and calling, Calling the young and old to rest, But above all the souls distressed, Longing for rest everlasting. (LSB 645:1)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/15/20244 minutes, 21 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week After Pentecost

June 14, 2024 Today's Reading: John 15:1-11Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 14:1-27; John 15:1-11I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To abide means to make your home somewhere. Abide in Jesus. Ask what you wish, and it will be done for you. You will bear much fruit. You will be loved. You will have value. You will have Commandments to treasure that will guide you, and even when you fail to fulfill them, the love you abide in forgives you. Christianity isn’t so complicated. Be near Jesus. When things are good, rejoice in Jesus. When things are bad, find shelter in Jesus. When you are guilty, be forgiven in Jesus.It might be more comforting if Jesus didn’t tell the disciples how He was going away, literally a paragraph above this one. Abide in me or you will wither and be thrown into the fire, but also, I’m leaving now, bye. Jesus is preparing the disciples for His passion. He is going away to die for them and for you. He is going away to make the vine worth abiding in, to pay for the forgiveness you receive in blood, and to earn your place in the resurrection, where you will be given all good things you ask for.  Jesus departs from the disciples. He dies. He rises. He ascends. And now we can share their frustration. The God-man doesn’t tour towns in the Middle East where we can go visit when we need something.  It changes the word abide, not because we don’t make our home in Jesus anymore, but because to abide with Jesus doesn’t mean to visit Jerusalem. It means to go to church. The Holy Spirit is sent where His Word is preached, where His sacraments are administered. He doesn’t insist you follow Him from town to town. He calls you to the font to be baptized into His death and resurrection. He calls you to abide in Him in your Baptism that gives you all that He promises. Love. Shelter. Comfort. Forgiveness. Worth. Abiding in Jesus isn’t limited to those who go on tour with Him or even those who copy His good deeds. He brings Himself to you in your church. Now you know where to find Him, and He is never far, so that when things are good, He is there to rejoice with. When things are bad, He is there to shelter you; when you are guilty, He is there to forgive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, holy Vine, Christ, living Tree, Be praised for this blest mystery: That Word and water thus revive And join us to Your Tree of Life. (LSB 595:5)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/14/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week After Pentecost

June 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism 1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25; John 14:18-31What is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the beginning, God spoke, and stuff happened. Creation forms itself to His word. God said light. It was. And it was good. In Baptism, God joins that same powerful word to water. That’s why Baptism is efficacious. There are major facets of Christianity today that view Baptism as “only a sign.” They mean it doesn’t do anything and still insist that it shouldn’t do anything for babies. This is how we respond.  Does God’s Word do something? Because without God’s Word the water is plain water, but Baptism is not just plain water. It is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. God sticks His Word in the water, so the water becomes more. Enough to save you. Forgive you. Give you an identity not rooted in what you can do or become on your own. Not rooted in your promises to be better. Not rooted in how you feel about Jesus. Only rooted in what His Word promises for you. And His Word promises to unite you to Christ’s death and resurrection. It promises to make you an heir of salvation, a member of God’s family. Your Baptism matters because it contains God’s Word, and that Word delivers everything it promises. Are you baptized? Then you have all that God has promised you. It doesn’t just matter to win arguments with Baptists. It matters when you struggle to believe God’s Word, and doubt. It matters when you struggle to feel God’s presence. It matters when you struggle to feel like you’re of value. You are baptized. God gives that Gift to you, even you who struggle with doubt. God gives it to you who struggle daily with sin. To you who feel far from God. To you who feel worthless. And God gives it for you so that you would never have to measure those other things and can simply ask, am I baptized? And the answer is yes. You have all that God’s Word promises you, today. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts flow from the font Where He calls us His own; New life He gives that makes Us His and His alone. Here He forgives our sins With water and His Word; The triune God Himself Gives pow'r to call Him Lord. (LSB 602:2)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/13/20244 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week After Pentecost

June 12, 2024 Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23; Proverbs 11:1-12:28; John 14:1-17So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians don’t measure hurt differently than the world. Just time. Jesus is already raised from the dead and will bring us with Him into His presence. We are already tied to everlasting life. That doesn’t make today hurt less, but it puts the word “today” in perspective. Which matters when things hurt. Pain shortens time into the moment. All of eternity shrinks into the toe I just stubbed. There is no path forward from the relationship imploding in the moment. Pain makes the now seem so much larger than it actually is. Christ’s promise of resurrection stretches time back out. Today is still allowed to hurt. Jesus never promises a today that hurts less. But He does promise to be a God who will not allow you to hurt alone. He’ll hurt for you, too. He bore a cross that probably didn’t just tickle. But He did it to save you from the todays that hurt too much. So we do not lose heart. Our outer self wastes away. Things break in this world, us included. But our inner self won’t just renew after it’s all too much and we die. You are renewed today in the midst of the pain. In the midst of the decay. In the midst of everything that is wrong, daily, you are renewed in your Baptism. New Man emerges and arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. You are tied to the victory that stretches time back out today. So we look to that. The things that are unseen in the font. Forgiveness, life, and salvation. You are baptized. Today’s afflictions will disappear under the weight of the glory of the resurrection in the same way I can’t remember what I had eight years ago for lunch. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/12/20244 minutes, 20 seconds
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St. Barnabas, Apostle

June 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18; John 13:21-38So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. Mark 6:12In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. More is assumed about Barnabas than is actually known, which is probably ok. Jesus sends out the 12 to conquer disease and demons alike in His name and warns them that it won’t get them rich, or even always a place to crash for the night, but don’t bother preparing for it, which is somehow good, since it came from the God who sets the standard for goodness. Preach repentance and give all the good Gifts it brings. Preach Law and Gospel. Sinners need forgiveness. Jesus forgives sinners and gives them everlasting life in His death for them. It’s missions in a way that is hard to codify with programs, checklists, and seminars. The results are hard to measure, but we’ll see people who heard, believed, and even now live in Christ who conquered death when we join them in victory.  Still, mostly the Church is more concerned with what it doesn’t have than what it does. Not enough money. Not enough programs. Not enough kids. All worldly advice is that it takes money to make money, and it takes an active youth group to attract more youth. To the one who has, more will be given and all that. But the 12 were sent without. Barnabas preached likely to martyrdom. And you know his name even though there were many who’d see him killed just to stop him from talking. It’s refreshing to consider missions as Jesus sends the 12. The Church was never called to growth, just faithfulness. God handles the growth when and where He pleases. He doesn’t tell the 12 how to grow the Church, fundraise, or do any of the things we’re sure are needed. He tells them to go preach and watch as creation mends itself according to their faithful words.  You’ll go out into a world and feel ill-equipped to confront it in your faith. That’s fine, too. The Church was not founded on what we brought to the table. It stands on Christ, who forgives your sins and the sins of all believers. It stands on His Word, which you learn and hold dear. The 12 preached. Barnabas was used by God as God saw fit, even if nobody really knows much about it. You don’t need to build something that will be remembered in history to support a faith you love. Pray for faithfulness, hear God’s Word, and be unafraid, because the hope you cling to endures all things. What’s miraculous is that it can even help others, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For Barnabas we praise You, Who kept Your law of love And, leaving earthly treasures, Sought riches from above. O Christ, our Lord and Savior, Let gifts of grace descend, That Your true consolation May through the world extend. (LSB 518:17)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/11/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week After Pentecost

June 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Genesis 3:8-15Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:22-36; John 13:1-20I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whenever the All-knowing asks a question, it’s not because He’s curious about the answer. It’s not even because He needs us to figure it out. It’s usually because we think we already did, but have confused Law and Gospel, and that needs to be sorted out.  The devil will have us confuse the two. The deceiver will have us look to the Gospel when what we need is the Law. Except a gospel with no law has nothing to forgive, so it just papers over what’s wrong with the notion that things are fine. Fig leaves and bushes try to cover death. The idea that God loves everyone is easier to bear if He doesn’t have to love sinners. So the devil points us away from the Law that convicts us of sin and tries to leave us content hiding from each other and God in the bushes.  And the accuser will have us look to the Law when what we really need is the Gospel. It will leave us slinging blame. Accusing each other of fault to make ourselves seem innocent, or at least less guilty. The woman, whom YOU gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate. This is her fault. Eve learns from her husband. Actually, it’s Satan's fault I ate. He deceived me. So when the All-knowing asks a question, it’s often to correct the mix-up. He confronts Adam and Eve with a question of the Law that leaves them recognizing something terrible has happened. And when they need the Gospel but have confused it with heaping blame at others by the Law, He corrects that too. Convicted of their sin and desperate for hope, they hear a promise. God doesn’t even wait for their apologies before promising to send the Son, born of the seed of woman, to crush the head of the serpent and redeem them forever. The answer to the questions God asks is sort of like Sunday school. The answer is usually Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What mercy God showed to our race, A plan of rescue by His grace: In sending One from woman's seed, The One to fill our greatest need - For on a tree uplifted high His only Son for sin would die, Would drink the cup of scorn and dread To crush the ancient serpent's head! (LSB 561:3)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/10/20244 minutes, 27 seconds
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Third Sunday After Pentecost

June 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 3:20-35Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin  Mark 3:29In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Only the wrong people worry about committing the unforgivable sin. The old saying goes, if you’re worried about committing this sin, you haven’t, because the sin against the Holy Spirit is unbelief, and if you’re worried about it, it’s because you care, which is a sign there’s belief.The problem isn’t just that it gives people prone to worry the new worry that maybe they don’t worry enough about their faith. It also leaves them to find comfort in the worry Jesus tells them not to have. Don’t worry; your worry is a sign that nothing is wrong. But if you don’t worry, is something wrong? Maybe we’re overcomplicating things by trying to make them simple.  So Jesus attaches this worrisome verse to a parable about a strong man. The comfort doesn’t come from how you feel about Him. The comfort comes from whether or not he’s been bound. Jesus enters Satan's house, binds him, and then plunders the house. You were Satan's. But Christ has bound his accusing tongue. He has forgiven your sins. He has died so that you would not be owned by the devil anymore. You belong to Christ now. If you wonder whether or not you have committed the unforgivable sin, don’t ask how worried you are about committing the unforgivable sin. Ask yourself, has Jesus overcome the devil? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If Christ has conquered, and that’s good, you have not committed the unforgivable sin. Breathe. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and eternal God, Your Son Jesus triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us always to do Your will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/9/20243 minutes, 59 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week After Pentecost

June 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 3 - Psalm 28:7-9; antiphon: Psalm 28:6Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; Proverbs 6:1-7:27; John 12:20-36aThe LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; Psalm 28:7a In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalm starts with God’s identity before it ever addresses what needs doing. It isn’t just propriety that beckons Christians to pray “our Father, who art in heaven” before petitioning Him. The answers to the prayer are found in the identity of God, not the world around us.  I’m worried about today. But my comfort comes from who God is, not what’s wrong or right with today. The LORD is my strength and my shield. That part doesn’t change with today. It answers today. So I am helped because He is my shield. When my heart trusts in Him, it exults. The only thing that can change isn’t His identity, just the focus of my heart. So I’m given this psalm to pray to remind me of who God is so that I can exult with David.I’m worried about tomorrow. But my comfort comes from who God is then too, what might or might not come. The LORD is our Shepherd. He will carry us forever. We will be saved. It’s not up for debate unless He stops being our Shepherd. And He won’t. He bore the cross. That part is done. He rose from the grave, and in your Baptism, you are already united in the victory. The Shepherd can’t stop being the Shepherd, so you can’t stop being saved. We start with God’s identity before we list what’s wrong. If we did the opposite, I guess we could convince ourselves we can find salvation without God as long as we’re good problem solvers, but that won’t last forever. There are problems we can’t solve, and as long as they stay messed up, salvation looks out of reach. So, instead, we start with God, who has already died and risen, who is already victorious, and whose identity doesn’t change. There’s more comfort in a good God that won’t change than wishing everything we don’t like would. God’s identity is the comfort that never yields, even if the things around us won’t stop shifting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, be our light when worldly darkness veils us; Lord, be our shield when earthly armor fails us; And in the day when hell itself assails us, Grant us Your peace, Lord  (LSB 659:3)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/8/20244 minutes, 24 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week After Pentecost

June 7, 2024 Today's Reading: John 12:1-19Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 4:1-27; John 12:1-19For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:8 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This side of glory, the poor, you will always have with you. And for some reason, it’s used as an excuse. Ironically enough, it seems to apply even though we don’t have Jesus with us anymore the way He is in the text. But hey, why work on what you can’t fix? Feigned helplessness is the best. Why work out if you’ll always be overweight? Why struggle against sin if you’ll fall back into it? Why donate to a charity that feeds the homeless if it won’t feed all of them? Helplessness feels great to sinners because it’s a chance to free ourselves from the burden of viewing love for neighbor as a sacrifice instead of just a wish for better. It will just be this way. So, let’s go back to what feels good enough to distract us from it. Double points if it feels virtuous, like calls to action on social media or pointing out other people’s problems.  Jesus stops Judas from taking the ointment from Mary and selling it. He says to save it for the day of His burial. But it didn’t fix that either. He still rode into Jerusalem and died. Which was a good thing, remember? Maybe the ointment wasn’t given to fix anything at all, only to point to what actually could. Christ’s death for Mary and her devotion, for Judas and his sin, and even for the poor, who would still be poor after He breathed His last. The death and resurrection of Jesus is for you in your helplessness, not so you can shove aside the burden of addressing what’s wrong in front of you, but for you to know that you don’t hang hope on the other side of fixing it. Even the least of these can receive it. It will be fixed in the resurrection, but until then, you still have the same Christ who saves you from yourself and from the world. You still have a life death cannot destroy, and treasure thieves cannot break in and steal. You have His love, manifest in Word and Sacrament, and you have the love of your neighbor too. And it frees us to love each other without the burden of solving every problem. Wishes for better sacrifice nothing and won’t be satisfied until things are fixed, even though that won’t happen on this side of glory. They leave nothing but angst. Love is a sacrifice, even if your sacrifice won’t make things perfect. Christ already did that. Relax. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Draw near and take the body of the Lord, And drink the holy blood for you outpoured; Offered was He for greatest and for least, Himself the victim and Himself the priest. (637:1)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/7/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week after Pentecost

June 6, 2024Today's Reading: Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer - The ConclusionDaily Lectionary: Proverbs 3:5-24; John 11:38-57For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.* Amen.What does this mean? This means that I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us. Amen, amen means yes, yes, it shall be so.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We’ve memorized what amen means. Yes, yes, it shall be so. We rarely contemplate how much it says. We know amen doesn’t mean prayer is over now. But we rarely focus on the fact that amen doesn’t mean “maybe this won’t happen, even though deep down I don’t know how to pray without that reservation.” When we say amen, we’re not just certain Jesus is our guest and all His gifts to us are blessed; we say we’re certain our aunt’s incurable cancer will be cured by God’s merciful hand. We say we’re certain there will be peace going forward, even though there’s only been war going back as far as the Fall. We say the impossible isn’t just possible. We say it’s outright going to happen. Yes, yes, it shall be so. And that’s insane. Then again, it’s insane that someone would die and then rise from death to live again. It’s insane that He would face this suffering for the ones who sin against Him to save them from themselves. The cross is insane. The love that drives God to bear it willingly to save you is insane. And the hope that comes from it defies all reason, too. Christ is risen. All who trust in Him will rise. In Christ, cancer has claimed 0 lives. They’ll just rise again. In the resurrection, we expect with all certainty there will be no more war or sin. The impossible isn’t just possible. It’s outright going to happen. So when we say amen, we tie it to the love that bore the cross and conquered death. It isn’t trust in an event, but in the one who will work it. So it isn’t a trust in the timing or method you’re thinking of, but the one who works all things for good. Even if it isn’t until after the resurrection, you’ll get that Godly prayer. And if that seems too far, the same love will carry you to that day when you can’t get there alone. So let your amen be insane. Let it defy your reason and strength. Let it defy your fear. It doesn’t rest on anything other than God’s love, which is greater and more certain than all those things anyway. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.No blinding sign we ask, No wonder from above. Lord, help us place our trust alone In Your unswerving love (LSB 424:3). - Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/6/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week After Pentecost

June 5, 2024 Today's Reading: John 11:17-37Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 1:8-33; John 11:17-37Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:21 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think John made sure to get this in the story, not to leave us with a bad impression of Martha marked on one of the hardest days of her life, but I think it’s to give us the words to speak on our own. It’s bitterness and genuine anger rolled up in a confession of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. It isn’t just an accusation. It’s a recognition. It doesn’t ignore the problem because of Jesus. But it doesn’t dismiss it either.Something wrong happened. God could have stopped it. There will be a resurrection someday. But today, hope feels far off. Because we tend to root hope in the answer to prayers, not the God answering them. So, hope is a Lazarus who isn’t dead. But that leaves hope very far away when he’s four days in the tomb and rotting. Hope is an alternate reality or someday too far away. Out of reach.  Every time the followers of Jesus put their hope in something He can control but not in Him, it falls apart. Because hope is not found in God answering prayers. Hope is found in God. So Jesus answers, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”It's not a call to see what God can do. It's a call to see who He is. Even Martha sees what can be done. It almost makes it more frustrating. “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” But that Last Day isn't here yet.  It's a call to see where God is. Standing at the entrance to the tomb, weeping over the loss. Not far. And so where God is, there is hope. And Jesus draws near to dead Lazarus. Hope is not measured in anything other than the presence of Jesus. The story stops here, but you know how it ends. Today, it stops with Jesus being near. That's a good place to stop. Because if Jesus is near, there is hope. Jesus doesn't give resurrection. He is resurrection. If He is near, have hope.  Which may be why He gives us His Body and Blood in church. So that hope can be measured in more than “Did I get what I wanted?” or “Did I die and go to heaven and on the Last Day rise?” It’s measured in “Is Jesus here for me?” and the answer is Yes. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Then is our comfort this alone That we may meet before Your throne; To You, O faithful God, we cry For rescue in our misery (LSB 615:2)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/5/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week After Pentecost

June 4, 2024Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:5-12Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14; John 11:1-16Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:10 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You only have to escape the things that can beat you. Nobody runs from puppies. Unless they’re allergic, I guess. It’s hard to find something in this world that someone’s not afraid of. I guess that’s the point. There’s lots of affliction. Lots of things that leave you at a loss for words. Persecution on a large and small scale. Too many struck down. Even puppies are scary to someone. Let alone cancer, calamity, and the plain old-fashioned evil we do to each other, with or without self-righteous excuses. Paul tells us ours is a religion of endurance, not escape. We will be afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Christianity will not help you escape those things. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying. But you only have to escape the things that can beat you. None of those can. You carry the death of Jesus in your body, so the life of Jesus is also being manifested in your body. You are baptized. You are united to Christ in His death, and so you are united to Him in His resurrection. Now. You’re already safe from all you want to run from. Escape sounds better because of the lack of suffering. It isn’t, though, because as long as the world’s this sinful, and quite frankly, as long as you’re this sinful too, you’ll always be running in a religion of escape. Always afraid. But those things can’t beat us anymore. We already wear the victory. So we don’t run. We endure. Not by willing ourselves forward and talking about courage or effort. We endure by gathering everything that overwhelms us and taking it to our church where our pastor confronts it with the same promise Paul gives Corinth. We hear the Gospel. We receive the Sacraments. And there, we are united to what cannot but endure, and it drags us along as well. Death might be at work in us, but life is at work in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Despised and scorned, they sojourned here; But now, how glorious they appear! Those martyrs stand, A priestly band, God's throne forever near. On earth they wept through bitter years; Now God has wiped away their tears, Transformed their strife To heav'nly life, And freed them from their fears. They now enjoy the Sabbath rest, The heav'nly banquet of the blest; The Lamb, their Lord, At festive board Himself is host and guest. (LSB 676:2)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/4/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week After Pentecost

June 3, 2024Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 5:12-15Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 11:1-10; John 10:22-42Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Deuteronomy 5:12In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The key word in the commandment is holy. God calls us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: clean, pure, holy as the LORD your God is holy. So it probably has to have more to do with what He does on it than what we do. You can’t clean a table with a dirty rag. Unholy people who do unholy things can’t sanctify a day. So on the Sabbath, God commands us to be near Him. Hear His word. Hold it sacred. Gladly learn it. Receive His sacraments. Rest in His promises that cleanse us from all that is unholy and make us clean ourselves.  It is not a day set apart for Christians to show God how much they praise Him. It is a day even commanded to be given to sojourners and servants. God does not dangle rest on the other side of work as a reward for the worthy. God wishes to be a God of the unclean, making them clean in Himself. He sends His Son to die on a cross to make you that way. Jesus died for you. In His blood, you are made clean. In your Baptism, you are washed and made holy.  That holiness is not just for us but for all of creation. Even the animals are called to the Sabbath. Jesus' love for you is such that He does not just redeem you, but all of creation for you. All creation groans with eager expectation of the life to come. But until then, we rest each week. We go to church, and even invite others who need rest, too. We hear His Word that gives even as it promises. We eat and drink His Body and Blood that forgive even as they tie us to the life where we will finally be free from all that makes us need such a blessed meal of rest. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come unto Me, ye weary, And I will give you rest. O blessèd voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace, and peace, Of joy that hath no ending, Of love that cannot cease. (LSB 684:1)- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/3/20244 minutes, 14 seconds
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Second Sunday After Pentecost

June 2, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 2:23-28 (3:1-6)Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 10:1-20; John 10:1-21And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees confront Jesus about the disciples eating on the Sabbath because they plucked the heads of grain themselves. That’s too much work. Arguments about doing work on the Sabbath don’t make sense to me. Not because of the New Covenant; but because the place I feel the least amount of rest is usually when I’m left with nothing to distract me from my own thoughts. Doing absolutely nothing on a day is a great way to make sure that I feel no rest at all.  Jesus won’t bicker with them over how much work counts as rest. Instead, He points to starving David. To the man with the withered hand. Should they have rest, or should they be left alone with what’s wrong and do nothing about it? Their answers don’t matter. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to give rest, not measure it. So Jesus feeds. Jesus heals. Jesus defends those confronted by the accusations of the law by standing and bearing the attacks Himself so that those found guilty might instead just be those who have been given rest.  It's good to do less work on the Sabbath, but only because it’s very good to receive the true rest that is in Christ. Go to church. Find forgiveness for your sins in a Christ who defends you from the accusations of the Law. Find a meal that nourishes the soul, the Body and Blood of Him who died that you would live. And there, find healing, not just from the diseases of today, but from death forever. The Sabbath is rest because on it, we receive the Gospel. We hear it, we eat it, and in it, we live.  It will never satisfy those who want to live by the Law. They’ll always want something else to measure, but on the Sabbath, Jesus only gives rest to the weary who can’t be left alone. Leaving me alone with nothing to do but sit with my thoughts is no rest at all, so leave me with the words and promises of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Eternal God, Your Son Jesus Christ is our true Sabbath rest. Help us to keep each day holy by receiving His Word of comfort that we may find our rest in Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/2/20244 minutes, 22 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Holy Trinity

June 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 2 - Psalm 62:5-8; antiphon: Psalm 62:1Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 9:1-17; John 9:24-41For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,  for my hope is from him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62:5–8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who can you trust? Perhaps the list is very long for you. Trust is not something one should give out very easily. This is especially true if you’ve been the victim of injury or wrong by other people. Maybe you’ve lived a life where you can trust people and give it out freely and easily, for better or for worse. Maybe someone who was supposed to be trustworthy hurt you. Maybe a parent. Maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe a teacher. Maybe your friends at the lunch table aren’t acting like friends should. Maybe someone told everyone something only they were supposed to know. The trust is broken, and it’s harder to trust them in the future. Maybe you’ll never trust them again. This is sin and its consequences. It poisons families, it destroys relationships, it shatters trust. But who then can you trust? For sure, you should not adopt a hermit mindset, where you can trust nobody, and so you withdraw from society. That will make you go crazy (and you’ll become depressed pretty quickly). But recognize that there is One who sits above the swampy bog of lies and sin. That One is God. The same God who saves you, the same God who knows you, the same God who called you by name; He is a rock and fortress, a mighty refuge from sin and death. When nobody else can be trusted, dear Christian, flee to God. Remember that He has called you in your Baptism and feeds you at His table. In Him can you trust. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord;  Peace in our time, O send us! For there is none on earth but You, None other to defend us. You only, Lord, can fight for us.  Amen. (LSB 777:1)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
6/1/20244 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Visitation

May 31, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-45 (46-56)Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17; John 9:1-23And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:41–43)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isn’t it interesting that creation cannot help but acknowledge who Jesus is and what He has come to do for them? I think it’s wild that the first person to acknowledge who Jesus was was a baby who wasn’t born yet. The whole creation cries out for the birth of the King. The Visitation of St. Mary to St. Elizabeth is a prime example of this. John the Baptist knew this even before he was born. Isn’t that amazing? We can learn another thing from the story of the Visitation. We can learn that faith is entirely the work of God. John the Baptist had not even been born yet, and yet he knew who he was greeting when Mary came around with Jesus in her womb. Nobody could have taught him. This was not someone at the “age of reason.” But this baby, still in the womb, was granted the Gift of faith by the Holy Spirit. In the same way, Elizabeth is given the same faith! Right as Mary rolls in, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (verse 41), exclaiming with “a loud cry, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (verse 42). Elizabeth was given faith from the Holy Spirit to recognize Mary and Jesus in her. Thanks be to God for that same faith and that same Holy Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.For He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden.For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessèd.For the Mighty One has done great things to me, and holy is His name;and His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. (Magnificat)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/31/20244 minutes, 8 seconds
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Thursday of the Week of Holy Trinity

May 30, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Seventh Petition Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 7:11-29; John 8:39-59The Seventh PetitionBut deliver us from evil.What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Evil is ugly. And evil is something we must contend with here on this fallen earth. Ever since the Fall into sin (Genesis 3), evil has been stalking humanity. And what is evil? Evil is not just a cartoonish phrase, as if evil is some man with an eyepatch and a twirly mustache plotting world domination. Evil is death. Evil is sin. Evil is what stalks us, tempting us. Evil is certainly manifested in the person and work of the devil and all his minions, but as sinners, we have evil within us, too. Concupiscence (now there is a fancy word) is the inborn desire that all humans have, that is, the inclination to evil. It is what St. Paul writes about when he says, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19) Evil is something we must be rescued from, and fortunately, Jesus is in the business of rescuing. That is what we pray in this Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. We pray that our Father would give us delivery and safety from all the things that a fallen world throws at us. But we Christians ultimately do not need to fear evil. Regardless of what this tired, evil world throws at us, our God delivers us from them all. Even the final plan of sin, that is death, is transformed in Jesus from everlasting torment to a blessed sleep awaiting the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. Will evil come? Absolutely. But Christ will deliver you from it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Though hordes of devils fill the land   All threat’ning to devour us, We tremble not, unmoved we stand;  They cannot overpow’r us.  Let this world’s tyrant rage;  In battle we’ll engage.His might is doomed to fail;  God’s judgment must prevail! One little word subdues him.God’s Word forever shall abide,  No thanks to foes, who fear it;  For God Himself fights by our side  With weapons of the Spirit.  Were they to take our house,  Goods, honor, child, or spouse,Though life be wrenched away,  They cannot win the day. The Kingdom’s ours forever! (LSB 657:3,4)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/30/20244 minutes, 35 seconds
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Wednesday of the Week of Holy Trinity

May 29, 2024Today's Reading: Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:10Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:10, John 8:21-38All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 6:7–9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How satisfied are you? Do you ever get that question, besides in emails about something you just bought? Do you ever think about how satisfied you are with life? Ecclesiastes can certainly paint a pretty grim picture of life. The first chapter of Ecclesiastes tells us that “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) The preacher (frequently cited as Solomon) goes on to say that all things in life are “striving after wind.” Have you ever felt that way? I know I sure have. Sometimes, you do something, and none of it seems to matter. Nothing you do seems to go anywhere; nobody appreciates it, and you might as well have done nothing. At least you could have slept in that day and felt a little less tired. It’s all striving after the wind, right? What Ecclesiastes paints for us is the unfortunate reality of life apart from God. Nothing matters apart from God. If the soul does not have God, it cannot be content. All someone can do is just toil and hope to fill their belly. But the one who has God, the one who has their sins forgiven, can look forward. Rather than looking at life as being trapped on a rock hurtling through space, waiting your turn to die, you can view it as a blessed opportunity to serve and love your neighbor. And even death, that old foe, takes on a different tone. No longer is death simply the grisly end, but since the grave has lost its sting in Christ, the one who falls asleep in Jesus may look forward to the Ressurection of the Dead, to the new and perfect creation. Striving after the wind? No thanks; we are striving after something far better. We have been given something far better. We have been given the forgiveness of sins. We have been given The Sacraments. You’ve been covered with the water of Holy Baptism. You have been given peace with God. No need to strive at all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now through His Son doth shine  The Father’s grace divine.  Death was reigning o’er usThrough sin and vanity  Till He opened for us  A bright eternity. May we praise Him there!   May we praise Him there! (LSB 386:3)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/29/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Tuesday of the Week of Holy Trinity

May 28, 2024Today's Reading: Acts 2:14a, 22-36Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 5:1-20; John 8:1-20This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:32–33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This sermon must have been absolutely terrifying to hear. Imagine sitting there, slowly having it dawn on you that the one that you delivered up to be killed was innocent. Not only was He innocent, but He was the very Son of God. And not only was He the very son of God who was innocent, but He is now risen from the dead. Uh oh. They are hearing Peter’s sermon and they are absolutely crushed by the weight of the Law. They are at fault. They have sinned, gravely, in thought, since they hated Jesus. They have sinned in word, for they accused Him of many evil things of which He was innocent. They have sinned in deed, for they delivered Him up to be crucified. What is in store for them now? When I was a kid, at my church growing up, we would do something a little different on good Friday. The pastor would have us read the account of the trial of Jesus. He would read the parts of Pilate, and the people would read the parts of the crowd. This was one of the hardest things to do. Because it really makes you think. You put yourself in the place of the crowd, and you connect something. Jesus was not crucified purely because a group of men two thousand years ago conspired against Him. Jesus was crucified because of my sins. Jesus had to die because I am a sinner. It sure hits different when you hear yourself call out, “We have no king but Caesar!” It crushes you to say, “Release for us Barabbas.” You want to hang your head and mutter the words, “Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!” I sure knew what it was like to hear Peter’s sermon. But there is good news, beloved in the LORD. Jesus, risen from the dead, is not out for blood. He is not out with a vengeance to get even with those who caused His death. Jesus is eager to receive the broken in heart and the contrite in spirit. Jesus, out of love for God’s creation, took on the sin of the entire world (yes, even your sin) and died. He did so willingly. He did so lovingly. Jesus invites those repentant sinners to His table to receive His Body and His Blood for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus invites you to receive the forgiveness of sins, physically, with your lips, and with your ears! In the name of Jesus. Amen. God came to us then at Pentecost,  His Spirit new life revealing, That we might no more from Him be lost, All darkness for us dispelling. His flame will the mark of sin efface  And bring to us all His healing. (LSB 503:4)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/28/20245 minutes, 1 second
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Monday of the Week of Holy Trinity

May 27, 2024Today's Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16; John 7:32-53And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:5–7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah was a smart one. He knew what was going on around him. You see, for sinners, the presence of God is absolutely bad news. What happens to sinners in the presence of God? Death. Blown up. Toast. Zapped. Whatever fun phrase you use to describe it, the point is this: God is perfection, and perfection will not abide chaos and sin in its presence for very long. And so Isaiah is afraid. Isaiah is not only reflecting that the people he dwells with are unclean and say unclean things, but he is aware that he himself is a sinner. He thinks he is done for.And so what happens? Is Isaiah zapped by God? Absolutely not. What Isaiah experiences is one of the most awesome absolutions anyone has ever experienced. He confesses his sins (“I am a man of unclean lips”) and is then forgiven by God, which is the angel touching his lips with the coal. Notice that God does not say in response, “Yes, you are. Your lips are filthy” or “Yes, you are, and so you better get fixing it.” God simply directs one of his ministers (in this case, an angel) to absolve Isaiah so he can continue his work on behalf of the LORD. Believe it or not, you get the same thing. No, you don’t quite have an angel touching your lips with a flaming coal, but you do still have one of the LORD’s pastors ready and waiting to hear your confession and pronounce that your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for. In the Divine Service, you make the sign of the cross, remembering that you are a baptized child of God. Like Isaiah, you are given something on your lips: Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. This also delivers to you God’s forgiveness. You are covered with Jesus and are now perfect before God; you get to continue in the work that God has placed before you as you love and care for your neighbors. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty, everlasting God, for our many sins we justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy You sent Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation. Grant us a true confession that, dead to sin, we may be raised up by Your life-giving Absolution. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may be ever watchful and live true and godly lives in Your service; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Before confession and absolution, LSB)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/27/20245 minutes, 2 seconds
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Holy Trinity

May 26, 2024 Today's Reading: John 3:1-17Daily Lectionary: Numbers 35:9-30; Acts 1:1-7:60; Luke 24:28-53And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (John 3:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We can learn a lot by reading all of Holy Scripture. Now, you might be thinking, “Thanks, pastor, for the most obvious statement in the world,” but what I say is true. When we read the Scriptures, it is great to read and link both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We get a nice link by Jesus here with the story of the bronze serpent.If you are not familiar with the story of the bronze serpent, I’ll recap it for you. The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness, and they are doing what the people of God do best, that is, unceasingly complain. They are leveling their typical charge against Moses (and thereby against God indirectly). They whine, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” (Numbers 21:5) Not only do they accuse Moses (and again God) of trying to kill them, they then complain about what the LORD provides for them, calling that food “worthless.” And for their ungratefulness and complaining, God sends them punishment in the form of “fiery serpents” to bite them. And bite them they do, and some die. While the others are sick, Moses intervenes, and God sends a way to be saved from their sins. He instructs Moses to build a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and anyone who looks upon it would live. Isn’t it interesting that this is what Jesus uses to teach Nicodemus, the man who was so “wise?” Just like there was no venom in a serpent of bronze, there is no sin in Jesus, who would be lifted up, just like the serpent, so that all who looked on him in faith would live. The words given to Nicodemus are the same words we have today. On Good Friday, we saw the Son of Man lifted for the sins of the world so that all who looked upon Him in faith might live, not saved from a mere snake bite, but from the scourge of sin and death. In church, we physically receive the flesh and blood of Christ in our mouths to save us from eternal death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/26/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week of Pentecost

May 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity Psalm 16:8-11; antiphon: Liturgical TextDaily Lectionary: Numbers 32:1-6, 16-27; Luke 24:1-27Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us.I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Trinity is a hard doctrine to understand. It really hurts your head, doesn’t it? How can God be “three in one” and “one in three?” Wouldn’t it be easier to say that the Trinity is like an egg, or like the three states of water? While this might be tempting, it’s easy to fall into error about the Trinity. Many of the common analogies for the Trinity fall into unhelpful ways of talking about it that lead people down the wrong path. But let’s see what we do know about the Trinity.First, there is God the Father. What do we know about God the Father? Well, the name God the Father gives us a pretty good jumping-off point. One, he is God. This is the God who created the Heavens and the Earth, and created you and me. Creation is definitely His department.Secondly, there is God the Son. This is Jesus, and His work is super easy to spot. Jesus’ work is redemptive. And this redemption happens on the cross. When Jesus took all the sins of the world on His shoulders (yes, even the ones you have never, ever told anyone about) He paid the debt with His blood. Jesus is still among us too, at altars around the world every single day in the Lord’s Supper, the Shepherd dwelling with His sheep.Third, there is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a behind-the-scenes actor. The work of the Holy Spirit, like the Fathers is creation and the Son’s is redemption, is sanctification. That means making you holy. The Holy Spirit does this by giving you the faith you need to be saved. You received the Holy Spirit at your Baptism. The Spirit drives you to see that you need the Gifts of God, you need The Sacraments. He drives you to confess your sins and in faith receive the Absolution won by the Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God the Father, light-creator,  To Thee laud and honor be.  To Thee, Light of Light begotten,Praise be sung eternally.  Holy Spirit, light-revealer,  Glory, glory be to Thee.Mortals, angels, now and ever  Praise the holy Trinity! (LSB 578:6)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/25/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday of the First Week of Pentecost

May 24, 2024Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 27:12-23; Luke 23:26-56When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. (Acts 2:1–6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Can you understand what’s going on in church? Maybe something is a little confusing to you, like how come we make the sign of the cross here or why do we say this prayer here (in this case, ask your pastor! He’s always happy to answer questions.) But when I ask whether you can understand what’s going on in church, I mean do the words going into your ears sound like words you can understand? Is the language the language you speak? Does your pastor preach so you can understand it? If so, thank the Holy Spirit. You see, God is a fan of words. That’s how He acts. He doesn’t need anything else to accomplish His purposes. In Genesis, when God created the heavens and the earth, how does He do it? He doesn’t do it like so many pagan gods do it: by defeating some enemy and making the world out of their corpse (yuck.) No, our God just speaks and it happens. Let there be light and…. There was light. Let the waters be separated…. And they were separated. This is not a power reserved for God the Father either. When Jesus rebukes demons, they must go. When Jesus commands Satan himself to depart from Him, Satan, as a creature, must bend to the will of his Creator. God’s Word is living and active, and it is all God needs to work His will.But that Word did not stop with the early church either. That Word is still living and active today. God’s will is still done by means of the Word. By the preaching of His Word by pastors, God’s people get to know Him better. By the proclaiming of the Words of Institution, Christ’s Body and Blood are on the altar. By the words of Absolution, you are forgiven. God’s Word is living and active, in a way you can understand. Thanks be to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,  And make our hearts Your place of rest;Come with Your grace and heav’nly aid,  And fill the hearts which You have made. (LSB 498:1)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/24/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week of Pentecost

May 23, 2024Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Sixth PetitionDaily Lectionary: Numbers 24:1-25; Luke 23:1-25And lead us not into temptation.What does this mean? God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let’s be honest. You’re no stranger to temptation. You go to school, you’re tempted. Maybe you’ve seen other kids pass around something on their phones that, well, let’s just say you hope your parents never see. Go on the internet lately? It’s a temptation factory. Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Facebook, all of them serve up hot and fresh temptation; ready rabbit holes for you to fall into. Maybe you’ve given up the internet. But your sinful flesh is able (and ready) to whip up some homegrown temptation. You can run, but you can’t hide, it seems. Temptation is everywhere, and you’ve fallen into it. And you’ve fallen into it deep. And so what to do? The old evil foe (that’s Satan) wants you to isolate and try to tackle it yourself. He’ll whisper to you that “you’ve got this, no need to drag anyone else into it. God doesn’t need to know, you can do this.” This, like anything else Satan says, is a lie. Satan loves for you to cut yourself off and descend into the “do it yourself” rabbit hole. It’s great for your house, but not for your soul. Sinful man needs something better than to endlessly gaze inwards. That’s how we wind up in despair, again and again. Christ brings the medicine of immortality. This medicine is the antidote for temptation and the sin that is sure to follow. Do not turn in on yourself, dear Christian. Turn instead to the Great Physician. Temptation is everywhere, and make no mistake, you will fall into it. But Christ brings that forgiveness. This forgiveness is the medicine for temptation, and for sin. It’s not just a theoretical forgiveness either. You can hear this forgiveness. Every Sunday, you hear the man who stands in the stead of Christ say “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lead not into temptation, Lord,  Where our grim foe and all his horde  Would vex our souls on ev’ry hand.  Help us resist, help us to stand  Firm in the faith, a mighty host, Through comfort of the Holy Ghost. (LSB 766:7)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/23/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week of Pentecost

May 22, 2024Today's Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14Daily Lectionary: Numbers 23:4-28; Luke 22:47-71Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:11–14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What an image we have been given in our reflection for today. Can you imagine? Being taken to a valley, a rip in the earth, that is full of nothing but bleached, white bones. The wind hits your face and it’s hot and dry. This is a scene that should be absolutely foreign to humanity. Because this is a scene that could only occur after the Fall. People were not made to die. Man was made to live forever. It was only after the temptation and the fall into sin, when creation descended into bloodshed and murder, that such a scene was possible. And what a statement. What a scene to be confronted with as Ezekiel. So much death. So many bones you can’t accurately count them. God asks Ezekiel a question. “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel’s answer is a stark confession. Ezekiel’s answer is a reflection on the state of fallen humanity. Only God knows if these bones can live. Only God can make these bones live. Only God can make our fallen selves live. Only God can open [our] graves and raise [us] from [our] graves. And we see, like the whole house of Israel, that we shall be raised from our graves. How is this accomplished? Paul writes in Romans, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3-5)Christ dies, so will we. But Christ rises, and so will we. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.If Christ still lay within the tomb Then death would be the end, And we should face our final doom   With neither guide nor friend. But now the Savior is raised up,  So when a Christian diesWe mourn, yet look to God in hope—  In Christ the saints arise! (LSB 486:2)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/22/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Pentecost Tuesday

May 21, 2024Today's Reading: John 10:1-10Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:21-23:3; Luke 22:24-46“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” (John 10:1–4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The shepherd goes before the sheep. The sheep follow the shepherd. This has been the pattern of sheep for forever. The shepherd leads the sheep where they should go, and they follow him. What is the task of a shepherd? The shepherd, simply put, cares for the sheep. The sheep trust the shepherd. Sheep are, by nature, very dependent animals. Left to their own devices, they have a tendency to get hurt and die. Go on YouTube and just search “shepherd rescues sheep.” One of my favorite of those results is the sheep stuck in a crack in the ground, only for the shepherd to yank it out, and it promptly gets stuck again. Sheep need care. Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep need the shepherd to find food for them, to rescue them from peril, and to drive off predators from the herd. They cannot do this on their own.Scripture makes it very clear that we are sheep. Jesus isn’t just giving a running commentary to the people on how shepherds work. The people already knew that. But rather, Jesus is telling them what God does for them. More specifically, what God incarnate (that’s Jesus Himself, for those keeping score at home), does for them. The Good Shepherd literally dies for the sheep. This, dear saints, is good news for us too. Because we have not been turned loose in this world to wander. God’s flock are not left to their own devices to get stuck in the ditches and cracks of sin and to die. We are not left to get preyed upon by Satan’s wolves. Christ is the Good Shepherd, the best there is! He rescues His sheep and uses His undershepherds (pastors!) to bind up the wounds they sustain from life in this fallen world. Thanks be to God that we have a shepherd, the best there is, our savior Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Savior, like a shepherd lead us;  Much we need Your tender care.  In Your pleasant pastures feed us,  For our use Your fold prepare.  Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,   You have bought us; we are Yours.  Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,  You have bought us; we are Yours. (LSB 711:1)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/21/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Pentecost Monday

May 20, 2024 Today's Reading: John 3:16-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:1-20; Luke 22:1-23For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16–17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You may have heard the first of the two verses above described as “the Gospel in a nutshell.” It clearly states the “what” that God did to save the sinful fallen race of humanity, AKA you and me. But it doesn’t reveal the “why,” the reason that Jesus came and did what He did. And that second verse is critically important because it tells us not only what Jesus did, but what he came NOT to do. You see, Christianity is truly unique among world religions. In other religions, the “gods” don’t really like people. I’m not talking about in an “I don’t like people” way that you might joke about, where you like to stay on the couch and read a book rather than go out. I’m talking in more of a “we hate humanity” sense. In other religions, the gods either want to destroy humanity or enslave it, using us mortals to get food, or to play cruel games with us, or worse. But dear Christians, that is not the kind of God we serve. The difference (aside from the obvious, that God is the one true God) is that God loves His creation. He looked upon it in the beginning and saw that His creation was good. And when humanity fell into sin, He loved it still. He promised right after to send a Messiah to save fallen creation from sin, death, and the lies of the devil. And here in John’s Gospel, we get the picture of this Messiah: Jesus. We see that God did not send Jesus just to preach condemnation, as Jonah wanted to with the Ninevites, but to save creation. Is there sin to be condemned? Absolutely there is. Sin is ugly and it is wrong. A huge part of the Christian life is repentance for the sin that we commit daily. But our lives as Christians do not end there. It does not end with us sitting in the wreckage of our sin with a sign around our necks that says “condemned.” Christ comes in, pays for the consequences of our sins by dying and rising again, and binds up your wounds with words through your pastor, straight from the mouth of Jesus himself. “I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” These words were spoken at your Baptism and are repeated in the Divine Service. We are truly loved by Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Amen. God said to His belovèd Son:  “It’s time to have compassion.  Then go, bright jewel of My crown, And bring to all salvation.  From sin and sorrow set them free;  Slay bitter death for them that they  May live with You forever.” (LSB 556:5)-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/20/20245 minutes, 4 seconds
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Pentecost

May 19, 2024 Today's Reading: John 15:26-27;16:4 b-15 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 21:10-35; Luke 21:20-38“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26–27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do I have to do this by myself? Do I have to do this all on my own? Am I strong enough? Have I done enough reading? Am I smart enough? These are all questions that flew into my mind when I first learned the faith. Study church history, or read the Acts of the Apostles, and you will know that at some point, confession is required of Christians. Now, this is not always the huge affair, where you have a sword to your neck or lions licking their chops on the sand of the coliseum. It might even be completely innocent, and not malicious at all. It could be your friend who doesn’t go to church at your lunch table asking, “Now what is it that you Christians believe about __________?” It could be your coworker at the water cooler asking why you even bother going to church every Sunday when you can read the Bible at home. Sooner or later, you must give an account. You must confess. And this possibility makes some of us (me included) very nervous! Think back to the questions from the beginning. Do I have to do this all by myself? Am I able to do it? These questions were probably going through the Apostle’s minds as Jesus was telling them what they must do. But there is a problem with those questions. They are all “I” questions. It’s focusing on the wrong person. The Good News that Jesus gives the Apostles is the same Good News for you: You aren’t doing it alone. You have a helper. And this helper gives you the words to say; He gives you the answers to the test. And who is this helper? Is it some angel that only you can see holding up a sign with the words to say? No, but that might be pretty cool sometimes. But this helper is even better. This helper is the Holy Spirit. And that test, that moment of confession when words are required, won’t be the first time that He has rolled onto the scene in your life. Because this is the same Holy Spirit given at your Baptism. It’s the same Holy Spirit that leads you to confess your sins every week. It’s the same Holy Spirit that leads you to receive the Sacrament of the Altar in faith. Are you able to do it on your own? No, but you don’t have to. You have a helper. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols . This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/19/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 104:24, 27-28, 30; antiphon: Liturgical TextDaily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. (Psalm 104:27-28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Scripture begins and ends with God providing a feast for His people. In Eden, the Lord gave every tree of the garden to eat of freely, save the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Revelation, John sees and hears the joy of the marriage supper of the Lamb, a heavenly banquet with Christ at the center. From Genesis to Revelation, God has spread a table of His goodness and mercy. The whole Bible stretches out like a banqueting spread of God’s grace.Psalm 104 reminds us of this in beautiful words. The Lord opens His hand, and His creatures are filled with good things. This is what God does. Where He is present, there’s a feast. Israel ate the Passover lamb as they were saved from death in Egypt. Moses and the elders ate on Mt. Sinai in the Lord’s presence. King David wrote a psalm about the Lord preparing a table in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23). The Lord provided food for His prophet Elijah in the cave. And the list goes on. God’s Word is a long menu of his mercy, an endless buffet of His grace and steadfast love.Psalm 104 also reminds us that without our Lord opening His hands, we would all starve. We would all go hungry. Through His goodness and mercy, He gives us our daily bread, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. The same is true in our life of faith before God. Apart from the goodness and mercy of God, we are spiritually dead as well. But the Psalmist knows this as well. So the Lord opens His hands, and we are filled with good things on our earthly tables and at our Lord’s table.It’s no accident that when God becomes man, wherever He goes, there’s food and a feast. He changes water to wine. Feeds thousands. Declares Himself the Bread of Life. He takes bread and wine on the night He was betrayed and declares, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Take, drink; this is my blood of the new testament which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus opens His crucified and risen hand and fills you with good things, His Body and Blood for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You bless the earth to make it fruitful, bringing forth in abundance whatever is needed for the support of our lives. Prosper the work of farmers and all those who labor to bring food to our table. Grant them seasonable weather so that they may gather the fruits of the earth in abundance and proclaim Your goodness with thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/18/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 20:19-44Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. (Luke 20:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A good chess player will see his opponent’s opening move, a queen’s gambit perhaps; but a great chess player will counter the opponent with a challenge or trap of his own. In today’s Gospel reading, there’s a chess game going on, and the pharisees’ disciples think they have Jesus in check. But Jesus turns the tables on His opponents; He issues a challenge of His own…not for trophies or titles, but to bring His hearers to repentance and forgiveness.They ask Jesus, Tell us, then, what you think. "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” In politics, this would be called a gotcha question. If Jesus answers, “No, it isn’t lawful,” the political Herodians might have reason to go after Jesus for being a traitor or a religious nutcase. And if Jesus answers, “Yes, it is lawful,” then the Pharisees can peg Jesus as a traitor and blasphemer for supporting the Romans. But here’s the thing: Jesus’ opponents don’t really care about the answer. They only want to trap, discredit, and destroy Jesus. When Jesus replies, He makes His checkmate move. “Render, or pay to God the things that are God’s.” The issue is whether or not the Pharisees – and all who hear Jesus words – believe that He is and bears the authority of God, as the Son of God, as the one the Father sent with all authority to teach, preach, heal, forgive, live, die, and rise from the dead. And what did Jesus do when he came with the authority of the Father? Jesus came into our flesh to render to God what was God’s, namely our humanity, and to restore the image of God to our flesh. He rendered to God the things that are God’s. He did it “not with gold or silver,” not with the coin of Caesar, but with His holy and precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death at the hands of the Pharisees and the Herodians and the Roman government, all of whom served as God’s instrument that you would belong to Him, be holy in Him, be saved and declared righteous in him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lost not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/17/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 16, 2024Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Fifth Petition Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Numbers 18:1-19:22; Luke 20:1-18We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by His grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us. (Explanation to the 5th Petition)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you run the 100-yard dash and win, you expect to get a medal or ribbon. If you go to work, you expect a paycheck. If you play Super Mario Brothers and defeat Bowser, you expect to rescue Princess Peach. This is the way the world works; you get what you deserve. You earn what you have worked for, and so on. When it comes to the Gifts of God, we expect God to play by our rules. But guess what? God doesn’t do what we expect. God doesn’t give us what we deserve, and that’s a good thing.If God gave us what we deserved or rewarded us with what we had earned, what would that mean? Quite simply, death. The wages of sin is death, St. Paul writes in Romans 6:23. This is why Jesus gave us the Fifth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In the Fifth Petition, we pray for forgiveness. We pray for a gift from God that we do not deserve. And the good news is that God gives us both mercy and grace. In His mercy, He doesn’t punish us as we deserve. Instead, Jesus takes all of the punishment for our sin and God’s wrath of judgment upon Himself on the cross. In His grace, He also gives us what we don’t deserve: His forgiveness, life, and salvation. This is what we pray for in this Petition, and by God’s grace and love, this is what He gives us. By God’s grace, we also are called to give this undeserved forgiveness to others as well. And we pray in this Petition that we would love and forgive others as God in Christ has forgiven us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/16/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 15, 2024Today's Reading: Luke 19:29-48Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! (Luke 19:38)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Even though the church calendar says we are in the seventh week of Easter, think back for a moment to Palm Sunday and then further back to Christmas. What do Christmas and Palm Sunday have in common with one another? The more you think about it, the more similarities you find. Both Jesus’ birth and entry into Jerusalem were foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament. Both Christmas and Palm Sunday point to Jesus’ humility; He was born in humility, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and laid in a manger. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in humility. And yet He is also a king, both in His birth and on Palm Sunday as He makes His way to the throne of the cross.Jesus did all of this to bring peace between God and sinners. And that word peace is another thing that connects Christmas and Palm Sunday. At Jesus' birth, the angels announced to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.” As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds shouted out the same joyful words. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Turns out that Christmas and Palm Sunday have a lot in common. Christ Jesus, who was born in our human flesh, entered Jerusalem to go to the cross and die in our place as God and man. The angels announced that the Savior from sin and death had arrived in Bethlehem and the Palm Sunday crowds announced that the Savior had arrived in Jerusalem to go to the cross to make peace by His death on the cross. God reveals his glory in Jesus’ incarnation for us and His glory in his crucifixion for us.But these words are not only a past event. We continue to join the angels and crowds every time we prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper, singing the same words. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus, who was born for us and entered Jerusalem to go to the cross for us, now is present with us and for us in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The same body and blood of Jesus, who was born for us and died on the cross for us, is given for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. And blessed are you in Jesus' gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/15/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 14, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 John 5:9-15Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:13-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther explains the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, the words “Our Father,” by saying that with these words, God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. Whenever I hear these words, I think of my own children who, with boldness and confidence, ask for a treat after dinner. Why? Because they know their father loves and cares for them, so they ask with boldness and confidence!Boldness. Confidence. You might not think about those words when it comes to prayer, but that is how we are instructed to pray as Christians. Why? Where is our confidence? Not in ourselves and not in anything we think, say, or do. No. There’s no confidence in our sinful flesh. Our confidence is in Christ crucified for us. The catechism teaches us to pray this way because Jesus lived, died, and rose again for you. We have boldness and confidence before God the Father through Jesus, who continues to be our intercessor and mediator before God. We pray in boldness and confidence, knowing that our confidence rests on Jesus and in the Father’s love for us in Jesus.This is what St. John is teaching us in 1 John 5, that our confidence in prayer rests not upon our shoulders, but on the shoulders of Jesus who bore the sins of the world on the cross. Because Jesus saves and gives eternal life, you can be confident that He hears your prayer. Our Lord commands us to pray but also promises to hear us. St. John also teaches trust along with confidence in Christ. Whenever we pray, we pray, “Thy will be done.” And even though we don’t always know how God will answer our prayer, we can pray in confidence knowing that God’s will towards us is good and gracious in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You make the minds of your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes and chances of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter)- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/14/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Acts 1:12-26Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:26-45; Numbers 15:1-41; Luke 18:35-19:10So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us - one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some skeptics like to throw shade at the Christian faith by comparing the life and work of the disciples to a game of telephone. The original message has been changed, corrupted, or misheard over time, so they say, or something like those lines. Readings like Acts 1 are a great reminder that this couldn’t be further from the truth. The Christian Gospel, your faith, and the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection weren’t passed down willy-nilly but with great care, attention to detail, and historical evidence. One of the important pieces of evidence in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the fact that there were eyewitnesses. And not just one, not even just the Twelve. Acts 1 reminds us that there were many other disciples who were present with Jesus for those three years. From the time of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River to His ascension forty days after His resurrection. Not only that, Paul says, there were over five hundred more eyewitnesses after Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15). These disciples weren’t playing a game; this was deadly serious. They saw Jesus dead on a Friday afternoon outside of Jerusalem, and they saw him again numerous times alive again before His ascension. The disciples, like Matthias, are reminders that the Christian faith is founded on fact, not fantasy. Jesus’ death and resurrection are historical events, not hearsay. What Jesus did to save you was witnessed by men like Matthias and the women at the empty tomb. His promises are trustworthy and true. Jesus promised He would die and rise, and He did, just as He said. Jesus gave us disciples to faithfully, and at times under great peril to themselves, deliver accurately and reliably the Good News they witnessed. Thanks be to God that we have so many eyewitnesses who testified to His resurrection and still are witnesses to us today. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter)- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/13/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Sunday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 12, 2024 Today's Reading: John 17:11b-19Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Moses came near the burning bush in Exodus 3, the Lord said to him, “Do not come near, take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in glory in Isaiah 6, the angels sang out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Wherever the Lord is, there is holiness. Whatever He declares holy is holy. The problem for us is that whenever we see God’s holiness in the Bible, we are reminded that apart from Him, we are unholy. We have no holiness of our own. Moses was afraid. Isaiah confessed his sin. So do we, whenever we gather in Divine Service. We confess that we are poor, miserable sinners and that we have sinned, that we are unholy in thought, word, and deed. But then something miraculous happens. God speaks His holy Word in holy Absolution to forgive all our sin. God called and ordained your pastor into the office of the holy ministry to be a servant of the Word. God who is holy gives holy Gifts to declare unholy sinners holy in His name. In Holy Baptism, you are washed and baptized into the name of the holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In holy Absolution, you stand forgiven before God who is holy. In the Holy Supper, you receive Jesus’ Body and Blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation.How does our holy Lord do all of this? By his holy Word, just as Jesus prays in John 17. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. To sanctify is to make and declare holy. That’s exactly what our Lord Jesus prays for and what God does. Through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God gives us a holiness that is not our own. God’s holiness is always received from God, not achieved by us. So the next time you read or hear God’s Word, remember that God is sanctifying you. When you go into His house, God is there to give you holy Gifts in water, word, bread and wine. When you fear your sin and death, do not be afraid. You are holy in Jesus. You have His Word on it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You have promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)- Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/12/20244 minutes, 44 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 27:1a, 4-5, 10, 14; antiphon: Psalm 27:7Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christianity is a waiting game. Much as you might want immediate results, the Psalmist teaches you that you have to wait. When affliction hits you, when there’s suffering among your friends or family, when blessings are coming but they’re not here yet, you’d love for God to step in immediately. But most of the time, God does not deliver His blessings, relief, or healing according to your preferred time schedule.So you have to wait for the Lord. You have to bear the affliction. You have to endure powerlessness. You can only anticipate the good that’s coming sometimes. That’s hard. Not only is that hard, that also can be faith destroying. Jesus’ parable of the sower in Matthew 13 teaches that some receive the Word with joy for a time, only to fall away from it in times of persecution or suffering. Our sinful nature does not like to wait. Perhaps that’s a good reason why God teaches us that we must sometimes.When God acts, He acts always at the right time. Whenever He withholds blessings, it is so your heart might learn to rely on His Word and promises. Suffering teaches reliance on God’s Word for those who are willing to learn that lesson. Whenever God turns His face away in anger, it is so you might offer prayers to God and remind Him of His Word and promises that He has bound Himself to. When God allows suffering, it is so your heart learns that this world is not your friend but a valley of sorrows. But He also promises grace and every blessing to all who trust in His Word and conform their lives to living according to His Commandments.Therefore, Christianity is a waiting game of epic proportions. But as you wait for the Lord to show His mercy, you can be strong. Your heart can take courage. You can be bold. For God has not cast off His people forever. His anger may last a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. In Jesus, God has acted for your eternal good and blessing. In Jesus’ death, God was reconciling the world to Himself. By Jesus’ death, the Christians’ heart finds all strength and courage. He suffers for your sins so you do not fall under God’s eternal anger. Jesus is forsaken by God so that you would never be. Nothing makes a heart so courageous and strong as hearing the Gospel, that Jesus died and rose for you and your sins are forgiven. He also died in the fullness of time. God always acts at the right time. And that’s good enough for faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, grant that our hearts do not lose courage as we wait for Your mercy, but instead find strength in Your Word and promises given in Jesus. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/11/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 10, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Fourth PetitionDaily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29, 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37What is the 4th petition of the Lord’s Prayer?  Give us this day our daily bread.  What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. (Small Catechism, 4th Petition and explanation)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is not interested in man’s soul only, but also man’s bodily life. The same God who sent His Son to save sinners also spoke Creation into existence. The same Father who gives His Holy Spirit also provides material needs. Lutherans call it all “daily bread.” Not that you’re going to eat shoes or weather, or slab some butter or jelly on faithful neighbors. These are also “daily bread,” just not that kind.  Rather, everything good is given to you by God. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that we realize this. But you probably don’t think of it. If you saw God at work every time He was sustaining your being, you’d be shocked. You probably wouldn’t be able to see anything else but God’s hand giving gifts. From your socks to your comb, even the guy cooking fries at the restaurant you ate at last Saturday, God’s hand is everywhere, on every vocation that’s not sinful and is everywhere, giving daily bread.You don’t always realize this because God keeps Himself hidden. In this way, God works to keep saving faith in Christ living. God does not want us to rely on sight, but on faith in Christ and His saving death and resurrection and the Word that proclaims this. When we rely on our sight, we’re disappointed. That’s when we see some people having more than others, instead of trusting that God gives all people daily bread at the needed time. Relying on sight also leads us from trusting in God’s love when He withholds daily bread for a time. Yet, because Jesus has turned God’s heart to us by His innocent suffering and death, believers can be full of hope even when everything else fails. Even if it’s bad weather, or your shoes are stinky, or your government does shady things - God still gives you what you need. For He gives what you ultimately need- salvation through faith in His crucified and risen Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, because you have such Fatherly love and mercy for those You have made, even sending us Your Son to die for our sins, teach us to always realize Your faithfulness to us. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/10/20244 minutes, 56 seconds
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Ascension

May 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 24:44-53Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus ascends. You might wonder why this matters. It seems like the Ascension is the least important thing in the Apostles’ Creed. Ascension Day is never seen as on the same level as Christmas and Easter. Ascension Day often gets ignored. Your church may not even have an Ascension Day service.But the Ascension is amazing! Notice what Jesus does when He ascends. He blesses His believers. But what is even more important is that Jesus never stops blessing His believers. While He ascended, meaning even as Jesus was being lifted up into God’s immediate glory, Jesus speaks nothing but blessing. And now that Jesus has entered into God’s heavenly presence with His body, it’s like Jesus cannot stop blessing His people.A blessing is not just a pious-sounding wish. A blessing is not, “I hope something good happens to you, even though I can’t promise that it will.”  Blessings in Scripture were powerful words that brought about good Gifts. In Genesis, Isaac could not repeat Jacob’s blessing for Esau. His blessing gave a specific gift for the person who received it. Jacob’s blessings for his 12 sons likewise were very specific. They were words of power to bring about what his Words spoke of. In the gospels, Jesus cannot bless someone who hates Him. He does not bless the devil, nor the Pharisees who denied that He was God’s Son. Instead, Jesus blesses those who want to be close to Him and those who cannot bring themselves to Him. He blesses little children, Peter for confessing the truth about Jesus, and those who are not offended at Him. On the Last Day, Jesus will say to the faithful, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)The Ascension means that Jesus gives unending blessing for you. His blessing is an ongoing reality and will be even past the world’s end. That means when your conscience accuses you, you can instead rely on your ascended Lord, who does not accuse you but blesses you. If you face tragedy, loss, even death, the blessing of the risen Christ ascends over this and constantly speaks peace for you. His Word is a Word of power. Jesus cannot stop blessing you now in the preaching and the Sacraments. He who died for your sins and is risen now ascends into heaven with unending blessing on His lips. Amazing. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continuously dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/9/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Numbers 10:11-36Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:35-36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The ark of the covenant was basically a very decorated, ornate box. It was a man-made thing. In Exodus 25, God gave Moses instructions on how the ark was to be built. Yet, despite it being a man-crafted thing, the ark was of divine origin. Therefore, the ark was both of God and of man. God designed it. Man built it.Moses speaks when the ark was moved or brought back. “Arise, O Lord!” “Return, O Lord!” But it was this man-made box that was being moved! People had to pick it up and move it every time they were marching to the next spot. The ark didn’t do anything. It just sat there. It sounds like Moses was speaking to a box, and thinking this man-made box was God Himself!Moses is not committing idolatry, though. He says this because God used the ark of the covenant as His throne. 1 Samuel 4:4 speaks of “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.” This referred to the two cherubs on the golden mercy seat lid that covered the ark. So when we see the ark in the Old Testament, we see it as the place where God chose to locate Himself in all His power, to give mercy in the proper way to His people. That’s why even though the ark was picked up by men, it was still as though God Himself was moving. God Himself was leading, because He commanded by His Word where His people were to go or where they were to stop.Jesus is like the ark of the covenant. He is both of God and of man. Begotten of the Father from all eternity, yet born of the virgin Mary. Like the ark of the covenant, Jesus is where God has chosen to locate Himself in His power, to give mercy in the proper way to His people. This is what the Catechism teaches about Jesus. Basically, there are three points to remember about Jesus’ divine and human natures: 1) These two natures are one person, 2) These two act as one for your salvation, and 3) The divine nature shares with human nature. And all for you and your salvation. The incarnate Son of God in human flesh lived perfectly in your place. He bore your sins. He suffered and died. He rose in your place as well. All so that you could come before God the Father safely, forgiven of sins, and cleansed from all unrighteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Arise, O Lord Jesus, and rescue us from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.  
5/8/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 7, 2024Today's Reading: 1 John 5:1-8Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18[T]his is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Historians remember people in previous centuries who took over much of the world. These are the famous conquerors such as Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, and Genghis Khan. These world leaders conquered much land and territory in their times. They led powerful armies, made treaties with other rulers, and in general, won a lot of their battles.Jesus is not on the list of world conquerors, not exactly. He never raised an army or took land. He never owned land Himself as far as we know. And it’s even more definite that you are also not a world conqueror. You don’t own land. You haven’t raised an army or taken over cities. You take math and P.E. classes, for crying out loud. That’s usually not what world conquerors do.Yet today St. John says in his epistle that you and all believers have overcome the world! Everyone who is born anew as a child of God has overcome the world! You are born anew at the font, that is, Baptism has given you a new birth and adoption in Jesus. Because of this, you are joined to Jesus mystically. We don’t see it. You might feel different, you might not. But it is a reality. Baptism gives supernatural Gifts- being joined to Jesus, being given the Holy Spirit, adopted into God’s family, forgiven of sins, and rescued from the devil. Faith receives these Gifts. Faith works with Baptism. Baptism joins you to Jesus mystically, like a branch is connected to the vine. Faith means that you are as a living branch and not a dead one. Both Baptism and faith are important and needed.Why does our faith overcome the world? Because by Baptism and through faith in Christ, we are joined to Jesus. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “I have overcome the world.” He has overcome the world by His righteous, innocent life because He never fell to temptation or believed the world’s depraved ideas. Jesus has overcome the world also by sacrificing Himself to die for your sins which the world could not do, and rise again from the dead, which the world cannot overcome. Baptism joins you to Jesus. Faith receives Jesus’ benefits. So because you are joined to Jesus who has overcome the world, you overcome the world as well. You are not on the list of world conquerors… but perhaps you, I, all believers, and Jesus especially, should be. As Romans 8:37 also reminds us, "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, Content with it I’ll be: My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me! (LSB 730:3)- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/7/20244 minutes, 59 seconds
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Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Acts 10:34-48 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. (Acts 10:44-45)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The first believers in Christ’s salvation were Jews. They grew up in the Jewish religion. The men were circumcised as infants. The people ate the clean foods Leviticus taught. They sacrificed at the temple when they came to Jerusalem for the annual feasts. Then, the savior promised in Scripture finally came. Jesus, the crucified and risen, was actually the Christ! Some Jews believed it and were brought into Christ’s salvation.With this in mind, you can understand why the “Jewish” Christians were astonished in Acts 10. It shocked them when they heard Peter speak of a vision from God that led to a Gentile converting. It continued to shock their world when the Gift of the Holy Spirit poured out on Gentiles, too. We might think the Jewish believers were snobs. We might be tempted to think the Jewish believers were acting like popular kids who didn’t want the chess club joining their lunch table. But that’s not the case at all.It’s more that the Jewish believers could not understand how the Gentiles did not follow God’s Word before they became believers! God’s Word commanded certain sacrifices, circumcision, kosher foods, rituals, Jewish feasts, etc. But the Gentiles came to faith apart from these parts commanded by God’s Word! A Gentile was primarily a pagan idolater. A Gentile didn’t mean a different ethnicity, but one who followed any of the non-Christian religions out there. And the Holy Spirit came upon them! It would be as if God had decided to zap an unbeliever at your school who heard the Gospel only once, and that day, he started going to your church and catechism class.The reason the Gentiles came to faith was that they heard the Gospel. What about the ceremonial laws? Jesus fulfilled them, including the sign of circumcision, the clean foods, the rituals, the sacrifices, and the feasts. All of it is fulfilled in Jesus, especially by His innocent suffering and death and His resurrection from the dead. Since Jesus has fulfilled all of the Law, the Old Testament ceremonial laws are now put aside. They were the shadow; Christ is the substance. The moral Law remains in place, but Jesus has kept this Law for you perfectly and done everything needed for your salvation. Hear God’s Word and trust in Jesus, and you likewise have this salvation, too. Through faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you make a beginning at keeping the moral law too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Gospel shows the Father’s grace, Who sent His Son to save our race, Proclaims how Jesus lived and died That we might thus be justified. (LSB 580:1)- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/6/20244 minutes, 55 seconds
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Sunday of the Sixth Week of Easter

May 5, 2024 Today's Reading: John 15:9-17 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Number 4:1-8; Luke 14:25-15:10“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”  (John 15:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love is commanded. Therefore, this kind of love that Jesus speaks of is not a feeling. You cannot command anyone to feel a certain way. As much as you might wish to be able to command that hot girl in English class or the guy across the row in band to feel attraction to you, sadly, it doesn’t work that way.The love that Jesus commands is action. Self-giving action, at that. This is not the kind of self-giving that a girl does when she finally gives in to pressure from her boyfriend to have sex. That’s not self-giving, that’s giving in. Jesus does not command sin, for sin is dangerous and destructive to people. Sex before marriage, for example, is a monstrous faith destroyer. That is why God set up His Commandments- to safeguard and protect you from dangers that would harm the good Gifts that God gives. Getting back to the self-giving nature of love, it is the kind of action that sacrifices money, time, a caring heart, and perhaps your popularity to help someone under affliction.Chief among the Commandments is love. Your love for fellow believers (especially in your congregation) is to reflect Jesus’ love for you. You cannot truly know love, that is, without learning God’s Word and believing the Gospel. You cannot truly show love where you are ignorant of the self-giving Jesus gave when He laid down His life for sinners. For Jesus not only commands love- He commands a specific love. This specific love mirrors Jesus’ own actions for us.Because no one can keep this commandment by nature, we confess our lovelessness and receive Jesus’ Absolution from our pastor as from God Himself. Our pastor’s Absolution delivers forgiveness for our lovelessness. And it also refreshes us in Jesus’ love for us. His love is action, meaning that in Confession and Absolution, Jesus is acting to communicate the righteousness He won for you by His death. Risen from the dead, Jesus has broken the power of death and defanged the devil. There is no condemnation for you who believe this. Therefore, receiving Jesus’ love in the act of hearing the forgiveness of sins, we can then show the same kind of heart and forgiveness to those who sin against us lovelessly. God grant Your Spirit that we might! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/5/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

May 4, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 66:1-2, 8-9, 20; antiphon: Psalm 66:16Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44, Numbers 1:1-2:34, Luke 14:1-24Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (Psalm 66:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a common misunderstanding about prayer. Many people think that God hears prayers better if more people pray. That’s why many people ask anyone and everyone to pray for their sick relative or their friend who is suffering. Now don’t get me wrong. Christians should pray. God commands us in the Second Commandment to pray and use His name rightly. God also promises to hear us when we pray, and will answer our prayers by what is best in His good and gracious will.But it’s not true that God hears prayers better if more people pray. The prayers of many are not louder to God than prayers made by just one. The amount of people who pray doesn’t matter as much as the faith of the people who pray. Everywhere in Scripture, prayer is connected with faith in Christ. Those who have saving faith in Christ are heard and blessed. Those who do not have saving faith in Christ, or who pray to false gods, are not heard and not blessed. So, for example, God refused to hear the prayers of the unrepentant Israelites in Isaiah 1:5, whose hands were covered with blood - metaphorically speaking. Or consider when God spoke to the idolatrous Judeans who blended their worship with their idol-worshiping neighbors’ worship. Jeremiah writes of this in Lamentations 3:44, saying, “you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.”This is why the Psalmist today is so cheered that God hears his prayers. It is a sign that this psalm-writer is still in God’s love and grace. He has not fallen out of saving faith in the Christ who was to come (who has come now, Jesus). Rather, the Psalmist is relieved that God hears His prayers because that also means that he will not be condemned like the unbelieving world.What about your prayers? If you don’t pray regularly, repent and believe the Gospel, and then do it. Make prayer part of your routine, saying many private prayers throughout the day. Where God does not say yes right away, that does not mean you are lacking in saving faith. It might mean God has better plans. It might mean God wants you to wait a little bit so your heart is in better condition to appreciate His Gifts. But where God does answer your prayers with a resounding “yes,” you can be thankful, cheered, and moved just like the Psalmist. For your loving heavenly Father knows your needs, and by answering your prayers, it shows that you continue to be His dear child through faith in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, continue to look on us in grace, that believing in Your Son and His salvation, we offer up regular prayers, trusting in Your good and gracious will.  Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/4/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

May 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 13:18-35Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20, Luke 13:18-35“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  (Luke 13:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Years ago, adults were shorter. If you want proof, go to the country of the Netherlands sometime and take a tour of some of the old Dutch windmills. The doorframes between rooms in windmills are so short that no adult except those who are under 5’0 can walk in comfortably.A Dutch windmill door is a lot easier to enter than the narrow door Jesus speaks of. This is not a physical door, portal, or gateway. This narrow door is the way into eternal salvation on the Last Day. Jesus says many people will seek to enter salvation on the Last Day and won’t be able to. The reason is they seek to enter it by their works, who they are related to, how much money they have, etc. And there’s the problem - no one is good enough by his merits to enter. Being related to someone cool doesn’t grant access. And money? Ha! What does money matter to God who created gold and silver by a mere word?Only One can enter that narrow gate by His works: our Lord Jesus Christ. It is as if that door is Jesus-shaped, and only He can go through it. As true God and man, Jesus was perfect under the Law. But Jesus did not want to be the only person to be saved eternally and enter that narrow door. So, He also gave up His perfect life to die for your death sentence. Jesus willingly took God’s condemnation against your sins on Himself at His cross. Now He is risen, showing that your sins are paid for completely. Now Jesus lives, showing that all of God’s anger at Your sins has been poured out. Jesus’ resurrection shows there is a doorway through eternal death - and it leads through His grave.In Holy Baptism, you are joined to Jesus in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-6). Your sinful nature drowned in the font, and you rose up to newness of life. Baptism has joined you to Jesus’ body (1 Corinthians 12:13). Baptism gives Gifts of life, rescue, and salvation. Faith gladly receives these Gifts that Baptism gives and continues to give every day. If you are joined to Jesus’ body in your Baptism and trust in His salvation, you are also able to enter through that narrow, Jesus-shaped gate in Him. Joined to Jesus by Baptism and made alive through faith in Him, you also enter with Him into eternal salvation. Not by what you deserve - but by simply trusting the free salvation that is in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, keep us in the true saving faith, that mindful of Your baptismal grace, we may trust that we are joined to Your Son and enter with Him through the narrow gate into life eternal. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/3/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter

May 2, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Third PetitionDaily Lectionary: Leviticus 24:1-23, Leviticus 25:1-55, Luke 12:54-13:17What is the Third Petition? Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.How is God’s will done? God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.This is His good and gracious will. (Small Catechism, 3rd Petition and Explanation)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Scripture speaks of God’s will, it simply means what God wants. And what does God want for you? First, to do for Him. Basically, the Ten Commandments. The Commandments are God’s will, not suggestions. Whatever work is good, that is described by the Ten Commandments. God is pleased when these Commandments are done. So when you do these works, which Christians can only begin to do in this life, you are serving God. You also serve God when you serve your neighbor. The Catechism reminds us with every explanation to the Commandments that begins by saying, “We should fear and love God so that we…” Because of our sinful nature, we cannot keep the Commandments well enough to justify ourselves. So for this part of God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, God Himself must act.God wants second, for Him to do. God wants to rescue you from your sins and to redeem you. To do this, He sent His Son Jesus to die for you and to rise for your justification. Jesus, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, was sent to die for your sins by God’s good and gracious will. Now, having ascended, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit who speaks of Him. The Holy Spirit operates by the pure preaching of the Word and by the Sacraments. This, too, is God’s will. Luke 7:30 says that the Pharisees and teachers of the law rejected God’s will by not being baptized by John. So receiving the Sacraments is part of God’s will. Not as a commandment to obey, but as a Gift of grace to receive. By the Means Of Grace, faith in Jesus is strong. God wants to declare you righteous by Jesus through faith in Him alone.These two ways are how God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. By this, the will of our spiritual enemies is broken and hindered. God be praised. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, guard our faith and our life so we believe Your Holy Word and walk according to Your Commandments, and that we entrust our lives to Your good and gracious will. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/2/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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St. Philip and St. James, Apostles

May 1, 2024 Today's Reading: John 14:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44, Luke 12:35-53Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” (John 14:8-9a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Poor Philip. He’s trying to ask Jesus the right question, and Jesus just shakes His head. ‘Oh, Philip. Haven’t you been paying attention to what I’ve been teaching you?  Shouldn’t you know this by now?’ You kind of feel bad for the guy. If you ever felt embarrassed in catechism or Sunday school when you asked a question everyone else thought was dumb, you’d feel worse if Jesus thought that!And it’s not like James the Less (that is, the son of Alphaeus, not the brother of John) was doing any better. This apostle never says anything in Scripture. He is always silent, never daring to speak up. You’d feel bad for the guy, but you don’t notice him! He’s doing his best to pretend like he’s a statue. Silent, unnoticed, hoping to skate by without any undue attention. The problem is, no one should be silent. We are called to confess Christ, to learn from Him, and to pray to Him.But Jesus came to gather only flawed people like Philip, James, and yourself around Him. Jesus does not come to gather the most eloquent speakers, the smartest kids in the class, or perfect physical specimens of beauty and strength. Jesus calls flawed people. He calls not only the timid and clueless. He calls sinners - sinners like Philip, James, and you. He calls people who deserve nothing but death and God’s anger because of their greed, self-serving, and self-righteous thoughts.Yet to such flawed people like Philip, James, and us, Jesus gives His righteousness. This is not on the basis of our works but on the basis of faith in His works for us. His merits are applied to us. And His merits are not just the good works of a good, regular guy. This is the eternal Son of God, who is one with the Father and who makes the Father in all His goodness and mercy present to us. When God the Father comes to us in Christ, He also comes to create us anew. When we receive His Means Of Grace in faith, God takes our flaws and minimizes them. His Word and faith make us more courageous, more alive, without fear or shame. That makes us even more bold to confess Him to others. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Your Son revealed Himself to Philip and James and gave them the knowledge of everlasting life. Grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, and steadfastly to walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
5/1/20244 minutes, 56 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

April 30, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 John 4:1-11, 12-21Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:1-22, Luke 12:13-34Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Test the spirits? Are we talking about multiple choice? Fill in the blank? Maybe it’s the dreaded essay test! Or worse - the kind of theological interview many seminarians take to be pastors. The theological interview is basically an hour-long spoken examination before two intelligent professors who can ask any theological question they want! That’s not what St. John means, thankfully! “Testing the spirits” is John’s way of saying that you are to test the Scriptural faithfulness of every preacher you hear.Why does John speak of spirits? What’s that about? That’s because, in the New Testament, no one could be a public preacher without having some spirit influencing him to speak. It was either the Holy Spirit, or it was an evil spirit. The Holy Spirit sends out pastors who speak of Jesus and His free salvation for you. They proclaim Scripture’s teaching purely. We know they are influenced by the Holy Spirit because Jesus says in the gospel of John 15:26, “The Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, will bear witness about me.” All false spirits, however, send out preachers who persistently teach against what Scripture says. They may preach leadership skills or how to become a better person. They may preach that babies are innocent of all sin and don’t need Baptism, or that God chose to only save some people and not all. Whatever it is they say, they don’t speak according to Scripture.Test the spirits! But how can you know if your pastor is speaking Biblically or not? You hopefully haven’t read the Bible as much as he has! But, you are taught the entire Christian faith by the Small Catechism. This is the “layman’s Bible." This directs you to what God teaches. His Commandments teach what you are to do, but they convict your heart if you have not done them. The Creed teaches what God has done for you, to create you, but also to save you. God sent His Son to redeem all Creation, and the Holy Spirit now proclaims Jesus’ salvation by the mouths of His pastors! The Lord’s Prayer teaches you how to pray to God. The Sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper teach you how God continues to give you His healing Gospel in the life of the Church. If your pastor is preaching what is in line with this? Tell him you appreciate it, and you appreciate him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Send, O Lord, Your Holy Spirit On Your servant now, we pray; Let him prove a faithful shepherd That no lamb be led astray. Your pure teaching to proclaim, To extol Your holy name, And to feed Your lambs, dear Savior, Make his aim and sole endeavor. (LSB 681:1)- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/30/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

April 29, 2024Today's Reading: Acts 8:26-40Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 21:1-24, Luke 12:1-12Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:35-36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is one prayer God always answers “Yes” to. That is if you pray that God sends you someone to confess the Gospel to. God always sends someone across your path, so that person can hear, too. Whether they’ve heard it before or not, either way, God is great at putting His people in the right places where His Gospel can be confessed.Philip comes to the Ethiopian official at God’s prodding. Philip was a public preacher of God’s Word. Hearing the man read from the book of Isaiah, Philip stopped him and asked if he understood it. The man did not. That shows us that you can’t just give a Bible to someone who doesn’t have faith in Christ. He won’t know how to read it. He’ll be confused. He might read Leviticus and think Christians make animal sacrifices. People must be taught. You must be taught. For this reason, God sends you your parents and your pastor. Both are needed for the teaching of the faith to you.The Ethiopian heard the Gospel that Philip preached, beginning from that Isaiah text. Jesus Christ was crucified for sinners. Like a Lamb before its shearers, so Jesus went before Pontius Pilate and the Jewish leaders silently. Jesus did not try to get out of dying and have someone take His place. He came to take YOUR place, under sin, under death, under God’s wrath. That way, you would be gifted with the opposite - His place, free from sin, rescued from death, and under God’s mercy. He did not want to save Himself. Jesus wanted to save you. That’s why He did not offer any defense before Pontius Pilate to spare His life.The Holy Spirit worked through the Word and gave the Ethiopian faith in Christ. Philip preached, the Ethiopian eunuch heard, faith was created. Notice that Acts specifically says that Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. And what did this Good News include? After hearing Philip, the Ethiopian wanted to be baptized. This shows us that Baptism is also part of the Good News of Jesus. Baptism is Gospel. Baptism is not some unneeded extra while the Word of Jesus’ death is all that matters. No, Baptism is God’s work for you by Word and water. By Baptism, you are adopted into God’s family, gifted with God’s name, given the Holy Spirit, and have an eternal promise of God’s mercy by that Sacrament. That sounds like Good News to me. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, holy Vine, Christ, living Tree, Be praised for this blest mystery: That Word and water thus revive And join us to Your Tree of Life (LSB 595:5).- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/29/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Sunday of the Fifth Week of Easter

April 28, 2024 Today's Reading: John 15:1-8Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16, 22-27, Luke 11:37-54“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Numbers 8:5-22, Moses describes the cleansing ritual for the Levites, the servants of the Lord, at His Tabernacle. They had to be set apart from the other Israelites to be devoted to the Lord’s service. But first, the Levites had to be made clean. Their sinful nature made them unclean, of course, just like all others by nature. Your nature, too, is corrupt, and you need God’s cleansing by the Gospel.The Levites were cleansed first by being sprinkled with purifying water. They had to shave, they had to wash their clothes and themselves. After this came sacrifices. Two bulls were sacrificed, one as a burnt offering and one as a sin offering. A grain offering was also made in thanks to God. Finally, the Levites themselves were offered as a “wave offering.” This Old Testament ceremony brought something that belonged to people and dedicated that to be the Lord’s. Only after this could the Levites serve the Lord.But Jesus says you are made clean a lot easier. You are cleansed by His Word. However, remember that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). So when Jesus says His Word has cleansing powers today, we can also see a fulfillment of the Levite’s cleansing.First, you are washed in Baptism. Baptism is truly cleansing because forgiveness of sins is delivered here. By this, you become a branch in Jesus the Living Vine and more than just a servant - You are His friend. Next, Jesus offers Himself as our burnt offering. God’s anger at your sins is poured out completely on Jesus at the cross. Repent. But also believe that for all your sins, Jesus suffers the punishment. Jesus is also our sin offering. Jesus transfers you out of all of the eternal fallout of your sins, even if there still remain worldly consequences for those sins.. On the Last Day, you will be transferred out of these too. By faith in His death, you are now transferred from the kingdom of sin into God’s righteousness. You are even free from sins that were done against you! After this, faith gives thanksgiving to God for His mercy to you.Now, Jesus’ word carries this forgiveness to you. Hearing Jesus’ word makes you clean. For His death has won your salvation, and His Word communicates this to you. God be praised! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, our Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/28/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 27, 2024Today's Reading: Psalm 145:1-2, 8, 10, 21; antiphon: John 16:16Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 19:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (From the Introit for Easter 5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Unfortunately, the Old Testament picture of God most often seen in our world is that of a grumpy, angry, and spiteful old man. There is even the idea that there is an “Old Testament God” and a “New Testament God,” that they are completely different gods.You, of course, know this is foolish and untrue. But the picture is still so common that it isn’t strange to hear someone say that they “will go all Old Testament” on a problem they have.Yet, King David, himself an Old Testament king, says the opposite about his and our God. He says that He is gracious and merciful. And he’s right. For every example of God unleashing great wrath and vengeance, there are multiple examples of God withholding that punishment as long as possible, giving the sinners every opportunity to repent and turn to Him.That is exactly who God is for you. He could have blasted Adam and Eve back to dust when they fell. He could have drowned Noah and his family, too, during the Flood. He could have killed all children in the Tenth Plague in Egypt, and not just the oldest of those not protected by the Lamb’s blood.Even in those cases, Almighty God withheld His wrath as long as He could. Noah preached for 120 years while he built the ark, Moses had already pleaded with Pharaoh nine times, and while Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, they were given a promise, the greatest promise anyone could get. A savior was coming.While the God of the Old Testament is indeed just and pours out His wrath when needed, so did the God of the New Testament. Only, in the New Testament, that same God poured out all of His wrath at one time and in one place: upon Jesus.Yes, God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love. He took all of the wrath and suffering and punishment and darkness and abandonment that was coming for everyone on earth and poured it out on His Son.He took all of that wrath and punishment from you and redirected it to one who was willing to die in your place. It is hard to grasp, but it is also true. Someone loves you enough to suffer in your place. Because Jesus does this, mercy and grace are yours, for you, too are covered in the Lamb’s precious and saving blood. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You desire not the death of a sinner but that all would repent and live. Hear our prayers for those outside the Church. Take away their iniquity, and turn them from their false gods to You, the living and true God. Gather them into Your holy Church to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for those outside the Church)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/27/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 26, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - Second PetitionDaily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7, 20-19:8; Luke 11:1-13Thy Kingdom Come. What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. (The Lord's Prayer, the Second Petition, Small Catechism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where is God’s kingdom today? We are assured that God’s kingdom comes without our prayer, but where can we see it? How do we know he’s with us, or that we are even a part of His kingdom?Some want to see a theocracy on earth, where everyone is under a “Christian” ruler who makes sure God’s work and will are done everywhere on earth through legislative and social means. The problem is that God never promised to work that way in our world. Even the Old Testament kings were only there to get God’s people to the place where the Messiah would come. Certainly, on the Last Day, God will come in great power and glory and we will all live under Him in his eternal kingdom forever, but what about now?Now, we look for where God Himself promises to be. Where God says He will come to us and grant us His Gifts. God is present everywhere, for He is God; He fills all of creation as the Almighty Creator. But if you want to meet Him directly, or at least as directly as a sinner can meet the holy and righteous God, you go where He promises that you will see and hear Him. In His Word, in the Divine Service, in His Sacraments.We call this God’s ‘Kingdom of Grace.’ It is where He promises to hide His indescribable glory behind simple earthly things so that we are able to receive from His hand all of His Gifts without fear of being slain by His glory.Remember when Isaiah saw God in His glory in the temple and thought He was a dead man (Isaiah 6)? You never have to be afraid of that. Jesus has already come to you, washed you in his blood, raised you from your death, and made you a new creation by His death and resurrection. God’s gracious kingdom is open to you whenever you gather before His altar. Rejoice that you have such open and free access to the Lord of Creation, for He is always there, ready to give you His Gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation freely for Jesus’ sake. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain And Your eternal righteous reign. The Holy Ghost enrich our day With gifts attendant on our way. Break Satan’s pow’r, defeat his rage; Preserve Your Church from age to age.  (LSB 766:3)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/26/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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St. Mark, Evangelist

April 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 16:14-20Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 17:1-16, Luke 10:23-42Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. (St. Mark 16:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ouch. Rebuked by the risen Jesus. Scolded by the holiest of all (God-)men. They were used to Jesus doing this to the Scribes and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, but His own disciples? It wasn’t unheard of, after all; He called St. Peter “Satan” and grilled Sts. James and John over wanting the seats of honor when Jesus came into his kingdom. That doesn’t mean these words didn’t sting, though.St. Mark the Evangelist, also known as John Mark in the New Testament, wrote this gospel from the recollections of St. Peter (according to church history and tradition). He gets a bit of a pass, maybe, for not being in the room when Jesus spoke these words, but they certainly had an impact on him.History and tradition say he went to Rome and recorded this Gospel from St. Peter’s memories, and then went on to found the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, where he was its first bishop and he ultimately suffered a martyr’s death. Before that, he accompanied St. Paul on his first missionary journey before traveling with Barnabas to Cyprus.That’s quite a lot of traveling for a man who wasn’t in the inner circle of Jesus’ apostles. What it does make clear, though, is that St. Mark took to heart what Jesus said in that room about going into all the world and proclaiming the gospel. Through his work of writing this gospel and proclaiming Jesus, that same message of salvation and truth spread farther and farther from Jerusalem until it covered the globe.Today, you are able to read this gospel at a moment’s notice. It’s just a few taps away on your phone, which I’m sure would be an absolute amazement to St. Mark! But this is the love that God the Father, the risen Christ, and the Holy Spirit have for their people. They make sure that the Word which brings salvation spreads to every ear that needs to hear, sits upon every tongue that needs to speak, and enlivens water, bread, and wine so that it pours out its saving work upon God’s children, wherever they may be. Thanks be to God for his mercy! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You have enriched Your Church with the proclamation of the Gospel through the evangelist Mark. Grant that we may firmly believe these glad tidings and daily walk according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Commemoration of St. Mark, Evangelist)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/25/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 24, 2024Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-22Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 16:1-24, Luke 10:1-22“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, Jesus ordains seventy-two apostles and sends them into the countryside to herald His coming and preach His Word. He gives them very specific instructions about what to do, and He also gives them His authority.Not just any authority, but the authority of Almighty God. By hearing the sent one, they hear God himself speaking. By rejecting the sent one, they reject God himself.That probably gave the seventy-two a pretty strong case of the shakes. Like a newly-ordained baby pastor straight from the seminary, they were going out to speak life and death to these unsuspecting towns. Sure, they had Jesus’s promise and Word and authority, but would anyone take them seriously? Would their Certificate of Ordination actually mean something?Jesus is up front about it, too; He sends them out “as lambs in the midst of wolves.” They know right away that this is an uphill task. But it isn’t a hopeless one. He doesn’t send them out demanding success or else! Just go and preach the Word. Let the Holy Spirit handle the rest. If they are receptive, stay around for a while. If they reject you, move on to the next town. It isn’t about you, Jesus says, it is me they don’t like.You’ll face this issue yourself if you haven’t already. Simply being Christian is enough to cause friction among your peers, even before you get to talking about the kingdom of God. So take heart in knowing that it isn’t you they don’t like; it’s Jesus.And He’s already won this fight for you. He’s already washed you in his blood and brought you into His kingdom. While you pray that everyone you know joins you, you know their salvation isn’t up to you. The Holy Spirit moves in ways you can never understand to bring to faith those around you. So go, Christian! Go into the countryside and hallways and sports fields and tell people the kingdom of God has come near. Live as a faithful child of God and trust that the Holy Spirit will take care of the heavy lifting for you. That’s His work, after all. He’s already called you into that kingdom! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Word)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/24/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 23, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 John 3:16-24Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 10:1-20, Leviticus: 11:1-15:33, Luke 9:37-62And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:23–24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love one another. That’s easy in principle, right? I can love my neighbor ‘over there’ in my mind pretty easily. But my annoying neighbor in math class? My borderline bully of a neighbor in PE? Hmmm. Not so easy.“Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth.” Those are hard words to hear. Those words from St. John call you to action. They call for actual acts of love for your actual neighbors. Even the neighbors you might not like very much. Being a ‘little Christ’ to those around you isn’t easy. Of course, the example you have is Jesus Himself. How can you even try to match the example of Jesus? You can’t. Period. There’s no way you can love your neighbor to the extent that Jesus has loved you and everyone else on earth.And that’s OK, because He is God, and you are not. Still, you are called to love your neighbors, as hard as it might be. And, truly, that’s a good thing. When you love your neighbors, you show the world, even in a limited way, how God in Christ loves them and you.And when you don’t love your neighbor as you should, it casts Christ and the church in a bad light. There have been far too many examples of that from the church ever since Jesus ascended to the Father, unfortunately.Yet, He is gracious in all of that and still loves and forgives and calls and gathers His saints together. He commands that you believe in Christ. Again, that is something you do only because the faith He gives you believes for you. That same faith that you have which believes in Christ also helps you love your neighbor. Don’t get in the way of the faith Jesus gave you; it’s doing the work of saving you, of loving your neighbors, and leading you to be a light in this world. It’s the Word of Life, it will never steer you wrong, but lead you in the way of peace and salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, grant Your mercy and grace to Your people in their many and various callings. Give them patience, and strengthen them in their Christian vocation of witness to the world and of service to their neighbor in Christ's name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.  (For guidance in our calling)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/23/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Acts 4:1-12Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24, Luke 9:18-36“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11–12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you think the world revolves around you? Sometimes, you can get so wrapped up in things and activities that you suddenly think the entire world exists to serve you and you alone.But that’s not true. Jesus is the center of the world. The center of the whole cosmos, actually. It all revolves around Him, no matter how important you think your next game or test or play is.He is the cornerstone, that upon which everything is built and everything has its foundation. It can be hard to wrap your mind around that because you don’t see Jesus in our world physically. The leaders of the Jews knew who Jesus was, they had seen Him die and rise, but even they didn’t want to believe Jesus was the center of everything.They had a plan. They had a reason to pretend Jesus wasn’t real and didn’t actually rise from the dead, and it all centered on them being the most important people in town. Notice that St. Peter calls them “the builders,” the ones who were to build upon Jesus, the Word from which all is created and has its being.So also in our day, the church builds (and is built!) on the Crucified Christ as the foundation. Everything we do, everything we say, everything we sing, everything we pray, finds its source and hope and basis in Jesus.That is wonderfully freeing! You don’t need to try and come up with a way to make Jesus appealing, because He is the very foundation of all things. He alone is the one through whom salvation is given. His Word creates and sustains. His Gifts comfort and save. It is truly all about Jesus, and what He gives for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ is our cornerstone, On Him alone we build; With His true saints alone The courts of heav’n are filled. On His great love Our hopes we place Of present grace and joys above. Here may we gain from heav’n The grace which we implore, And may that grace, once giv’n, Be with us evermore Until that day When all the blest To endless rest Are called away. (LSB 912:1, 2)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/22/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Sunday of the Fourth Week of Easter

April 21, 2024Today's Reading: John 10:11-18Daily Lectionary: Leviticus: 8:1-13, 30-36; Luke 9:1-17“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (St. John 10:17–18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for today is Psalm 23, where King David talks about the Lord being a shepherd, the greatest shepherd, actually. And Jesus says today that He is that shepherd David spoke of.Not only does He keep a sharp eye on His sheep with rod and staff, protecting and saving them, He also lays down His life for them. His sheep are so important, so valuable, that He dies for them.The Son of God is so powerful that He can lay down His life by His own choice and come back to life again afterward. This is what so confounded Satan and his demonic hordes. Satan thought he had won; Jesus was dead! But He wouldn’t stay that way. Nope, not a chance.He leapt in front of the greatest danger that anyone could face: eternal death and separation from God fueled by the sins of every person who ever has or will live, and He died dragging that death and destruction into the grave with Him.And then, after burying it there, He came back to life, He rose from the dead. Because He has the authority to do this (and actually does it!), you never have to be afraid that He will abandon you like some hired hand. He knows you are His own sheep, He knows you by name—He spoke your name in your Baptism, after all.This is who keeps watch over your soul. This is why you need fear no evil, for He is always at the ready, guarding and keeping you for eternity. When you run and hide, when you have enough of His mercy and flee his protection, His mercy and goodness still seek you out, for He’s literally been through Hell for you.It doesn’t matter where you go or how long you’re gone; He will seek you out and gather you up in His arms to your dying breath because His blood has washed you, His name is upon you. He has a place set aside for you in His house forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for The Fourth Sunday of Easter)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/21/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

April 20, 2024Today's Reading: Psalm 23; antiphon: John 10:14, 15bDaily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38, Leviticus 1:1-7:38, Luke 8:40-56Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (From the Introit for Easter 4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s when you’re reminded that Jesus guides and shepherds you through this life until He gathers you into the eternal sheepfold of the New Creation. Of course, Psalm 23 is the Introit appointed for tomorrow. King David’s comforting words of guidance lead into the Divine Service, making you ready to hear how Jesus’s rod and staff keep you from harm. But these words shouldn’t be reserved for one day. Nor should they be reserved for funerals, as it so often seems. These are words that bring everyday Christians hope and peace every single day.The shepherd’s rod is that which drives away evil—it keeps the hungry lions at bay. It’s there to crack the skulls of those who would devour the sheep. The staff is the iconic shepherd’s crook, that long stick with the hook that is used to pull wayward sheep back onto the path.Every day of this life on earth, in this sinful world, is one in which the Evil One lurks like a roaring lion, seeking to devour you. And even though he lurks, hidden, Jesus is there with His rod—His club—ready to defend you from the attacks of the Evil One and rescue you.But don’t forget your own cluelessness. So often, you’re safe, because Jesus is on the case. Never underestimate the collective stupidity of a flock of sheep that darts off in every direction at the slightest provocation, though!All it takes is one “BOO!” and you’re off. Charging into uncharted territory thinking it is safer there than with the Good Shepherd. Soon enough though, He appears with His staff ready to pull you out of the mess you’ve gotten yourselves into.Remember when St. Peter thought that forgiving someone seven times was the height of grace? And Jesus said, “Nope. SEVENTY times seven!” That’s how it works with your Good Shepherd. You’re in the valley of the shadow of death. Living this life, knowing that traps and danger are all around, and your Lord Jesus keeps coming into the fray to save you, to deliver you, to snatch you from the clutches of death and destruction.Yes, the valley of the shadow of death is frightening. But Jesus has already been there for you. He’s made it a safe passage. And He will lead you through to the other side in safety. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd may I sing Thy praise Within Thy house forever! (LSB 709:6)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/20/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week of Easter

April 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 8:22-39Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16, Luke 8:22-39And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. (Luke 8:36–37)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “We don’t like you, Jesus. We appreciate that you healed that demon-possessed guy and got him to be civilized again, but we’re afraid of you now. So, if you wouldn’t mind, please go far, far away.”That’s not exactly the response you might expect after a miracle. Of course, there is a bit more to it. The exorcized demons possess a herd of pigs and drown them, causing the loss of a good bit of income, so I can understand their fear. What could happen next, after all?Trust is the issue. Who do they trust? Who do you trust? The newly demon-free man wanted to follow Jesus back to Galilee and on a “glory tour” of sorts. He wanted to see all the wonderful things Jesus would do, but Jesus told him that his greatest work would be staying home and telling others how he was healed.The disciples have the same problem. Just before this, they are amazed at Jesus’ power over the storm. They can’t quite wrap their heads around what happens. And, to be honest, they are a bit afraid, too. They’re not sure what to think.You have seen what Jesus has done for you. He has raised you from death in your Baptism. He has taken your sin away in His death and resurrection. He comes to you mysteriously in bread made body and wine made blood to strengthen and comfort and forgive you.Are you still a bit afraid of Him, though? Are you not sure that you can trust Him, since He has the ability to do such mighty things? Do you wonder when He might turn on you, a sinner who can’t do His will? A healthy fear of God is a good thing. The LORD is a great God, a great king above all gods, we sing. And everything he does—calming storms, driving out demons, comforting the hurting, forgiving sins, rescuing from sin, death, and Hell—He does for you, because of His great love for you. And because He does these things for you, you can trust Him. You can trust that He’s caring for you the best way He can; by preparing you for the resurrected life with Him for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.If God Himself be for me, I may a host defy; For when I pray, before me My foes, confounded fly. If Christ, my head and master, Befriend me from above, What foe or what disaster Can drive me from His love? (LSB 724:1)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/19/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

April 18, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - First PetitionDaily Lectionary: Exodus 38:21-39:8, 22-23, 27-31; Luke 8:1-21Hallowed be Thy name. How is God’s name kept holy? God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. (The Lord's Prayer, the First Petition, Small Catechism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s name is inscribed upon your forehead and heart in Holy Baptism. That’s an almost scary thing. God Himself has ‘marked you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified’ we say in the baptismal rite.This means that wherever you go, you bear God’s holy name upon you. You go out into this dark, sin-wracked, and dying world with the mark of Almighty God Himself upon you. The demons see that and know whose side you are on immediately. That is also a scary thing because it makes you an easy target for their attacks.And those attacks come in strange and mysterious ways. Sometimes it is a temptation from a friend. Or a random Instagram reel or TikTok. There are so many ways that the world, the devil, and yes, even your own sinful flesh, rebel against that mark of God’s holy name upon your forehead.How do you keep God’s name holy in such a dangerous and sin-filled world? How can you lead a holy life when waves of sin constantly wash over you? By going to church, by receiving the Lord’s Supper. By participating in Bible Study. By spending time in daily devotions. By remembering your Baptism.Sure, those all sound mundane (and probably even boring), but that is how God promises to be with you. That is how Christ Jesus promises to strengthen you and your faith. He uses the things of this world (which He created) to remind you that you have been recreated in Him.Gather together where God’s Word is taught in truth and purity. Hear the preaching of that living Word of God. Taste on your tongue with joy the Gift of Jesus’s Body and Blood. Dip your fingers in the baptismal font’s living waters. Let God Himself remind you again and again of what he’s done for you.Open your ears to those words. Let His Gifts wash over you and give thanks for what He has done for you in Jesus. Remember that you are baptized and you are safe in God’s hands. Live your life in the sure and certain hope that because Jesus lives and has saved you, that God’s holy name will always be with you until He comes again. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your name be hallowed. Help us Lord, In purity to keep Your Word, That to the glory of Your name We walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; All poor deluded souls convert. (LSB 766:2)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/18/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

April 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Exodus 34:29-35:21Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35:21, Exodus 35:22-38:20, Luke 7:36-50And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. (Exodus 35:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you ask most pastors, they would be ecstatic if they never, ever, ever had to talk about money in the Divine Service ever again. It always feels a bit uncomfortable, because even though the Offering of the Church is a free gift from the people of God, it always feels a bit like ‘asking for money.’At the same time, though, churches do need funding to keep the lights on, pay their church workers and support staff, and to make the worship space look like a place where the Most High God visits His people, regardless of the building where you gather.When Moses asked the Children of Israel to bring offerings together, he was planning to build the Tabernacle to the Great I AM’s exacting specifications. There was a specific plan for the Tabernacle, which we don’t have to follow today in our churches since there isn’t one specific place on earth where Christ is present, but upon every altar where his Word is taught in its truth and purity and where His sacraments are administered according to His institution.One way that we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind is by returning to Him a portion of all we earn as a way of thanksgiving and praise for all He has done for us. Offerings can be musical, or hands-on during a workday or servant event, or as an acolyte or usher. They primarily take the form of monetary gifts, though, in the offering plate. Has your heart been stirred or your spirit moved by what the Lord God has done for you in Christ? Are you thankful for the salvation Christ won for you on His cross? One response of praise and thanksgiving is to set aside some of your income (paycheck, allowance, etc.) to return to the Lord’s church on a regular basis.It can be a wonderful feeling to return in joy to the Lord just a tiny portion of all that He showers upon us. It is just one more way to say thank you to the Lord for lifting you out of sin and death and setting you on the way of forgiveness and salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We give Thee but Thine own, Whate’er the gift may be; All that we have is Thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee. May we Thy bounties thus As stewards true receive And gladly, as Thou blessest us, To Thee our first-fruits give! (LSB 781:1, 2)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/17/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

April 16, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 John 3:1-7Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28, Luke 7:18-35Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the hardest things for us to understand is what the resurrected life will be like. When we get to the New Jerusalem, the New Creation, how will we live? What will we look like? How does all of this work? After all, I’m not sure I’ll ever learn to play the harp while floating on a cloud and trying to keep my halo on straight!Faith. Trust. Promises. These are words our sinful flesh has a hard time grasping and holding onto. And the best part about that is that we don’t have to try and grasp those things, because our faith does the grasping and believing!Every day, faithful Christians wonder if they are good enough for Jesus to “take them to heaven.” And every day, that same Jesus encourages them through His Word that that isn’t the right question. We are God’s children NOW, St. John says. Because of your faith, given to you in your Baptism, you are now God’s child. Right now. This very minute. And that faith that He’s given to you in your washing and recreating is what grasps the promise that you have a future with Him in eternity.We still can’t fully understand what that will look like, but that’s OK, because we have His further promise that we will see that future when He comes again for us. On that Last Day, on the day of the resurrection of all the dead, we will see what we’ve been waiting for, and it’ll be better than the greatest unboxing video of all time.We are God’s children now, indeed. Live every day in that promise. Trust that promise, given to you, and rely on it when times are good, and especially when it is hard to believe, because Jesus has redeemed you, bought you back, wrapped you in His arms, and holds you near in a way that will be made so perfectly clear when He comes again for you.You are God’s child now. He’s not going to let you go. Hold Him to that promise, because He holds Himself to it, because He loves you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day; The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia! From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia! (LSB 677:7, 8)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/16/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Easter

April 15, 2024Today's Reading: Acts 3:11-21Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23, Luke 7:1-17And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. (Acts 3:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus’s healing miracles can sometimes make us feel less than. They can make us feel left out or unimportant. Why does this person get to be healed, and here I am, still suffering from the thing I’ve prayed over and over again for God to heal or take away? Why doesn’t He do for me what He does for these people in the Bible, like the disabled man Peter healed? That’s a complicated answer beyond this brief page. But this fact remains: that man may have been healed, but he did eventually die. And that’s the thing about us all; we will all die unless Jesus returns first.But that is where the comfort of this text comes in. We will all surely die, but we will also all be surely raised on the Last Day. And the faith that we have in Jesus now will lead to perfect health in the life of the world to come, and that life never ends.That life is one that lasts forever. That perfect health will last forever. That newly-resurrected body will never give you the problems it does now. Your Baptism created within you the faith that gives perfect health. Your Baptism gave you life everlasting. It is something you have right now. You may not see or feel it, but that is Jesus’s promise to you: by virtue of your Baptism, you now have eternal life and you now live forever.You can’t see the fullness of that just yet, none of us can, but it is yours. Oh, sure, your sinful flesh will want to deny that every single day. “There’s no way I can have eternal life, just look at me!” No! Jesus has said to you in your Baptism that you indeed are recreated to live forever. The promise of His Word, given through Holy Scripture backs that up. He has declared it, and you trust His Word, given into your ears.That’s what faith is; trust created in you by Jesus to hear and believe His promises for you. Perfect healing is yours. Life forever is yours. Everlasting comfort is yours. Because of Jesus, because He loves you and wants you with Him forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Ev’ry wound that pains or grieves me By Your wounds, Lord, is made whole; When I’m faint, Your cross revives me, Granting new life to my soul. Yes, Your comfort renders sweet Ev’ry bitter cup I meet; For Your all-atoning passion Has procured my soul’s salvation. (LSB 421:4)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/15/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Sunday of the Third Week of Easter

April 14, 2024Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-49Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35, Luke 6:39-49“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” (St. Luke 24:39–41)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Have you anything here to eat?” That’s the strangest thing ever to hear from the Risen Lord after the resurrection, isn’t it? But He has a good reason to ask: “a spirit does not have flesh and bones.”This Jesus that appears to the disciples (hidden away behind locked doors, no less!) isn’t some spiritual apparition. He isn’t a figment of their imaginations. He stands before them in the flesh, and, as we all know, you have to eat to live in this world. The risen Jesus needed to eat just as much as you do, because He is a real, living person.And that is the comfort in these words. That Jesus, risen from the dead—the one who bore all your sins in His body, who died a horrible death upon His cross, who descended into Hell and came back, who conquered death, who rose from the dead and lives even now—needed a snack. Even in His resurrection, He identifies so closely with His creatures, He is still so completely man (while being completely God) that He eats with his closest friends.Truth be told, He kind of has to; because they are still a bit unsure if this is all real. St. Luke says they “disbelieved for joy.” That is, they were so absolutely stunned and overjoyed to see Jesus again that they couldn’t believe their good fortune. You know how that works, right? You get news about something that is so astounding and so earthshaking that you can’t believe it is real, even as you jump for joy upon hearing the news.How does Jesus calm them down and remind them that He is indeed with them in the flesh? By eating with them. By doing the most human thing possible; sharing a meal with those He loves. Don’t forget in this Easter season of glory and Alleluias that your Lord Jesus needed to eat because He became man for you; to bear your sin, to wash you with His blood, to fulfill God’s Law for you, and ultimately to make a place for you at His eternal table. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter)- Pastor Duane Bamsch is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/14/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

April 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 30:1-5; antiphon: Psalm 16:11bDaily Lectionary: Exodus 32:1-14, Luke 6:20-38Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”(Psalm 30:5b, from the Introit on the Third Sunday of Easter)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Psalm used for the Introit tomorrow is a Psalm of thanksgiving and praise. It expresses the joy of having been delivered from a terrible situation. However, we tend to get so wrapped up in the joy, that we forget how it must have felt in those moments before the Lord gave relief. This Psalm is written in the first person. That makes this Psalm my prayer. Before I was drawn up, I was at the bottom. The foes were about to have an opportunity to rejoice over me. I had to cry for help. My soul was in Sheol, down in that pit. There was a whole night of weeping. And from the moment it started, I wanted it to be over. But it was not over right away. It did not end at my first prayer. I had to endure the night. In this sinful world, there will always be something that I must endure. Running away from it often only gets me into more trouble, more suffering. Covering it up only takes the joy out of everything else. I must learn to endure many things in this life, because I need to endure.But needing to endure is not a sign of the Lord’s absence. It’s a sign of His presence. Because Christ endures with me. And Christ endures even more for my sake. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and rose for me, I have His promise that I will not have to endure forever. There is an end to what I suffer. It may not be this moment. It may not be this day. But there is an end to suffering. There is an end to what I must endure. And when that end comes, there is nothing so joyful in all the world. Especially with Jesus enduring with us. And that’s our Introit tomorrow. There is joy when we receive a hard fought victory. There is joy in getting the help we need. There is joy in being healed. There is joy in the resurrection. There is joy in the forgiveness of sins. There is joy in being named a child of God. And that such joy comes at the end of endurance only magnifies the joy to a level we could never understand without going through all that. Jesus Christ is our morning. He has endured all for you. And endures all with you too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Though with a scornful wonder  The world sees her oppressed, By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed, Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?”And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song. (LSB 644:3)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/13/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Easter

April 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 6:1-19Daily Lectionary: Exodus 31:1-18, Luke 6:1-19And He said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the New Testament reading from the daily lectionary today, Jesus and the Pharisees butt heads over the Sabbath. The Third Commandment is indeed, ‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.’ God did command that no work should be done on the Sabbath. But the word Sabbath in Hebrew means ‘rest.’ (It also means ‘seven.’) Abstaining from work is certainly one way to rest. But it is not the only way.When Jesus’ disciples plucked grain and ate it, they received rest from their hunger. When Jesus healed the man with the withered hand, that man received rest from his affliction. When Jesus healed the diseases of the multitudes, and drove out unclean spirits, those people received rest from sicknesses and oppression. But the Pharisees were furious, and plotted together what they might do to Jesus. Because Jesus ignored the lesser rest in order that people might have a greater rest. We still do this today. We so want the lesser gifts that our Lord gives that we despise the greater. We pray about a test, or because we’re late, and we want to get through that moment well. But maybe missing that moment is something the Lord has for us in order to strengthen our faith, and teach us endurance. But we end up placing such importance on that moment, that we resent God for letting us go through that, and want nothing to do with the forgiveness of sins or eternal life. The Pharisees and we aren’t all that different.Therefore repent. Turn to Christ and hand over your sin. Because He has done something truly remarkable with the Sabbath. In Genesis, on the seventh day, God rested from all His labors. Good Friday was the sixth day. And moments before sundown, which marked the beginning of the Sabbath, Jesus was placed in a tomb. And there He rested. The entire Sabbath Jesus rested from the work of giving us the greatest rest of all. Jesus rested from all His labors of the cross where He earned our forgiveness and salvation. Forgiveness even for failing to see the rest He has given us. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. He gives the greater rest. Therefore find rest in Him. Find sin, death, and the devil conquered. Find all your greatest troubles and fears overcome. Find rest from your work, from your life, from everything you have been given to endure. Christ is our rest. So rest in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I heard the voice of Jesus say,  “Come unto me and rest; Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon my breast.” I came to Jesus as I was, So weary, worn, and sad;I found in Him a resting place, And He has made me glad. (LSB 699:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/12/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

April 11, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s Prayer - IntroductionDaily Lectionary: Exodus 25:1-22, Exodus 25:23-30:38, Luke 5:17-39Our Father, who art in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We usually know Luke 15:11-32 as the parable of the Prodigal Son. But the person in the story who acts the least like we think he should is the father. The father in that story gives a reckless son his inheritance early, knowing he will squander it. The father should be stern and teach his son a lesson about respect when he finally returns. But instead he sacrifices his dignity to go running to him, sacrifices his property in order to fully restore the son to inheritance rights, and throws a feast for his son to let all his neighbors know that he will not let his son be shamed. Such actions cost a lot, both in money, and in social standing. But the father was willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of his son. This is how God the Father treats us. Our sin is an open rebellion against Him. And yet, instead of leaving us to die in our sin, the Father sacrifices His Son Jesus in order to save us. No price was too high, no shame too great, no loss too much when it came to saving us. God was willing to get His hands dirty in order to get us out of the dirt of our sin. He let that sin fall upon Him, rather than let us die forever with it upon ourselves. That’s what love does. And God loves us. Even while we were still sinners, God loves us.Therefore we pray to God as children go and ask their own fathers for what they need. We might have a really good Dad that God gave us, we might have a Dad that isn’t so good. But our Lord is the perfect Father. The example for all fathers to follow. So we go and ask Him for what He has promised. And, like the crazy father in the parable, He plans to say yes to all of it. Every promise He has made. His name, His kingdom, His will, daily bread, forgiveness, deliverance, all of it. He wants us to call upon Him and ask for it. And He will give it. That’s a promise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/11/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

April 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Exodus 24:1-18Daily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18, Luke 5:1-16Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There’s a lot going on in the Daily Lectionary’s reading from Exodus today. The Lord renews His covenant with His people. Moses heads up Mt. Sinai. And just before that, at Sinai’s base, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders join Moses in seeing God. That’s really cool! Don’t you wish you could see Jesus like they did? We must admit that we don’t see Jesus in the same way. Jesus Himself told Thomas in last Sunday’s Gospel lesson, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) And yet, our Lord has given us a place to go that’s very much like how they saw God in Exodus 24. When you’re in Church next Sunday, pay attention to the altar. What’s on it? You’ll find bread and wine. When Christ’s Word is spoken, that bread and wine are now also the body and blood of Christ. The same body that hung as a sacrifice on the cross. The same blood that was shed for your forgiveness. We see Jesus there. We behold God, and we eat and we drink. The same way they did at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The altar is the place where heaven and earth meet. It’s where God is seen. Maybe in a little different way than Moses, Thomas and the rest saw. But our Lord cares enough about you to rend the heavens and come down. He meets you where you are, down here in the dirt of your sin, and the grime of your fallenness. And He comes to cleanse you. Taking away your shame. Forgiving your sin. Comforting your grief. He doesn’t worry what will happen to Him, even when it’s a cross. You’re worth getting dirty for. You’re worth dying for. This is what Christ has done for you. And it’s what Christ continues to do for you. And we get to see it every time we’re in Church. We get to see Jesus. And not just see Him, but hear Him, taste Him, smell Him, touch Him. He engages all our senses so that we may know that He is here indeed, and here for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face; Here would I touch and handle things unseen;Here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace, And all my weariness upon Thee lean. (LSB 631:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/10/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

April 9, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 John 1:1-2:2Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33, Luke 4:31-44If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last Sunday’s Epistle reading from 1 John has a familiar couple of verses if you’re used to using Divine Service, settings One or Two. As we prepare to confess our sins, we speak responsively verses eight and nine from chapter one. But have you ever stopped to think how strange it is that Christians regularly confess our sins? People without faith don’t generally confess to having done anything wrong. Our sinful hearts train us from birth to justify our every action. The toddler who knocks over the lamp blames his stuffed animal. When that excuse doesn’t work, he learns to make his self-justification more believable next time. Even at ten years old, he has learned to be ready to explain why he’s done every action, just in case anyone questions him. Self-justification is such a part of our lives in this world, that we expect it from everyone. No one confesses to having done anything wrong, at least not in any meaningful way. People might admit to doing something that everyone else does, or something that has no actual consequences. Someone famous, when caught doing something really bad, might make an apology tour. Not because they think they did anything wrong, but it’s the price to pay to retain their fame, money, or power. When someone does end up doing something that they can’t justify, it breaks them. They live the rest of their lives in regret, in grief, in despair. It drives them to madness, and they believe that they are without hope, without forgiveness, without mercy, because they recognize that they have sinned, and they cannot fix that. But Christians confess their sins all the time, and we don’t fall into madness or despair over it. Why? Because not only do we know we have sinned, we also know that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Christ Jesus has taken all our sin away. He paid sin’s price. He died on the cross in our place. And He’s given us His perfect life in exchange. That good news overcomes our attempts of self-justification. That good news overcomes our despair. That good news is for you. And we trust our Lord enough to confess all our sins to Him, knowing that He has already forgiven all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I lay my sins on Jesus, The spotless Lamb of God; He bears them all and frees usFrom the accursed load. I bring my guilt to Jesus To wash my crimson stainsClean in His blood most precious  Till Not a spot remains. (LSB 606:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/9/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week of Easter

April 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Acts 4:32-35Daily Lectionary: Exodus 22:20-23:13, Luke 4:16-30And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sunday’s first reading from Acts makes the early church sound perfect. Everyone shared, nobody had need, and Jesus was preached every day. If our world lived like that, a lot of our problems would be better off. Do you know how long that lasted? Three verses later, in chapter five, sin broke it. What’s even better than giving up everything and being taken care of completely by the Church? Giving up only part of that, and still being completely taken care of. Ananias and Sapphira had figured out how to game the system. How to get all the stuff without the same sacrifice everyone else made. The surprising part is that Peter speaks the Word of the Lord concerning their sin, and they die. As a result, “great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard these things.” (Acts 5:11) What is the First Commandment? You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Sometimes we’ve been taught that fear means respect. But that’s really more trust, not fear. Fear is knowing that God is rightly angry over sin. Sin hurts those our Lord loves. Remaining in our sin is to continue hurting those whom God loves. We should be afraid of God because of our sin. Just as Ananias and Sapphira should have feared God before sinning the way they did. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10a)But fear isn’t the only thing we are called to. Our Lord is angry over sin, yes. But He has also poured out all that wrath upon Christ at the cross. Jesus stood in our place, endured what our sin earned. He loves us in that He sacrificed everything for our sake. Our love isn’t the cause of our faith, it’s the result of God’s grace. We love because He first loved us. And we trust Him, because He’s shown Himself trustworthy in keeping His promises. Promises that He fulfilled in His death and resurrection. That’s why the early church lived the way it did. Because Christ took care of their greatest needs already. Sin, death, and the devil have been overcome. And in the middle of it all? Preaching of the resurrection of Christ. That’s what was at the center then. And it’s still at the center now. Christ crucified for you. Christ risen for you. Christ forgiving your every sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Let all mortal flesh keep silence  And with fear and trembling stand;  Ponder nothing earthly minded,  For with blessing in His hand  Christ our God to earth descending  Comes our homage to demand. (LSB 621:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/8/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Sunday of the Second Week of Easter

April 7, 2024Today's Reading: John 20:19-31Daily Lectionary: Exodus 20:1-24, Luke 4:1-15…Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 21:19b-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Scars tell a story. I got a new scar on my chest not long ago. I had gallstones, one the size of a golf ball. That’s got quite a story behind it. Others have scars on their arms, legs, faces, and those come with stories too. Some of them are entertaining. But some of them are difficult stories, with a lot of pain behind them. And for some, the pain is still there. Those are the scars we hide. There are also some scars that we can’t see, buried deep down. Emotional scars, some of which have not fully healed. All of these scars tell a story. A story of when we were hurt. I’ve been asked more than once, “Will we still have our scars in the resurrection?” After all, the disciples put their hands on Jesus’ scars. And it was by those scars that we believe. But we really do want our painful scars gone. Isn’t that why Jesus came? Isn’t that why Jesus died? To make those scars that hurt us go away? Yet the scars of Jesus also tell a story. Scars from the whip. Scars from the nails. The scar from the spear. These tell the story of Jesus saving you. Jesus got all those scars by paying for your sins, by dying in your place, and by giving you His perfect life in exchange. Jesus didn’t die to take away your scars. Heal your wounds? Yes. Bear your pains? Absolutely. But those scars are too important to hide away. Too important to remove. Because scars mark the place where a wound has healed. If your wound is still open, Jesus is there to heal that wound. But when healed, the scar remains. Your scars, all of them, mark the place where Christ has healed you. They mark the place where Jesus is with you even now.Because you share your scars with Jesus, those words, “Peace be with you,” now mean so much more. There is not a single sin that isn’t forgiven. There isn’t a single wound that can’t be healed. There isn’t a single death which hasn’t already been overcome. And every day you see that scar. Every day you feel that scar inside. Every day that scar reminds you of the painful story that goes with it. It is also a reminder that Jesus died for that. Jesus rose for that. Jesus is with you right now for that. You have His peace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord by the stripes which wounded Thee, From death’s dread sting, Thy servants freeThat we may live and sing to Thee. Alleluia!  (LSB 464:5)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/7/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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Easter Saturday

April 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 105:1-5, 8; antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 19:1-25, Hebrews 13:1-21Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2-3, Antiphon for the Introit on the Second Sunday of Easter)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In tomorrow’s Introit, we are told to “long for the pure spiritual milk.” We need to be fed in our faith just as much as we need food for our bodies. That food comes from Christ. And usually, this is where we would talk about the Lord’s Supper. But our Introit does something different here. Instead of solid food, we are told to be like infants, and have milk. This is often compared in the New Testament to the very basics of the Christian faith. “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.” (Hebrews 5:12). As a result, you may hear fellow Christians say things like: “The death and resurrection of Jesus is the basics of the faith. We want to move on from that milk to more meaty topics.” But anything that leaves out the death and resurrection of Jesus loses the very center of what makes it Christian. Besides, spiritual milk is good for you, no matter how mature in the faith you think you are. Remember, the promise made to the people of Israel. They were coming into a land flowing with milk and honey. And the Lord didn’t just mean a parcel of land in the Middle East. His Church is the place where we are fed that pure spiritual milk. We live in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We never graduate from that good news. It remains at the center of our entire Christian lives. Is there meat to dig into as well? You bet! But it always returns to Christ at the center. After all, where else are you going to find the forgiveness of sins, given freely? Where else are you going to find life after death in the resurrection of the flesh? Where else are you going to find your salvation if not in Christ’s own work, done on your behalf? Therefore, long for the pure spiritual milk that Jesus has for you. Only with Jesus at the center can your faith grow. And He’s the one who gives the growth. By keeping you in His Word, and giving you His gifts in the sacraments. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jerusalem the Golden, With milk and honey blessed The promise of salvation, The place of peace and rest We know not, oh, we know not  What joys await us there:The radiancy of glory, The bliss beyond compare  (LSB 672:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/6/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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Easter Friday

April 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Hebrews 12:1-24Daily Lectionary: Exodus 18:5-27, Hebrews 12:1-24Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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. (Hebrews 12:1b-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We’re not really built for endurance in our society today. We have a way out of, or away from just about any kind of suffering we can imagine. We will even avoid things that are mildly inconvenient, or mask over them by retreating to our phones for that next dopamine fix. When difficult things come, we do not know how to handle them, or what endurance even looks like. But our Lord built us for endurance. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) And, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11) St. Paul also says, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame….” (Romans 5:3-5a) Or as the verse that my pastor gave me on my Confirmation day says, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)You see, there is more joy when suffering is over than can ever be achieved by running away from it. And Jesus has that in store for us, both in this life, and into the next. That’s why we confess our sins, and receive forgiveness instead of pretending we have no sin. That’s why we endure the cost of being a Christian in this pagan world, with the sure and certain hope of eternal life. And that’s why Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. His joy was in your salvation.After Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30) on the cross, He cried out with a loud shout. I think it was a shout of joy. Because it shook the earth, tore the curtain of the temple in two, and raised the dead. But the suffering was done. He endured. Your forgiveness is won. And now, it was time to rest. Remember, the Lord has built you for endurance. He is the one who gives it to you. He is your founder and perfecter. And His gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation are worth enduring all for. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!  Unto Christ our heav’nly king, Alleluia!  Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!  Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!  (LSB 457:2)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/5/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Easter Thursday

April 4, 2024 Today's Reading: The Lord’s PrayerDaily Lectionary: Exodus 17:1-16, Hebrews 11:1-29In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is a conversation that God starts in His Word. This fact still surprises a lot of Christians. We tend to think that prayer is us sending our requests to God, and then hearing back nothing at all until something happens. That’s missing the very half of prayer that we need. God initiates the conversation with us. He has a lot to say to us. And it is written down in the Bible for us to read. And it’s there where the Lord teaches us how to pray. In Divine Service settings One and Two, the pastor says right before we all pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:” These words come from the disciples in Luke 11:1. Jesus tells His disciples in the very next verse, “When you pray, say:” And He gives us the Lord’s prayer. Jesus teaches us how to pray with these words. And this prayer that Jesus gave us covers everything we could possibly need. Over the next few weeks, we’ll get a chance to look at those words in depth here on Thursdays.But our Lord teaches us to pray, not just with these words, but with all the Words of Scripture. The Psalms are also known as the prayerbook of the Church. They’re the words that the Old Testament Church prayed. They’re the words that Jesus prayed. And we still pray those words today. In those Psalms, we have prayers for all kinds of places we find ourselves in life. There are prayers of joy, prayers of sorrow, prayers for being in need, prayers for repentance, prayers for endurance, prayers for overcoming our enemies, and prayers for our enemies. We don’t just find prayers there either. Every place where the Lord has made a promise to us is a place where we learn how to pray. For our Lord wants us to pray to Him and ask for the things that He has promised to give. In that way, all the Bible is our prayer book. And we can expect the Lord to answer ‘yes’ when we ask for what He has promised to give. Every part of the Lord’s prayer calls upon a promise of God. And He fulfills his promises.Therefore pray. Pray as the Lord has taught us. Pray as the Word of God teaches us. Pray, because prayer is a conversation that God starts in His Word, and He wants to talk to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/4/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Easter Wednesday

April 3, 2024 Today's Reading: John 21:1-14Daily Lectionary: Exodus 16:13-35, Hebrews 10:19-39When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. (John 21:7b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why does Peter throw himself into the sea? Perhaps Peter was just so excited to see Jesus that he couldn’t wait to get to shore. But the problem is they weren’t very far from shore in the first place, especially since Jesus could talk to them from it. Also, Peter isn’t mentioned in our reading today as actually getting to shore, or to Jesus. In fact, the next we hear about him, he’s getting back on the boat to bring the fish in the net. Almost like he’s avoiding Jesus. Which might be exactly the case. You see, Peter denied Jesus three times. And that denial hurt Peter to the core. He had been living with that sin unconfessed and unforgiven for a while now. And the longer we keep those sins hidden, the harder it is for us to give them over to Christ, who has paid for them all. In Peter’s case, it took Jesus calling him three times to feed His lambs for Peter to understand that Christ’s forgiveness covers every sin. So it’s not too difficult to see Peter, stripped for work, needing to cover his shame.We too have sins that need forgiveness. We too have denied Jesus when we should have confessed him. We too are ashamed of what we have done. We might acknowledge that sins are forgiven, but maybe, because my sin was so bad, I’m too disgraced to join in with everyone else. We’re far more comfortable just covering everything up. Hiding from everyone, especially Jesus, lest my shame be exposed for the world to see.But where did Peter, in all his shame end up. In water. Where is all our sin taken away? Where is all our shame clothed with Christ’s righteousness? Where is all our disgrace covered and cleansed? In water. You are baptized into the death of Jesus. By that water, and by the Word connected to that water, all your sin has been taken away. By your Baptism, Jesus forgives you completely. Every sin, no matter how bad, they’re all taken away. He died for them all. And this is yours. It is not earned. It is not by your own works. Jesus gives this forgiveness to you freely. He assures you that by His cross, He has paid for that sin in full. And He has sealed that promise by baptizing you…In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God’s own Child, I gladly say it:  I am baptized into Christ   He, because I could not pay it,Gave my full redemption price.  Do I need earth’s treasures many? I have one worth more than any  That brought me salvation free  Lasting to eternity!  (LSB 594:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/3/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Easter Tuesday

April 2, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-49Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:19-16:12, Hebrews 10:1-18[Jesus] said to them,“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you ever find the need to explain what Christianity is to someone who doesn’t know, here’s how I do it: There was a guy two thousand years ago who claimed to be God. To prove it, He said that they would kill Him, and on the third day He would rise from the dead. They killed Him, and on the third day, He rose from the dead. Maybe He’s right about that God thing. Well, that guy who rose from the dead said that the Law and the Prophets, and the Psalms, what we call the Old Testament, is all about Him. In what way? That repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations. That guy is Jesus. And what He came for was to forgive our sins. That’s why He died. Because those sins needed to be paid for. And He paid them in full for you, for me, for the world. Because we are forgiven, we are able to confess our sin, openly acknowledge it, and repent.Do you realize just how hard that is for sinful people to do without faith? Someone might confess something that they don’t think is wrong. Or something that they think everyone else does, so there is no harm in it. But the Old Adam in our hearts cannot bear to confess anything that we can stand accused by others with. Those that have no choice but to confess that they’ve harmed others find that, apart from faith, their sanity is broken. The idol of self is shattered. Despair is all they have.And yet Christians regularly confess such things. I, a poor miserable sinner. We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. It is the same sin confessed, but we are not broken by confessing it. Just the opposite. It is taken away, we are forgiven, and we are left with the joy of Christ. Delivering Jesus’ forgiveness to you is the joyous job of your pastor. Go to him. Confess your sins. Hear those words of Jesus from your pastor’s mouth. You are forgiven in full. That is miraculous. And that’s who Jesus is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.If Christ had not been raised from death Our faith would be in vain, Our preaching but a waste of breath  Our sin and guilt remain  But now the Lord is ris’n indeed;  He rules in earth and heav’n  His Gospel meets a world of need—In Christ we are forgiv’n  (LSB 486:1)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/2/20244 minutes, 34 seconds
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Easter Monday

April 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 24:13-35, 36-49Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:1-18, Hebrews 9:1-28And He said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. (Luke 24:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday, we heard that Jesus has conquered death by His resurrection. That’s good news for us. We no longer need to be afraid when we face death. But how do things change when it’s someone we care about who dies? The harsh reality is that everyone dies, because that’s the wages of sin. Even our loved ones die, whether that ’s today, or a day down the road. And that day hurts so badly that we often don’t know what to do next. Death is our enemy. Death is what attacks us like this. And on our own we have no defense. Sad feels like too light a word to describe what Cleopas and his friend were enduring. Sad is too light a word when we are grieving.But Jesus doesn’t leave us alone when death comes near. He joins us on the road. He weeps with us (John 11:35). He comforts us (John 14:27). And He does something about it. Jesus enters into death in our place. Jesus dies for our sins. So that on the third day, Jesus’s resurrection would be an end to death, and a promise of our resurrection, and the resurrection of those we love in the faith unto eternal life. But that promise isn’t just for sometime down the road. It’s also for today. What does Jesus do with Cleopas and the other disciple? “He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.” If those words sound familiar, they should. It’s the same language used in the Words of Institution at the Lord’s Supper. Many Churches have communion rails that are in the shape of a semicircle. It’s that way for a reason. When we receive the Lord’s Body and Blood, we do so with the whole Church. Not just the whole Church on earth. But all those who have died in the faith as well. We are with them even now, gathered around the rail, receiving Jesus. Jesus comforts us in our grief, both now, and in the hope of the resurrection.Death will still try its hardest to be our enemy in this world. Its attacks still hurt more than we can bear. But not even death can stop Jesus from bringing His resurrection and His hope to us, through His Word, through His baptism, and through His body and blood. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Who are you who joins our journey,  Walking with us stride by stride?  Unknown Stranger, can You fathom  Depths of grief for one who died? Then the wonder! When we told You  How our dreams to dust have turned, Then You opened wide the Scriptures  Till our hearts within us burned.  (LSB 476:2)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
4/1/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Easter Sunday

March 31, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 16:1-8 Daily Lectionary:Exodus 14:10-31, Hebrews 7:23-8:13“You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” (Mark 16:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you haven’t noticed, death is the one thing our whole world is running away from. We hide death away in hospitals and nursing homes so no one can see it. We ignore death when it rears its head in public. Many times, we don’t even pay attention when it is our own family that is dying. We’re so afraid of it, that we can’t even look death in the eye when it’s right in front of our faces, unless we dress it up as something it isn’t. We are afraid. We’re afraid because we are powerless against death. And no one has ever beaten it…Except One.And that One changed everything. Mary, Mary, and Salome were looking for a dead Jesus. But they don’t find Him in the tomb. Instead they are told that He is not here. He is not in the grave. He is not dead. He is risen. Jesus lives! What does this mean? It means that death has been overcome. Not just for Jesus, but for all people. The grave is not the end. The thing that we’re the most afraid of has been conquered. And that changes everything.Resurrection is now on the table. Jesus died and then rose for you. Jesus gives you His resurrection. It is yours. All the things we feared about death no longer have any bite to them. We no longer need to ignore death, or ignore those who are dying. We can look death in the eye and not be afraid, because we have a Savior that is stronger than even death itself. Even if death does take us or those we loved, it can’t hold anyone for long. The day is coming when all will rise. The faithful will enter into eternal life with Christ, and the unfaithful will be judged, but death will no longer have a single trophy to mount on its mantlepiece. That’s how big the resurrection of Jesus is. Our enemy, death, has been defeated by Christ. That’s why Easter Sunday is so central to the Church. Death can no longer be our end. Even when we die. And that’s why every Sunday is a little Easter. This news is so big, it’s the center of our faith. This is the day Jesus rose. This is the day we receive the promise of His resurrection. All because Jesus lives! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus lives! And now is death - But the gate of life immortal;  This shall calm my trembling breath -  When I pass its gloomy portal. Faith shall cry, as fails each sense: -Jesus is my confidence! (LSB 490:5)- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Kentucky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
3/31/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Holy Saturday

March 30, 2024 Today's Reading: John 19: 38-42Daily Lectionary: Exodus 13:17-14:9, Hebrews 7:1-22Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:41-42)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As Jesus' body is laid to rest all the world can see is defeat.  That is what the grave shouts from the cemetery.  You can’t see victory at a funeral.  You can’t see victory in the tomb.  You can’t see victory in death.Harken back to the days of Genesis where God caps off creation with a resounding, “It is very good!” because it is.  There is only life at creation, pure and perfect life in God.  Fast forward to Good Friday and God says something, too, “It is finished!”  But in saying these words it is like He is saying, “It is very good!” because once again there is life.  It seems strange to say, I know, when staring at death’s pale face, but this death, Christ’s death, is good.  It is good in the sense that it is of God and is of the Gospel.  For the death of God in the flesh can only mean one thing:  Life and salvation for all those to whom death draws near. And so as God rests in peaceful slumber this Holy Saturday, His work of salvation is finished.  It is good.  It is very good!  And this is a sermon that needs to be preached.  We will hear that sermon tomorrow, but Satan will hear it tonight!  …  In the darkest pits of hell Satan is found cowering in the corner as the Lord of Life comes bursting through its shadowy gates, trampling underfoot any power the demons thought they had.  And Jesus preaches, oh He preaches!  He preaches of His victory!  He preaches of sins forgiven.  He preaches of the Garden where He promised that a serpent’s head would be crushed, and He preaches of the cross where that promise was kept.  He preaches to death itself, that it is dead.  He preaches, “It is finished!” and all our enemies know it to be true.So rest in peaceful sleep tonight, Jesus.  Your work is now finished.  And we will see you once again in the morning, Easter Sunday, when the stone is rolled away and the tomb is left empty forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O darkest woe!  Ye tears, forth flow!  Has earth so sad a wonder?  God the Father’s only Son Now is buried yonder.  Thy Bridegroom dead!  God’s Lamb has bled Upon thy sin forever, Pouring out His sinless self In this vast endeavor.  (LSB 448:1,4)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/30/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Good Friday

March 29, 2024 Today's Reading: John 18:1-19:42, John 19:17-37Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:29-32; 13:1-16; Lamentations 5:1-22, Hebrews 6:1-20, Psalm 22When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.  The tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” (John 19:23-24a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about what happened to that seamless tunic?  …  One of those soldiers went home with it that day and wore it as his own.  Ponder that for a moment:  This sinner's nakedness is now covered by the literal clothes of Christ.  … Sure that sounds strange, but isn’t that exactly what Jesus does for the sinner?  Isn’t that the whole reason why Jesus came into our flesh:  to take away our sin and guilt and shame and replace it with something else, something of His, something that would turn us from shameful sinners into righteous and shameless saints?Jesus’ cross comes to you.  It already has.  It continually does.  And that means the forgiveness of sins here in time and space.  That means the righteousness of Jesus given for you right here and right now where you need it the most.  On the cross we see a perfect God, who is perfect no longer.  He is sin.  He is your sin.  He is a sinner.  He is you.  And so He wears the clothes of a sinner:  shameful nakedness.  He takes upon Himself your clothing, your sin, your guilt, your shame, your nakedness.  And then He exchanges it with His own righteousness:  a seamless tunic, not ripped apart, one whole piece from top to bottom, clothing your sinful shame, making you righteous and perfect.In a watery grave you put on the seamless tunic of Christ’s righteousness, you put on Christ Himself.  That is your baptism:  the cross for you.  And there God exchanged your clothes for His, there you put on the robe of righteousness, never to be taken off, never to be exchanged for another.  On the cross Jesus declared, “It is finished!”  Nothing more needed to be done.  He put on your sin and hangs naked on the cross.  And now in time and space, to last unto eternity, you wear His seamless robe of righteousness to cover your nakedness.  It is the blessed exchange!  It is Jesus for you!  It is always Jesus for you.  Even in the smallest of details. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be Thou my consolation, My shield, when I must die; Remind me of Thy passion When my last hour draws nigh.  Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, Upon Thy cross shall dwell, My heart by faith enfold Thee.  Who dieth thus dies well.  (LSB 450:7)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/29/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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Holy Thursday

March 28, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 14:22-26 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:1-28, Lamentations 4:1-22, Hebrews 5:1-14, Psalm 31And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.  And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22-24a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We like to take the Lord’s Supper and turn it into something that it isn’t.  Don’t be surprised, we do that with a lot of good things.  In fact, we do that with almost all of the good things that God has given to us.  We want to wrestle them away from His almighty arms and then pretend to give them back to Him as if they were ours all along.But these things, the things of the Gospel, the things of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the things of worship and the Divine Service, they aren’t ours.  Well, let me rephrase that…  They are ours.  They are just not ours to give, but instead they are ours to receive.  Our Lord gives good and everlasting gifts, Himself and His cross, forgiveness and everlasting life, through these tangible things.  And He does so because we are tangible.  We have skin to feel and ears to hear and tongues to taste, just like our Lord created us to have.And so our Lord gives us His Supper.  Fulfillment of the Passover feast.  That which brought the Israelites salvation, of which they celebrated for generations in order to be incorporated into that first Exodus, now comes to a close in a new meal and new covenant.  No need to sacrifice lambs anymore, for the true Lamb has already been sacrificed.Christ comes to you in time and space, His true Body in the bread and His true Blood in the wine, in order that your troubled conscience might be comforted and you can be united with Him.  …  He instituted this very Supper in order that you might know that your sins are forgiven.  No doubt about it, Christ is for you, His cross and salvation are for you.  And how can you be so sure?  Because He has brought it so close to you that you can taste it. n the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The holy Lamb undaunted came To God’s own altar lit with flame; While weeping angels hid their eyes, This Priest became a sacrifice.  The veil is torn, our Priest we see, As at the rail on bended knee Our hungry mouths from Him receive The bread of immortality.  (LSB 624:3,5)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/28/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Wednesday in Holy Week

March 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 14:12-21Daily Lectionary: Exodus 10:21-11:10, Lamentations 3:1-66, Hebrews 4:1-16Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”  They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?”.  (Mark 14:18-19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever found it odd that the disciples need to ask Jesus if it is them?  Each one asks Him, “Is it I?”  I always thought that you would probably know if you were about to betray your friend and turn him over to a bunch of murderers.  But maybe I’m wrong about that…And another thing… Jesus doesn’t seem to clear anything up, does He?  He doesn’t comfort Peter with an, “Of course not,” or take John aside and tell him he can breathe a sigh of relief.  No, He just lets it awkwardly hang there, giving some ambiguous answer of how it is one of the twelve dipping bread into oil with Him.  But all of them had surely done that.  Is Jesus saying that any of them are capable of betraying Him?I hope that isn’t the case because if any of them could’ve betrayed Him then that means that I could’ve betrayed Him.  …  But, then, who am I kidding, why do I think that I am above such a thing?  I know the wretchedness of my heart and the evil that lurks within.  Maybe I should stop pretending I am better than I really am and just go ahead and number myself with Judas.Notice that Jesus doesn’t comfort any of His disciples with the Law or with a call to their own self-righteousness, for that would only bring them despair.  Instead, He just moves on to the Gospel, to the only thing that can and will relieve a terrified conscience who has just figured out just how depraved he really is.  …  And so Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper.  We’ll talk about that tomorrow, but just know that it is pure Gospel!So in the midst of your doubting and your terrified conscience perhaps you should stop asking, “Is it I, Lord?”  Of course it is you.  …  So move on from that question to the one that matters, ‘Is it you, Lord, who will save me from my sin?”  And He will say, “Yes!  I am your Passover Lamb that has been slain for you!” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.On whose hard arms, so widely flung, The weight of this world’s ransom hung, The price of humankind to pay And spoil the spoiler of his prey.  O tree of beauty, tree most fair, Ordained those holy limbs to bear; Gone is thy shame, each crimsoned bough Proclaims the King of Glory now. (LSB 455:4,5)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/27/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Tuesday in Holy Week

March 26, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 14:1-15:47, John 12:20-50Daily Lectionary: Exodus 9:29-10:20, Lamentations 2:1-22, Hebrews 3:1-19Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.  So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20-21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have this phrase, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” on my pulpit, staring back at me each and every time I climb up there to give a sermon.  I have it up there to remind me that I have only one job to do:  Preach Jesus.  If I fail to do that simple, but momentous, task then I have failed to do what my Lord has called me to do and I have failed to give my congregation what they need.Pastors sometimes get into the habit of wanting to be kitschy, wanting to entertain their congregations with the new and coolest theology.  Pastors are sinners too, and sometimes the foolishness of the cross just seems too darn foolish to preach each and every single Sunday.  But if it was good enough for St. Paul (“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Corinthians 2:2) then it should be good enough for your pastor.Notice what happens in our text after the Greek travelers told Philip that they wanted to see Jesus…  Philip goes to Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip go and tell Jesus and immediately Jesus starts talking about His crucifixion.  It’s in coded language of course, using words like “hour for the Son of Man to be glorified,” and “when I am lifted up from the earth,” but it is all there for those who have ears to hear it.  Meaning that when Jesus wants you to know something about Him He wants you to know nothing apart from the cross.If the cross isn’t part of the equation then the answer is going to be wrong, and I’m not talking about some throw-away line at the end.  If your pastor’s sermon doesn’t have Christ’s death as the cornerstone then go up to Him after the service and ask to see Jesus.This is Holy Week.  Everything that has to do with Christ centers around this week, centers around the crucifixion, because the cross is the only reason why God became incarnate:  to die for you.  If you don’t get Christ and Him crucified every Sunday, demand that you do! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, The guilt of sinners bearing And, laden with the sins of earth, None else the burden sharing; Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, To slaughter led without complaint, That spotless life to offer, He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies, The mockery, and yet replies, “All this I gladly suffer.” (LSB 438:1)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/26/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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The Annunciation of Our Lord

March 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 1:26-38Daily Lectionary: Exodus 9:1-28, Lamentations 1:1-22, Hebrews 2:1-18And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Since the Fall our sinful nature can’t comprehend a God who does things the way in which He does.  We would think for Him to work in only high and mighty ways above us and apart from us, but our Lord isn’t who we think He is.  And so today we hear about a God who doesn’t deem Himself so high and mighty above us as to leave us in our fallen flesh.  But instead, we have a God who deemed us worthy enough that He would become one of us and save us from our fallenness, not to save us from our humanness.And He does so even as a little embryo floating down fallopian tubes, even as a soiling-himself infant in a cattle stall, even as a stumbling toddler and a pubescent teenager and twenty-something carpenter and a thirty year old dead man on a cross.  He does this as He bursts out of the tomb, not leaving the shell of His humanity in the grave to rot, but raising it up in perfection while still bearing the marks of the cross so that we might forever know that the death of this God-man means the life of mankind.  And even to this day He has done this by assuming our human nature up into the heavens, seated at the right hand of God giving us the very thing that we always desired, but were too shortsighted and ignorant to understand.  For we were always going to reign until eternity with Him; not by us becoming like Him, but by Him becoming like us.Is there any better way to prepare ourselves for the coming Holy Week; to prepare ourselves for the institution of a Supper of the flesh and blood of Jesus; to prepare ourselves for a dark Good Friday when the Son of God hangs derelict on a tree with human hands and feet nailed and human blood flowing mingled down; to prepare ourselves for the empty tomb and the risen Jesus in the flesh; is there any better way for us to prepare for all of that than by us celebrating today the Annunciation and human conception of our God?  …  If there is, I know not of it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Why lies He in such mean estate Where ox and ass are feeding?  Good Christians, fear; for sinners here The silent Word is pleading.  Nail, spear, shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you; Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The babe, the son of Mary! (LSB 370:2)- Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/25/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Holy Week

March 24, 2024 Today's Reading: John 12:12-19 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 8:1-32, Psalm 118, Hebrews 1:1-14So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s a strange thing to see a king riding triumphantly to His death, especially when He knows about it while no one else does.  The Pharisees want Him dead, that certainly is the truth, but they aren’t quite sure how to accomplish this yet.  There is still a lot of scheming and bribing that has to get done.  Whatever the case, Jesus will end up on that cross, one way or another.  But no matter how it may look, no one places Him there.  He goes willingly.And so the crowds that once saw Him raise Lazarus from the grave follow Him with palm branches waving, shouting from the top of their voices, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  …  They are calling for salvation even if they don’t fully understand what it is they are asking, for that is what Hosanna means, “Save us.”  But whether they understand it or not, Jesus will save them.  It is going to look strange.  It is going to look weak.  It is going to look broken and bloody.  It is going to look like death.  But this King knows that it is only through His death that His servants will have life, so onward He goes.  He will not be denied His crossly-throne.We join in this cry of victory, in this plea for salvation, uniting ourselves in song with that palm-branch-waving crowd.  We do this in the Service of the Sacrament in the words of the Sanctus.  Every single Lord’s Day, a new Palm Sunday all over again, as our King comes to us in simple and meager ways.  The only difference is that on that first Palm Sunday Jesus was riding to the cross, every Lord’s Day after He is riding from the cross in order to give to you what He won there.“Hosanna!  Lord, save us!”  And He does, every single time, as He feeds us with His broken Body and Blood outpoured.  …  How fitting… with your tongue you cry out for salvation and with your lips you receive it! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross.  Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/24/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 24 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 7:1-25, Mark 16:1-20Lift up your heads, O gates!  And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.   (Psalm 24:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God comes to us.  That is what He does.  Time and time again, He comes to His lost and fallen creation.  He comes to people.  He communes with them.  He bestows grace and favor.  He comes down from heaven, to this earth.  He comes.  …  For David this happened in a tangible sort of way.  The Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat of God, was now being brought into the city of Jerusalem.  For the first time the Ark was there.  For the first time, God located Himself in the holy city, the hill of the LORD, Mount Zion.Thousands of years later He comes in the strangest glory, in beaten, bloody, stripped, and naked glory.  He ascends the hill of the Lord, the hill of Calvary; right there in the city of David where He had entered all those years ago.  His clean hands clinging to the shame of your cross.  His pure heart bearing the weight of your sin.  There is the glory of your Lord, O Jerusalem.  There, despised, rejected, dismissed by all the world.  Up there on that tree is the strength and might of your God in all of His weakness.  Fighting tooth and nail in a battle with sin and death and Satan.  …  Lift up your heads, O Jerusalem, and gaze upon your King of glory!Be lifted up, O ancient doors, because your King comes to you.  He in His glory, He with His cross, He comes to you!  In a flood which washes your filthy hands and impure hearts. He comes, bringing His death so that you might be buried within, bringing His resurrection so that you might have life eternal.  In a Word He comes:  Absolution spoken from the lips of a pastor which brings to you the sureness that, “It is finished!”  In a meal, body and blood given to you, He comes.  Communion with God, fellowship with your Savior, unity with those who kneel next to you.In all of this He comes, bringing in tow the gift of the cross, making your hands clean and your hearts pure.  He comes blessing you with His righteousness that allows you to stand in the holy place of God and ascend the hill of the Lord.  Jesus is your God of salvation, and He comes to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Who may ascend Mount Zion’s holy hill To do God’s will?  The One whose unstained hands Can meet the Law’s demands, Whose purity within Reveals One free from  sin.  Come, praise this King who claims the cross as throne– Praise Him alone!  (LSB 339:3)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/23/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:32-34Daily Lectionary: Exodus 5:1-6:1, Mark 15:33-47[Jesus said,] “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.  And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him.  And after three days he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus is leading His disciples to Jerusalem.  This may sound like a simple and unimportant point, but it holds more meaning than what we first might assume.  For it is God who leads His people along the Way.  While it may seem sometimes as if we are wandering aimlessly through this Vale of Tears, it is our Lord who is always in front of us, leading us to the cross.  And what better time to be reminded of this than two days before Holy Week when we will be led from Palm Sunday all the way to Good Friday and the place of our salvation?  …  Now back to the text…It is interesting that some who are following Jesus are amazed and excited while others are afraid.  Judging by what happens immediately following our text, of which we heard about last Sunday, it would seem as if those who were amazed were the Twelve.  They still don’t understand what it means that Jesus is the Messiah.  They still don’t quite grasp the enormity of what is about to transpire in only a few days, even though Jesus has already told them.And so He tells them again.  And perhaps we should take note of this.  The most important thing that Jesus ever did, the whole purpose for Him becoming incarnate and taking on human flesh, is so that He can go to the cross and die for the sins of the world.  …  The sinner in us often gets tired of hearing about the cross.  We want the glory without the suffering.  We want the “Now what?” after Good Friday.  But without Good Friday nothing else matters.  Without Good Friday all the “Now what’s,” in the world are pointless.So gird your loins my brothers and sisters.  Next week Jesus is once again leading you to the cross, so that He can once again tell you everything that He has done for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Then, for all that wrought my pardon, For Thy sorrows deep and sore, For Thine anguish in the Garden, I will thank Thee evermore, Thank Thee for Thy groaning, signing, For Thy bleeding and Thy dying, For that last triumphant cry, And shall praise Thee, Lord, on high.  (LSB 420:7)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/22/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 21, 2024 Today's Reading: The CreedDaily Lectionary: Exodus 4:19-31, Mark 15:16-32Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. (The Second Article:  Part Two)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Second Article of the Creed is about Jesus, it is about Jesus for you.  It is the salvation story simplified into the smallest little paragraph.  …  God took on human flesh, He incarnated Himself to be one of us.  He stepped out of the glories of heaven, the vast everythingness and everywhereness of His infinite omni-ness and He placed Himself as the smallest speck within a virgin’s fallopian tubes, all so that He could float down into her uterus and be one of us, one with us in every way.Out of the womb and into the fallen world; perfect God yet perfect man.  The Law ever before Him, ever being fulfilled in every active way imaginable, passively crossing every single “t” and dotting every single “i” in perfection.  Jesus standing as Israel, God’s son, before the Father:  Israel as Israel should have been (perfect) and Israel as Israel truly was (sinful):  The paradox of the Gospel as Jesus stands as both perfect sacrifice and at the same time, sin itself.Then off to the place of purchase and triumph, Calvary and Golgotha, wallet full of a priceless currency that doesn’t glisten like gold or silver, but instead pulsates with the blood-red vibrancy that courses through His veins.  …  Perfect Lamb led to the slaughter so that His blood could cleanse us from all our sins.  Innocent as only God can be, yet held guilty for every last crime of humanity.  All sins forgiven, all shame remitted.  Death killed and laid to rest in His tomb.  Satan’s head crushed by a nail-pierced heel.In fancy theological talk we call this “The Great Exchange”, for that is what Jesus did for humanity every step of the way.  What is His is now exchanged for what was ours:  sins for righteousness, death for life, dirty shame for a clean conscience.  …  All of this culminates next week on Good Friday, when Jesus cries out, “It is finished!”  And for the sake of Christ, it is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer, Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer.  All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o’er us:  Have mercy on us, O Jesus!  O Jesus!  (LSB 434:1)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/21/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:1-18, Mark 15:1-15And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:9-10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You hear a lot of priestly stuff and temple stuff and tabernacle stuff in the book of Hebrews.  It can be a little overwhelming and perhaps even a little confusing for those of us who are not as well versed in the Old Testament as we should be.  So at risk of over simplifying it all, let’s just say that the writer of Hebrews is showing us how Jesus fulfills the entirety of the Old Testament; and He does so for you.Jesus is a priest.  We have all heard that before, but He isn’t a priest in the normal order of priesthood.  He doesn’t come from the line of Levi.  His umpteenth great grandfather wasn’t Aaron.  And so He isn’t a priest like we would see in the temple.  Don’t get me wrong, He has some similarities with the Levitical priesthood, namely standing as a mediator between God and His people, but there are some differences as well.  And the major difference is that Jesus is an eternal priest, whereas all the rest were merely temporal.But there is more…  Melchizedek was the king of Salem.  His name means “King of Righteousness” and His title means “King of peace”.  For Jesus to be a priest in this order means that He is an eternal priest who eternally brings righteousness and peace to His people.  …  Priests stand as mediators.  They stand in the stead of God for the people and in the stead of the people for God.  This Jesus does more perfectly than any priest in the order of Aaron because every other priest had to first offer sacrifices for his own sins, but not Jesus.Jesus only offers a sacrifice for us, for you.  And opposite the Levitical sacrifices, which were made up of bulls and goats and rams and lambs, perpetually and habitually being slaughtered day and night, Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all.  He, the priest, He, the sacrifice.  He, in the order of Melchizedek, He, in the order of the Passover Lamb.  …  Jesus gives you gifts as your High Priest and those gifts stem from His sacrifice on the cross.  So receive from your kingly priest the gifts He has for you:  life, salvation, and forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.They rise and needs will have  My dear Lord made away; A murderer they save, The Prince of Life they slay.  Yet cheerful He  To stuff’ring goes That He His foes From thence might free.  (LSB 430:5)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/20/20244 minutes, 48 seconds
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St. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus

March 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:23-3:22, Mark 14:53-72And [Joseph] rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.  This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” (Matthew 2:14-15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is it too much to say that fathers are important, that fathers matter, that there is a difference between men and women, and a distinction to be made between the role they play in raising children and nurturing the next generation?  Not too long ago all of that would have been simple and easy to proclaim, almost as if it is woven into the fabric of God’s good nature.   But times change, things get weird, people go a little bonkers and so perhaps it is good to take the time to think about these things every once and awhile.So are fathers important?  God certainly seems to think they are.  So much so, that He made sure that His Son had a defender, a protector, a guardian.  And this great champion of Jesus, this guardian of Christ, was none other than Joseph: a devout and merciful man who before the visit from the angel had decided to divorce his betrothed in private so that the crowds wouldn’t smash her head with rocks until she and the baby inside of her were dead.And so I suppose it says something about the nature of fathers that our Heavenly Father made sure His Son had an earthly father, not a second mother, not a family friend, not a bigger brother or a kindly uncle, but a father.  And in our text for today Joseph fulfills one of the most important duties of the vocation of fatherhood, and that is to protect his children.So down to Egypt Joseph races with his bride and his son, all so that the prophet Hosea could be fulfilled, all so that Jesus didn’t die in the streets of Bethlehem at the hands of Herod.  God provided His Son an earthly father so that Joseph could make sure that Jesus made it to the cross.  …  I know that seems weird, but how else could we look at it?  Jesus needed to fulfill the Law in our stead and then die as a sacrifice on the cross for our forgiveness and our Heavenly Father partly used Jesus’ earthly father to accomplish that.  …  So let us give thanks to our Heavenly Father for Joseph, the Guardian of our Lord.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We sing our thanks for Joseph, The guardian of our Lord, Who faithfully taught Jesus Through craft and deed and word.  Grant wisdom, Lord, and patience To parents ev’rywhere Who guide and teach the children Entrusted to their care (LSB 517:14)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/19/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-37Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-22, Mark 14:32-52And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  If you remember anything about Jeremiah you will remember that this guy loves to weep.  Day and night tears streamed down his face, not because he was a cry baby, but because of the grief that he bore over the people of Israel, the nation of Judah.  And because Jeremiah was God’s prophet, his tears were God’s tears.  …  Remember, the people were in exile and this was all from their own doing.  For generation upon generation they had played footsie with other gods, batted eyes with foreign idols, and found themselves in the backseat of Baal’s car.Their sin was idolatry, First Commandment stuff, but it was often expressed in terms of the Sixth Commandment because YHWH was their true Bridegroom that they had spurned.  Jeremiah and the many prophets before him had constantly warned the people of their idolatrous adultery, but the people never listened.  And so now they find themselves in Babylon, Jerusalem destroyed, Temple torn to the ground.  Things couldn’t get any worse.  They had broken the covenant God had made with them and now they reap the fruit of their labor.But mystery of all mysteries, God is not yet finished with them.  Like an ever faithful husband He promises to make another covenant with them.  Not like the old one cut with the blood of bulls and goats, but a new one cut with the blood of a firstborn Lamb.  It is this covenant that will last forever, that will never be broken.  And the knowledge of the Lord will be written on their hearts, on your hearts, because He will forgive their iniquity in Christ and remember their sin no more because of the sacrifice of His Son.And this promise of God will be yours until the eternal vastness of the heavens can be measured, which is just His way of saying, “This covenant in Christ will never end.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain, Sinners, ruined by the fall; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows for you, for me, for all, In a full, perpetual tide, Opened when our Savior died.  They that drink shall live forever; ‘Tis a soul renewing flood.  God is faithful; God will never Break His covenant of blood, Signed when our Redeemer died, Sealed when He was glorified.  (LSB 435:1,4)-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/18/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Sunday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22, Mark 14:12-31[Jesus said,] “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43b-45)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, otherwise known as the sons of Thunder for their boisterous and blustery natures, come to Jesus with a request.  Actually, it isn’t so much a request as a demand.  (Isn’t that just like the sinner to demand that God does something for him?)  Well, anyway, they want to sit at Jesus’ right and left when He comes in glory.  Now I know that we are supposed to put the best construction on everything, but I’m pretty sure that the only reason that they ask this is because they assume that Jesus’ glory is going to look like a throne and a crown and a scepter of might and a courtroom of servants for as far as the eye can see, and they want to get in on the action.  Goodness, I most certainly would!!!Ah, the sinner and his narrow understanding of greatness…  Jesus sits down these two thunderous brothers (and us while He’s at it) and teaches them/us a better way:  To be first is to be a slave.  To be great is to be a servant.    For you see, greatness isn’t measured by how many people have bowed before you, but by how many people you have bowed before.But lest we think that Jesus is laying out for us a path of greatness that we must walk, He would instead have us know where His true glory is to be found.  He is making His way to Jerusalem; in fact, it is in the very next chapter.  And from there He will ride His humble mule of a mount all the way to the cross.  For it is at the cross where true greatness is found.  It is at the cross where Jesus’ glory is put on full and gruesome display.  Broken servant-body hanging derelict for you.  The blood of a slave gushing forth to cover all your sins.In the weakness of the cross is where we find the greatness of our God.  And that is not a greatness that we must earn, instead it is a greatness that we may freely receive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/17/20244 minutes, 35 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 16, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 116:1-4, 8; antiphon: Psalm 43:1 Daily Lectionary: Genesis 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.”  (Mark 14:6-8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine what it must have looked like: everyone is gathered around having a civilized dinner with this fascinating teacher, then this woman bursts in and breaks her jar of oil and pours it on His head. You can picture the stuttered incredulity, yet she is presumably unfazed, even in the face of a scolding over her wastefulness. The Bible has a great deal to say about care for the poor, and with this backdrop it seems perfectly reasonable that people would be concerned about this woman’s waste of three hundred denarii, as that was almost a year’s wages. One expects Jesus to whole-heartedly agree with their concern, yet Jesus commends her, calling her act beautiful, and declaring that wherever the Gospel is proclaimed in the world this story will be told in memory of her. Funny that despite that Mark seemingly still forgot her name. Jesus sees and understands the devotion of the woman in Bethany. Her actions are not frivolous, rather they are an unrestrained act of worship. She also recognizes the urgency of the moment, as Jesus will soon die, and dedicates her savings to the care for Jesus’ body. This is really an extraordinary thing, as one can surely understand dedicating your savings to a cause that will continue, then it seems like more of an investment, but to dedicate your savings to anointing a soon dead messiah is foolishness. Yet the woman in Bethany brings what she has and willingly pours it all out for Jesus. She has a job to do, worship to offer, love to bring to the soon crucified king, with no time for concerns about practicalities. With these actions she places His death in the center of her own life, literally pouring out her savings to honor it, and in this way shows us all the meaning of discipleship. As we begin to turn our faces toward Golgotha, we too have an opportunity to contemplate what it means to honor the body poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. We do not honor Jesus by somehow trying to pay Him back, but by receiving the gifts in His body and blood as He has ordained, and perhaps we can consider the delicious impracticality of clinging to that promise.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest Friend,  For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?  O make me Thine forever!  And should I fainting be,  Lord, let me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee. (LSB 450:5) -Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/16/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 13:24-37Daily Lectionary: Genesis 47:1-31, Genesis 48:1-49:28, Mark 13:24-37But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.\ (Mark 13: 32-33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a cottage industry dedicated to deciphering the signs and learning when Jesus will appear, and unsurprisingly it makes people a lot of money. Yet, oddly enough despite protracted explanations about how various verses can be used to predict the precise date of Christ’s return, these verses are rarely addressed. Jesus couldn’t be clearer, no one knows the day or the hour, so people should quit using the Bible like a magic decoder ring that will tell them exactly when. Instead of looking for signs to give us a timeline, we should simply always be prepared for His return. How do we do that? By staying awake. Jesus doesn’t mean we should undergo a rigorous diet of sleep deprivation, instead He is saying that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be distracted by all the cares and comforts of this world and lured away from Him. It’s easy to forget, especially living with the abundance with which many are accustomed, that we rely on God for all our needs of body and soul. As a result of this abundance many think that the life we have is ours to possess and control. It’s easy to let our souls shrink as we fritter our lives away on silly, meaningless things, complaining of boredom, and grumbling about the neighbors we have been given to care for. Yet Jesus says to stay awake and be on guard because the days are evil. We certainly see this in all the things that lull us into numbed distraction. Like a person walking across the street staring at their phone, we amble through our lives, unaware of all the dangers that assail us. These distractions aren’t always obvious things, sometimes it’s things that simply rob us of gratitude and cultivate our grumbling. Instead of cultivating anxious grumbling, our wakefulness cultivates a hopeful longing, awaiting the day when we can bow to our merciful judge who brings healing and restoration with Him. Just as we would stay awake in eager anticipation of a loved one’s long-expected late-night return, we await our Lord’s return. And however joyous our loved one’s return might be, think how much more joyous that glorious day will be. What a reason to stay awake to watch and pray.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The clouds of judgment gather, The time is growing late; Be sober and be watchful, Our judge is at the gate: The judge who comes in mercy, The judge who comes in mightTo put an end to evil  And diadem the right. (LSB 513:1)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/15/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 14, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 13:1-23Daily Lectionary: Genesis 45:1-20, 24-28; Mark 13:1-23And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. (Mark 13:7-8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. War is so terrible that even a rumor of it brings a particular anxiety. This is no less true today, when a threat of war between nuclear powers brings the dread of annihilation on a scale the world has never seen. We can turn on the news and see war fully underway in various parts of the world, from Europe to the Middle East, and calls for world peace seem like a cliched punchline to a bad joke. For much of the world, war is a constant part of daily lives, causing suffering that is physical, economic, and emotional, and so it can in a very literal sense feel like the end of the world. Since the 1980’s a certain type of false teachers took to reading the Bible as a sort of code to decipher world events, and each new outbreak of war would be a signal to them that the end was coming. At times it felt a little like apocalyptic prophecy BINGO: after a certain set of criteria would be hit, that was it, it meant Jesus was coming any day now. Of course, all these prophetic declarations fell short because there are always wars and rumors of war. They’re ubiquitous in a world stricken with sin and death. Jesus here isn’t giving us a roadmap, so we know how close we are to arriving at his second coming. Instead He is telling us that the trouble in the world doesn’t happen outside of the knowledge or power of God, but the trouble is part of the pathway to the joy of His return. It’s no accident He uses the metaphor of birth pangs—labor is hard, it’s messy, it can feel like death is approaching, but it is the approach of new life entering this world. Similarly, our trials are far from the approaching drumbeat of death but are the signs by which we can know that true, full, and abundant life is making its way into the world. They remind us to look to the glorious appearing of our Lord, who promises to return and, in the words of Tolkien, make all the sad things come untrue. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our way In fear and tribulation   O hear and grant our fervent plea: Come, mighty judge, and set us free  From death and ev’ry evil. (LSB 508:7)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/14/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 12:28-44Daily Lectionary: Genesis 44:1-18, 32-34; Mark 12:28-44And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is the social media trend of “boy math” versus “girl math” but here we are introduced to “Jesus math.” Jesus doesn’t math correctly, and this is a repeated problem with Him. He leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one, He insists that the greatest is actually least in His kingdom, that the least is greatest, and here He is saying that a woman who didn’t give enough to cover a single bulletin put more in than all the rich people whose offerings were surely exponentially more than hers. A truly ludicrous assertion. The rich give out of their abundance, meaning their leftovers, and probably not enough to feel a bit of a financial pinch. In contrast, the widow gives out of her poverty, which means her gift is a sign of her hope and expectation, she literally puts her money where her mouth is regarding her trust in God’s provision. Presumably the widow is not a fool and knows that the money she gave was all she had to live on, but she trusted that her Lord would provide all that she needed to support this body and life. The lesson here is not a formula for how to give to your church, Jesus is not commanding everyone to give all they have to the church, risking starvation and homelessness. Rather He’s again showing that in worldly abundance there is poverty, in poverty there is abundance, and with our eyes it’s often hard to see which is which. Often we’re at the end of our ropes emotionally, financially, spiritually, and feel as if we have nothing to give, and wonder how we’ll find the strength to do the things we know we should. With the widow we can be comforted that when we give what we have out of our poverty of money, time, or emotional well-being, it is blessed, not measured for quantity, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Seek first God’s reign, His boundless grace,  His holy name in all you do:Christ first and last in ev’ry place;  All else will then be given you. (LSB 736: 6)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/13/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10Daily Lectionary: Genesis 43:1-28, Mark 12:13-27But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. But God...those are powerful six letters. Paul here tells us exactly what our condition is, in no uncertain terms. We are dead, and we’re dead because of our trespasses. What are our trespasses? Those are all the big and small ways we’ve broken God’s law: failing to love Him, failing to love our neighbors, putting ourselves first, serving the desires of our sinful hearts, and maybe even justifying all this sin under some delusion of self-righteousness. These trespasses don’t just leave us crippled, injured, or weak, instead they kill us. We’re entirely captive to them, just as a dead person is entirely captive to death and can do nothing to free herself. Think of it like Lazarus, stinking and rotting in his tomb, certainly unable to walk out under his own steam, but was freed from death by the call of Jesus. We are similarly bound up in our grave clothes of sin, and our God, who is rich in mercy and love, calls to us by name, very often for the first time at the font, telling us to come out of our graves. Despite our stinking corpses of sin, He loves us and calls us His own, and makes us alive in Him. His intervention into our deaths is not some spiritual potpourri to cover the smell and make us look a little more presentable, instead when God makes us alive, He is breathing new life into us just as He breathed life into creation by His Word. His Word of grace brings true life to all the dead places destroyed by sin. All of this He does for you by grace. He doesn’t bring you life and treasures eternal because you did something to earn it or warrant it, after all God owes none of us anything, but because He is a God of love and mercy, He seeks to bring peace where there is affliction, grace where there is only condemnation, life where there is death. Your God has called you His own, made you His own, and will raise you up with Him, not because of who you are, but because of who He is. Thanks be to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Salvation unto us has come  By God’s free grace and favor;  Good works cannot avert our doom, They help and save us never.  Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,  Who did for all the world atone;  He is our one Redeemer. (LSB 555:1)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/12/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 11, 2024Today's Reading: Numbers 21:4-9Daily Lectionary: Genesis 42:1-34, 38; Mark 12:1-12And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live. (Numbers 21:8-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Looking at a bronze serpent is not medicine and is not the surgeon general’s recommended treatment for snake bite. Yes, even the people in the time of Moses knew this; contrary to popular belief ancient people were not stupid. Moses is not giving us or his people a cure for snake bite though, he is giving them a cure for something much deeper. The reason the Israelites needed a cure for the snakes that plagued them is because the Lord set snakes into their camp in response to their grumbling. They had just been rescued from slavery in Egypt, had seen any number of mighty acts of God in service of their deliverance, and yet saw fit to grumble not just about the lack of food, but even questioning why they had been rescued from Egypt for this. Ingratitude is fertile ground for sin, because it turns us away from God and towards our own sense of entitlement. God doesn’t send serpents into their camp just because He was mad that they didn’t say thank you enough, like that relative who always keeps a record of holiday thank you cards, but because they were reminiscing about their time in Egypt. It is easy to see a life in obedience and reliance on God as a deprivation, at times it seems like others have it so much easier, or at least have a whole Sunday morning to sleep in. But God is reminding the Israelites (and us) that people do learn to love their chains, and that captivity can look like liberation, but liberation comes at trust in His Word. This is why in response to their repentance in the face of poisonous snakes, He gives them a sign of their affliction attached to a word of promise. The healing from the fruit of their sin came from trust in the promise that all who looked on the snake would live, not in the snake itself. So it is with us, as we look not to a bronze serpent, but to the wages of our own sin poured out on Jesus and His death, trusting in the promise that by death He has overcome death for us.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus grant that balm and healing  In Your holy wounds I find,  Ev’ry hour that I am feelingPains of body and of mind.  Should some evil thought within Tempt my treach’rous heart to sin, Show the peril and from sinning  Keep me from its first beginning. (LSB 421:1)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/11/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Sunday of the Fourth Week in Lent

March 10, 2024Today's Reading: John 3:14-21 Daily Lectionary: Genesis 41:28-57, Mark 11:20-33Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believed are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:17-18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus does not come to the world for condemnation, but for salvation, rescue from sin, death and the devil. For many people the name of Jesus sounds like condemnation and judgment, so it is met with anger. This happened too in Jesus’ day, some people rejoiced at the gifts He freely gave from physical healing, bread, deliverance from demons, to forgiveness of sin itself, while others recoiled at these gifts, declaring the words and actions of the only Son of God blasphemous. How ironic is that, to accuse God of blasphemy? Yet to the spirit of the age, whether our age or theirs in the first century, Jesus is indeed blasphemous. This spirit of the age would tell us many things, like we don’t need salvation because we’re great just the way we are so we really only need acceptance, not forgiveness. Or the spirit of the age may declare that there are many paths to salvation, all equally warranted, a religious ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ of sorts. Or the spirit of the age may declare that salvation can come to the world if we band together and work hard enough to save it all. To sheep without a shepherd any degree of shepherding can feel like condemnation, even if the Good Shepherd is there for rescue not punishment. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who has come to us for salvation not condemnation, and the way to receive this salvation is to believe in the name of the Son of God. To believe in the name of Jesus means to believe in everything He says and does and shows us regarding the character of God. It means believing that we all need rescuing from sin, death, and the devil, and that it is in God’s nature to provide us with that rescue. Our sins condemn us, but only inasmuch as we wrestle them away from Jesus to fix them ourselves, instead of surrendering them in faith in His promise of forgiveness. Jesus has come into the world to save sinners, and that is good news for all who place themselves in that number. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/10/20245 minutes, 2 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week in Lent

March 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 27:3-5; antiphon: Psalm 27:1Daily Lectionary: Genesis 41:1-27, Mark 11:1-19The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Have you ever watched a scary movie then that night had innocuous things in your bedroom transform into something creepy and sinister? Suddenly that chair in the corner becomes something much darker, the creaking pipes sound like footsteps in the hallway, and on it goes until you either talk some sense to yourself, turn on the light, or completely give way to fear and resign yourself to sleeplessness. Because of a mixture of darkness and imagination, a place of safety and rest becomes the habitat of various monsters that are probably under the bed or in the closet. Fear is powerful. Fear can lead us to see things that aren’t there, take actions to protect ourselves that look silly in the light of day, and can lead us to put the worst possible construction on our neighbor’s actions. There’s a reason people say you shouldn’t yell “fire!” in a crowded theater—and it’s not because people are concerned that the occupants of the theater will quietly exit, but rather because they will panic and cause harm to themselves or others. Fear is a strong motivation to make many ill-informed choices, and people know this. So much of our cultural and information landscape now is constructed to make people afraid, we even have a word for mindlessly scrolling on our phones, sucked into increasingly bad news: doomscrolling. Fear holds us captive, and it is easy to begin to take counsel of it, using fear as a justification for greed, lovelessness, and despair. When we are formed by fear it is difficult to see the goodness and provision of the Lord, and to feel utterly lost in the doom and the darkness.But God interrupts our doomscrolling to tell us a different story, a story where we need not be afraid. The LORD is our light, entering into that darkness, where we see monsters under the bed or on our social media, and disperses the shadows. We can rest in that comfort and joy, that though there surely are monsters in this world, and it may look a bit like they are winning, the greatest of these monsters has already been defeated. Salvation is ours, the victory has been won, and our lives are secure in the Lord’s stronghold. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O little flock, fear not the foe  Who madly seeks your overthrow;  Dread not his rage and pow’r.And though your courage sometimes faints,  His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints  Lasts but a little hour. (LSB 666:1)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/9/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week in Lent

March 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 10:32-52Daily Lectionary: Genesis 40:1-23, Mark 10:32-52But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In today’s reading we come across the disciples who are once again bickering, frustrated that James and John are asking to be seated at Jesus’ left and right hands in His glory. This raises a question of how to achieve greatness in the new kingdom Jesus is inaugurating. Jesus once again subverts expectations by contrasting how the world works and how His kingdom works. He reminds them that for the Gentiles greatness is marked by rulers who exercise their power for the control and submission of those below them. This is the way of the world, and it’s natural to assume that in God’s economy power dynamics would look similar to the world’s. Yet exactly the opposite is true, as Jesus indicates, greatness among them comes through service, which requires a relinquishing of power and control. Service comes from a love for others, a recognition of their needs, and response to fulfill their needs. This service is largely invisible to the world, and when it is seen, it doesn’t look like anything particularly spectacular and laudatory, which is probably precisely the point. Instead it comes in small moments, not grand gestures. Service comes at an emptying of ourselves, our own comfort, ego, desires, plans, and instead is a voluntary submission to our neighbor’s needs, only to be really seen, understood, or acknowledged by our Father in heaven. Because of how unspectacular this greatness is to our eyes, it’s easy to miss those who are living quiet, sanctified lives, serving their neighbors.  Think of how Jesus serves us. First, He serves us with a criminal’s shameful death, then He gives us the forgiveness won there in spoken words, splashes of water, a sip of wine and a bit of bread. It doesn’t look spectacular, and sometimes it doesn’t even feel spectacular, at times even boring and mundane. But this is where we access the greatness of Jesus’ kingdom, because only after we have been served by Him, being washed in His mercy and forgiveness, can we see rightly our needs that are met only in Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, greatest at the table,  The almighty Son of Man,  Laid aside His outer clothing,Poured some water in a pan;  As the Twelve lay, hushed in silence, He the servant’s task began. (LSB 446:1)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/8/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week in Lent

March 7, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 10:13-31Daily Lectionary: Genesis 39:1-23, Mark 10:13-31It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:25-27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  It is natural that when we find a hard word from Jesus that we try to find the loophole. The saying about the camel and the eye of the needle is an example—people find many creative ways to explain why it doesn’t mean what it says. For example I remember hearing that the “eye of a needle” was a special gate into Jerusalem, and camels couldn’t go through it while they were piled high with the things they often carried for travelers, so the trick was to take off the camel’s saddle and provisions. So what Jesus really means here is that we can have stuff, we just shouldn’t be too attached to it. It’s a nice story, but it’s completely made up, to, again, find us a loophole around the clear saying of Jesus. It’s harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Well, maybe the Good News is this doesn’t apply to you or me because we aren’t rich. It’s not as if any of us is Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos building rockets into space for fun with our spare change. Most of us are more in the bracket of people who still watch the fluctuating gas prices and food prices with trepidation. Surely, we’re not rich, so we’ve escaped this word of condemnation. Sorry, but if you had something to eat today, you’re richer than vast swathes of the world’s population. There aren’t many people in the world this warning doesn’t apply to. It’s okay if that troubles you, it troubled the apostles as well. Do you see how they respond, immediately recognizing the implications of Jesus’ statement? They wonder if this is the standard then who could possibly be saved. But Jesus does what Jesus so often does, instead of pointing us to a path to save and sanctify ourselves by keeping the Law, instead He points to the goodness and mercy of God. It is impossible for us to keep the Law, try as we might. But behold, with God the impossible becomes possible. Just as the lame walk, the dead rise, and the sinful are forgiven, you are saved not by your poverty but by the overflowing prosperity of God’s exceeding mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now my conscience is at peace; From the Law I stand acquitted. Christ hath purchased my releaseAnd my ev’ry sin remitted.  Naught remains my soul to grieve;  Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609:6)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/7/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent

March 6, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 10:1-12Daily Lectionary: Genesis 37:1-36, Mark 10:1-12And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” (Mark 10:2-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  This is one of those hard passages of Scripture that makes people cringe at how out of date Jesus is. Surely Jesus isn’t telling us that divorce is unlawful, because Jesus understands that we all live in the real world. Even Moses and the Pharisees understood this reality, so surely Jesus would provide a little more leeway. But Jesus claps back, informing them that the only reason Moses allowed for the “certificate of divorce” loophole was because of their hardness of heart. Jesus doesn’t take the easy way out and try to untangle the legal mess, instead He points out that the primary issue here is the hardness of heart in regard to the will of God. Hard hearts are not receptive to the will of God, which means they cause us to sin, cause others to sin against us, and cause us to compound each other’s sins. Hard hearts are not hearts softened by the Word of God, cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.  Instead of treating each other according to the fruit of the Spirit, even in our marriages, hard hearts have marriages shaped by the works of the flesh marked by such things as idolatry, sexual immorality, jealousy, enmity, anger, etc. It’s easy to see why marriages formed this way would lead to divorce. Yet, it’s also clear that this supposed loophole isn’t really a loophole at all. This is because the answer to the fruits of our hard hearts and prevalent sin is not a loophole in the Law that we can claim to avoid accountability. In the face of God’s Law the answer is not a good lawyer to argue our case, pull some fancy legal maneuver, and get us acquitted on a technicality. No. The answer to the Law’s condemnation, to the hardness of all of our hearts, is to plead our guilt, and beg the mercy of our judge. But thanks be to God it is His joy to have mercy on His beloved in the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.On my heart imprint Your image  Blessed Jesus, King of grace,That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures  Never may Your work erase;Let the clear inscription be: Jesus crucified for me,Is my life, my hope’s foundation, and my glory and salvation (LSB 422)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/6/20244 minutes, 59 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent

March 5, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31Daily Lectionary: Genesis 35:1-29, Mark 9:33-50But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Shame is pervasive, and many of us wrestle with it. Shame has strange ways of revealing itself, sometimes as anxiety, sometimes as anger, sometimes it looks like perfectionism and a need to please all the people around us. Shame is much more deeply rooted than simple embarrassment; instead of saying “I did something terrible” it says, “I am terrible.” Shame becomes tangled in our self-identity, driving how we see ourselves and how we see our place in the world. Those who experience shame imagine that no one could understand how bad they are, not the wise and strong of the world, and certainly not our God, because shame feels like a weakness, an earned disfigurement. In contrast there are the wise and strong of our age, people who seem to have it all together, who made all the right choices, who are shining examples of success and well-being. Paul tells us that God chose what is weak and foolish in the world to shame the wise and strong, because even they will inevitably run to the end of their own strength and wisdom, shocked to find it in fleeting supply. This is the true place of shame, the truly earned disfigurement is a life shaped by one’s own limited power and wisdom that leaves no place for the mercy of God. In response to our shame and weakness God’s mercy is inextricably poured out in abundance in countless ways. Here Saint Paul shows us that gospel-land is backwards-land. Let me say that again. Gospel-land is backwards-land. In the reign of Jesus, the world looks like the last being first, the first being last, the weak being strong, the rich sent away empty. In God’s economy the foolishness of Christmas and Easter conquer the seemingly insurmountable powers of death and hell. Jesus doesn’t conquer as we expect a king to conquer, instead He conquers as a helpless baby and a crucified victim. Today He conquers in a bit of water, bread and wine, His Word. It’s foolish to think these things could conquer a bingo game in a nursing home, much less the powers of sin and hell arrayed against us each day, yet this is the promise of our God. Our God takes the dead and makes them alive, He takes the shame of the cross and makes it a throne, He takes our shame and calls us beloved, He takes sinners and makes them saints.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.When the woes of life o’er take me,  Hopes deceive, and fears annoyNever shall the cross forsake me;   Lo, it glows with peace and joy. (LSB 427:2)-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/5/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week in Lent

March 4, 2024 Today's Reading: Exodus 20:1-17Daily Lectionary: Genesis 29:1-30, 31-34, Mark 9:14-32I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Exodus 20:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today’s reading is the Ten Commandments. Honestly, this section of Scripture can be a bit of a hard slog, where God is viewed as the great cosmic killjoy, setting out the rules we are to follow to keep Him happy. And as we try to follow these rules sometimes it can seem deeply unfair, as the harder we try the worse it can get, as we try to white-knuckle our way to holiness. And when we inevitably fail and mess up, we seemingly receive little consolation in God’s declaration that He’s a jealous God who will punish the children for the iniquity of their parents (Exodus 20:5). None of this seems fair at all. Then the temptation can be to maybe ignore some of the rules, perhaps God didn’t really mean what he said? Or maybe major in the rules you know you can keep, downplaying the ones you can’t, and hoping no one will notice, least of all God. In all this wrestling with the Ten Commandments and our sinful nature though it’s easy to forget where God starts when He begins to speak. He does not say you are all a mess, and here’s a plan to clean up your life. Nor does He say you are all having too much fun and I’m jealous so I’m going to ruin it for you. He does the opposite, He tells us about His character and His love for His people. He is a God who rescues from bondage, from certain death, He is a God interested in the delivery of His people. Here, He reminds His people, very freshly delivered out of slavery in Egypt by God through the hands of Moses, that He is their rescuer, their protector, their guardian, who wants to keep them safe and free. It can be easy to look at the Law as a new form of bondage, and it certainly does serve to keep our sinful natures corralled, but we are not free when our sinful natures are liberated, we are free in our new life in Christ. In our Baptism we are rescued from the bondage of sin, as our old selves are drowned, and raised to live in new life. That new life sees the danger in letting our sinful selves run free, and rejoices in the freedom in Christ to live the life He has called us to. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne, Save by His grace through faith alone. (LSB 579:6) -Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.
3/4/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Sunday of the Third Week in Lent

March 3, 2024 Today's Reading: John 2:13-22 (23-25) Daily Lectionary: Genesis 27:30-45; 28:10-22; Mark 9:1-13Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. (John 2:19-21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The temple in Jerusalem that Jesus references here was originally built by Solomon, David’s son, and was central to the worship life of the Jewish people. It had, over the centuries, suffered destruction and desecration, but had finally been rebuilt to be even more grand than it had been in the days of Solomon. As Jesus’ detractors here say, it had been under reconstruction for forty-six years. That amount of time represents a great deal of money, sweat, and labor dedicated to refashioning the temple. Rebuilding the temple mattered because it was understood to be the place where God promised to dwell with His people and the reconstruction was considered a fulfillment of that promise.It makes sense to us that we would find God in the beautiful and magnificent, perhaps in a spectacular sunset or in a gorgeous building. Indeed, Christians have also built beautiful churches to house, direct, and inform our worship of God. Jesus is not saying here that beautiful buildings are wrong, but He does what He so often does—takes what seems very straightforward, that we should invest our time and money on constructing something beautiful for the worship of God, and reverses it. Instead of pointing to the temple as the central aspect of worship, as would perhaps be expected, He points to His body, a body which will soon be broken and killed, but on the third day rises in fulfillment of an even greater promise. Jesus is saying here that God’s promise to be with His people is no longer connected to a particular geographic spot or building but is instead connected to where His crucified and risen body is to be found. Where can we find Jesus’ body today? A beautiful church or cathedral is no guarantee of His presence; however, we can be assured of His body broken for us in the bread and wine of His Supper given to us. We can find His body in the two or three gathered in His name to receive His gifts. Look not to what you can see with your eyes for assurance of your God with you, but instead look for His body where it has promised to be for you. In the Name + of Jesus.O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. -Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people. 
3/3/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week in Lent

March 2, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 69:14-16; antiphon: Psalm 69:9 Daily Lectionary: Genesis 27:1-29, Mark 8:22-38Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. (Psalm 69:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever felt like God was silent? You cry it in the dead of night as the walls close in and yet it appears that there was no answer? Maybe you look around the world and you see all the suffering, chaos, and tragedy and wonder where God is amid this mess. Or maybe your life is not going the way you imagined it would at this point, it has not gone as planned, and when you look around you wonder if God is really there. Whoever is reading this, I do not know what your life looks like or where you have been, but I can imagine maybe you have cried out to God and pleaded for an answer as the Psalmist does here. Satan loves when we feel isolated and alone. He wants you to look for answers in other places. He wants you to turn to other means of spirituality. He wants you to search for answers in Astrology, different crystals, palm reading, and Tarot Cards, but God cannot be found in any of these places. God does not answer by means of these pagan practices; these are a false god. Instead, if you look for God’s answer, if you cry out, know that He has already answered. He has answered you in Christ. Jesus is the answer to you. Jesus is God’s yes. It is His assurance that He loves you, that He cares for you, and that He draws near to you. In Christ God turns toward you and He offers you forgiveness and mercy in your nights of anguish. When you look around the world and wonder where God is amid the mess you can look to the cross and see that He has taken on the suffering, chaos, and tragedy. So, when you are looking for an answer, I encourage you to look to God’s Word, visit your Pastor and receive forgiveness, attend the Divine Service and feast on the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the answer God gives out of His goodness and mercy. And it is found only in Christ, and it is good news for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, advocate on high, Sacrificed on Calv’rys altar,  Through Your priestly blood we cry:Hear our prayers, though they may falter;  Place them on Your Father’s throne as your own. (LSB 773:3)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people. 
3/2/20244 minutes, 23 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week in Lent

March 1, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 8:1-21Daily Lectionary: Genesis. 24:32-52, 61-67; Genesis 25:1-26:35; Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? (Mark 8:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There were numerous signs pointing to Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah. It always baffles me that they couldn’t see and they couldn’t hear; they were blinded by their own self-righteousness. Of course, on this side of the Resurrection we can see the signs clearly. Here Jesus points to twelve and seven loaves. Numbers with great significance for Israel, twelve being the twelve tribes, and seven being a number of completion and fulfillment. Yet, these Pharisees do not see what is before them, but you do. This Jesus at the end of Lent would bring about the fulfillment of the Scriptures. He would go to the cross, where He would be smitten, stricken, and afflicted. He would pour out His blood on the cross like a lamb led to the slaughter. He would be mocked, yet no objection would leave His mouth. There the sinless Son of God would take upon Himself the sin of the world. Not only does He fulfill the prophets, but He would fulfill the promise God made to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 and He would crush the head of Satan, and He would slam the door closed on death and open wide the graves. As we walk towards Holy Week, this remains at the center. Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, the one whom the prophets speak, is the Messiah in which all things find fulfillment and completion, including you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see Him dying on the tree! 'Tis the Christ by man rejected;yes, my soul, 'tis He, 'tis He! 'Tis the long-expected Prophet, David's Son, yet David's Lord;by His Son God now has spoken; 'tis the true and faithful Word.  (LSB 451:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
3/1/20243 minutes, 54 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week in Lent

February 29, 2024 Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 10th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Genesis 24:1-31, Mark 7:24-37You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (The 10th Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week the ninth commandment warned us from coveting our neighbors’ possessions, a real struggle and temptation in today’s materialistic society. The tenth commandment now turns not to possessions, but to relationships. Loneliness is an unspoken epidemic in our post COVID world. People spend more time interacting with people online than they do face to face. And even when they do, it's often hidden behind the guise of a screen on Facetime or Zoom, a counterfeit face to face interaction.  We have become a society of isolation, the barrier is no longer distance, but keyboards and screens. Authentic relationships can be hard to come by, so when you see others thriving, you may feel a twinge of jealousy seeing someone have something you don’t have.This jealousy could lead you to doing foolish things. The explanation of the tenth commandment suggests that this jealousy could lead you to essentially sabotaging other’s relationships. Gossiping, resentment, cruelty, pick your poison, coveting leads to all sorts of relational issues. So, once again it is important to guard yourself against coveting not only possessions, but other relationships and social circles. It isn’t wrong to desire relationships, it isn’t sinful to crave face to face interaction, but who you are friends with doesn’t define you. Your relationships are not where your identity is found. Instead look to Christ who meets you where you are at. He draws near to you even when others keep their distance. And he gives himself to you in His body and blood. It doesn’t get more personal than that. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;  Here would I touch and handle things unseen;Here grasp with firmer hand thee eternal face,  And all my weariness upon Thee lean.  (LSB 631:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/29/20244 minutes, 11 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent

February 28, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 7:1-23Daily Lectionary: Genesis 22:1-19, Mark 7:1-23What comes out of a person is what defiles them. (Mark 7:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It can be easy to blame your sin on other people, your circumstances, or even ignorance. But Jesus makes one thing clear in our reading, sin is a heart problem. No one causes you to sin, instead it is something that you are born with. It is ingrained in your DNA, woven into the fabric of your being. Sin has infected you like a disease, and on your own it is winning. It spreads from within, and out it comes. You gossip about friends, disobey your parents, watch pornography, oppose authority, and neglect the Word of God. Your heart is to blame for it all. Apart from God, your heart is hardened, like stone. But Jesus has something to say about that, while you are infected with sin, Jesus is the great physician. He treats you with His mercy, His grace, and His forgiveness. In Baptism He cleanses you, in the Lord’s Supper, He offers His body and blood as medicine, a balm for those who ache and hurt. Jesus treats the infection at its center, He takes that heart of stone and crushes it, and He replaces it with a heart of flesh, and while it was once stone, it now beats for God, and beats for service of neighbor. This new heart no longer looks inward towards itself, but toward all those in need. This new heart is one that is infectious with love. It pours our Christ to others. This new heart hates sin and loves righteousness. This new heart repents and receives forgiveness. This new heart grows in holiness and Christian maturity. For this new heart is from Jesus. And He has graciously given it to you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In Adam we have all been,  One huge rebellious man;   We all have fled that evening voice That sought us as we ran. (LSB 569:1) - Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/28/20244 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

February 27, 2024Today's Reading: Romans 5:1-11Daily Lectionary: Genesis 21:1-21, Mark 6:35-56Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Romans 5:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The first article of the Apostle’s Creed confesses that God is almighty, righteous, and just. We confess that “we should fear, love, and trust God above things.” (SC) Of course we know well what love and trust entails, we are quite familiar with those words, feelings, and how that looks in our lives. But what about fear? How often do we think about fearing God? Of course, this fear isn’t necessarily the kind of fear you have of spiders, heights, or the dark. Instead, it is a fear of awe, wonder, and reverence. It is a fear that comes with knowing you deserve God’s wrath. You know this feeling. It’s that little voice in your head that reminds you of the sins you have committed. It comes in the quiet of night, when you lie restless in bed counting the different marks on your bedroom ceiling. In the silence Satan whispers in your ears, “You are a sinner, and God hates sin, so God hates you.” It is the feeling of oppressive guilt, the kind that buries itself in the pit of your stomach. This is the fear of God, knowing that we are unworthy. If this is you, if you stare into your past fearing the wrath of God over your sins, I want you to read these words from Martin Luther in a Pastoral Letter from 1530, that speaks true to you who read this today: “When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: ‘I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also.’” (Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel) Dear Christian, the wrath of God has been satisfied by Christ on your behalf. Know that your sins have been forgiven, and when you find yourself in that still quiet place, rest well knowing that you rest in the mercy of God who loves you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness  My beauty are, my glorious dress;  Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,  With joy shall I lift up my head. (LSB 563:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/27/20244 minutes, 31 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week in Lent

February 26, 2024Today's Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Daily Lectionary: Genesis 18:1-15, Genesis 18:16-20:18, Mark 6:14-34 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham (Genesis 17:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Names are important. They give you identity. And many of you reading this have names that were picked specifically for you. Your parents may have agonized over picking the perfect name, or one with special meaning, or one that would tie you to past generations. Either way, your name makes you, you. Your name also ties you to a group of people, your family. This family that you are somewhat stuck with whether you like it or not. It’s true, our names bring with them a sense of identity. Even more so, God cares about names. God is in the business of giving people new names. Particularly those people in which He makes a covenant or in more modern terms, an agreement with. Here, we see God give Abraham and Sara new names and with it a promise. They are going to be made into a great nation, and this covenant is one that will be everlasting, it will be eternal. This is not the only instance in which we see God giving someone a new name, Jacob is given the name Israel, Cephas is named Peter, and Saul is renamed Paul. All of them have something in common, they believe the promises of God, and in so doing they are made righteous, they receive what God has to give. You too have received a new name. In Holy Baptism, God gives you His own name as the sign of the cross is placed upon your forehead and upon your heart, you are marked as one redeemed by Christ. Then, you are given the name of the Holy Trinity, you are baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The promises of God are given to you, and you receive them in faith. This means, you become an heir to all the things God has to give you. By receiving His name, you are adopted into the community of saints. By faith you receive forgiveness, life, and salvation. They belong to you in this eternal reality. These promises are for you here and now. So, there you have it, you have been given a new name. It’s what God does, and He does it for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Baptized into your name most holy,  O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I claim a place, though weak and lowly,  among your seed, your chosen host.  Buried with Christ and dead to sin,  your Spirit now shall live within. (LSB 590:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/26/20244 minutes, 30 seconds
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Sunday of the Second Week in Lent

February 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 8:27-38 Daily Lectionary: Genesis 16:1-9, 15-17:22; Mark 6:1-13Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 1989, the band Queen wrote a song that defined the world in which we live. The chorus goes as such, “I want it all, I want it now.” The message is clear, life is about the pursuit of wants and desires, scratching and clawing until you get what you want. So much of our lives center around personal success, achievement, and goals. Just go to the bookstore, and there are far more books set on self-improvement than self-sacrifice. It’s in this world the Christian strives to be faithful to the call of Christ, yet it is challenging because Christ calls us to something radically different. Queen’s creed may be “I want it all, and I want it now,” but Christ calls you to a different way, a way where your wants and desires take a back seat to the needs of others. Instead, Jesus calls you to deny yourself, and follow him. It's an unpopular topic, self-denial, in a world which revolves around instant gratification. It’s difficult to reject your own desires no matter how destructive they might be. Yet, Jesus calls us to a better way, He calls you to deny your sinful desires. And I don’t need to tell you which ones those are, you know them. And it might seem heavy, difficult, and demanding. But this is life and death. “What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” (Mark 8:35) Plus, as you follow Jesus carrying your cross, be reminded that His yoke is easy, and His burden light. We follow a Savior who has gone before us in suffering, who has brought purpose to suffering, and has sanctified suffering. Therefore, your suffering is not in vain, but instead it finds fulfillment in Jesus. So do not follow the ways of the world that cry to you, do not appease the world which asks, “what do you want, and when do you want it?” Sure, you could take it, you could burden yourself with the never-ending grind for wanting more and wanting it now. Or you could follow Jesus. You could reject the way of this world and embrace your cross of self-denial. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find it lighter than you expected. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. - Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/25/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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St. Matthias

February 24, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 11:25-30Daily Lectionary: Genesis 15:1-21, Mark 5:21-43All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus chose His apostles, and it is to these He revealed Himself to. He explained parables to them, He brought three of them with Him to the Transfiguration, and those same three with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He instructed them, and appeared to them after His Resurrection, then tasked them with continuing to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. They knew Jesus because they witnessed His ministry, His death, and His resurrection, and in turn we know them. They were the ones that Jesus chose and are the ones which were recorded. They went and preached great sermons, endured great resistance, and even died in some instances, remarkable deaths. Yet, their significance was found only in that they knew the Son, Jesus Christ. After Judas’ death, the disciples needed someone to replace him. So, they chose Mathias. We don’t know much about him, other than his mention as being chosen by the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. Yet, he was one of the twelve who knew Jesus, for he had been with him. He may not have been one of the original twelve, yet this unknown Apostle would go and proclaim the Gospel to many, and he would even be martyred for confessing the Christian faith.  This mostly unknown apostle was known only in so that he walked with Jesus, and proclaimed his death, resurrection, and ascension. It was revealed to him. So, what can we learn from Mathias? Notoriety is not what makes a Christian. It is Christ. You do not need to be well known, you do not need to be one of the names recorded, you do not need to be popular to confess Christ among your peers. All you need to do is know Jesus for who He is, which is the Messiah, the one who was crucified, died, resurrected and ascended. The Jesus who is coming back. Even if you never achieve fame or popularity, because you know the Son, the Father will know you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious God, as you emboldened your servant Mathias to spread your Gospel even unto death, may you also give us strength and courage to do the same. Amen. - Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/24/20244 minutes, 26 seconds
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Friday of the First Week in Lent

February 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Genesis 13:1-18, Genesis 14:1-24, Mark 5:1-20When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. (Mark 5:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today’s reading is one that could be a horror movie. A demon possessed man, crying out, cast from society, dwelling in the place of death, the tombs. Chains cannot hold him, chains cannot bind him, he is in agony. A horrific sight, indeed. It sort of recalls many modern horror films revolving around possession (hang with me). I used to watch these movies before I realized they were bad for me. And while watching them there was always a common theme. Evil was greater than God. Time after time there was someone acting in the name of Christ, and they were deemed to be utterly powerless. As if Christ Himself was powerless. Poor film making if you ask me. That is not what we encounter in today’s reading.As Jesus enters the scene, there is no match for Him. The demons tremble in fear at His presence and beg for mercy at His command. These demons do not battle against Him, but they bow before Him. This is not the Jesus of low budget horror films, this is Jesus, the Son of God and Lord of all. They obey His command. Evil is not greater than God, not in reality. Jesus comes to conquer over evil, and conquer He does. There is a beautiful irony here in this narrative. The demon possessed man dwells in the tombs, the place of death, no chain can hold him, and he cries out. Evil has got a hold of this man. But Jesus would go, and He would be chained. He would be crucified, and from the cross He would cry out. From there, He would go to the grave, yet the grave could not keep Him. Jesus uses the means of evil as His tools for victory. This is your God, and this is who loves you. Legions of evil cannot keep Him from you. Legions of sin cannot keep it from you. Legions of death cannot keep Him from you.  Thanks be to God, to the Lord of all creation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.At the name of Jesus  Ev'ry knee shall bow,  Ev'ry tongue confess Him  King of glory now.’Tis the Father’s pleasure  We should call Him Lord,  Who from the beginning  Was the mighty Word. (LSB 512:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/23/20244 minutes, 29 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week in Lent

February 22, 2024 Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 9th Commandment  Daily Lectionary: Genesis 11:27-12:20, Mark 4:21-41“You shall not covet your neighbor's house” (9th Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your friend got the new iPhone. You wish you had that, your phone is slow. It has a cracked screen, and the charger won’t work unless the cord is wiggled just right. It’s frustrating. If only you could have the new iPhone like your friend, then maybe life would be a little easier, a little less frustrating. Your friend is excited, understandably, and they tell you about how great it is, it has new features, and the camera is the best it has ever been. You feel that little pang in your stomach, it isn’t sickness, it’s envy. It leads you to start to have thoughts you wouldn’t want your friend to hear. Thoughts about how spoiled they are, how they get everything, and you get nothing, how everything is handed to them, how it isn’t fair. You have been there, I am sure. We live in a culture that is constantly using envy and greed to hook consumers. Envy is a great marketing tool, it plays off emotions, and it traps people into buying things they don’t need. But even more so, it causes us to sin, not only in disparaging those we are jealous of, but it reveals a deeper ailment, we are discontent with what God has given us. Of course, the Commandments are not there merely as rules, but also as protection. People make horrible decisions in the name of “keeping up with the Jones’” and enter crippling debt. But even more so, they look elsewhere to find contentment and fulfillment, and not to God who gives all good things. Guard yourselves against envy. It is a subtle yet dangerous attack on your trust in God. Satan loves to use this against you, and he does. Instead, find fulfillment in the Word of God and who has said you are, remembering that you are a baptized child of God who has received forgiveness, life, and salvation. Find contentment by giving thanks for all He has blessed you with, both great and small. And regularly be satisfied with the body and blood of Christ. Do not seek contentment in the things you do not have, but instead find peace and joy in the Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, you have given us all good things. Help us, we pray, to find contentment in what we have been given, and guard us from jealousy and covetousness, and in all things, bring us satisfaction in you. Amen. - Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/22/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week in Lent

February 21, 2024Today's Reading: Mark 4:1-20Daily Lectionary: Genesis 8:13-9:17, Genesis 9:18-11:26The sower sows the word. (Mark 4:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever felt like it was your job to convert someone? Whether it be a family member, a friend, or even a random stranger? It is easy to fall into. We feel responsible for saving others, as ones who have been redeemed by faith in Christ, we cannot help but not be concerned for the eternal fate of others. So, we set out to convert. We strive to sway, convince, and even persuade people to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We argue, debate, and provide evidence in the face of skepticism and unbelief. We then find ourselves bearing the burden of failure when the Word is rejected. Maybe you have found yourself with this burden and guilt. You might have a friend you have invited to church over and over, they finally agreed to come, and when they came they didn’t have a miraculous conversion but instead they said, “thanks, but no thanks.” Or maybe it’s a cousin, they don’t know Jesus, and no matter how many times you share your faith with them, they sort of brush it off, or change the subject. No matter the case, no matter the rejection, the Parable of the Sower is of great comfort for all who sow the Word. Jesus makes something abundantly clear in this parable. It is never the fault of the Word.As Jesus explains, the Word is not the problem. Instead, the issue lies with the soil, or there are external forces at play. There is indeed nothing new under the sun. Satan continues to prowl, sin continues to ravage souls, and the Word of God continues to be rejected. But there is another truth here. It isn’t your job to convert anyone. That lies with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works through the proclamation of the Word of God, and in so doing brings people to faith, it isn’t you, it isn’t how well you can convince, debate, argue, and persuade, instead it is the Lord’s doing, it is the Spirit’s work. Thanks be to God!But it is up to the church to sow the seed. It is the church’s job to proclaim the Word. Anytime the Word is proclaimed, seed is cast out onto the soil. As Pastors proclaim the words of forgiveness, seed is sown. In the public reading of the Scriptures, the Word is sown. In the faithful preaching of God’s Word, seed is sown. In the Sacraments, seed is sown. When you share Jesus with a friend, seed is sown. When you bring someone to church, seed is sown. When you show the love of Christ to others, seed is sown. And the rest? That’s up to the Holy Spirit. On what has now been sown Thy blessing, Lord, bestow; The pow’r is Thine alone To make it sprout and grow.Do thou in grace the harvest raise,  And Thou alone shalt have the praise! (LSB 921:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/21/20245 minutes, 2 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week in Lent

February 20, 2024 Today's Reading: James 1:12-18Daily Lectionary: Genesis 7:11-8:12, Mark 3:20-35Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s not a secret. Life is hard. From the toddler that doesn’t get to make any decisions for themselves, to the peer pressure and societal challenges faced by youth and young adults, to the aged whose body is failing them. Life is hard, and life will present you with many difficulties. This is not to scare you or cause you anxiety, but instead it is to prepare and inform you. This is at least what Jesus does when He guarantees trouble in John’s Gospel. It is not a matter of if, but when. Difficulties come in many shapes and sizes. Difficulties that are products of a fallen and sinful world. Difficulties that may even be self-inflicted. Difficulties that may make you cry “Life’s not fair!” Trials that may make you cry “God, why are you doing this to me?” James assures us that these do not come from God. God is not cruel, sitting in his heavenly throne sending temptations and trials your way. Instead, God is good, and He is unchanging.  Maybe you find yourself amid a difficult time. Maybe it is external, your friends no longer seem friendly, school is ramping up and you struggle to succeed, you wrestle with being a Christian in a secularized world that has become less welcoming to the Christian. Or maybe you struggle internally, maybe it’s a sin, you can’t help but gossip about others, or maybe you can’t help but look at that website, or maybe it’s that secret that you keep, that no one else knows, yet it eats at you day and night. God’s word for you today is “persevere.” Do not blame God for these trials, but instead look to Him in a world that is ever changing, in a life that ebbs and flows as waves in the sea. Take refuge in Christ’s Church and persevere. Persevere by continuing to cling to the Word, which endures forever while the earth passes away. Persevere by daily rising and dying in your Baptism. Persevere by partaking in the body and blood of Christ which sustains you during the trials and temptations of this life. Persevere by knowing that no matter the trial or temptation God’s will for you does not change, God’s love for you does not change, and God’s forgiveness does not change. Trust this Word, it is for you. All good things come from God, so trust in Him, and in so doing, persevere.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Why should cross and trial grieve me?  Christ is near  With His cheer;  Never will He leave me.Who can rob me of the heaven  That God's Son  For me won  When His life was given? (LSB 756:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/20/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday of the First Week in Lent

February 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Genesis 22:1-18Daily Lectionary: Genesis 6:1-7:5, Mark 3:1-19Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They were on a mountain, a mountain where a sacrifice would be made. A knife lifted high above his head; Abraham was ready to strike. Isaac, laying there bound and helpless upon the makeshift altar, terrified as one can imagine, looking up at his father. In an instant, at the last moment an angel speaks “Abraham, Abraham!” God would not pour His wrath out on Isaac, not this day. He would not cover Abraham with grief at the death of his only son. Instead, God would provide for them a ram, caught in the thicket. Abraham would then give this mountain a name, “The Lord Will Provide.” God certainly does provide. He provides all things, as the First article of the Apostles Creed teaches us, as well as the explanation in Luther’s Small Catechism. He provides us with food and drink, house and home, land, animals, and all that we have. But He not only provides for our physical needs, but He also provides for our spiritual needs as well. He gives us what we need, the only thing that can save us from death, is someone or something to die in our place. They were on a mountain, a place where a sacrifice would be made. A hammer lifted high above His head; the Roman soldier struck the nail again, and again, and again. Jesus, laid there as He was crucified, looking up into the heavens, to His Father. But there would be no angel to step in, there would be no ram in a thicket, The world would go dark, Yet God provides even here, even now. Unlike Isaac, Jesus would die. Unlike Abraham, God takes on the grief of a Father who sacrifices His one and only son. God provides not just any old lamb, instead He provides the Lamb of God, the one who takes away your sin, and the sin of the whole world. The Lord provides the offering of His son, for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Alas! And did my Savior bleed,  And did my sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head  For such a worm as I?  (LSB 437:1)- Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/19/20244 minutes, 14 seconds
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Sunday of the First Week in Lent

February 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 1:9-15Daily Lectionary: Genesis 4:1-26, Mark 2:18-28As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending like a dove. (Mark 1:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Beginnings and endings are always the best part of a story. The beginning brings with it optimism, excitement, something new, a reason for hope. The ending, well, the ending resolves conflicts, it brings about completion, and it answers questions. A good ending brings everything full circle. In our reading today we have a beginning, not of a story, but a true account of the ministry of Jesus. In Mark, the beginning of the Gospel of Christ begins not with his birth, but with his Baptism. The beginning of the account of Jesus is a tearing open of the heavens as Christ comes from the water, heaven and earth meet in a moment of awe and wonder as the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus. With this comes the hope of all people, this Jesus is not an ordinary man, but He is the Son of God. He comes to take away the sin of the world. God dwells among men! He comes to bring heaven to earth. Yet this hope fades away, Jesus, the son of God encounters rejection, He encounters false accusations, He encounters people who are spiritually blind. Eventually, He will encounter physical violence, He will be arrested, beaten, flayed, and crucified. All the optimism, hope, and excitement of Jesus would be snuffed out like a wick. The disciples scattered. But something else would happen as well. Jesus would cry out, He would give up His spirit, and the temple curtain which guarded the holiest of holies would be torn. The barrier between heaven and earth, shredded. The beginning comes full circle with the end, or at least the end of Lent. As we prepare our hearts for the coming Passion of our Lord, we focus our hearts on Jesus who is the proclaimed Son of God, who tears open the heavens and reconciles you to God, the Father. He is the Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning, and the end. And in Him everything comes full circle, everything becomes complete. In the beginning of Mark, we get a glimpse of the end. Jesus goes before you, and He tears open the heavens, so that now, you who believe may enter in, and dwell in His presence forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. - Pastor Caleb Weight is associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/18/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Lent 1Daily Lectionary:Job 13:1-12; John 6:1-21For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone..” Psalm 91:9-11In The Name of Jesus. How strong do you feel against Satan? How good at turning back the temptations of the demons?Maybe we don’t want to answer that question. If I say, “I am strong against Satan, I am good at turning back temptation!”, then I’m guilty of self-righteousness, self-deception, and high arrogance before God. On the other hand, if I say, “I have no chance against Satan, temptations overcome me at every turn,” then I have left myself as powerless against the devil; I might as well give up. Either way, the Law crushes me, either for self-righteousness or for falling to temptation, both of which are about the same thing anyway.Maybe we need a different question. How strong is Jesus against Satan? How good is He at overcoming temptation?This question gets an entirely different answer. When tempting Jesus, Satan used the words of Psalm 91. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down [from the Temple pinnacle],” said Satan, “for it is written, ‘[God] will command his angels concerning you to guard you.’” (See Luke 4:1-13)It was a real temptation. Jesus can “prove” His faith. Why shouldn’t Jesus trust the words of the Psalm? But Jesus turned not to the words being twisted by the devil, but to the words “It is said, ‘you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deuteronomy 6:16)Jesus needs to prove nothing to Satan, as if jumping from the Temple would prove His faith. Jesus turned back Satan’s temptation. Though tempted as we are, Jesus is without sin. Satan has no accusation to hold against Him, the holy Law has no guilt for Him.Jesus did not walk into that wilderness to be tempted by Satan because it was something Jesus needed for Himself. He did it for us. He did it for every sinner, for each one of us as we daily fall to Satan’s deceit and temptations. Jesus underwent the temptations which belong to us. And He overcame it. For us. He, the righteous One now accounts His righteousness to us, even as on the cross, our falling to temptation was accounted to Him. How strong are you against Satan? No, rather ask, how strong is my Lord against Satan? For He is the One who forgives me, who commands His angels concerning me, and who guards me in all my ways. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in Heaven, let your will be done on Earth. Lead me away from temptation and deliver me from the Evil One and from all the evil he brings to the world and to me. In Jesus Name. Amen.-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/17/20244 minutes, 59 seconds
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Friday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 16, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Job 12:1-6, 12-25; John 5:30-47For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. John 5:36In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus gives us so much in those few words: “the works that the Father has given me.”What does it mean to be Son of the Father? For Jesus, it means to receive all things by way of gift. Jesus, as God the Son, has all power. Is anything outside His grasp? Yet, Jesus considers nothing according to how He can grasp it (see Philippians 2:6-7). Rather, Jesus receives all things as a gift. Before He ascends to Heaven, He tells His eleven Apostles (Judas has not yet been replaced), “all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28). The word of Gospel Jesus speaks, this, too, is given Him by his Father (John 17:8). What does it mean for Jesus to be Son of the Father? It means that from His Father He receives all things not by way of power and grasping, but by way of gift.  You are a child of the Father—a son or daughter. After all, Jesus gives you to pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven …”You belong to Jesus because you have been given to Him by His Father (see John 17:6). In this way, everything Jesus did to redeem you, to purchase you with His own blood and atone for your sin, to gather you into His Church—He has done it all because it was given Him to do by His Father.So now, you are a child of the Father. Everything comes to you by way of gift. Our temptation is to think that things come to us by way of our work, by power, by what we can grasp. This is, indeed, the way of the world, which is under the Law. So in our world, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. If you don’t study, you don’t pass. If you don’t take the bull by the horns, you come up empty-handed. That is the way of the Law, and it remains thus in our world until our Lord comes again.But in our life before the Father, our life of faith, it is all a gift. The Father gives His words to Jesus, Jesus receives the gift. Then Jesus speaks His words to us, and by those words, He makes us children of the Father. You belong to the Father.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in Heaven, let your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Your will is that your Son’s word go forth to all sinners. Let me daily hear your Son’s word, and let me rejoice in speaking His word Jesus to comfort my fellow Christians and, where you give me opportunity, to bear witness to my neighbor. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. -Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/16/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Thursday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 15, 2024 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, 8th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Job 11:1-20; John 5:19-29You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean?We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is much negative to say. That’s hardly a secret. All the deceit, the lies, the shameful behavior, the hidden acts, not to mention, everyone around me, including my closest friends, including myself, are in sinful flesh, which means, we’re sinning—there’s much negative to say. So speak the accusation! That’ll help straighten matters out. Scripture names the one who is to be known for laying the accusation: Satan. The word “satan” is the Hebrew word for “the accuser.” So anytime Satan or his demons are around (and when are they not in this sinful world?), we can expect the accusation. Satan accuses Job, who belonged to the Lord of being unrighteous (see Job 1:8-10). Satan laid the accusation against Joshua (Zechariah 3:1). Is it any secret why Judas Iscariot committed suicide? With Satan “in his heart” (John 13:3), what would we expect? Satan will lay the accusation (and Judas was, indeed, guilty), but Satan will not deliver the Gospel. When we hear the accusation (as we should, after all, hear the accusing Law), but we do not hear the Gospel of all sins forgiven, Satan has us just where he wants us.To speak the Law for the sake of the Law, and not for the sake of the Gospel—that is, to speak the accusation but to withhold the Gospel—is to fail to give the full testimony. The Gospel is the full testimony. The blood of Jesus atoned for the sins of Job (despite what Satan would have Job believe); the blood atoned for Joshua’s sin, and for Judas’s sin. And for your sin.We are people of the Gospel. The Commandment tells us to not give false testimony against our neighbor. The Catechism further expounds that we are given to, “defend [our neighbor], speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” We are able to do this because the one thing we know for certain about our neighbor’s sin is that Jesus took that sin upon himself and bore it to the cross. When we look at our neighbor, we may see him for his sin, his failures, his shame. Or we may see him as one redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, You bid us bend our human pride  Nor count ourselves aboveThe lowest place, the meanest task That waits the gift of love.Lord, help us walk Your servant way  Wherever love may leadAnd, bending low, forgetting self,  Each serve the other’s need.  Amen. (LSB 857: 3,4)-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/15/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Wednesday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 14, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Job 10:1-22; John 5:1-18[Job said,] I loathe my very life;    therefore I will give free rein to my complaint    and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.I say to God: Do not declare me guilty,    but tell me what charges you have against me.Does it please you to oppress me? Job 10:1-3In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you want to argue with God? Sounds blasphemous. Job argues with God. Scripture shows us many people of faith arguing with God. Jacob wrestled God, telling God he would not let him go. Finally God said, “Let me go …” But Jacob did not let go until God blessed him (Genesis 32:22-28). Did these men of faith sin by arguing with God? The key is the word “faith.” Faith holds onto God even when God seems your enemy. When everything in life is down the drain, when no blessing can be seen, faith holds onto what cannot be seen. Faith holds onto the promise. And when we don’t see the promise, we are given to argue with God, to say to God essentially, “You have given me your name as an oath, I belong to you, yet I don’t see the blessing, and, as Job said, I loathe my very life .” (Job 10:1)Faith calls on God to once again speak His promise. To see this, we need only to look at how God teaches us to pray. Among the Psalms of praise, of thanksgiving, of extolling the Word, our Lord gives us to pray also Psalms of complaint. Look at Psalm 13, where the Lord gives us words by which we are to argue that He has forgotten us (Psalm 13:1) and to demand that He give us an answer (Psalm 13:3). The Lord answered Job’s prayer. Job’s account began with him giving sacrifice for his family, knowing that by the Lord’s gift of sacrifice the Lord was forgiving sins and making Job and his family holy (see Job 1:1-5). After going through much affliction, Job argues with God. God answers the argument. He calls Job to account where he was wrong, but more importantly, speaks to Job again the word of promise. Not only that, but the Lord tells Job’s friends (who have been giving Job bad counsel regarding God) to go to Job so that Job could give the sacrifice to atone also for their sins. Can you argue with God? Yes. Just remember Job. Use the words the Lord gives you in Psalm 13 (or other Psalms of complaint). Call on God to speak His promise to you. Ask for His Gospel. Don’t let Him go. He wants to hear your prayers. He wants to answer your complaint. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, in the midst of my doubts, my despair, my loss of hope, bless me! Let me hear your promise! Keep me steadfast in your Word. Amen.-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/14/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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Tuesday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 13, 2024 Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18Daily Lectionary: Job 9:1-35; John 4:46-54But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Freedom is a nice word. As Americans we love it. Freedom from oppression, freedom to speak your mind without fear, freedom to … —you fill in the blank.But we have to know that Paul is speaking of something else. Something more profound, more meaningful. For this freedom comes from the Holy Spirit, our Lord. For Paul, it is freedom from what? From the veil. The veil is removed and the Christian is free, you are free!The veil is removed and we see our Lord for who He is, the Suffering Servant who is serving us with all His gifts. The veil is removed and we see that in the death of Jesus, we have died our death to the Law. For Jesus accounts His death to us, so that in Baptism, we are united to the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus (see Paul’s extolling of Baptism in Romans 6). The veil is removed and our eyes of faith see that we are no longer slaves to sin, death, and the devil, but our Lord has freed us to live as His own, daily standing up in the gift of repentance, that is, standing up to live in righteousness and purity by faith. This is the work of our Lord, the Holy Spirit, who daily keeps us in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit knows your temptations and weaknesses, He knows your doubts and failings. And He wants you troubled or enslaved by none of it! So He brings you to the gifts of Christ. When you hear the words, “I forgive you all your sins,” you may know that the Holy Spirit is there, in those words, by those words, freeing you from the guilt of your sin. When you remember the promise of your Baptism, the promise that you bear the Holy Name and that in the promise of Baptism Jesus is with you, even until the end of the age, the Holy Spirit is there, in that promise, daily cleansing you and making you His own. When you hear Jesus say (through the mouth of the pastor), “Take and eat, my body; Take and drink, my blood for the forgiveness of your sin,” the Holy Spirit is there, by those words delivering the holy body and blood once shed upon the cross to your mouth now—all to forgive you, to give you life, to make you free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Holy Spirit, my Lord, remove the veil which enslaves me to the Law. Free me from my doubts, from my despair, from the lies of the devil. Let me hear the Words of my Savior, Christ Jesus. Keep me steadfast in his Word. Amen. -Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/13/20244 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 12, 2024 Today's Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12Daily Lectionary: Job 8:1-22; John 4:27-452 Kings 2:9: When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, ‘Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.’”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. That’s a strange request. What does Elisha want with those words, “a double portion of your spirit on me”? Notice that little word “on.” Why didn’t Elisha say “a double portion of your spirit in me”? Scripture does speak of the Holy Spirit being “in” a person. Paul speaks of this gift for the Christian: “Do you not know that … God’s Spirit dwells in you.” (1 Corinthians 3:16) In this way, David, praying for forgiveness, asks God to “take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:9,11) Comfort for the Christian: although we live in sinful flesh, yet our faith rejoices that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It’s God’s promise. But Elisha prays for the Holy Spirit upon him (not in him). Here Scripture speaks to us not of the life of faith (i.e., “the Holy Spirit” in us), but of an office. To have the Holy Spirit upon a man is for that man to be in the Holy Spirit’s Office, bearing the mantle of proclaiming the Gospel. In this way, Jesus—who certainly has the Holy Spirit in him—speaks of the Holy Spirit coming upon him. When the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus, Jesus has now been publicly placed in the office of proclaiming the good news of salvation (Luke 4:18). How could it be any other way? When the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at His Baptism, Jesus is publicly named as God the Son (Luke 3:22). Then the prophet John is able to publicly proclaim him to be the Lamb of God bearing the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Lamb of God bearing the sin of the world—is that not the perfect description of the office Jesus is given to be our Savior? We now rejoice. Rejoice that all our sin was borne by Jesus as He fulfilled His office of the Lamb of God. And you now rejoice that the Holy Spirit dwells in you, creating in you a clean heart of faith. And rejoice that while every Christian has the Holy Spirit in himself or herself, the Holy Spirit is also upon those who are called to the Office of Holy Ministry, so that these called and ordained men now bear the office to proclaim Christ crucified to you for your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, create in me a clean heart and let not your Holy Spirit be taken from me. In the midst of my sin, give to me, as you gave to David, a repentant heart to rejoice in your grace. Be with my pastor and all pastors, that they may have much joy in proclaiming your Gospel to those for whom you died. Amen.-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/12/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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The Transfiguration of Our Lord

February 11, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 9:2-9Daily Lectionary: Job 7:1-21; John 4:7-26Mark 9:6 “For he [Peter] did not know what to say, for they were terrified.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s impressive—Jesus, God the Son from Heaven, standing on a mountain in radiant white clothing like never seen before. Moses lived some 1,500 years before the Transfiguration, he’s standing there with Jesus. Elijah lived some 900 years prior; he too stands there with Jesus. Impressive.Moses and Elijah are living! Breathing and talking. We should be comforted, there’s no death for those belonging to the promise.But the Transfiguration hits us with a danger: The God of power and might and holiness in the flesh. Moses and Elijah at His face in conversation. Are we comforted? Peter’s not. He’s terrified. Mark 9:6: “And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ For [Peter] did not know what to say, for they were terrified.” James and John, too—terrified! Why? Isn’t it good to see Jesus has power even over death? We, like Peter, James, and John, stand in sinful flesh. Consciences unclean, looking to justify ourselves by the Law, yet knowing we cannot. The eyes of flesh are veiled. The veil is the guilt; it’s the shame covering us, not only for our own sin, but also the sin having been done to us. The veil is the unclean conscience reading everything according to the Law, finding no way out. To look at Jesus with veiled eyes is terrifying. With eyes veiled by the Law, we read the Bible and see God’s holiness and power and divinity, but not His grace. 2 Corinthians 3:15: “For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.”This is why we can read the Bible and find only rules and regulations and more Law of how to live. Then, in our sin, we’re terrified. For sinful flesh reads Scripture in the way of the Law.Christ lifts the veil! 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” “This is my beloved Son,” says the Father, “Hear him.” So we hear him. He says, I forgive you. Now, look at Him standing on the Mount of Transfiguration! See not a sight to terrify, but a Savior on His way to the cross to redeem us. For us, it is not fear, but faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, by your Gospel, lift the veil from my eyes that I may hear your Word for your grace, your mercy, your forgiveness of my sins, and your promise to be with me always, even unto the end of the age. Amen. -Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/11/20245 minutes, 6 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit Psalm 99:1–5; antiphon: v. 9Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21Introit for the TransfigurationExalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “The Lord our God is holy! … Holy is he!” (Psalm 99) The Introit for our Lord’s Transfiguration is from Psalm 99. Did you notice how many times in this Introit God is named as holy?  Yet, our Lord has the words of this Psalm spoken in a world which is unholy, and to sinners—you and me—who are unholy. And that which is unholy cannot make itself holy!This Psalm is a comfort for the Lord’s people Israel. As they live in an unholy world, and living as an unholy people, the Lord provides for them holiness. He sets a mountain to which He gathers His people, and at that mountain the Lord from Heaven has words spoken to make His people holy: “I, the LORD, who makes you holy, am holy” (Leviticus 21:8). The mountain to which the Lord is taking His people is, of course, Mount Zion, where the Lord is making His people holy, delivering to them the forgiveness of their unholiness through the blood of the sacrifice at the Temple. The Psalm prophecies Christ! On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John see the Holy One. He is on His way to the cross. At His Mount Zion, His holy mountain, that is, at Golgotha, the holy One, Jesus, bears all unholiness. On that mountain, on the cross He gives the sacrifice to make every sinner holy.  This Psalm now belongs to you. To me, to every sinner Jesus gathers to His Name. In our unholy world, in our own unholy lives, Jesus brings holiness as a gift. You are now given to speak the words of this Psalm, and to pray for yourself, your family, and your neighbor, as one who has been made holy by Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Abide with us, O Lord, we pray;The gloom of darkness chase away;Your work of healing, Lord, begin, And take away the stain of sin. Amen. (LSB 401)-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/10/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.” John 3:5In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nicodemus knew much. He was a Pharisee. He was a ruler of the Jews. He was a teacher of Israel. He knew the Bible by heart. In today’s language, Nicodemus was “a Bible preacher.” If you would have heard Nicodemus’s sermons, he would’ve been quoting the Bible left and right. He taught the Law. He kept the Torah. The Ten Commandments came off his lips as easily as talking about the weather. He knew many other commandments, too, commandments the Pharisees designed to keep good order, to show people how to live, to make sure everyone does everything the right way. Nicodemus knew much, he could teach you much. But he did not know how to receive gifts.Not knowing how to receive gifts, expecting everything to come by way of works—that describes not only Nicodemus, but each of us according to our life of sinful flesh.  Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Privately. Almost as if he knew that he would hear things from Jesus that a good Pharisee should not hear, but he wanted to hear it anyway. The first thing Nicodemus hears turns his world upside down. "Jesus answered [Nicodemus], Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3This is different. Not the part about the kingdom of God. Nicodemus knew how to talk like that. He himself had taught it to many. To see the kingdom of God, you obey the Law, you keep the Torah, you live a clean life. But what is this “born again” Jesus speaks of?Birth—that’s not something you accomplish. No baby is born by being obedient.To make the kingdom of God a matter of birth removes it from the realm of obedience or something you do. What baby was ever born because he made a decision to be conceived, or was brought into the open air of the hospital room because he called God into his heart? Jesus gives Nicodemus, and us, to see the Gospel. Being born is receptive, it’s passive. This is all the work of Jesus toward you. It is delivered to you as a gift by the Holy Spirit, who gives you the new birth (John 3:8).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Baptized into Your name most holy,  O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I claim a place, though weak and lowly,  Among Your saints, Your chosen host.Buried with Christ and dead to sin, Your Spirit now shall live within. Amen. (LSB 590:1)-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/9/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, 7th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27; John 2:13-25As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household.Commandment 7: You shall not steal.What does this mean?We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God wants your property, your possessions, your wealth protected. He wants the same for your neighbor. To uphold and protect our neighbor’s possessions, wealth, and income is nothing other than to recognize that all things come as gifts from God. The fertile land able to bring forth crops, property on which to build a home or a store or a factory, the ability to build and sustain a business, the talent to produce things needed by neighbors and society—all is given by God the Creator. He gives in the measure He chooses.To steal from our neighbor, then, whether by outright theft or by clever design and deceit, is not just to harm our neighbor, but is to deny God as the giver of gifts. And even if our neighbor acted dishonestly in his gathering of his own wealth—perhaps by overcharging or by fraud or dishonest contract—our temptation to even-the-score is an attack on God. God is the judge. He will deal with the deceitfully gained wealth according to His own ways, which in this temporal life include His earthly instruments of police officers, judges, etc. (James 4:12).Now we can see why a breaking of the Seventh Commandment is a breaking of the First Commandment. To steal from our neighbor is to act as judge (“that possession of my neighbor’s should be mine!”), and to act as judge is to set ourselves as our own god. On the other hand, to rejoice in our neighbor’s property and wealth, to help him improve and protect his possessions and income is to recognize God as the giver of gifts; it is to “fear, love, and trust in God above all things” (1st Commandment in your Catechism).By these gifts of possessions and property, of wealth and income, God is setting us to serve our neighbor here on Earth. As we pray that our neighbor hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be given the gift of repentance and faith, we also pray that our neighbor be sustained and upheld in earthly life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How clear is our vocation Lord,  When once we heed Your call:To live according to Your Word  And daily learn, refreshed, restored,That You are Lord of all  And will not let us fall.In what you give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone,In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You,The cross You hung upon—All You endeavored done. Amen. (LSB 853:1,4)-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/8/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 7, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21; John 2:1-12There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:1-4: In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary wanted her son, Jesus, to fix a problem. A big problem—the wedding feast ran dry of wine, and that is humiliation for the groom. Of this much we are sure: the groom supplies the wine. So Mary reports the problem to her son: “They have no wine.” Will Jesus fix the problem? Jesus does not want to be known as a problem fixer. “Woman, what does this have to do with me?”, He says. Jesus is right, of course. The problem belongs to the groom. The groom supplies the wine, and everyone at those weddings knows it. Then Jesus, in the first of His miracles, brings forth wine from water. Is He just impressing with His power? No. It’s much more than that. He is announcing Himself as the Groom, the one who supplies the wine. He’s not the groom of this wedding, of course. That man is already spoken for, and he already has his bride. And everyone is rightfully celebrating what God joins together—this man and this wife.But Jesus is announcing Himself as the Groom. For the rest of the Gospel of John we can watch Jesus gathering His Bride. His bride is the Church. The Apostle Paul later tells us that (Ephesians 5:25-32). The Church, Jesus’ Bride, is all those the Groom brings to Himself and binds together in fellowship with one another by His Gospel. Prior to this wedding, John the Baptist had baptized Jesus and then publicly announced Him as “the Lamb of God who is bearing the sins of the world.” Now Jesus, publicly in the office of bearing all sins, is about the business of announcing Himself as the Groom who saves His Bride, the Church. In making the wine from Heaven (for it was created not with earthly grapes, but with a creative Word spoken by God-in-the-fleshH), Jesus is announcing Himself as the Groom whose time has come. He is now on His way to the cross for His Bride, for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, you have prepared the wedding feast, you have gathered your Bride the Church, and now, until you come again on the Last Day, you daily sanctify your Bride, sanctifying her, cleansing her by the washing of water with the Word. Bless me and all my fellow members of the Church, that we may look to you for every good gift, as a bride looking to her husband who loves and cherishes her. In your holy Name, Amen. -Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/7/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 6, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-27Daily Lectionary: Job 3:11-26; John 1:35-51For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! …I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Cor. 9:16,23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul wants to preach the Gospel. He’s clear on that. But what, specifically, is the Gospel? It has many blessings, for Paul says that in preaching the Gospel he is sharing with other sinners its blessings. In the Large Catechism, Luther Now, if you are asked, ‘What do you believe in the Second Article [of the Apostles’ Creed] about Jesus Christ?’ answers briefly, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ, God’s true Son, has become my Lord.’ But what does it mean to become Lord? ‘It is this. He has redeemed me from my sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil.’”The Gospel is Jesus Christ crucified for the sinner. The Gospel is that by His blood, Jesus has redeemed you from your sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil. The Gospel is the forgiveness of all sin and the gift of life everlasting.Paul knew what it meant to be without the Gospel. He had been a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law. To the sinner, the Law is enticing. It teaches what must be done to be holy; it gives you the way to justify yourself. But it is a false path. For by the Law, no one will be made righteous, since we are, after all, sinful. So the Law brings only guilt and shame, even as we try more and more to keep it.Paul knew this. He had been one of the most accomplished teachers of the Law. No more. Jesus gave Paul the Gospel. He forgave Paul his sin. He called Paul to be His servant to bring sinners into life and salvation not by the Law, but by the Gospel. This is the Gospel we need to hear every day. As long as we are in sinful flesh, as long as the Law rightly finds us in our guilt, we need to hear the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, of the sinner redeemed from sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil.The Gospel is Jesus saying to you, “I forgive you all your sin.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your Gospel, O Lord, brings me your righteousness, It robes my soul in royal dress;From all my guilt it brings release,  And gives my troubled conscience peace.May I in faith your Gospel confess,  And praise you Lord, my righteousness. Amen. (paraphrased from “The Gospel shows the Father’s Grace,” LSB 580)-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/6/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Epiphany

February 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1-3:10; John 1:19-34Isaiah 40:28-31:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary;    his understanding is unsearchable.29 He gives power to the faint,    and to him who has no might he increases strength.30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,    and young men shall fall exhausted;31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah, the Prophet of comfort! Hear the comfort!The chapter had started with, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1).You live in a world of no comfort, among a people of no comfort. People trying to make sure they say the right things the right ways in order not to be canceled for wrong-speak by the mob; the false confidence at people pointing to others and calling them “haters,” hoping to not be accused of the same themselves; people trying to project legitimacy by the digital life they can display on social media—where’s the comfort, where’s the true confidence in living? Isaiah proclaims comfort: Iniquities pardoned, sins forgiven, a people made holy for the Lord. But what of our life in this world? Do you feel comforted? Feel pardoned of all sin? Like you belong to the Lord?This is why our Lord has Isaiah preach His Word. Even as the Lord has your pastor preach His Word. Because we live in a world of no comfort, and because we live in lives of our own sin, we constantly need to hear the good news. The good news is that the Lord is the Creator, He upholds all things by the word of His power, and He does not grow weary of saving the sinner who is faint, weary, and exhausted.“Wait for the Lord” is Isaiah’s call to have faith, to hold tight to the promise, to daily hear the Good News of sins-forgiven, and to remember that it is the Lord before whom you stand and who gives you comfort. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My Maker, hold me in Your hand; O Christ, forgiven let me stand;Blest Comforter, do not depart; With faith and love enrich my heart.Lord, bless and keep me as Your own;  Lord, look in kindness from Your throne;Lord, shine unfailing peace on me By grace surrounded; set me free.Amen.-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/5/20244 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

February 4, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 1:29-39Daily Lectionary: Job 1:1-22; John 1:1-18“[Jesus] cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:29-39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The demons knew Jesus? Of course they did. Satan heard the first promise, the promise that Eve’s greater descendant would crush Satan’s head, giving salvation to the sinner. (Gen. 3:15) The demons have seen it all—the promise given Abraham for the justification of the sinner (Gen. 15), the promise to David that a greater Son would rule an everlasting kingdom (1 Chron. 17:11-15), and more. Maybe you can even think of other promises the Lord gave for the sinner. Satan and demons have seen much, they demons know a lot!They know about you, too, and me. They know sins I have committed even from my childhood. My history, my pride, my vanity, my shame. All the stuff I do not want known. Finally, they know how to slither into my thoughts, striking with the Law’s accusation. They strike you, too, as a snake striking a person’s heel. They know a lot.The demons knew Jesus. So why would Jesus not let them speak? What would the demons want the sinner to know of Jesus? That Jesus is true God in human flesh? That doesn’t yet save the sinner. That He has power to heal? That doesn’t yet justify before the face of God. You can know a lot about Jesus—a lot which is, indeed, true!—but it is not yet good news as Satan is poisoning your conscience with the venom of guilt and shame, striking you with the accusation. What do the demons not want you to know of Jesus? That He is not just God who became flesh, but that He became flesh in order to then be humiliated and die … for you. That what Jesus accomplished on the cross is not just a historical fact, but that He brings this historical accomplishment to you in Baptism. That the blood once shed on the cross is now delivered to you as you hear Jesus say, “Take and drink, this is my Blood for the forgiveness of our sins.”The demons want you to know none of this. They want you to know only the accusation. Jesus does indeed want you to know the Law’s accusation. He wants you to hear it so that you are then ready to hear His Gospel. Jesus has His Gospel proclaimed for you, for every sinner! To forgive guilt, to give a clean heart, to remove shame and clothe in honor—Jesus has His cross preached to you!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, deliver me from the Evil One. Cast from my conscience the accusation of the demons. Release me from the guilt of the holy Law. Forgive my sin. Cover me in honor. Let me hear your Gospel. Justify me by your Word. Amen.-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/4/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany

February 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 5Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1-3:10; John 1:19-34I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:3-5, antiphon Psalm 13:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the midst of death, the Lord brings life. Just yesterday, we prayed with Simeon that we could die in peace because we have seen the Lord’s Christ. Today, we pray with David that God would “light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” This psalm resonates with the song of Simeon. A Christian’s heart rejoices in God’s salvation.  In the middle of all the struggles and trials that exist in the world around us, and even as our own flesh tries to lead us back into sin, the gift of God’s salvation is what we need. He has provided this gift, and we have His steadfast love.  This is the hope of your life. Jesus Christ is your Savior. He has come, bringing your salvation. He is the One that you trust in. No matter how difficult the world’s attacks against the Church are, no matter how wracked with guilt and shame you might be, the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. He has given you what you need, and that is the forgiveness of your sins and the promise of eternal life. He has lit up your eyes with His grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing;  And in its narrow chamber keep  My body safe in peaceful sleep  Until Thy reappearing.  And then from death awaken me  That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face,  My Savior and my fount of grace.  Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,  And I will praise Thee without end. (LSB 708:3)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/3/20244 minutes, 25 seconds
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The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord

February 2, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40Daily Lectionary:Zechariah 12:1-13:9; Titus 1:1-2:6Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A number of things happened that day in the temple. Mary came into the temple to keep the Old Testament law with two different sacrifices. The instructions for these sacrifices are in Leviticus 12. After the birth of a firstborn son, that son was redeemed by the sacrifice of a lamb.  That’s a confession that the Lord possessed all the firstborn of Israel since the Passover. A mother was also expected to make a sacrifice 40 days after the birth of a baby boy to purify her. (The same sacrifice was to be made 80 days after the birth of a girl, but the Bible doesn’t say why it’s 40 days for a boy and 80 days for a girl.) That’s why we celebrate this festival 40 days after Christmas.There was still more going on in the temple that day.Old Simeon took the child, Jesus, in his arms and prophesied. He had been promised that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Messiah. Now that he held the Messiah in his arms, he could die. Because the Lord had kept His promise of sending the Messiah, Simeon could die in peace.  There is a reason that the Church prays along with Simeon each week in the Divine Service after receiving the Lord’s Supper. The same Messiah that Simeon held in His arms comes in, with, and under bread and wine, truly present in His body and blood. There, He forgives sins and strengthens faith.  Christians now pray that, since the Lord Jesus has come to them, they can die in peace. We have seen the Lord’s salvation in Christ.  When we come to the Divine Service, we don’t bring any animals with us to sacrifice there, like Mary did in the temple. The sacrifice has already come, and this is no mere lamb born in a sheep-pen, but this is the Lamb of God, born for you and your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/2/20244 minutes, 36 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany

February 1, 2024 Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 6th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Zechariah 11:4-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-18You shall not commit adultery. (The Sixth Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Adultery is such a rare word that it can be hard to understand.  One dictionary defines adultery like this: “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person's current spouse or partner.” That’s fine for the English language, but God’s definition of adultery goes beyond that.  God condemns any kind of sexual relationship outside of marriage. While the English definition would say that you can’t commit adultery if you and your partner aren’t married, God declares that a sexual relationship or encounter outside of marriage is sinful.God doesn’t stop there, either. Jesus went on to say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) The Lord doesn’t only judge the sin of adultery, but He includes every kind of unchastity, including lust. This is not only a sin for the married or the young, but a sin that plagues every sinner with a pulse.  The Catechism helpfully points out the opposite of adultery, and that is chastity manifested in a sexually pure and decent life. Living in holiness includes sex and sexuality. Scripture calls Christians to flee from lust and to abstain from sex outside of marriage. Scripture also teaches that marriage is a gift and God has established it for good.  What does that mean in the midst of a world full of temptation? Live as a Christian, striving to live in God’s holiness and keeping yourself from engaging in sexual sin, including lust. When you find that you have fallen into sin (sexual or otherwise), flee to Jesus Christ. His precious death brings forgiveness for your sin. You don’t sin so that God’s grace can abound, but you receive His forgiveness for all your sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be faithful to your marriage vow; No lust or impure thoughts allow. Keep all your conduct free from sin  By self-controlled discipline. Have mercy, Lord!  (LSB 581:7)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
2/1/20244 minutes, 20 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany

January 31, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 10:1-11:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-17Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The way the reading from 2 Timothy 3 starts sounds like a cross between mayhem and your daily scroll through social media.  “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 TImothy 3:2-7)  That could be a description of the hallways in your high school, the crowd around the water cooler at your job, or almost any other collection of people today.  It can be easy to say that behavior and society is getting worse and worse, but Scripture speaks like the sinful behavior we see today has always been around.  That’s the reality that the Church lives in. That’s the reality that you live in, too. The deception and deceit and evil and opposition of the unbelieving world comes against you. So what do you do in the middle of such problematic surroundings? How do you proceed when the Church is persecuted and when evil people go on from bad to worse?  Simply, you believe in Jesus.  He came into this unbelieving world as the light that shines in the darkness, even when the darkness did not receive Him. The darkness of this world has not overcome Him. (John 1:5)  Even on the cross, as Jesus was suspended between heaven and earth in the darkness, the Light of the World was not extinguished. Yes, He died, and He rose again on the third day revealing that evil does not win the day. Only Jesus wins the day, and He brings that victory to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word;  Curb those who by deceit or sword  Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son  And bring to naught all He has done. (LSB 655:1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/31/20244 minutes, 38 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany

January 30, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 9:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:1-26But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When St Paul writes about food, his concern isn’t about nutritional value or about a diet program or about balancing enough protein to build muscle.  Paul’s concern is spiritual. When he talks about eating, especially eating meat, he’s referring to meat that has been offered as a sacrifice to an idol at a temple of a false god. Those temples would sell some of the meat from the animals that were killed in those sacrifices. If someone knew where the meat that a Christian was eating came from, they might think that Christian didn’t have a problem with worshiping a false god.  Idols aren’t anything more than wood or stone. Paul refers to them as “so-called gods.”  But what people didn’t know - that these idols aren’t real - could hurt them.  Believing in those idols of wood and stone leads people away from faith in Jesus Christ, and God forbids idolatry. It’s possible that someone might think that a Christian eating meat sacrificed to idols would be participating in worshiping that idol and that idolatry isn’t a big deal.  That’s why Paul instructs Christians to be careful not to cause offense by eating meat sacrificed by idols.  This is an act of love for fellow Christians. But the meat that you eat doesn’t separate you from God, just like the food that you eat won’t commend you to God. Sinning against your brother by damaging their faith is a big deal.  This continues to be an issue in the Church today, even when the issue is no longer buying meat from the butcher shop of false gods. The music that you listen to, the TV you watch, the video games you play, the fashion sense you have and more are all similar to the meat sacrificed to idols. You are free in Christ, but do not abuse that freedom.  Do not harm your fellow Christians with that freedom. Treat them in love, because they are people for whom Jesus died.When you start to think about the ways that you have caused hurt by not being sensitive to your fellow Christians, remember that God loves you. “If anyone loves God, he is known by God.”  The One who knows you doesn’t act against you in anger, but for you in love. Trust that the Lord is good, and He brings His love to you, even as He calls you to love those around you that He loves by being sensitive to their faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.As we worship, grant us vision, Till Your love’s revealing light  In its height and depth and greatness, Dawns upon our quickened sight,  Making known the needs and burdens Your compassion bids us bear, Stirring us to tireless striving, Your abundant life to share. (LSB 838:3)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/30/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany

January 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 8:1-23; 2 Timothy 1:1-18“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— 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.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15-16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord God has the authority of life and death. That was made clear in yesterday’s reading when Jesus cast the unclean spirit out of the possessed man. But that incident was not the first time the Lord declared that He has that authority. When the Lord appeared to His people at Mount Horeb (that’s the same as Mount Sinai), they were afraid and didn’t want to speak directly with God so they wouldn’t be judged and die. The people spoke to Moses and sent him to speak to God. There at Mount Horeb, he served as their representative before God, their intermediary. He stood between God and God’s people.Later, Moses gave the Lord’s promise to His people that He would raise up another prophet like him.  Another intermediary, another representative would come. But this representative is God Himself.  He doesn’t stand on the top of Mount Horeb, but was crucified on the top of Mount Calvary. There, at the place of death, the Lord Jesus takes that place of death and life.  His death wasn’t permanent, but it was still very real. In His suffering and death, Jesus ensured that you no longer need to fear the Lord’s judgment because He submitted to judgment on your behalf.  He delivers to you the forgiveness of your sins.  Jesus stands in the midst of death and life because He has the authority to bring life to those who should die for their sins, including you.St Paul teaches that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy that one would arise like Moses in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, where he writes, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”  Jesus is indeed that mediator, and He is also at the ransom for your sins. The Lord has spoken to you.  He calls you to repent of your sin, and He declares that He has forgiven you. Believe in that Lord, your one Mediator, Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, the way that leads unfailing  To the Father’s home on high,  Christ, the truth that frees the captive, Christ, the life that cannot die. Mediator to the Father, Sacrifice and great High Priest:  Lead us to Your heav’nly mansions,  There to share Your wedding feast. (LSB 540:5)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/29/20244 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

January 28, 2024  Today's Reading: Mark 1:21-28Daily Lectionary: Zechariah. 6:1-7:14; Romans 16:17-27And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”  (Mark 1:23-24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The man possessed by an unclean spirit had an interesting greeting for Jesus. “What have you to do with us?” You might greet people like that sometimes too. When someone comes who seems to be interfering in your plans, you might say, “What are you doing here?” The unclean spirit wants to know why Jesus is interfering in this synagogue on this day. Apparently, the unclean spirit thought He could do whatever he wanted at the synagogue, but Jesus interrupted his plans.  So, what does Jesus have to do with unclean spirits? He throws them out! He interrupts their plans!  Jesus sets the rules, and He casts out unclean spirits. Jesus comes to set this possessed man free with His power and authority. That’s a shocking action for the people in that synagogue. Not everyone works with that kind of authority. Jesus has unique, powerful authority.But the question of “What have you to do with us?” isn’t just the question of a possessed man. It’s our question, too. What does Jesus have to do with us, who gather and confess our sins?  We admit that we are poor, miserable sinners. We deserve God’s wrath and punishment for our sin. When Jesus draws near to us, we should be very afraid!  The One with Divine authority has every right to judge us for our sinfulness. But Jesus doesn’t come to bring His judgment against us.  Instead, He sets us free from sin and death and the power of the devil.  He comes with His grace and His forgiveness.This work of Jesus interrupts our sinful lives and transforms us into His saints. He washes us clean in the water of Holy Baptism, He speaks our forgiveness in the words of Holy Absolution, He instructs us in the Holy Scriptures, and He feeds us His own body and blood in Holy Communion. He brings holiness to us.  He Himself is the source of that holiness and He is the One who wants everything to do with us because of His great love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/28/20244 minutes, 45 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Epiphany

January 27, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 4Daily Lectionary:Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.Blessèd is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.Blessèd is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.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.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.You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.Glory be to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning,is now, and will be forever. Amen.Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. (Introit for Epiphany 4, Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7, 10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You are blessed! Your blessedness isn’t seen in your material possessions or your fantastic mood or even by your hashtags on social media. Your blessedness comes because your transgression is forgiven and your sin is covered. There is a lot of pressure on trying to impress people around you with showing how you are blessed and how wonderful your life is. The Lord doesn’t care about those social norms. The Lord cares by bringing you His blessings, especially in the forgiveness of your sins.The practice of confessing sins before God and other people seems backwards to our understanding of showing how blessed we are. Human wisdom says that you keep your mistakes, your errors, and your sins to yourself and show others only the very best things that you do. Psalm 32 encourages you to confess your sins before God and admit them as you receive His forgiveness. When you confess your sins, you aren’t telling God anything new. The all-knowing Lord of all creation already knows your sins.  Confess these sins of yours to your merciful Father who is faithful to forgive those sins.  To accomplish that forgiveness, He has sent His one and only Son into the world to die on the cross to save you from your sins. That is where your blessedness comes from - the forgiveness won by Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I lay my sins on Jesus, The spotless Lamb of God; He bears them all and frees us  From the accursèd load. I bring my guilt to Jesus  To wash my crimson stains  Clean in His blood most precious  Till not a spot remains.  (LSB 606:1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/27/20244 minutes, 44 seconds
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St. Titus

January 26, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Romans 15:1-13And [Jesus] said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is another festival. Much like Wednesday, this festival commemorates a pastor who was put in place by St. Paul. As we thank God for the faith and work of St. Titus, we hear about the realities of living in the Church. While many things change, the words of Jesus to His disciples are steadfast and true no matter the year printed on the calendar. Jesus calls His disciples and the whole Church to pray that God would send workers into His harvest field. This is most clearly seen as the Lord uses pastors in His Church, including St Titus. The Lord has established this pastoral office.  Therefore, this is no human institution. The Lord sends pastors into His Church so that His Word is preached and the forgiveness of sins is made known.  That’s really important because the Church lives as lambs in the middle of wolves. (Matthew 10:3)  The other readings for the festival of St. Titus (Acts 20:28-35 and Titus 1:1-9) confess the reality that the Church lives in the middle of the world’s attacks. Pastors serve in Christ’s Church, even when the Church isn’t popular or liked. These undershepherds of the Good Shepherd serve to lead the Church in the midst of wolves.  Pastors are also called to be an example to the Church in faith and in contentment. Jesus commanded His disciples to remain in the home where they were welcomed, not looking for a better meal or a more comfortable bed. They were to remain where they were, serving faithfully. The whole Church needs that reminder to be content with what the Lord provides. He is the One who is faithful and who provides all that we need to support this body and life. We don’t chase more contentment, but enjoy the gifts of God, knowing that he gives what is needed. When Jesus tells His disciples not to go looking for better places to stay or better accommodations, He is commanding them not to covet. The Lord who provides daily bread for the righteous and the wicked is the One who cares for His disciples and who cares for you.  On this day, it’s easy to think about the calling that God gives to pastors. That is a wonderful calling, and it is for your benefit. However, if you aren’t a pastor, this is also a day to rejoice in the promises of God for you. He is the One who cares for you by filling your daily needs. He brings His kingdom to you, and He even sends you a pastor to announce His grace for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/26/20245 minutes, 1 second
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The Conversion of St. Paul

January 25, 2024 Today's Reading: Acts 9:1-22Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23And immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 9:20-22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Things don’t always go the way you planned. Sometimes, interruptions happen. Saul’s life was interrupted, not by mere circumstances or a small change of plans. The Lord Jesus interrupted Saul’s day, Saul’s trip to Damascus, Saul’s life, and Saul’s eternity. This is no ordinary interruption, but the work of Jesus to convert Saul from a life of unbelief to a life of faith in Jesus. When Jesus appeared to Saul, He had a question, “Why do you persecute Me?” Saul’s question, “Who are you, lord?” implied that he did not know or recognize Jesus. But Jesus changed that, calling Saul to faith and even using him as a chosen instrument to bring the Gospel to people all over the world.Saul’s conversion says something about how Christians are made, then and now. Christians become Christians when God interrupts their lives and calls them to faith. This is God’s Divine action, not something that any person can do for themselves. Saul didn’t ask Jesus to come visit him on the Damascus road.  Saul didn’t seek Jesus out. Saul didn’t consider that Jesus might be an option in fixing his problems, so he would give this Christianity idea a try.  No, the Lord came to Saul and called him from unbelief to faith.That’s the same thing that the Lord has done for you, calling you out of the darkness of unbelief into faith in Jesus, who is the Light of the World. God’s conversion of you might not have the same kind of shocking story of Saul’s conversion. However, comparing conversion stories and the transformation that God has worked for you compared to others isn’t the measuring stick that the Lord reveals.  Instead, it is the promise of eternal life by the grace of Jesus. That grace was applied to you the same way it was applied to Saul - in the water of Holy Baptism.  There, with His Triune name, God called you His own and applied the death and resurrection of Jesus to you.Martin Luther points this out clearly in the Small Catechism, saying, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”  This interruption and change of course for your eternal life is the work of God for your good! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/25/20245 minutes, 42 seconds
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St. Timothy

January 24, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 24:42-47Daily Lectionary:Joel 3:1-21; Romans 12:14-13:14“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.” (Matthew 24:45-47)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In these passages, Jesus is teaching about the end times. Specifically, He is instructing Christians to care for one another and encourage one another in the faith. We can rejoice that we can do that for each other in our vocations. We can also be grateful for men whom God has called as pastors.St Timothy is a faithful and wise servant of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  St Paul and the council of elders laid their hands on Timothy, ordaining him to serve in Christ’s Church as a pastor. (1 Timothy 4:14)  Paul’s letters of 1 and 2 Timothy are addressed to this new pastor who was faithfully serving in the Lord’s Church. These books are full of expectations for pastors, as well as expectations for all Christians in general, and divinely-inspired commands for how to live as a Christian in this world.“But,” you might say, “I’m not a pastor, and I’m never going to be a pastor!  What does St Timothy and the books addressed to him have to do with me?”  These words of God addressed to Timothy also apply to you.  You are a servant of God, no matter what calling you have.  When the Lord called you to faith in the waters of Baptism, He called you to take up your cross and follow Him, no matter what specific callings you have.  The example of St TImothy and the words addressed to him in Scripture are insightful for you.  St Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 4:12 certainly apply to Pastor TImothy, but they also apply to all who are called to faith, including you.  These words, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity,” call you to live as an example in how you speak, how you act, how you believe, how you love, and in your purity.  Live as the child of God that He has made you through His Baptism.  St Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is also helpful for you to hear.  It says, “ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  God has given you Scripture so that you read it, hear it, and take it to heart.  It is through His inspired Word that the Lord forms you, making you complete for His work.  Today, as the Church remembers St. Timothy, rejoice that the Lord has called pastors in His Church.  Rejoice also that the Lord has sent His Scriptures to train all Christians, including you, in His Word.  Finally, thank God for the gift of salvation that you share with TImothy so that you and he are the Lord’s blessed servants in His kingdom, now and forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/24/20245 minutes, 31 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Epiphany

January 23, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:29-35Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:18-32; Romans 11:25-12:13This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods,and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.I want you to be free from anxieties.  (1 Corinthians 7:29-32a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What are your priorities? What is most important to you?  Is it your friends, or sports, or friends?  Maybe it's good grades, peace and quiet, or being liked by others.  There are lots of things that might compete for your attention as you have a variety of competing priorities. So, out of your priorities, which one or ones always rise to the top?  Recognizing all these priorities, especially as it relates to if single people should get married or not, St. Paul writes to the Corinthians.  He points out that anxieties betray priorities. Are you worried about your grades?  If you’re worried about it, that means it’s important to you.Paul writes that being married changes your priorities.  Well, duh!  Going back to school after Christmas break changes your priorities too. Any change in life changes what you prioritize. St. Paul points out that a Christian’s priority should be about the things of the Lord. This reminds us of the first commandment:  You shall have no other gods. As the Small Catechism helpfully explains, this means that we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. That means that if something else takes priority over God, you have sinned.  And it’s obvious that you have broken this commandment. Repent. Turn from your sin. Receive the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Set your attention on the Lord.But what about getting married or doing anything else that would change your priorities?  Set your attention on the Lord and His will. Live a life full of repentance and faith. Believe that the Lord’s forgiveness for all your sins, including your divided attention, is enough. And it is, because God’s grace is always enough.  It is that grace that covers all your sins and sustains you every day.  He is the author and perfecter of your faith, and He is faithful to forgive all your sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ be my Leader by night as by day;  Safe through the darkness, for He is the way. Gladly I follow, my future His care,  Darkness is daylight when Jesus is there. (LSB 861:1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/23/20244 minutes, 44 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Epiphany

January 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17; Romans 11:1-24When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Is that a threat or a promise?” is an appropriate response to the message the Lord sent to Nineveh through His prophet Jonah.  “Forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed!”  For Jonah, this was a promise. The Ninevehites were the enemy of the Lord’s people in Judah, and their demise would be good news for the Lord’s people.  On the other hand, the people of Nineveh took these words as a threat, and they repented of their great evil.  From the greatest of the least of the people of Nineveh, they covered themselves and even their animals in sackcloth. They also fasted during this time of repentance. They took the Lord’s word of judgment seriously.  The Lord relented from the threat.  The destruction that He threatened was canceled. The serious threat of God’s judgment was not carried out.  The Lord revealed His goodness by not destroying Nineveh.What about you? When you hear the severity of the Lord’s judgment against your sinfulness, do you take it seriously?  You might try to rationalize your sin, arguing that it’s not that bad and it’s not really hurting anyone.  You might protest that what Scripture calls sinful shouldn’t really be sinful. After all, your logic might go, the Scriptures were written many years ago and the times have changed. No matter how you might protest against the Lord’s judgment, you should fear His wrath.  The holy God does not tolerate your sinfulness. Psalm 5:4-5 says, “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all evildoers.” Those are harsh words that show the severity of the Lord’s judgment against sin. There is no wiggle room in God’s expectations.  That’s a threat indeed!Even your repentance is imperfect. Even when you repent from your sin, it’s not perfect.  Sometimes mistakes continue to happen and you return to your sin. You cannot live a perfect life, no matter how hard you try.  It seems like the Lord’s threat is still hanging over your head. That is why He sent His one and only Son into the flesh. Jesus Christ died for you, and all who believe in Him are saved. The Lord didn’t cancel His threatening judgment, but Jesus, who knew no sin, became your sin so that you have the righteousness of God.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)  There, on the cross, you see the threat answered by the promise of God’s mercy and love for you. You are forgiven by your gracious God in His care for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Though great our sins, yet greater still  Is God’s abundant favor;  His hand of mercy never will Abandon us, nor waver. Our shepherd good and true is He, Who will at last His Israel free From all their sin and sorrow. (LSB 607:5)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/22/20245 minutes, 1 second
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The Third Sunday of Epiphany

January 21, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 1:14-20Daily Lectionary: Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does it mean to be a “fisher of men?” Certainly, Jesus doesn’t call Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew to wrap people up in nets or to put hooks in anyone’s mouth. This figure of speech shows that Jesus will turn ordinary fishermen into something else.  Now, these fishermen will spend their time “catching” people. That sounds manipulative. Perhaps “catching” is better understood as teaching or confessing to people. Evangelizing (the Greek word for “Gospelizing”) is another good understanding. No longer would fish be the focus of these men, but the faith delivered to God’s saints.It’s easy to start thinking about how these men, and even you, would be fishers of men and how you might do it better. But the way that Jesus speaks to the disciples is really, really important.  Jesus said, “I will make you become fishers of men.” This work of teaching, confessing, and evangelizing isn’t about your skills and abilities. This is not something that you develop in yourself. This way of life, being a fisher of men, is something that Jesus does for you.  You don’t need to worry about improving your skills as you fish for people, but you simply hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus brings His gospel to you, speaking into your ears the forgiveness of sins. It’s for you, today, as you attend the Divine Service. Jesus comes to you, probably not in a boat, but in a sanctuary. He calls you away from your sinfulness to the holiness that He provides. He gives you that holiness through His forgiveness when you hear it in the absolution and the sermon and when you receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. There, He develops you to be a fisher of men. When you confess the Creed with your fellow Christians, you are practicing the “fisher of men” skills that Jesus is developing in you.Confessing your faith can be scary. Christians sometimes worry that their skills aren’t good enough or that they won’t know what to say or that someone won’t be impressed with how they speak about Jesus.  Those fears often focus on you and how you confess the faith. Instead of self-centeredness, focus on Jesus. He is the one who comes to you to make you a fisher of men. He is the one who has transformed you, not just from a fisherman to a fisher-of-men, but from a sinner to one of His beloved saints - and that makes all the difference!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/21/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week of Epiphany

January 20, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 3: Psalm 66:1-5, 20, antiphon: Psalm 66:4, 92:1Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23; Romans 9:19-33Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man…Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (Psalm 66:5, 20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Come and see what God has done! That is the invitation from the psalmist. Come to the place where God is and receive His gifts. At the end of this psalm, the writer proclaims, “Blessed be God because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!” This is his response after receiving God’s gifts. This introit text, this psalm, gives a concise breakdown of what the Divine Service is and of what our relationship to God is. It is the pattern of a Christian’s life: receiving what God gives and thanking Him for those gifts. Two verses can encapsulate all we do Sunday to Sunday (and all the days in between). How can this be?Let’s get into it. Come and see, this is our invitation to worship. It is not Go and do this! an authoritative and harsh command, but Come, I am already here and want you to be here too.”Come and see what? All that God has done, His awesome deeds toward all mankind. What has God done toward the children of man? He sent His only begotten Son to live, die, and rise, that we might be granted eternal life. Rather than be separated from God forever because of our sinful nature, God sent Christ Jesus to suffer and die in our place and bestow the merits of His death and resurrection upon us. He does so through the Means of Grace, through the Word and Sacrament, which we hear and receive every Divine Service. None of this is earned by us. That is impossible. It is all a gift, and all given freely to scared, helpless sinners, by a good and gracious Lord. God has not rejected our prayer for mercy nor has He removed His love from us. It is because of His love that these gifts exist. It is because He is steadfast in His promises that week after week, year after year, century after century, the sins are forgiven, the Word is preached and the Sacraments are administered. And in response to all of this, we bless the Lord. And even this blessing is not of our own doing! It is the Holy Spirit at work within us. He who grants and sustains our faith enables us to then return thanks for these gifts, praising Him from whom all blessings flow.  So, dear Christian, come and see what God has done for you. Receive these gifts and return to them constantly, that your faith may be sustained. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O mighty Rock, O Source of life, let Your dear Word, in doubt and strife, in us be strongly burning that we be faithful unto death and live in love and holy faith, from You true wisdom learning. Your grace and peace on us shower; by Your power Christ confessing, let us see our Savior’s blessing. (LSB 913:3)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/20/20245 minutes, 9 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Epiphany

January 19, 2024 Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 5th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29; Romans 9:1-18You shall not murder.What does this mean?We should fear and love God so that we may not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body but help and befriend him in every bodily need.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At first, this commandment seems rather simple: don’t kill people. For many centuries following God writing the Commandments and giving them to Moses to give them to God’s people, you shall not murder, simply forbade taking another person’s life. This simple law is good, for the benefit of our neighbor, but it can give the illusion that we have kept this commandment if we are never labeled a murderer. Our Lord, in His teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, takes this simple command and expands it. It is not enough to simply avoid being an ax-murderer. Christ tells His hearers, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” So now the command is, "Don't kill anyone, but also, do not be angry with those around you, do not insult them, and do not think unkind things about them. Dr. Luther takes his explanation of the fifth commandment from Christ’s direct teachings. Do not wish or enact harm against your neighbor. Now, when we look at this commandment, we are not as innocent as we would first assume. Sure, I haven’t killed anyone but I have insulted those around me and I’ve definitely thought mean things towards family. Christ’s teachings on this commandment (and Luther’s explanation centuries later), teach two things. The first is that we are to avoid harming our neighbors, no matter how small the offense may be. The second aspect of this teaching is the helping aspect, especially pointed out in Luther’s explanation. We are to help and befriend our neighbors, seeking their best interests and striving to provide support and help when needed. We see this modeled in Jesus. We know that Christ perfectly kept the law, but He kept the law perfectly for us. Sinners cannot keep any of the commandments. Rather than leave us to the judgment of hellfire we deserve, Jesus Christ befriends and helps us in every need.  His suffering for us means we are now strengthened by the Holy Spirit to serve and help our neighbor. We are shaped by Jesus to not seek the worst for our fellow sinners, but look on them in love - the same love shown to us first by our God. This love extends to us while we are still sinners, calls us from death into life, and grants us strength to persevere in a death-filled world.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O my Savior, help afford by Your Spirit and Your Word! When my wayward heart would stray, keep me in the narrow way; grace in time of need supply while I live and when I die. (LSB 611:5)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/19/20244 minutes, 55 seconds
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The Confession of St. Peter

January 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 8:27-9:1Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Romans 8:18-39And [Jesus] asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. (Mark 8:29–30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter gets the answer right. Jesus asks the big question and Peter aces the quiz. Who is Jesus? The Christ. Today we remember St. Peter and his bold confession of faith. But on a day like today, it can be just as easy to remember Peter’s many less-than-correct answers to big questions. Just after Peter’s great confession, Jesus calls him Satan because Peter refuses to accept Jesus must die. On the night Jesus is betrayed, Peter denies His Lord three times, insisting he does not know Jesus, even when asked repeatedly. But in this moment, He says the right thing at the right time. How did this lowly fisherman get this answer right when he so often missed the mark?In Matthew’s account of this same event, we are given the answer. Jesus says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” This great confession is given to Peter. It is not his own, invented in his mind to impress his Teacher of the other apostles. God the Father revealed this confession to Peter, gave it to him freely, and enabled this sinner to boldly confess, “You are the Christ.”This is why we remember St. Peter the Apostle and his confession. This great confession of faith doesn’t belong just to Peter but to you. Jesus is the Christ, Who takes away the sin of the world. He does so out of love and not because we have earned it. Because we continually fail that Christ came for us sinners. Join in the confession of St. Peter because it belongs to you too. Who do we say Jesus is? The Christ, the Son of God, born in human flesh to save the world from sin, death, and the devil. This Christ died a sinner’s death and rose from the dead that we may also have eternal life. This Christ calls you His own in the waters of Baptism. This Christ offers Himself freely in His Body and Blood at the Lord’s Table. This Christ, this Jesus, is yours, given freely. We thank God for St. Peter and his confession because this is our confession too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here stands the font before our eyes, telling how God has received us. The altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice and what His Supper here gives us. Here sounds the Scriptures that proclaim Christ yesterday, today, the same, and evermore, our Redeemer. (LSB 645:4)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/18/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Epiphany

January 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Romans 7:21-8:17Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 39:1-10, 17-29; Romans 7:21-8:17Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:24–25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your life, dear Christian, is lived in tension. Tension is uncomfortable. It means we are pulled in two opposing directions. It puts so much strain on us that we seek to resolve the tension. While this feels good for a moment, we quickly understand that pulling too strongly one way or another can break the strand, or in this case, us. St. Paul describes the tension between our relationship to the law of God and the law of sin. Christians, having been made to walk in Christ, seek to do what pleases God. Sinners, however, seek after sinful desires. And we find ourselves caught in the middle of these opposing ideals, unable to relieve this tension. We cannot keep the Law of God perfectly because of the inherited sin within us, so we stray towards the way of sin, death, and the devil. However, having been baptized into Christ, we strive to do what God wills, even though we know we will ultimately fail. Our life is lived in the middle, wanting to serve God with all our body, mind, and soul, while also still living in “this body of death,” as St. Paul writes, unable and often unwilling to serve perfectly. There is a Latin phrase that encapsulates this tension: simul justus et peccator. This phrase translates to “simultaneously saint and sinner.” We are, as Christians, both saints and sinners. We belong fully to God through our Baptism but original sin still resides in us, meaning we cannot live according to the Law of God, as much as we’d like to. We cannot relieve this tension, it is impossible. “Thanks be to God through Christ our Lord!” God, while we were still sinners, sent His Son to die for us. God, while we were dead in our trespasses and sins, reached into our watery grave and pulled us out into new life in Baptism. God, while we still sin much, send His Holy Spirit to strengthen us as we go about our lives, seeking to do the will of God. Go forth, dear Christian, knowing that the tension is tight and tough, but that it cannot break you. Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O grant that nighting in my soul may dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, my joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; my ev’ry act, word, thought be love. (LSB 683:2)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/17/20244 minutes, 52 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Epiphany

January 16, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 38:1-23; Romans 7:1-20Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside of the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What you do with your body matters. At a base level, this makes sense. If I eat well, sleep enough, bathe, brush my teeth, and so on, my body should continue to work well enough. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you. But St. Paul is getting at something a little deeper here. He has been warning the Corinthians (and all of us) about the dangers of misusing our bodies sexually. His comment about sinning against our own bodies means that while murder and theft directly hurt people outside of ourselves, sexual immorality defiles our body. The intimate gift of sexuality is corrupted, as is the body and mind of those who commit sexual immorality. But why does that matter? What I do with my body surely doesn’t affect others that much, does it? St. Paul argues rightly that our actions towards and with our own bodies have drastic effects. He gives a few layers of proof here. Paul begins with this: your body, dear Christian, is a temple of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit enters in and grants you faith then and sustains your faith going forward. Second, you have been made part of the Body of Christ, the Church. If one part of the body is hurt, sick, or broken, how well will the rest of the body fare? Not well. As part of the body of Christ, the church, we take care of ourselves in order to better care for others. Finally, Paul hints at the Incarnation. Bodies are so important that the Son of Man took on human flesh to enact the world’s salvation. Jesus redeemed living in a human body. Jesus then suffered and died. The blood He shed, the death He died, was the price paid to buy us out from under the power of sin, death, and the devil. After His death, Jesus rose from the dead, in the same body He had before His death, with the nail marks and spear wound still in His flesh. Christ’s resurrection is the precursor to our own resurrection. And like our Lord, we will be resurrected with the same bodies we have now. The gift of the body that God gives upon our conception will remain with us in eternity. So glorify God in your body, knowing that sins are forgiven in Christ and we are no longer bound to sin but to Christ Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.But all of that was washed away- immersed and drowned forever. The water of your Baptism day restored whatever old Adam and his sin destroyed and all our sinful selves employed according to our nature. (LSB 596:3)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/16/20245 minutes, 6 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week of Epiphany

January 15, 2024 Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-20Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.” (1 Samuel 3:17–18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Eli was a priest of the Lord with worthless sons which was a problem because his sons were supposed to become priests of God. Previously, God has already spoken judgment unto Eli’s sons, declaring they will die.  And yet, when a new message from God comes, Eli still seeks it out. This new message is likely more judgment from God upon Eli’s house and yet he demands that Samuel tell him. Eli, in faithfulness, declares, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.” He does not shy away from the death sentence for his sons and his family. It is still the Word of God. Eli does not joyfully receive this news from Samuel, but he faithfully receives the word and responds in trust, “Thy will be done, O Lord.”It is a more natural response to say, “Thy will be done,” when things are going well for us. It seems, in that moment, that God’s will aligns with our will. Everything is okay.  It is a different experience to say “Thy will be done,” when things are going poorly for us. God’s will is not aligning with our will, our plan, our view of how things should go. It does not feel good to see loved ones suffer and die and still pray, “Thy will be done.” Eli gives us an image to ponder. His children will die at the hands of God and yet, this man does not flee God’s word. Eli knows his sons would make sorry examples of priests for God; he knows they deserve this punishment, but what father would punctuate the death of his son with, “Let God do what seems good to him”? Eli is faithful. He submits to the Lord in all things, even in the death of his sons. This is not out of Eli’s own ability but out of faith. This faith is given to him by God. This faith is given to you by God. Faith in the promises of God preserves us and enables us to trust that our Lord’s will is done out of love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From me this is not hidden, yet I am not afraid; I leave my cares, as bidden, to whom my vows are paid. Though life from me be taken and everything I own, I trust in You unshaken and cleave to You alone. (LSB 724:7)-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/15/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Second Sunday of Epiphany

January 14, 2024 Today's Reading: John 1:43-51Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:33-37:14; Romans 5:1-21Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:50–51)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nathaniel is easily amused by this “magic man Jesus” from backwater Nazareth. Jesus pulls a cool party trick by revealing where Nathaniel was when Philip told him the news of the Messiah and Nathaniel believes Jesus is the Son of God because of this. His belief is based on a moment of amazement, a neat trick, but hardly anything substantial. Nathaniel falls into the same trap we do. Magic Man Jesus is cool and exciting and captivating. He heals people, raises the dead, turns water into delicious wine. He satisfies the immediate desires of those around Him. He puts on a great show. This is the kind of Messiah our sinful nature wants. A God who works wonders for our will and benefit. A God that dazzles and amazes, showing how powerful He is in ways sinful creatures understand and adore. This kind of God is here for our amusement and pleasure. This is not the God we have, nor is it the God of Nathaniel. Jesus calls out Nathaniel’s shallow belief and tells him he will witness something far greater than showy displays of power. Christ is pointing towards His greatest miracle: His death and resurrection. This is not a simple party trick, or a neat gimmick to gain followers. This would be the great work of the Messiah. Christ’s work on the cross gives us the gifts that cannot decay and do not lose their ability to satisfy. They are not flashes in the pan. They are the eternal rewards of this great work of God. Christ’s body and blood, offered up on the cross as the perfect sacrifice, now sustain us at the Lord’s Table. The water that flowed from our Savior’s riven side washes us clean and makes us new in Holy Baptism. Jesus offers Nathaniel a front seat to this great miracle and He offers that same invitation to us. What we witness as we receive God’s gifts may not seem as grand as walking on water but they are the greater thing. In these means of grace we find forgiveness of sins, freely given and life eternal with our Lord. So come, dear Christian, and see what God has done for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. -Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/14/20244 minutes, 58 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 13, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 2Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:13-28; Romans 4:1-25Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Words matter. Our universe was created with words. Words are the building blocks of our communication with one another, they’re how we build relationships. Words are the way through which we come to know our Lord through preaching and teaching. Words matter. In this sinful world we are prone to using words for evil. We lie, we gossip, we hurt one another, we manipulate, we curse, and so much more against our neighbor. With our words, we can also blaspheme and misuse the name of our God. Even when we do not speak words, we can carry them in our hearts, holding grudges, animosity, and prejudices against our neighbor. We carry anger towards God for not answering our prayers, for not preventing the bad things in our lives, for feeling that He was not there in the time we needed Him most. On our own, our words are sinful and wretched. Our words falter and fail to share love and mercy. But the Word that does not fail, that does not falter, is our LORD Jesus. In this Psalm we pray to God with the Psalmist that our rock and redeemer would change our hearts and change our words to be righteous and acceptable in the eyes of God. We pray that our hearts would be graciously changed, purified, and forgiven of the sin that dwells within us. This psalm is a prayer to our righteous Lord for mercy.Pastors will often pray this part of the Psalm before they preach. Of course, for those who are delivering the Word of God from the pulpit, it is of great importance for them to handle their words with care. They are speaking the truth, and it is to be received by the people as the Word of God! God promises to be in the Word when it is preached, but pastors pray these words for strength and confidence as they bring this gift to their congregations. But this prayer is not just for pastors. We pray it too, that we may live lives sanctified in Him. Without God, all of the words of our mouth and heart would bring nothing but ruin. But through God’s own Word, we may be purified and forgiven, and our the meditations of our hearts made acceptable in His sight.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, and humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone. (LSB 579:6)-Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/13/20244 minutes, 39 seconds
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Friday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 12, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 34:1-24; Romans 3:19-31For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:11-12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Contrary to popular belief, sheep aren’t stupid. Sheep are actually rather intelligent creatures. They have individual personalities, needs, and learn things very quickly. While sheep are often used in scripture as a metaphor for human beings under God’s care, we are not compared to sheep because they’re dumb animals who are too stupid to do anything on their own. On the contrary, we’re compared to sheep because we are a lot like them. Sheep wander for specific purposes! As prey animals, they’re fearful creatures, and as a result, they’re always searching for ways to avoid danger. If something seems dangerous, it’s better for them in their own minds to run away before they wait long enough to find out what the danger is. Sheep will follow one another, even wandering away from their shepherd, because they find strength in numbers. We do not stray from God because we’re too stupid to follow Him, we stray because we want to, because we think we know what’s best. We get ourselves in danger trying to be our own shepherds and finding our own way. While we might convince ourselves that we have “good intentions,” if we lead ourselves, we will only end up marching to one place: directly into the clutches of the evil one. Sheep who stray from their shepherd may think they are thoughtfully avoiding danger, but without their protector, they find themselves in an entirely more dangerous position, defenseless against the uncertainties of the wilderness. But it does not please the Lord to give us over to our own sinful desires or to our own selfish intuitions, to leave us to this untimely fate. The Lord seeks us out, one by one, and brings us back into His fold. He is willing to go to the ends of the earth, even into the jaws of death itself, in order to carry us home into His care. Thanks be to God that our Good Shepherd seeks out His scattered sheep, and that we may be numbered among His flock.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are Yours; in love befriend us, Be the guardian of our way; Keep Your flock, from sin defend us, Seek us when we go astray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Hear us children when we pray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear us children when we pray. (LSB 711:2) -Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/12/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 11, 2024 Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 4th CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 33:1-20; Romans 3:1-18Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.  (Luther’s Small Catechism: The Fourth Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Most of the commandments are fairly easy for us to wrap our brains around. We should love God, honor His name, and gladly hear God’s word. Don’t kill people, don’t be sexually immoral, don’t steal, don’t lie, and don’t covet. We don’t follow them of course, but we generally agree with their sentiments for the most part. The Fourth Commandment can be a little different. It’s not always easy to honor our parents. Even for those with great relationships with their own parents, following their rules and cherishing them can be difficult. In most cases, we spend most of our early lives with our parents. We know them better than we know anyone else in our lives, and with all the things we love and cherish about them, we know about their sins as well. We know our parents aren’t perfect, and sometimes, we might believe their decisions or rules are unfair, illogical, or just plain annoying. But your parents, and other authorities in our lives, are the people that God has chosen to guard, protect, lead, and teach us in our lives. Our parents are in authority over us because God gave them that vocation. It is their role to love and care for you, just as it is yours to love and obey them. Both parents and children fail one another in their vocations. Because of the Fall, we all are unable to uphold our vocations perfectly. Just as much as this commandment is about loving, cherishing, honoring, serving, and obeying your parents, it is also about forgiving them. Just as parents are supposed to show love to their children as God showed His love to His children, we are to show that same love to our parents. Christ died for your parents, and Christ died for you. One blessing of the family that we may sometimes forget is that we are given a close, tight knit community in which we can bring the promises of Christ to one another. Children and parents alike may bring the love of Christ to one another in love, through communicating God’s forgiveness to one another, reminding each other of our baptismal identities, and continually driving one another back to Christ. When you fail as a son or daughter, repent in love and honor; and when your parents fail, show them Christ’s love in return.“You are to honor and obey your father, mother, ev’ry day, serve them each way that comes to hand; You’ll then live long in the land.” Have mercy, Lord! (LSB 581:5)-Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/11/20244 minutes, 50 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 10, 2024 Today's Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-29Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32; Romans 2:17-29Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?  When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? (Ezekiel 18:25-29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you’ve been listening to the world around you, it’s easy to see that the world does not like the things that Our Lord has to say. To many, the Bible is just an outdated book full of ancient, prejudicial rules that have been used throughout history to subjugate people. Even some Christian churches are embarrassed of what God’s Word says, and will change the message so as to not offend others. The way of the Lord, as it is delivered to us in the Scriptures, is not fair in the eyes of modern society. They may ask questions like “Why would a God who loves me not want me to love and marry whoever I want to?” “If God wants me to be happy, why shouldn’t I be able to change my body?” The world does not think the way of the Lord is just. And maybe they are right. Maybe God isn’t just, at least, not according to our terms. After all, it isn’t very fair that one man should have to die for the sins of the whole world.  It isn’t very fair to let people who break laws for their whole life to be allowed to go free after they eat some bread, drink some wine, and splash some water on their head, and to forgive them when they say they’re “sorry,” even when you know they’re going to do it again. The LORD is not particularly fair, but He is the judge. What is “just” is not up to us to decide. Our own idea of judgment is based on what benefits us most. We seek out revenge and recompense for the sins done against us, but wish for mercy shown only to ourselves. Thanks be to God that His justice is not like ours. Our Father in heaven is a righteous judge, but He also has mercy on His children, rescuing them from the judgment that they truly deserve. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word; curb those who by deceit or sword would wrest the kingdom from Your Son and bring to naught all He has done. (LSB 655:1)-Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/10/20244 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 9, 2024 Today's Reading: Romans 6:1-11Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 3:12-27; Romans 2:1-16What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus is not a ‘get out of jail free card.’ Though He brought all of your sins to the cross, and paid for them completely, once and for all, you are not free to let your sinful nature go free! Though your record has been wiped clean through our baptism, you are not supposed to fill the list of your offenses over again! You have been made NEW! You are a different thing entirely than you were before!You were once in sin, from the very moment you entered this world. Yet, God, in His overwhelming mercy, placed His name upon you in your baptism, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You were marked differently at that moment until the end of time. You are not like the world. You are Christ’s: a new creation, set apart from the sinful world around you. In your Baptism, your Old Adam has been drowned. He dies. Every single day. The waters of your Baptism have bound you completely to the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. You are not to live in our sin, because Christ has declared you His own, purchased and won through His death on the cross, delivered new life through Christ’s resurrection. Of course, temptations will still come. You will fall into it. Sin is still in this world, and the devil is looking for every opportunity to strike. Yet, in our new identity, we are to live differently. We are to guard against temptation and not seek sin out. We are not free to sin, or even free of sin, but free from sin. Through the gift of Baptism, we remain vigilant against sin through the grace of God, certain of the forgiveness of the sins we still continue to do.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin disturb my soul no longer, I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me since my baptism did release me in a dear forgiving flood, sprinkling me with Jesus blood? (LSB 594:2) -Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/9/20244 minutes, 40 seconds
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Monday of the First Week of Epiphany

January 8, 2024 Today's Reading: Genesis 1:1-5Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 2:1-3:11; Romans 1:18-32In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Word and Light. These are the first things to be present in all of Creation. God utters these words: “Let there be light,” and then there is. With just a few words and a couple days, all things in the universe, every last atom, rock, plant, animal, planet, and element, came into being, and this light showers over it all from day one.  And even here, in the very beginning, before humanity is even created, we see our Lord Jesus present. The evangelist John shows us this plainly as he begins his Gospel in this very same way, with Word and Light. John says that this Word, through which all things were made, is the Christ, and that He is the light of the world. Christ scatters the darkness, so that in the light, there is no darkness at all. At the very foundations of this world, our Lord Jesus is already delivering His gifts to you: His undying light and love-filled Word. All good things come to you through the Word of God that spoke all that we know into existence. This Word guides and sustains you, bringing the gifts of forgiveness, faith, life, and salvation to you. The light of Christ dispels the darkness. In this light, we see Christ more clearly. In this Word, God’s promises are delivered directly to our ears. Even in our suffering on earth, where we may feel blind, as if we cannot see the light of Christ, or feel deaf to the words God speaks to us, the Word and Light of God remain present with you. This same Lord, who created all things in the beginning, comes to you today through Word and Sacrament, providing you through His love that has been present since even before He uttered the words: “Let there be light.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Of the Father’s Love Begotten, ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He, of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see, evermore and evermore. (LSB 384:1)-Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/8/20244 minutes, 42 seconds
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The Baptism of Our Lord

January 7, 2024 Today's Reading: Mark 1:4-11Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 1:1-14, 22-28; Romans 1:1-17Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”(Mark 1:6-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is all about Jesus. Crazy John knew this in the wilderness, and made sure people knew it! “After me comes he who is mightier than I… I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The people at the Jordan at the time probably knew this too! After all, the voice of God proclaimed Jesus as His beloved son. But many today have forgotten. We live in a world that is all about me and what I want. And this mentality has even trickled into how some Christians talk about Baptism. For some Christians, Baptism is a choice. It is a confession of my faith to prove that I love God and have accepted Him into my heart. This sort of thinking about Baptism is more about the act of Baptism and what it symbolizes, rather than being about the promises and salvation granted to us through it. But, while your Baptism brings you into the family of God, your Baptism is not really about you. It is about Jesus. It is about your Lord binding you to Himself through water and Word, washing you clean of your sins and placing His name upon you. In Baptism, Christ secures His children for Himself. Baptism is all about Jesus, and so you can be certain that it is for you! In Christ, we have hope that the Word and water does what it says it will, regardless of how we feel in our own heart and experience our life as baptized Christians. Christ does not change, and neither does your Baptism. Thanks be to God that it’s not about us, and all about Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, You wonderfully foreshadowed the promise of Baptism in the rescue of Noah from the flood, in the passing of Your people through the Red Sea, and in the ceremonial washings of Your law. In Christ and by His Baptism, You have kept Your Word and made Baptism to be the water of new life. Give us Your Holy Spirit, that we may become the new and holy people You have declared us to be. Amen. (Collect from LCMS Series C)-Vicar Benjamin Heinz is vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/7/20244 minutes, 46 seconds
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The Epiphany of Our Lord

January 6, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 2:1-12Daily Lectionary: Isaiah. 66:1-20; Luke 3:21-38And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  These Wise Men, cannot rely only on their own wisdom.  Charts of the stars and notes on astrology would not be able to clarify what this amazing event was, and who it was about.  Look where they end up: in Jerusalem, at the palace of Herod the Great.  So if they could not rely on their own wisdom, how were they to find the Lord?  The answer is simple: He gave them an epiphany!  “Epiphany” means “to reveal.”  God revealed to them the Savior of the nations.These Magi from the east had something far greater than human wisdom to guide them.  The Lord led them by a star, and He used His Word to provide godly wisdom.  He gifted them with the wisdom of Christ, that they might find God become Man–the holy Baby resting on His mother’s lap. There is the beauty of it all!  These great, powerful men, on their knees, worshiping a Baby.  Before the Child are laid treasures: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  But the amazing thing is that this Christ Child is giving them gifts!  By coming in the flesh, He is opening the treasures of God’s grace and mercy, and ultimately eternal life, to these foreigners.Christ reveals Himself as God.  As He keeps God’s Law, suffers, dies, and rises again, He is the Light to lighten the Gentiles.  He opens the kingdom of heaven to all believers.  He fulfills His Word, so that now, both Jew and Gentile can receive Him in all of His Word and Sacrament!  Now you can rejoice exceedingly that the Lord does not keep you at arm’s length, but welcomes you to receive His gifts, and thus receive Him!“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”Today you go into [His] house and [see] the Child – our Savior – the King of kings with His Church, and you fall down and worship Him.  As you sit in the pew and hear His Gospel, and again as you kneel at His rail, opening [His] treasures, [He offers you] gifts – Baptism, Absolution, Gospel and Supper!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles.  Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/6/20244 minutes, 51 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Christmas

January 5, 2024 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 65:8-25; Luke 3:1-20“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. (Isaiah 65:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas!We send and receive Christmas cards each year.  There are always the cards with the beautiful and gentle Virgin and Child.  Some have a fuller image with Joseph, shepherds, animals and manger.  Some have a star and the wise men.  Others have Christmas trees, snow, or even Santa.  But some that always stood out to me had these words from Scripture, and a lamb and lion at the manger.Were there malevolent meat-eaters at the Messiah’s manger?  Were sinister snakes slithering in the stable? No.  Isaiah is preaching a vision of the Kingdom of God when Christ comes, but it is all in the distance, with a view of the entire New Testament era from Jesus’ birth through His return at the Last Day.  So while it is a Christmas scene, if you will, it is also more.In Isaiah’s era, like now, lions were dangerous predators.  They were not so populous that you would see them all the time.  But they were there, in the wilderness.  As a shepherd, David defended his  sheep against lions and bears with his sling and staff.  God gave him courage and he defeated these foes, protecting the flock. Now, the Son of David, your Messiah and King, has gone up the holy mountain of Calvary and defeated the old evil foe.  The flock is safe and sound in the care of the Good Shepherd.  There at the tree of the cross, Christ defeated Satan and all his minions, and God’s judgment from Genesis 3(:14-15) was fulfilled.  The nail-pierced foot of Jesus crushed the serpent’s head, “And dust shall be the serpent’s food.” (Isaiah 65:25)Defeating Satan is not necessarily what your friends and relatives may be thinking when they select Christmas cards.  Yet is the “reason for the season,” and is the “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) The Baby in the manger is the Corpus on the Cross, and that is a great vision that you are blessed to see more fulfilled, something Isaiah longed for. You are Jesus’ little lamb, kept safe from the foes of sin, death, and the devil.  Merry Christmas! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.As true as God’s own Word is true,  Not earth nor hell’s satanic crew  Against us shall prevail.Their might? A joke, a mere facade!  God is with us and we with God–  Our vict’ry cannot fail.Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer;  Great Captain, now Things arm make bare,  Fight for us once again!  So shall Thy saints  And martyrs raise  A mighty chorus to Thy praise  Forevermore. Amen.  (LSB 666:3,4)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/5/20244 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Christmas

January 4, 2024  Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, 3rd CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:15-65:7; Luke 2:41-52Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.  (Luther’s Small Catechism; Third Commandment & Meaning)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Eleventh Day of Christmas!Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.By this point, you may have Old Adam in the back of your mind saying, “Church? Do I have to?! Coming up again, for Epiphany?!  But we went last Sunday morning, and then later that day for Christmas Eve.  And the next day for Christmas Day.  And another Sunday. And all the extra Wednesdays we have had. And…I’m just tired and don’t want to.”  (Just imagine how frequently you’d have been at your congregation if they  had Divine Services for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas!) And the New Creature that God gave birth to in Baptism responds, feeling guilty and repentant.These Twelve Days of Christmas are not about beating up your conscience and shaming you for not wanting to be in God’s house.  Yet, Old Adam is completely wrong.  You don’t have to.  You get to!The joy to the world is that Christ the Savior is born!  But that birth is not locked away in a “once upon a time” fairy tale, nor in a scholarly history volume in some ancient library.  It is a glorious fact, whose blessed benefits God continually delivers to you.  To celebrate that birth, we are extremely blessed with multiple opportunities to come with all the faithful and receive His saving gifts of Word and Sacrament.  Forgiven and nourished by the Newborn King, we are privileged to respond in prayer and praise.Your Jesus is indeed the One once tucked in the lowly manger.  But He is also the One who grew to rescue and redeem you through his death and resurrection, freeing you from the sins that grieve you.  Yes, even the sins of being tired of worship, and despising – not wanting to hear God’s Word.  And now He is the One in the swaddling cloths of Communion linens, feeding you His holy Body and Blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation.  What a wonderful twelve days these are, when we have so many opportunities to get to “gladly hear and learn” His Word!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Softly from His lowly manger  Jesus calls  One and all,  “You are safe from danger.Children, from the sins that grieve you  You are freed; All you need  I will surely give you.”(LSB 360:5)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.
1/4/20244 minutes, 43 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Christmas

January 3, 2024 Today's Reading: Titus 3:4-7Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:1-14; Luke 2:21-40But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:4-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Tenth Day of Christmas!Merry Baptism!You see what God does here?  He’s connecting the events of Jesus’ birth and your rebirth by water and the Word.  This passage from Titus 3 is typically heard in our Divine Services at Christmas, with the amazingly great Good News that “our God and Savior appeared” in the flesh.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, Christ is our God and Savior who appeared in the flesh and saved us.But here we go again, all this talk of death, at a time we should be celebrating the birth of The Baby. right?!  Why does death keep breaking into our celebration of Jesus’ birth?  God answers: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” (Titus 3:3)  Your broken and corrupt human nature is soiled with sin, and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  Being slaves to our passions and pleasures, we needed a holy and righteous Savior to suffer, die, and rise again.  Christ Jesus was born in order to die (and rise!) for you.  Thus, Christmas and its Twelve Day celebration are full of death and life, birth, rebirth, and resurrection.The birth of Jesus publicly began His work of salvation.  Later, He victoriously cried out, “It is finished,” completing that work for you at the cross.  Now, the forgiveness and salvation that He already purchased and won is delivered to you in Baptism.  You and I don’t have works done in righteousness that could ever earn any salvation.  We have no perfection like the Christ Child.  We desperately needed the very work He did: “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5)So you see, Jesus' death is  the connecting link between His birth and your (re-)birth – “the washing of regeneration and renewal.”  He did this – for you – to join you to Him through the miracle and happy gift of Baptism.  So Baptism and Christmas aren’t such an unusual pair after all.  Merry Baptism!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Water, blood, and Spirit crying   By their witness testifyingTo the One whose death defying   Life has come, with life for all.Spirit, water, blood entreating,  Working faith and its completingIn the One whose death-defeating  Life has come, with life for all.  (LSB 597:1,5)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/3/20245 minutes, 1 second
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Tuesday of the First Week After Christmas

January 2, 2024 Today's Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 62:1-12; Luke 2:1-20I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;  my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;  he has covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Ninth Day of Christmas!Did you receive a new dress, sweater, or even a new coat for Christmas? My Grandma and Grandpa usually gifted each of us eight grandchildren with some new clothes every year at our celebration on Christmas Eve.  When we were little and only wanted toys, these weren’t the most popular gifts, but as we matured and grew older we enjoyed them.There are times when we might not think of Baptism as the best gift.  Moments of Old Adam selfishly and shamefully saying, “I’d rather have toys.”  “I’d rather have all the fun promised by temptations that surround me.”  Your sinful flesh teams up with the devil and the world, trying to sway you from appreciating the good gifts with which the Lord covers you with His righteousness.But God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift.  He used the hands and voice of your pastor to baptize you into Christ and clothe you with Christ.  “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)  You have been clothed with Christ!  Jesus IS the robe of righteousness given to you at Baptism, covering you with His salvation.  And in those moments of unappreciation of His gifts, the Holy Spirit is bringing you to repentance, calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying you.  He keeps you under that blessed covering of Christ – the garments of salvation – robe of righteousness – Jesus Himself!Holy Baptism is a gift that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  You don’t need to be baptized more than once.  It remains.  So once you have put on Christ and been clothed with Him, you can always rejoice.  WIth the simple gift of water in and with the Word of God’s name, He claims you and covers you.  The Holy Spirit keeps you in that one true faith given at your Baptism, and you just can’t help but rejoice and exult!The new sweater you got from Grandma; the college sweatshirt from Mom and Dad; even the HT gear you got yourself – they are all great!  But infinitely greater is the gift that in Baptism, you have put on Christ, and were clothed with salvation and covered with righteousness!I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In Baptism we now put on Christ –  Our shame is fully covered  WIth All that He once sacrificed  And freely for us suffered.For here the flood of His own blood  Now makes us holy, right, and good   Before our heav’nly Father.  (LSB 596:4)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/2/20244 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Circumcision and Name of Jesus

January 1, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 2:21Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 61:1-11; Luke 1:57-80And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Merry Eighth Day of Christmas!It’s still Christmas.  Why all this talk of blood?   The Twelve Days of Christmas have several festivals for martyrs, reminding us of bloodshed in the Church.  And now, we hear about bloodshed from our Lord.  But not in the typical way we speak of it.Jesus shed His blood for you!  Sure, you say, over 30 years after He was born.  Yes. That is true.  But there is even more to ponder and treasure up in your heart.  At the tender age of one week, Joseph and the Blessed Virgin had her Child circumcised.  He was keeping the Law – and shedding His blood in order to keep that Law.  He was not keeping it for Himself.  He did not bleed for Himself.  He did it all for you.  And as He suffered that brief moment, there was a foreshadowing of how someday He would suffer and bleed and die for all.  Stop and think about that.  Even as a baby, Jesus Christ keeps the Law for you, doing all that is required.  And even as a baby, Jesus Christ sheds His blood for you.  He takes it all upon Himself to redeem you, having His body permanently marked, to witness God’s covenant with His Church.This was also the moment when He received His name—the most holy Name – the Name which is above every name. Jesus!  The Lord saves!  Imagine: every time they called out His Name, a mini-sermon was preached – “The Lord saves!”He has come to you at your Baptism, where He brought you forgiveness, rescue, and the promise of eternal salvation.  There, you were permanently marked as His own, witnessing God’s covenant with His Church.  There you too were marked with His most holy Name.  Christ christened you as a Christian!  Bathed in the cleansing water and blood from His pierced side, you were given your personal name and placed into Jesus!It’s Christmas still.  Why all this talk of blood?  On this Eighth Day of Christmas we are merry as we remember that God is not demanding our own blood be shed to pay for our sins, but that “Jesus shed His blood for me,” the chief of sinners.  He spent His entire life on earth, and now in eternity, fulfilling His most holy name: The Lord saves!  Jesus!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Chief of sinners though I be,  Jesus shed His blood for me,  Died that I might live on high,Lives that I might never die   As the branch is to the vine,  I am His and He is mine.(LSB 611:1)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/1/20244 minutes, 41 seconds
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The First Sunday After Christmas

December 31, 2023   Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 60:1-22; Luke 1:39-56My eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Out of the crowds in the Temple courts that day, Simeon comes forward and scoops up Baby Jesus in his arms. Simeon recognizes the mysterious truth that this Child is not just “holy to the Lord” – this Child IS the Lord!That precious truth changes everything for Simeon. You see, this man had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before He had seen life. He would behold the Savior before He departed in peace, into Paradise to dwell with the Lord. As Mary and Joseph walk through the Temple courts, God reveals to Simeon that this is the One! This Baby is the Savior – the Redeemer – the Holy One of Israel!That is when Simeon breaks into song, praising God and declaring that he can now die a happy man, since he has seen the Savior and witnessed God keeping His great promise. He is saying, “You can take me now, God. I’ve seen it all! I knew You would keep Your promise, and now it is complete! I’m ready, Lord – come and get me, for I am made holy to the Lord!”You are holy to the Lord. St. Simeon recognizes that this is a wonderful, comforting Gospel! Try as he might, the devil cannot snatch you out of the Father’s hand. Our dear, loving God is preserving you with the  holy life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.You belong to the Lord. At Baptism, the Savior cleansed you, body and soul, and made you holy,  claiming you as His own. God presented you to Himself, and gathered you into His family and kingdom. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” You were filled with sin as a baby inside your mother. You belonged to sin and death. But God changed all that. He brought you into His presence with His Word, as it was proclaimed to your expecting mother. Then, more fully and clearly, He publicly displayed that you belong to the Lord as He baptized you.You belong to the Lord. No matter what hardships you face, no matter what sufferings you endure, no matter how tough life seems, you have the sweet comfort that you are not left alone; Christ the Savior is born, and you are His! He does not abandon you to the darkness of this world, but is the “Light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of [God’s] people, Israel.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/31/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Christmas

December 30, 2023   Today's Reading: Introit for Christmas 1Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 58:1-59:3, 14-21; Luke 1:26-38The LORD reigns ; he is robed in majesty;The LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. (Psalm 93:1, from the Introit for the 1st Sunday after Christmas)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Sixth Day of Christmas!In Leicester, England, a church displays a beautiful statue of the Christ Child, on His mother’s lap.  The Child Jesus is robed in beautiful, luxurious, dignified Eucharistic vestments – alb, stole, and chasuble, and with a gold crown on His head.  The Baby had every right as King David’s royal descendent to wear such gorgeous and stately garments, yet never owned costly, royal robes.  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, who should definitely wear the most amazing crown ever crafted, but the Son of Mary was humble and poor, and did not display His rank and authority by what He wore.  Yet the sculptor is taking you beyond the “swaddling cloths” in the Bethlehem manger. He is teaching through that image that even if unnoticed or unknown, “The LORD is robed.” At the Fall in the Garden, Adam and Eve first knew that they were naked.  They had been robed with majesty and holiness as the crown of creation.  Now they  were exposed for the broken and corrupt, sinful creatures they now were.  Nakedness was no longer an innocent and beautiful adornment of perfect beings, but a blunt reminder of evil and flaws within and without.When you were born, you physically entered this world in the broken nakedness of our first parents.  “[You] were brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did [your] mother conceive [you]” (Psalm 51:5.)  But at Baptism, the Lord used the hands and voice of your pastor to bring you forgiveness, rescue, and salvation.  That washing of rebirth and renewal did something miraculous, that can be described in terms of clothing.  “Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy” (Psalm 132:9.)  You, the members of Christ’s kingdom of baptized priests, have been clothed with Christ!  “You have been clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all your sin.  So shall you stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (LSB, p. 271)Jesus covers you in His righteousness, making you look just like Him!  You might not see the robes or crown with your eyes, but He has covered you with Himself in Baptism, robing you as His royal priests, serving Him in thanksgiving for the faith and salvation that our Newborn King gives. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Savior, Child of Mary,  Who felt our human woe;  O Savior, King of glory, Who dost our weakness know:  Bring us at length we pray  To the bright courts of heaven,And to the endless day.  (LSB 359:4)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/30/20234 minutes, 42 seconds
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Friday of the week of Christmas

December 29, 2023   Today's Reading: Luther's Catechism , 2nd Commandment Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-13; Luke 1:1-25You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. (Luther’s Small Catechism; Second Commandment & Meaning)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Fifth Day of Christmas!St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, called upon the name of the Lord, as he walked to vespers on this date in 1170.  He felt the trouble becoming greater.  Several knights had entered the cathedral and demanded that he come with them and give an account to the king for his actions.  (His actions denied that the earthly king is ruler of Christ’s Church.)  He respectfully refused to be bullied.  Now these knights stormed back into the halls of the Cathedral at Canterbury and confronted St. Thomas. (SPOILER ALERT: More death during these Twelve Days of Christmas!)These had been rough years for the Archbishop who once was a good friend of the king.  But since holding this office, Thomas had held God in the highest regard, and refused to be pushed around.  He went about his work, serving Christ and His Church.He lived a life of praying, praising, and giving thanks, preaching and teaching others to do the same.He was forced into exile for a while, leaving the country so that he would not be jailed or executed for standing up to King Henry II.  He returned, even while still dangerous.  But he would not back down.  Christ is Lord of the Church and King of kings.  Thomas had called on the name of the Lord in good times – times of peace and harmony – and in times of trouble.  You do the same.  You have times of prayer and meditation – spending time with God’s Word and pondering it, both when life is full of good things and also when it has hardships and challenges.Keeping the second commandment is also about truthfully proclaiming and teaching God’s Word.  St. Thomas did that, even when pressured and threatened by rulers and soldiers.  You do that too.  Sure, you don’t have a thug in armor, whacking at your skull with his sword.  But in the face of non-Christian  classmates who make life rough, teachers who criticize your faith, and other challenges, you remain steadfast in speaking the truth of God’s Word.  In faith, you properly use God’s name.  Thanks be to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, You deigned to dwell  Among us here on earth  As God with us, Emmanuel,  To bring His holy birth,  Though rich, You willingly became  One with our poverty,That we might share Your wealth and name  For all eternity! (LSB 362:4)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/29/20234 minutes, 37 seconds
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The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

December 28, 2023   Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-18Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 52:13-54:10; Matthew 2:13-23“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Fourth Day of Christmas!“The Boy who lived.”  In the Harry Potter novels, that is a phrase that refers to Harry.  No one could withstand the evil Voldemort, and his murderous rampage.  That is, until Harry.  Harry’s mother gave her life defending her one-year-old son, and when the murdering curse was cast, the baby miraculously survived. Harry was then placed into hiding by people who cared about him, so he could survive and one day help others.As the story goes on, the reader discovers that this all had to take place, so that Harry could in fact, one day lay down his own life in love and courage for the protection of others, and then return to life.  Sound familiar?  St. Matthew proclaims the real “Boy who lived.”  While King Herod orders the murder of all toddler and baby boys near Bethlehem, God sends an angel to warn St. Joseph to smuggle the Blessed Virgin and her Son to safety.  God’s plan would not be fulfilled had the Christ Child been killed in this way.  The fullness of time would come later, after living perfectly and going to Jerusalem to lay down His life as the Lamb of God on the altar of the cross.Today the Church recalls the infant martyrs who were slain by Herod’s evil plan, but takes comfort in our loving and merciful Lord who gathered those little ones into His arms in paradise.  Enduring such horrors, their mothers would be hard pressed to find any comfort.  The true “Boy who lived” is no ordinary boy, but the God who created us all.  He is the One victorious over death and the devil, and can give peace and comfort that surpasses understanding.  Rachel refused to be comforted, because sin, death, and the devil had not yet been fully conquered.  But the Christ Child grew and at the fullness of time, laid down His life for us all.  At the cross, the death of these Holy Innocents lost its comfortless horror and grief.  Jesus’ own death and resurrection bring the holy comfort that heals and soothes their mothers, and the whole Church.  In His saving and life-giving work, we can share in the joy and bliss that the Holy Innocents have already been experiencing since the moment they departed this life, and were embraced by their Lord.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not by speaking but by dying.  Put to death in us all that is in conflict with Your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/28/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
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St. John, Apostle

December 27, 2023   Today's Reading: John 21:20-25Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 51:17-52:12; Matthew 2:1-12This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Merry Third Day of Christmas!Happy Feast of St. John!  John is one of the Twelve.  Apostle.  Evangelist.  The one bearing witness about these things.  Or as he originally said it in Greek, the one martyring about these things.  To be a martyr is to be a witness.  Normally we use that word to talk about those who bore witness to Christ by being killed for Christ and the faith that He has given.  It is said that St. John is the only apostle who died a natural death; Jesus spared him the violence of being physically martyred.  And yet, his life and ministry for the decades that followed Jesus’ resurrection and ascension were full of a witness through John’s preaching and celebrating of Christ’s sacraments. The world is full of darkness.  And not just the darkness at this time of year, with later sunrises and earlier sunsets.  Sin, death, and the devil are always trying to surround us and fill us with cold and darkness, doubts and fears, to keep us away from Jesus.  The Beloved Disciple witnesses Christ to us, and reflects the Light of the World (John 8.)  Jesus scatters the darkness, radiating His Gospel light, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5.)Christ cast the bright beams of His light by forming John and the other apostles in faith, proclaiming His Law and His life-giving Gospel.  And they, in turn, witnessed.  Martyred.  They reflected the bright beams of Christ’s light to all who heard His Word in their preaching and writing.Daily, the devil tries pulling you back into the darkness, overwhelming you so you feel alone and cut off from the Light of the World.  Like St. John in his elderly years, after the other apostles had all been martyred, you might even feel like you alone are left, and you’re surrounded by those who are against Christ.  But Jesus has rescued you and given you new birth from above (John 3), claiming you as His own.  You are not alone.  Jesus has sent the Comforter and has overcome the world for you (John 16.)Jesus has overcome any hurt, heartache, overwhelm, and  darkness.  And He gives His saving Gospel to you through St. John (and the other prophets, apostles, and evangelists that He inspired.) Through the witness of St. John and these men moved by the Holy Spirit, Christ gives light to you and the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Lord, cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church that we, being instructed by the doctrine of Your blessed apostle and evangelist John, may come to the light of everlasting life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy SPirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/27/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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St. Stephen, Martyr

December 26, 2023   Today's Reading: Matthew 23:34-39Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:22-26; 50:4-51:8, 12-16; Matthew 1:18-25For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Second Day of Christmas!  Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr after Jesus’ resurrection, stoned to death for preaching Christ crucified.  Wait. What?  Christmas is a time to talk about birth.  Babies.  New life.  What’s this about death?  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jerusalem would not see Jesus after He prophesied this until Palm Sunday, when He triumphantly entered the city as the Son of David, the King, coming for His enthronement on the cross.  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Even when some saw Him, like many Pharisees, Sadducees, and others, they refused to join in this cry of faith.“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  At the moment of Stephen’s death, he saw the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, and while the crowd surrounding Stephen to murder him would not exclaim the praise, Stephen could see the One who comes in the name of the Lord, ready to receive him into paradise.  As this cruel and painful end crushed him, Stephen had a peace beyond understanding, as Christ Jesus gathered him to our heavenly Father.“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  We get a glimpse of Stephen’s heavenly vision as we gather around Christ’s altar week after week.  Singing both “Holy! Holy! Holy!” with the angels around God’s throne, and this quotation from the Psalms with the children of Jerusalem and the Church in every age, we feast upon the true body of Christ and drink His true blood.“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Some day, when the Lord has brought our days to His perfect completion, He will gather us to Himself and bless us with this vision given to Stephen, seeing our Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.  The bloodshed and hardships of this world will be over, and we will have joy that is merrier than any Christmas we have known.  The One who has come in the name of the Lord to nourish, forgive, give life and salvation, will bring it to perfect completion at the Last Day – as He comes – for you.  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise for the first of martyrs   Who saw You ready stand  To help in time of torment,To plead at God’s right hand  Like You, our suff’ring Savior  His enemies he blessed,With “Lord, receive my spirit,”  His faith, by death, confessed. (LSB 517:7)-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/26/20234 minutes, 39 seconds
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The Feast of the Nativity

December 25, 2023   Today's Reading: John 1.1-14Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-18; Matthew 1:1-17And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son  from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Christmas just doesn't work out for me. Never has.”  That is the punch-you-in-the-gut moment as you get to know Billy, the sad, impoverished child picked up by the Polar Express.  He is dressed in a tattered night shirt, and comes from an old, run down house “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Christmas has not been a time of plenty, but of continued need.  Still, there is a problem.Billy has a hard time trusting anyone, as tough as life has been.  Throughout the story, he is welcomed and befriended by two other children.  And in the end, the conductor artistically punches words into the passengers’ tickets.  Billy’s has the words: “COUNT ON.”  He is encouraged to count on others, to count on his new friends, to count on Santa, to count on Christmas working out for him.Christmas is indeed a time to “count on,” but not in the simplistic, earthly sense of counting on friends, family, or others. Christmas is the great festival of the Incarnation and Nativity of Our Lord!  God-in-the-flesh has come and there is no one more perfect, loving, and holy to “count on.”Today you worship God Incarnate and then go about your daily life in the true Christmas Spirit.  That is, the Holy Spirit, who has called you to faith and delivered the Gospel and Sacraments of the Word Made Flesh.  It is not you who have the ability to count on God; it is the loving and merciful gift of the Lord that He sends His Spirit to give you faith—the gift of “counting on” Him alone. The Holy Spirit is the One who is giving you joy over Jesus’ birth; God becoming Man for you!Merry Christmas, you dear, forgiven saints!  Merry Christmas, as you celebrate in the gift of faith, counting on Christ Jesus, who is delivered to you in His Gifts of Word and Sacrament!  His Holy Spirit brings you to believe and understand the most profound words about Christmas, which are not even from Luke 2, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."  Yes, Joy to the world!  The Lord is come!" And He will continue to come in His Word and His Sacraments, until He gathers you to Himself in eternity!  THAT is an amazing Christmas gift that you can “count on” and “believe!”  Merry Christmas!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant that the birth of Your only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free from the bondage of sin; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  -Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/25/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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Christmas Eve

December 24, 2023   Today's Reading: Luke 2.1-20Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 44:21-45:13, 20-25; Revelation 12:1-17For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:11-12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where do we find Him?  The shepherds are tremendously blessed that the Gospel proclaimed by the angel and sung by the heavenly host did not simply tell them what had happened, but where.  Sure, the King of kings and Lord of lords is omnipresent.  He’s everywhere.  But He had just come right then, for them–and for you!  Christ the Lord had come in the flesh, and located Himself, for our salvation.People around us are looking for some sort of “good news” about Christmas in many places; movies, Christmas cookies, trees and decorations, a break from school, time with family, and more.  Even in the Church, you can get side tracked, and focus on the Christmas carols, the children’s Christmas program, decorating the church, sharing a feast with family, and just loving each other.  These are all good things.  They are all gifts from God.  And yet, they are not the heart of the angel’s message that brings the “good news of great joy.”The best way to celebrate this holy day IS to gather with family, sing, eat, and receive a gift. However, not in the way most people would think of that.  The Lord has blessed you to celebrate this holy night, gifting you to know where to find Him.  He still is everywhere, but He still locates Himself for you.  Christ the Lord still comes in the flesh, and locates Himself for your salvation.  Where do we find Him?  Tonight, He is no longer a newborn baby in Bethlehem, as precious and dear as that image is to us.  He is not swaddled and sleeping in heavenly peace.  You don’t even have the challenge of coming up with airfare to Israel and making your way to the incense-filled grotto in the Church of the Nativity. Tonight is not only for the shepherds to find Jesus. Tonight you also find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  You do this as you sing with the angels, hear His Gospel proclaimed by your pastor, and kneel at the altar where the body of Christ the Lord is wrapped in the swaddling cloths of Holy Communion linens.  What good news of great joy that Jesus Himself is placed on the manger of your tongue.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“The manger held the God of life,  Who came to swallow sin and strife.Christ, let my tongue Thy manger be,That I may swallow life in Thee.”In Bethlehem, the House of Bread, a hymn by Chad L. Bird-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/24/20234 minutes, 43 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week in Advent

December 23, 2023  Today's Reading: Introit for Advent 4Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 43:25-44:20; Revelations 11:1-19In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. (Psalm 19:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. The words of Psalm 19, are a proclamation that the very creation, created by the living and active Word of God testifies to His glory and handiwork. God’s Word does not fall flat. It accomplishes what it says it will do. We find comfort, and delight in this, knowing that when God says something, it is as good as done.The word made flesh, Christ the bridegroom comes to us, not as a strong man, but as a lowly baby. The Christ child, the Word made flesh, submits Himself under the perfect law of the Lord. The Christ child, who would not live the life of a royal king, or be known as a strong man, is known as Jesus, the one who we put to death on the cross. It is in this weakness, that God Himself, bearing our sin is condemned under the law and receives our punishment.  That being hung on the cross, dying, before the heavens and all creation it would be as the Psalmist says, “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit.” It is in this weakness that God Himself works salvation for the whole world.It is in Christ crucified for you that the heavens declare the glory of God. It is in Christ crucified for you, that all creation proclaims the handiwork of the Lord. This crucified and risen Jesus, who came to you as a lowly baby is the one who declares you innocent, and blameless. In Jesus you are acceptable to God. The Gospel of Christ crucified, is the message that Christ commanded His church to proclaim to all parts of the world. The message that Jesus, the Son of God is the one who through the preaching of the word, and the giving of the Sacraments by your pastor, the eyes of the sinner might be opened, and salvation and righteousness would bear fruit. The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, will come again in glory. Until that day, we rejoice that the bridegroom has emerged and will emerge again to be with His bride.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, You are the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings. Enlighten our darkened understanding by Your Holy Word. Enkindle our hearts and mold our will to walk in faith, love, and hope unto all pleasing. Let the light of Your Gospel shine on the nations that sit in darkness, and preserve Your Church to the day of Your coming. Amen. (Book of devotion: the Psalms” pg. 29)-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/23/20234 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week in Advent

December 22, 2023   Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:1-24; Revelations 9:13--10:11Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Israelites in exile endured each day, and longed for when God would deliver them. God did not abandon them, or leave them without His Word. He sent men like Isaiah to remind them that God had not forgotten His promises to deliver them. God had not forgotten them, and He would be the one who would redeem them, bring them back home, and be their Savior. We long for our suffering to end. That our struggle against our sinful flesh and its desires would cease. That the groaning of all creation would be silenced. Your God has heard your groaning, and has answered you. As we endure each day of our earthly lives in our fragile flesh, we go about each day not despairing as the world does, but full of hope and joy for what is to come. God has redeemed His creation. His Son Jesus, is the Savior of the world. In Him the one whom they have pierced flows rivers of life giving water, and blood for His chosen people to drink.You were baptized into this life giving water, and receive the body of Christ to eat and His blood to drink. You are strengthened by this life-giving meal. Getting up each day and remember that in your Baptism you do not simply struggle against the world and your sinful flesh as a poor miserable sinner, but as a baptized redeemed child of God. These promises are for you, and all believers in Christ. Behold God has done a new thing in Christ Jesus, not just for Abraham’s offspring, but for the whole world. In Christ your longing for home is ended, because in Christ you are redeemed, and declared a witness of the resurrection.  In Christ you may have peace that there is a place prepared for you, and whether in death or on the day He returns God has received you as His beloved child and welcomed you into His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand, Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command. We know that You will come as our Judge that final day, So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray; May we with saints be numbered where praises never end, In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen! (LSB 941:4)-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/22/20234 minutes, 35 seconds
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St. Thomas, Apostle

December 21, 2023   Today's Reading: John 20.24-29Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 42:1-25; Revelations 9:1-12but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Thomas was faithful to his Lord in the end. Now, doubting Thomas really isn’t the best construction to put on him. So let’s call him “reassured” Thomas. Thomas wasn’t there that night when Jesus appeared to His disciples. Thomas wanted to believe his brother disciples, but dead men don’t rise.Eight days later. Thomas was now with them, longing to be reassured by the disciples' account. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”” These eleven disciples, despite ten of them having seen Jesus, are still hiding behind locked doors. Their fear, Thomas’ doubt and need for bodily reassurance are present in this locked room. Despite this, Jesus came to them, He stood among them and absolved them and said, “Peace be with you”.It’s not all about Thomas. It’s not about the faith of the eleven. It’s all about Jesus. Jesus who was crucified in front of them, bled and died in front of them. Who rose and appeared to them. This Jesus who’s chosen twelve betrayed, and deserted Him, are absolved. Just as He came to them and pointed to the marks that He is Christ the crucified and risen Lord, He comes to you. He comes to you through your pastor and when you confess your doubts, your fears, and your failures, you hear just what Thomas and the ten heard. “Peace be with you.” “Your sins are forgiven.” Not only that, but He gives you His body to eat and His blood to drink under the simple means of bread and wine. All this He gives, just as these words were written down, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Thomas’ faithful proclamation is your proclamation. That by faith and not by sight you have received the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in Jesus. In Jesus your doubts are reassured, and your fears calmed. Thanks be to God, for His servant Thomas who proclaimed Christ crucified to the nations, to comfort those who doubt, and reassure them that Christ has come and will come again for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, You strengthened Your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in the resurrection of Your Son. Grant us such faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that we may never be found wanting in Your sight; through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/21/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week in Advent

December 20, 2023  Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, 1st commandmentDaily Lectionary:  Isaiah 40:18-41:10; Revelations 8:1-13You shall have no other gods. (Exodus 20:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  What even is an idol? We’re not exactly making golden calves or selling statues of foreign deities anymore. Dr. Luther is helpful to us in understanding the totality of the first commandment, “Now, I say, that whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in, is truly your God.” (Luther, LC I., BoC, 385)Jesus puts it another way, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” The devil would like nothing more than to put idols in our faces, even more so to put things that don’t look like idols in our lives. The explanation of Dr. Luther rings true. Whatever we fear, love, and trust more than God and His Word is an idol. Whether that’s money, fitness, sports, family, technology, etc. Anything that would pull us away from God and His Word that we find trust in, is an idol.This is the commandment that all others extend from. Our old Adam pushes back against this commandment. Since the fall, we see ourselves as the center of our own universe. Our neighbor, our daily bread that God gives us can all be used as stumbling blocks for our old Adam to latch onto and proclaim as our own doing. Our sinful flesh has no desire to be with God, because sinful man has no place before a holy and righteous God. So we set up gods that are in our own image. Who are approachable, on our terms. These gods all fall by the wayside, and ultimately no security from suffering, no peace in our despair, and no deliverance from death.This holy, jealous, and righteous God is a loving God. Who tells Moses and His people, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2) God has no desire to see you fall away from Him. God is a loving Father who, from the beginning has proclaimed life through His Word. This same Father through the Word incarnate Jesus Christ, His Son does what no false god can. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and endures the pains and trials of this world. The Son of God bears your sin, your false hopes in false gods, and crushes any idea of security that this world or idol could prop up. God’s love, His freedom from sin, death, and the devil are yours in His Son. You shall have no other God’s because there are no other gods. God Himself came down in human flesh for you, suffered and died for you, rose again and ascended into heaven for you. Your heart and mind is free to love and trust in Him, knowing that all things are done in Christ Jesus.God, the holy, jealous, loving, and gracious God who reigns over all things, and caring for you and all creation until He will come again on the last day for you. Come Lord Jesus.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height In ancient times didst give the Law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel! (LSB 357:3)-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/20/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week in Advent

December 19, 2023  Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:1-17; Revelations 7:1-17Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. That’s right, Paul is talking about Advent, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he’s referring to the second Advent the whole church prayerfully waits for. Yes that’s right, just as God’s people of old sought the first Advent of God’s Messiah, His anointed one, who God has long promised would come and redeem His people. This was not just a redemption, and return from an earthly exile. Although God would certainly deliver Israel home in time. This was a redemption with eternal consequences.But we know that story. The Advent of the Messiah who was born in Bethlehem, not as a king in a palace, but the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who came to redeem you. To end your exile of wandering in slavery to sin, and death, and to know God’s love for you in the wounds of His crucified Messiah, Jesus. Only these wounds are not found in the arms of a dead man, but the wounds of your crucified, dead, and risen Savior. Who came for you, died for you, and conquered death for you. In Jesus, the God of peace sanctifies you completely. It’s all His gift, given to you through faith by the simple means of the water of your Baptism, and nourishing you weak after weak with His life giving body and blood that He gives you to eat and to drink. He does this without any merit or worthiness in you, purely out of His fatherly divine mercy, that just as His people of old wait for Him, you too may wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, assured of the promises of the God of Israel, the God of the church, and the God who will come and bring you out of the great tribulation, and into the life to come. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Comfort, Comfort ye My people, Speak ye peace,” thus saith our God; “Comfort those who sit in darkness, Mourning ‘neath their sorrows’ load. Speak ye to Jerusalem Of the peace that waits for them; Tell her that her sins I cover And her warfare now is over.” (LSB 347:1) -Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/19/20234 minutes, 20 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week in Advent

December 18, 2023  Today's Reading: Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10; Revelations 6:1-17I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Word given to Isaiah to proclaim to those returning from exile is truly comforting. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…” (Isaiah 61:1). These are the same words that Jesus reads in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus proclaims that these words given to God’s people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah “has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:17)This good news, of God fulfilling His promises, to comfort and restore the poor, the broken hearted, the captives and those who are bound, is proclaimed to you by the one God has sent out to care for His offspring. Your pastor proclaims God’s Word and administers the Sacraments to you because that is God has promised to be for you. You don’t have to look in the world for God to reveal His comfort, or means of salvation. He tells you plainly where He can be found. While the world does not accept Jesus, and even His hometown rejects Him as the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah He is there in His Word and simple means of bread and wine, and water. Desiring nothing but the broken and those trapped in their sins to come and hear this good news.In this Jesus who was crucified, died and buried, your sins are covered with His blood and laid in the tomb never to emerge again. It is the crucified and risen Jesus who God has fulfilled these words of Isaiah and all of His promises to His people. In your Baptism God has clothed you with the garments of salvation, and covered you with the robe of righteousness. You and all believers are Christ’s bride, the church. Who are united to Christ Jesus your bridegroom, who takes you His bride and adorns you with jewels to present you to His Father as His most precious treasure.Take comfort in these words, you are united to Christ’s death and resurrection. Your sins are forgiven, all the stressors and pains of this world cannot take you away or exile you from the love of God for you in Christ Jesus. Come Lord Jesus, where the bride groom will join His bride and live together in righteousness with praise and thanksgiving forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness; Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood; Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace; Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God.“ (LSB 631:5)-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/18/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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The Third Sunday in Advent

December 17, 2023  Today's Reading: John 1.6-8, 19-28Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 33:1-24; Revelations 5:1-14He [John] was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. (John 1:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the apostle gets right to work with John the Baptist in our reading today. There’s no annunciation by an angel, no mute Zechariah, no leaping in Elizabeth’s womb. John the prophet, the preacher, sent from God to proclaim His Word to His people.The people of Israel, God’s chosen people certainly must have felt God had forgotten them. Like they had lost their identity. Stumbling from empire to empire, wondering when God will be the God of His promises, the God who had delivered them in the past. When will He deliver them now?We can relate to this. Often our daily lives have similar stresses, similar identity crises. When a parent or loved one becomes sick or hurt beyond recovery. When the to do list seems to never end and school work, house work, your job just continues to pile on overwhelmingly. When we see tragedies, and disasters happen at home and around the world. We feel lost, and often wonder “Where is God?”, “Has He forgotten me?”.Beloved child of God, your Father in heaven has not forgotten you, just as He had not forgotten His chosen people Israel. Maybe it has been awhile since you have been in church, heard His Word. Received His gifts. Know that your Pastor, or the Pastor in your community is delighted to give them to you. Just like John the Baptist, He is not the Light, but He bears witness about the Light. Even more so your pastor is given to you by God Himself to give you Jesus. Who is the Light of the world, the Christ, the one promised and foretold by Isaiah and all of Scripture who is the fulfillment of God’s promises for you.  Who on the cross gave His Body and poured out His Blood for you, as the very lamb who was slain. To cover your sin, to cover your suffering, and brokenness. So you know that you do not walk alone through the challenges of this life. Your identity is not given legitimacy by this world, that is always changing. No, your identity is yours in Christ who has washed you and united you in the waters of your Baptism, and united you to Himself in His body, and blood that you are given to eat and to drink. That is your strength, your assurance, that the one who will come whose sandal strap John the Baptist is not fit to untie”. Is the one who has come, is with you now, and will come again. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Vicar Justin Chester is vicar at Shepherd of the City in Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/17/20234 minutes, 48 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week in Advent

December 16, 2023  Today's Reading: Introit for Advent 3Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20; Revelations 4:1-11Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s easier for me to imagine the saving face of God that saves us as something brighter than the sun.  Transfigurations are always appealing, even to those who know better than to try to build tabernacles on mountains.  The Good Shepherd, enthroned upon the cherubim that guarded the Ark of the Covenant seems to demand awe and wonder.  But if the cherubim guarded the real presence of God in His true glory, wouldn’t they circle the cross where God-made-man came down to die?   The hour for the Son of Man to be glorified left Him with no throne but a cross.  The radiance of the transfiguration gave way to streaks of blood and sweat.  But this is how we are saved.  Don’t look up the mountain for a glowing God of might.  Look to the cross for the dying God of mercy.  Here, we are restored.  Here, we are saved.  Here, all of your sins are atoned for, and you are given a shepherd that leads you through death to life again, not one who calls to you from the other side of the veil.  In fear and in danger, we want the face of the transfiguration, but God gives us the face of the cross, crowned with thorns instead.  And it’s a gift.  Peter, confronted with a shouting sky and a glowing God, only realized what he was not, and fell down in terror.  A centurion saw the same God die and realized what happened.  Pray the psalms for mercy, not power, and God doesn’t ever seem so far away, because we finally start to measure Him in the things that actually work to answer our prayers.  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, author of salvation, Shared in our humanity; Crowned with radiant exaltation, Now He shares His victory! From His face Shines the grace Meant for all our fallen race. (LSB 462:3)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/16/20234 minutes, 4 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week in Advent

December 15, 2023  Today's Reading: Revelations 3:1-22Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:27-31:9; Revelations. 3:1-22And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. From the whitewashed tombs of the Pharisees to the tax collectors and sinners in the Kingdom, the heavenly band isn’t what we’d expect.  And it leaves us plenty of opportunities to turn that on to each other.  There’s too much conflict in church.  Especially considering that this applies to ourselves more than it does anyone else.  This isn’t just a warning not to trust anything too polished, to question authority, and to roll your eyes at anyone who says “we’ve always done it this way”.  If you’ll allow it, it’s a chance to reflect upon the secret things that are killing you from the inside out that you hide from everyone else.  They’re not actually measured in the battles you lose against vice, nearly so often as they are the things you don’t want to call wrong in the first place.  The things you excuse yourself from, but are still too uncomfortable to talk about among the sanctified, because you tell yourself they’re just not enlightened enough to understand.  We hide the things that are killing us because what else do you do with the things you can’t get rid of and you’re not even sure you want to?  John has instructions to the walking-dead-inside.  Remember. Keep. Repent. Remember what you received. Past tense. Already, before you quit the vice you won’t call a vice. You are already free from it. It’s drowned in the font. You received it in Baptism.  Keep it.  That means realize it’s valuable enough to keep you.  Treasure it.  This isn’t a battle for self control you lose. It’s an identity already won on a cross for you.  It’s worth clinging to because it’s at least honest, even if it’s every bit as confusing.  This is who you are. Dead to sin. Alive to God.  It’s called repentance.  You live a life of repentance every day. You live a life of Baptism every day. Not marked in improvement, but in death. Every day you call sin what it is, even if you can’t get away from it. Every day you hear God’s promises.  Every day you’re turned back towards the one who forgave you because that Baptism you treasure is worth more than the vices you hoard.  Repentance isn’t what you quit. It isn’t how sorry you are about what you’ve done. It isn’t about a promise to quit you’re not sure you can keep.  It’s what brings the dead inside back to life.  It’s a Spirit carried hand toward the cross that swallows up what you bury and a promise that you’re already joined to the same empty tomb that Jesus burst free from. No matter how you feel inside. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Amen. -Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/15/20234 minutes, 54 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week in Advent

December 14, 2023  Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, question 4Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 30:15-26; Revelations 2:1-29Who receives this sacrament worthily?  Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our churches make a big deal about Communion.  We don’t let just anyone come.  We believe it is exactly what Scripture says that it is. We believe that it can do great good if received correctly, and great harm if received incorrectly.  Paul talked about someone dying.  He seemed against it. We agree. The problem is, the devil loves an opportunity to call someone unworthy.  The evil foe will say you’re unworthy because of the porn you watch. Because you cut yourself. Because you struggle not to hate your parents. Being a sinner doesn’t make you unworthy of Communion.  Communion is only for sinners. If you’re not a sinner, don’t drink from the cup that promises forgiveness.  It’s not a meal for former sinners who kicked the habit. It’s not a meal paid for with promises to do better next time.  It’s a meal for the unworthy, and everything is flipped on its head.  For everything you’re too ashamed to admit to everyone kneeling beside you, Jesus only promises forgiveness.  Every week (cool practice, huh?).  Fasting and bodily preparation turn into something new.  They don’t earn your place.  They simply become fine outward training.  A meal that forgives everything you want to be rid of helps us to realize life would actually be better without it.  So we fight against our sinful flesh. We fast. We prepare for the supper. And when we come starving and sinning anyway, we’re met by the same promise.  Take drink, this is the blood of Jesus, shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.  We still practice closed Communion.  Not because we want less people to receive this great gift.  But because we want to be sure that everyone who does is helped by it.  So the answer to “may I take communion” is never a no. Just sometimes a not yet.  We teach the faith all hearts must believe. We point to just how much is given here.  The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of those who hear it.  And the church is fed.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Unworthy though I am, O Savior, Because I have a sinful heart, Yet Thou Thy lamb wilt banish never, For Thou my faithful shepherd art: Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! (LSB 618:3)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/14/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week in Advent

December 13, 2023 Today's Reading: Revelations 1:1-20Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:15-30:14; Revelations 1:1-20John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne. (Revelation 1:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The more exciting you try to make the book of Revelation, the more boring you make the church.  The more boring you allow Revelation to continue to be, the more glorious church appears.  We go looking in the book of revelation for wild stuff we don’t see.  Like sword-mouth-Jesus.  Sword-mouth-Jesus is definitely less boring than your pastor.  Except they preach the same thing.  Jesus died and rose again. He holds the keys to death.  But John saw a vision from heaven. With trumpets.  Visions from heaven with trumpets are definitely less boring than the Bible reading in church that goes on just a little too long.  Except the vision directed John to share it with the churches in a book. Like a Bible.  That is trustworthy and speaks of Jesus for sinners. The gift of Revelation is that the more boring you allow it to be, the grander church appears because for all the incredible language describing heavenly visions; all that stuff shows up in your church.  The letter of Revelation was written to fledgling churches struggling with doubt and despair, false doctrine and gross sin.  Jesus is there in Word and Sacrament to forgive, to comfort, to save those who don’t deserve it.  He calls us out of foolishness and into eternal life. You receive those very gifts every Sunday. Your pastor preaches to you. He gives you the body and blood of Jesus. He ties you to the alpha and the omega in a way that transcends space and time as you are united with the marriage feast of the lamb in His kingdom which has no end.  When Revelation needs to be more than that, it always makes church feel like less, and worse, you can never actually find it no matter how many signs you see in the news.  When Revelation is a book pointing to Jesus, going to church where Jesus is just gets even more impressive.  I imagine sword-mouth-Jesus looks cool, but the body and blood on your altar aren’t just something to imagine.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon; He helps us free from ev'ry need That hath us now o'ertaken. The old evil foe Now means deadly woe; Deep guile and great might Are his dread arms in fight; On earth is not his equal. (LSB 656:1)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/13/20234 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent

December 12, 2023 Today's Reading: 2 Peter 3.8-14Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:1-14; Jude 1-25The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  The heavens will pass away with a roar.  The earth and the works done on it will be exposed.  So be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  And until that last word, it’s all a threat.  Hey everyone, Jesus is gonna show up when nobody expects Him, set everything you love on fire, and expose everything you’ve ever kept secret.  But be at peace when it happens. This is fine. Because the timing matters.  The last day isn’t a trap. He doesn’t delay so that more people will be lost, but out of a desire that more would be saved.  It isn’t time yet because there’s more preaching to do. More forgiving sinners to do.  More hope to receive.  Jesus isn’t waiting for the right time to pull your shame out into the open so more people can see it. He already did that. He bore it on the cross.  Every evil deed. Everything you’d have nobody see. All of it hung on Jesus as He bore your sins.  None of it comes back down from there. You are forgiven.  You are baptized.  Blameless, and without spot or blemish.  So wait that way.  Baptized.  The promise of the last day should make you feel better, not worse. It’s a harbinger of peace, not anxiety.  Jesus will Advent, one last time, and then we can be rescued from the darkness that feels so overwhelming. We can stop counting the days we wish we could forget. They’ll be burned up.  And we’ll be taken through death and unto the same resurrection that we saw in our Lord. The last day isn’t one we can predict. But we don’t need to run from it. We pray for it. Come, Lord Jesus. But even while we wait, we can be at peace, because we have the very things we need to sustain us until the last. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He comes the broken heart to bind, The bleeding soul to cure, And with the treasures of His grace To enrich the humble poor. (LSB 349:3)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/12/20234 minutes, 20 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week in Advent

December 11, 2023 Today's Reading: Isaiah 40.1-11Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14--25:12; 1 John 2:15-29The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I actually prefer the fake Christmas trees to the real ones.  It’s not the mess or the cost. It’s actually Isaiah. “All flesh is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it. Surely the people are grass.” There’s something that hits a little too close about putting a dying tree in your living room as we celebrate the birth of Him who saves us from death.  It’s great that the Savior was born…but the grass still withers. The tree still dies. It’s the thing nobody wants to think about this time of year, so just to make sure nobody thinks too hard about it, what if we took the dying tree…and put lights on it.   So much of what celebrations this time of year turn into are hiding from problems nobody can fix. So much of what we look to for comfort is just trying to cover up what’s wrong.  Because what else do you actually say? What shall I cry? It’s the question that drove Isaiah to wail before the Lord.  What do you say to the grass withering in the field to make it green again? What do you say to someone that’s lost everything? And the deeper question, just hinted at, “Wasn’t it Your breath, Lord, that did this to them? Isaiah would have rather preached to a people who didn’t need comfort, but only the sick need the doctor.  The Lord spoke and said to Isaiah, “Tell my people that her warfare has ended, her iniquity is pardoned”  Yes, your sin is real, but every sin is forgiven.  You don’t have to double down on it because there’s no other choice.  Your mistakes, your rebellion, your sin is pardoned, forgiven, forgotten.  Covered by the blood of Him who died for you.  All that well deserved God’s anger was addressed there, for you. You don’t have to dress it up as something else like lights on a dying tree. You don’t have to look for comfort in hiding from what’s wrong.  You don’t have to be afraid. Our Lord confronts the death of withering grass and dares us to see the truth about comfort. Comfort is not measured in the lack of bad things, but in the presence of good.  So God advents. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Yea, her sins our God will pardon, Blotting out each dark misdeed; All that well deserved His anger He no more will see or heed. She hath suffered many_a day, Now her griefs have passed away; God will change her pining sadness Into ever-springing gladness. (LSB 347:2)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/11/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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The Second Sunday in Advent

December 10, 2023 Today's Reading: Mark 1.1-8Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:20-27:13; 1 John 4:1-21John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ starts with John, not Jesus. No Christmas joy. No angel choir. No kids in bathrobes pretending to be shepherds.  A preacher preaching repentance and baptizing for the forgiveness of sins.  It might be better.  The good news of Jesus Christ begins with the Word being given to sinners for repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  It’s a reminder of how God advents today.  He is where the Word is preached. Where the Sacraments are administered.  This is how He is with us always, even to the end of the age.  Advent is a God who shows up.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t start without Him.  He is being given to those who need Him.  Your church works that way too.  Jesus isn’t at a manger we journeyed to, met by our best efforts and gifts and well rehearsed lines someone else made you memorize.  He’s preached to sinners in the wilderness.  When you look around your sanctuary, your home, your life, and Jesus feels far, when the people the book says listen to are weird, and when the season feels a little off like it does some years, God advents. The Word-made-flesh is preached. Your sins are forgiven. Mark skips the pleasantries and sometimes it’s good to be reminded we have permission to do it too.  There are weeks that are too heavy for small talk. The bad ones where the guilt piles up.  Where the things said and done since last Sunday still haunt you.  Those are not the weeks for Christmas pageants and small talk after about how big the kids are getting.  So you can go to church and you hear your pastor dispense with pleasantries. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Your Baptism.  You confess your sins.  He forgives you in Jesus’ stead.  You can look around and it might still feel off, but God advents there. Shows up. To meet you in the wilderness of your worst week. To forgive. To save. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. -Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/10/20234 minutes, 27 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week in Advent

December 9, 2023 Today's Reading: Psalm 80:1, 8a, 9b, 7; antiphon: v. 3Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:1-19; 1 John 3:1-24Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! (Psalm 80:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  God delights in the prayers of His people.  He loves for us to call upon His name.  If we are honest, it seems like we usually pray only when we are in desperate need.  When our backs are against the wall and we are at the end of our rope, we finally find ourselves crying out to God for help.  And you know what?  God delights in the prayers of His people.  Praying to God is faith in action, and the Lord longs for us to put our trust in Him.  That’s exactly what prayer does; it is faith looking to and talking to God.  If you think about it, it’s all a gift.  Faith given, faith in action praying – all given by God.  The Psalms too are a gift from God, for they are a collection of prayers driven by faith calling upon the Lord.  When our prayers are joined to the Psalms, God delights in hearing His Word prayed back to Him. Restore us, O God.  The Hebrew word behind restore is the idea of returning or coming back; it is a prayer of repentance.  Repent me, O God  is the cry of faith.  We often think of repentance as something that begins with us, something we must finally decide to do.  Repentance begins with God; it is a work He begins in us.  In other words, repentance is a God’s gift to you.  We are prone to wander, aren’t we? We often find ourselves on the wrong road either by choice or by deception, we can’t help it.  But our loving and gracious Father will not let us wander off to be lost forever.  He seeks us out, He finds us, He returns us to Himself through his Word and Spirit and thank God He does.  Let your face shine, that we may be saved.  This is where repentance leads us, to Christ, the light of the world.  The light of Christ’s life shone in the darkness when He hung on a Roman cross that you may be saved.  Even when it seemed like His life was extinguished, three days later He radiated in resurrection glory.  Christ must suffer and on the third day be raised that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in His name (Luke 24:46).  God delights in your prayers.  He repents you, He forgives you, He saves you, all for the sake of Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From the cross Thy wisdom shining  Breaketh forth in conqu’ring might; From the cross forever beameth  All Thy bright redeeming light. (LSB 578:4)- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/9/20234 minutes, 30 seconds
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Friday of the First Week in Advent

December 8, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14-25:12; 1 John 2:15-29And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nothing lasts forever.  That’s certainly the way it seems to be in this world we live in.  You purchase a new smartphone and after a year or two, you need a new one.  Your favorite sport’s team is hardly recognizable as players come and go.  This world is not meant to last and our life experience confirms this fact.  So why is it that we continue to buy into all the various promises the world continues to make us?  Let’s face it, we love the world, or at least that’s the temptation.  Who doesn’t want to feel accepted, or to have a more fulfilling life?  Who doesn’t need more happiness? Who doesn’t feel the need to be more in control of their present and future?  We grasp for these things because they give us hope, but the world is passing away along with its empty promises and false hopes.   “Do not love the world or the things of the world,” John writes.  The one behind all those false promises and hopes this world offers is the one who led Adam and Eve to doubt God's promises, Satan himself.  He is still at it trying to lure us away from the only thing that will last forever.  He’s crafty.  He disguises himself in this world knowing those voids in our lives that he tries to fill with fabricated promises and misplaced hopes.  There is only one thing that remains forever; there is only one thing that will endure after everything else has faded away; the Word of the Lord remains forever (1 Peter 1:25).This word that lasts forever is the Gospel that was preached to you. God’s promises He makes to you in Christ endure for you, forever.  The world’s promises are based on lies, and that shouldn’t surprise us since Satan “is a liar and the “father of lies” (John 8:44).  You have been given the Spirit of God to know the truth.  You have been given the gift of faith to trust in the one who will never let you down.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and whoever trusts in Him will live forever.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that He made to us – eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25).  This is the will of God for you, to trust His Son, Jesus.  The Word made flesh remains forever.  Jesus’ Gospel promises for you to endure forever, and trusting in that Word, so will you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Give us strength to fight the good fight and by faith to overcome all the temptations of Satan, the flesh, and the world so that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls. Amen- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/8/20234 minutes, 47 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week in Advent

December 7, 2023 Today's Reading: Sacrament of the Altar, Question 3Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:1-13; 1 John 1:1-2:14“…Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27–28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do you see?  A piece of bread, maybe a wafer?  A little wine?  What do you hear?  “This is my body…this is my blood.”  Words spoken through an ordinary voice giving you ordinary bread and wine.  Then comes those words, “for the forgiveness of sins.”  How can this be?  How can eating this bread and drinking this wine do such great things, like forgiving me of my sins?  Those words spoken into your ears over the bread and wine are not just any words, they are Jesus’ words.  The words of Jesus do just what they say.  Luther writes in the Large Catechism, what Christ’s lips say and speak, so it is(LC V 14).  Thank God for faithful pastors who simply speak Jesus’ words for you.  Thank God for pastors who faithfully give you what Jesus has won for you through the shedding of His blood.  Jesus knows what we need, and He continues to provide.  He gives us His church; He gives us pastors; He gives us His Word, and that Word gives what it promises.  Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knows we struggle.  He knows we are weak in faith, and that our faith is always under attack.  He knows we are prone to doubt His love and forgiveness for us, especially when we are aware of our shortcomings, our giving into sin.  So Jesus continues to speak the words we need to hear.  He continues to give and strengthen your faith in who He is and what He has done for you.  And the faith Jesus gives believes and clings to His words of promise for you.  Jesus gathers you to Himself and feeds you the fruits of His cross through ordinary bread and wine.  His Word does just what it says.  Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: forgiveness of sins. (SC Lord’s Supper 3).What do you see?  Don’t trust your eyes but trust your ears.  What do you hear?  Jesus’ words of forgiveness, life, and salvation delivered right into your mouth.  The Lord’s Supper is truly Jesus for you!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Is this for me? I am forgiven and set free! I do believe that I receive His very body and His blood.  O taste and see—the Lord is good. (LSB 629:5)  - Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/7/20234 minutes, 26 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week in Advent

December 6, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 14.1-23; 2 Peter 3.1-18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Grow in grace and grow in knowledge. These are both gifts from God who wants to have a relationship with you.  It is God’s desire for you to know Him, and He’s done everything for that to happen.  Even after Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, God was determined not to write them or us off. He continued to do everything, to pave the way, to restore that intimate relationship with Him that was lost.  This is what the angels were waiting for. This is what the prophets promised and foretold. This is what John the Baptizer was sent to prepare. This is why God became man; this is why Jesus was born. He was born for you, to bring you back into a loving, secure relationship with God that will stand the test of time and even withstand our sinfulness. It required a sinless life; it required an atoning death, and Jesus’ empty tomb declares He has done it.  That’s the grace of God. The giving of Himself that you might be brought back to Him. That’s the grace we grow in, being connected to a God who has done everything and continues to do everything to keep us connected to Him.  God continues to give Himself to us that we may grow in grace and knowledge of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He opens our minds to understand the Scriptures; how the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise again from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name (Luke 24:46).  This is Christian growth – that we grow in our realization of how much we need forgiveness, and we grow in our dependence upon all the ways God delivers His forgiveness to us as a gift all because of Jesus.  We grow in grace knowing we have a gracious God who loves us, who is for us, who comes to us and makes Himself known to us because He desires us to know Him – just as you are.  Faith can’t help but want to come to Him, to know God, to walk with Him and to trust Him daily with our lives.  And yes, even faith is a gift from God – the soil in which we grow in grace and knowledge of our beloved Savior, Jesus.  To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.By grace God’s Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace, and grace alone, That brought Him from His heav’nly throne. (LSB 566:3)- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/6/20234 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week in Advent

December 5, 2023 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 2 Peter 2:1-22I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The season of Advent, these days leading up to Christmas, is full of anticipation.  We are invited to wait, as Israel did, for that shoot to spring out from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).  Some 800 years after Isaiah penned these words, God made good on His promise to send the one whose belt is righteousness and faithfulness (Isaiah 11:5) and upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested upon (Isaiah 11:2).  Jesus was born; the Lord has come, and He’s bringing gifts for you.  The Apostle Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth how he is always giving thanks to God because of the “grace that was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:4).  Paul is beside himself with joyful gratitude when thinking about how gracious and giving God is for us whom he loves.  God doesn’t hold back; He gives it all to you and for you, all because of Jesus.  All of what?  Everything you need to keep you until our Lord Jesus’ second Advent, His second coming.  You are not lacking any gift, Paul writes.  You have all you need in Christ to live these days knowing God has your back. God is faithful!  And while you live these days waiting, trusting, and living daily under God’s grace, God promises to sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8).  Seriously?  What must I do?  Nothing!  That’s why it is called grace.  This is why the coming of Jesus is God’s gift for you and for the world. And like the gifts we are given from those who love us, we simply stretch out our hands to receive them and say, thank you.  That’s what faith does with God’s gifts, it simply receives and says thank you. The Lord has come, and He will come again. Now we wait with our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus who came bearing the gifts of forgiveness and life.  Now we live, with our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus who will come for you, to gather you to Himself, and present you holy and blameless, and completely guiltless – all as a gift for you.  Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Then when You will come again as the glorious King to reign, I with joy will see Your face, freely ransomed by Your grace. (LSB 352:1)- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/5/20234 minutes, 33 seconds
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Monday of the First Week in Advent

December 4, 2023 Today's Reading: Isaiah 65.1-9Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 10:12-27a, 33-34; 2 Peter 1:1-21I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isaiah 65:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  How long does God have to wait for someone to seek Him out?  He’s ready.  How long does God have to wait for someone to actually find Him?  And, if we find Him, then what?  The truth is we don’t want anything to do with a God who is holy and just.  We certainly don’t want to come to Him and have to answer for ourselves.  Remember how that went for Adam and Eve when they realized they were naked and ashamed?  God comes looking for them, and they bury themselves behind some bushes wrapped in fig leaves.  God came to them, but they wished He hadn’t, and we’ve been hiding from Him ever since.  The Apostle Paul lays out the truth about our hiding from the one true God, None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)  So, if we will never seek after God, no matter how ready He is for us to come, how in the world will we ever be welcomed by Him?  If we can’t cover our shame, as our first parents attempted, how can we ever be fit to be in His presence, let alone walk with Him and live with Him?  God doesn’t wait for us to come to Him, and He certainly doesn’t wait until we’ve cleaned ourselves up. No, God comes to us.  He seeks us out and He finds us by sending His own Son to seek and save the lost.  God comes to you in Jesus and says, “Here am I coming to be born of a woman.  Here I am coming into the city that kills its prophets.  Here I am, arms spread out upon a Roman cross to cover your shame.  Here I am, risen from the dead, just as I said, to give you life with me.  Here I am, coming once again, this time to gather all who have believed in me for life together forever”.God has sought you; He has found you.  His arms are wide open for you.  You are clean, you are forgiven, you belong to Him, and He will never let you go. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, Thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.  Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art, Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.  (LSB 338:1)- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/4/20234 minutes, 36 seconds
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The First Sunday in Advent

December 3, 2023Today's Reading: Mark 11:1-10Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11; 1 Peter 5:1-14“If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it…” (Mark 11:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today marks the beginning of the season of Advent.  Our journey over the next three weeks will eventually lead us to a manger in the city of David where an angel of the Lord announces, “for you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).  This little baby’s life journey will take Him to a different city, Jerusalem, where He will accomplish His life’s mission, “you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  We need Advent; I need Advent, the coming of God’s Savior to save us, you and me, from our sins.  Jesus knew why He was sent; His purpose was clear, and He willingly gave up all to be born to save us from our sins.  “The Lord has need of it.”  This simple phrase marks the life and mission of Jesus, “the Lord has need of it.” What does the Lord need?  A womb to be conceived in, a manger to be born in, a river to be baptized in, a donkey to ride upon, a cross to die on, a tomb to rise from.  Everything must take place, just as the Lord planned, for you, to save you.    The Lord has need of it. Why?  Because of the simple and plain fact that you and I cannot save ourselves.  We try, don’t we?  We make plans to do better.  We make promises to change our behavior.  When we fail, we can find reasons and excuses to diminish the offense of our sins.  When we have good days we are tempted to think they will somehow cover the bad ones.  Advent reminds us that we cannot save ourselves – no way!  We are imprisoned without any chance of escape. We owe an insurmountable debt that we honestly can never repay.  We need someone to deliver us, to rescue us, to pay the price, to die our death, to bring us back into a loving relationship with God.  Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna, the cry of those who realize they need someone to save them, and the crowd that lined the road into Jerusalem knew the one riding on a donkey had come to do just that. The Lord has need of it.  Advent graciously reminds us of our need for a savior, and then proclaims to us the very Savior we need, Jesus.  The Lord has need of it, your sin, your death, His cross, His tomb.  Jesus is the answer to our hosannas, Lord save us, and He does.  After all, that’s why He came in the first place, for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Once He came in blessing, all our sins redressing; Came in likeness lowly, Son of God most holy; Bore the cross to save us; Hope and freedom gave us. Amen.  (LSB 333:1)- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/3/20234 minutes, 50 seconds
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Saturday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

December 2, 2023Today's Reading: Introit For Advent 1: Psalm 25:1-3; antiphon Zechariah 9:9b, altDaily Lectionary: Jeremiah 29:1-19, Matthew 26:36-56Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!Behold, your king is coming to you;  and having salvation is he,humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow begins the season of Advent. A season of waiting, preparation, repentance, and hope in Christ who came in the flesh, comes in His Word and Sacraments, and promises to come again. Tomorrow we hear how Jesus fulfills the words of his prophet Zechariah as He rides into Jerusalem amidst palms and praises. Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humbled and mounted on a donkey. Tomorrow we hear the Palm Sunday word ringing in the new church year as Advent begins the same Holy Week begins, with shouts of Hosanna!Hosanna is the perfect word to sing as Advent begins. Hosanna means, “Lord, save us.” Jesus came to do his Hosanna work, to seek and to save the lost. This is what God  has always done. He is the God of Hosanna. The God who saves. When the people of Israel cried out to God in the days of Moses for rescue from slavery in Egypt, God heard their cry of Hosanna, Lord, save us. And he did. God saved them from death by the blood of the Lamb. God saved them from Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea. God saved them by dwelling among them in the cloud and pillar of fire in the tabernacle.In Zechariah’s day, when the people of God, once again, cried out for rescue. They had spent seventy years in Babylon. They were returning from exile. The temple and walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. Would God save us as he promised? Would God make his advent as he said? Will God hear our Hosannas? Yes, foretold the prophet Zechariah. Behold, your king is coming to you.Centuries later, the king Zechariah foretold finally arrived. God heard the Hosanna cries of his people. God made his Advent in the wood of the manger and the cross.. God became man to be present with and save his people, and to save you.In Advent, Jesus brings his Hosanna to you. He came in the flesh to save you. He comes in His Word, water, body and blood to save you. He promises to come again on the Last Day and save you. In Advent we celebrate and remember Christ’s first Advent in the flesh, confident that because He died and rose again, He will make His Second advent in glory. And until that day, our King Jesus still saves you and promises to be with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.A humble beast He rides, Yet as a King presides; Though not arrayed in splendor, He makes the grave surrender. Hosanna, praise and glory! Our King, we bow before Thee. (LSB 335:3)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/2/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
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Friday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

December 1, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 26:1-19, Matthew 26:20-35“Take, eat; this is my body.”  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s one thing to make a promise, that’s easy. Plenty of people make promises.  It’s another thing to make a promise and keep it; that’s the hard part. And yet that’s exactly what God does over and over again in His Word. God makes promises and God keeps His promises. Israel was hungry in the wilderness, God promised to feed them, and God sent manna and quail. God warned His people Israel that their sin of idolatry would lead to exile, and yet, He promised that they would return from exile in Babylon, and God kept his promise. God promised Adam and Eve that there would be a child born of the woman who would crush the devil, and He kept that promise by sending Jesus to live, die, and rise for us.One of the ways God makes and keeps his promises is by making a covenant with his people. A covenant is God’s promise to do what He says, to keep His word. When God establishes a covenant with His people He is the one who initiates it, sustains it, and fulfills it. Left on our own, we break promises all the time, just like Israel broke God’s covenant of Sinai over and over again. This is why God makes his covenant with us and He keeps it.This is the way it was for Noah and all creation when God made His covenant never again to flood the earth and put a bow in the sky. And for Abraham when God made His covenant with him that all nations on the earth would be blessed through him. And for David when God made a covenant with him that even though David would die, there would be a ruler who would come from his descendants who would reign forever. Jesus comes as the promise maker and promise keeper all in one. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is proof that God keeps His promises. Jesus promised to die and rise on the third day, and He did for you. Jesus promises on the night when He was betrayed that the bread in Holy Communion is His body, and the cup of wine is the blood of His covenant, His promise poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. No wonder St. Paul says that all of God’s promises are yes in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Glory be to Jesus, Who in bitter pains. Poured for me His lifeblood From His sacred veins. Grace and life eternal in that blood I find; Blest be His compassion, Infinitely kind. (LSB 433:1-2)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/1/20234 minutes, 43 seconds
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Thursday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

November 30, 2023Today's Reading: John 1:35-42aDaily Lectionary: Jeremiah 25:1-18, Matthew 26:1-19The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In one sentence, John tells us everything we need to know about Jesus….everything we need to know about our life in Christ as his church, as his children.  John’s confession is what separates Christianity from all the world’s religions. God is “beholdable.” He is approachable, knowable, tangible. Men saw Jesus, heard him, touched him, ate with him. Jesus didn’t live in “never-land" or “once upon a time” or “in a galaxy far, far away.” He was born in the days of Caesar Augustus. Crucified under Pontius Pilate.  John’s confession is remarkable. When John stands in the wilderness and points to Jesus saying, “Behold, the Lamb!” he’s pointing to God in human flesh. God with a human face. God who is truly bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. Behold, the Lamb of God. In the Scriptures, a Lamb means sacrifice. Sacrifice is God’s way of covering our sin and guilt. Sacrifice is God’s way of taking our death and giving us life in exchange. A substitute. A life for a life. The innocent for the guilty. As John cries out, “Behold, the Lamb!” three OT events come to mind. After the fall, God clothed Adam and Eve’s nakedness and shame. And God did this with animal skins. Seems ordinary enough, but where did those skins come from? That’s right…sacrifice. A substitute. A life for a life. The innocent for the guilty. Then there’s Abraham and Isaac. “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” And as they hiked up the mountain, Isaac said to Abraham, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And he did. The Lord provided. Finally, we can’t forget the Passover lamb. The Lamb would die. A sacrifice. Substitute. A life for a life. The innocent for the guilty. Guilt covered. Sins forgiven and atoned for. Blood covered the doorpost. And Israel ate the flesh of the Lamb who was slain for them. All of Old Testament history – the tabernacle and temple – all of it is soaked in sacrificial blood. And it is all a blessed reminder of John’s words that Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood cleanses us from all sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer, Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer. All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o’er us. Have mercy on us, O Jesus! O Jesus! (LSB 434:1)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/30/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

November 29, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: The Sacrament Part 2Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:21-40, Matthew 25:31-46What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation. (Explanation of the Sacrament of the Altar, part 2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord God is the original Iron Chef. From beginning to end, and many places in between, when God serves up his blessings in Holy Scripture, course after course often involves food. When God created the heavens and the earth he gave Adam and Eve access to a fruit and vegetable buffet line, until, of course, they sinfully chose to pick and eat something off the menu. When the people of Israel were in bondage and slavery in Egypt, God provided a holy meal of bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and roasted lamb as the Passover meal. Central at that meal was the lamb who was sacrificed, whose blood covered their doorposts, and who’s life was given to spare the life of Israel, that death would Passover them.When the prophet Elijah was hiding in a cave the Lord sent ravens to feed and nourish and strengthen him for his prophetic task.When the prophet Isaiah was called by God to preach and foretell the coming work of the Messiah, Isaiah dished up a plate of good news. When the Messiah came there would be a feast of rich foods and fine wine and a mountain top where he would destroy death (Isaiah 25).From Genesis to Revelation, God often pairs his blessing and provision with his gifts of daily bread. So it;s no surprise that when we come to the New Testament, God incarnate is also the Top Chef of Salvation, serving up his forgiveness, life, and salvation, alongside food and table. Jesus is well known in the Gospels for eating and drinking with sinners, like Zacceus the tax collector. In Divine Service, our Lord Jesus does the same for us. Today salvation has come to your house! Jesus feeds the crowds on more than one occasion, revealing that he is the Shepherd-Messiah who has come to feed his lost sheep in the abundance of his grace. Many of Jesus’ parables result in or revolve around a feast.All of these food and feast events are like appetizers, leading up to the main course in Matthew 26 on the night when Jesus is betrayed. When Jesus took the bread and said, “Take, eat; this is my body given for you. Take, drink; this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts are in the feast, Gifts far more than we see; Beneath the bread and wine Is food from Calvary. The body and the blood Remove our ev’ry sin; We leave His presence in His peace, renewed again. (LSB 602:5)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/29/20234 minutes, 59 seconds
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Tuesday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

November 28, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-28Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:1-20, Matthew 25:14-30For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Today’s reading from 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul tells us a tale of two Adams. The man Adam, formed by God from the dust of creation. And the God-man, Jesus, the Second Adam, begotten of His Father before all worlds. The first Adam was formed by God into a man. The Second Adam is not only true man, but also true God. In the Garden, Adam was tempted three times and overcome by Satan. In the wilderness, Jesus, the Second Adam, was tempted three times and overcame Satan. The first Adam was tempted to become like God. Jesus, the Second Adam is true God, and became man to be tempted for us as we are tempted, yet without sin. The first Adam was tempted to eat the food that God had not given him to eat. The Second Adam knew that man lived not by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. The first Adam was tempted to forsake the word of God. The Second Adam is the very Word of God who also speaks God’s living word.The first Adam brought death out of life. Jesus, the second and perfect Adam brought life out of death. As Paul writes, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” The first Adam failed. Fell in sin. Died. And in Adam, in our own sinful flesh, so do we. But not Jesus, the Second Adam. Where the first Adam said “yes” to the devil’s lie, Jesus says no, again, again, and again.                            The first Adam was overcome by the tree serpent and the tree of the Garden. Jesus our Second Adam overcomes the devil by the tree of the cross for you.  The first Adam fell and brought us sin and death. Jesus our Second Adam dies and rises to raise us from the dust by His resurrection.The first Adam cast us out of Paradise. Jesus our Second Adam brings us through the wilderness to a new creation: “today you are with me in Paradise.”The first Adam gave us food of the fall by sweat and labor. Jesus, our Second Adam, feeds us with his own life-giving food, the Bread of Life in his body and blood.We confess with St. Paul, that “As in Adam we die, so in Christ, our Second Adam we live.” And we rejoice with St. Paul that we are brothers and heirs of Christ, our Second Adam, who has destroyed the last enemy of death for us and for all creation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.But Christ the Second Adam, came To bear our sin and woe and shame, To be our life, our light, our way, Our only hope, our only stay. (LSB 562:4)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/28/20234 minutes, 45 seconds
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Monday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

November 27, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 22:1-23, Matthew 25:1-13For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. (Ezekiel 34:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Every now and then, you hear a song on the radio or Spotify and think to yourself, “This song sounds so familiar.” There’s a reason for that. Musicians call it sampling, when you take a bit of an old song and put it in a new song so it reminds you of that old song. The same happens all over God’s Word as well. It’s no accident that Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, and looks at the crowds like sheep without a shepherd, and is identified by John as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the New Testament’s way of sampling the Old Testament promises of God. The new song of salvation sounds a lot like the old songs of salvation from the prophets. Ezekiel 34 is one of those memorable chapters in the prophets, full of the promises of God to be the shepherd of his people Israel. God’s people were lost in idolatry, God promised to seek them out and save them. God’s people were scattered in exile, God promised to bring them home and rescue them. God’s people were injured, weak, and hungry, and God promised to bind their wounds, give them his strength, and feed them in rich pastures. In the Old Testament, that’s the refrain of God’s song of salvation: God the Lord is the shepherd of Israel and he alone seeks them out, saves, and rescues them.When we turn the pages of the Scriptures to the New Testament our Lord is playing the same old song but with something new. God the Shepherd has become one of his sheep in his incarnation and has become one with his sheep in our humanity. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of God in human flesh. He came to seek and save us in our lostness. He came to bind up our wounds by his wounds on the cross. He came to rescue us from sin, death, and the devil, by his redemption. He came to feed us with the rich pastures of his word and sacraments.All the promises that the prophets foretold, all the songs of salvation they sang, find their fulfillment and joyful crescendo in Jesus crucified and risen. For Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks, saves, rescues, feeds, and forgives you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The King of love my shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His And He is mine forever. (LSB 709:1)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/27/20234 minutes, 23 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty Sixth Week of Pentecost

November 26, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 25:31-46Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18, Matthew 24:29-51Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some folks read Jesus’ teaching on the Last Day in Matthew 25 like The Hunger Games: “Last one standing is a sheep, and may the odds be ever in your favor!” For many, it’s a day of judgment, doom, and gloom; “everyone, save yourselves.” But that’s not what Jesus teaches about his second coming. When Jesus teaches about the Last Day, there is warning. But, Jesus also preaches good news at his coming.The Son of Man comes, enthroned in glory. All the nations are gathered and he’s separating people one from another. Sheep to the honorable right; goats to the dishonorable left.This is the eternal Sorting Hat. Notice, works are mentioned after the separation. The sheep and goats are not separated on the basis of what they did or didn’t do but who they are. The sheep are the righteous. Jesus’ righteousness was reckoned, imputed to them. Sin covered in the blood of the Lamb. They hear the words, “Come, you who are blessed by Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundations of the world.” Pure gift. Jesus’ inheritance is yours because He dies and leaves you with everything. The sheep are astonished: “Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or imprisoned?” “As you did these things for the least of these my brothers you did it to me.” A blessed befuddlement: Jesus is hidden in the lowly losers. The sheep aren’t busy counting good works because they know they have the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for them.The goats are surprised too, but for different reasons. They’re as ignorant of their sin as the sheep were of their good works. “Lord, when did we see you?” They’re outraged. “If only we had known it was you, Jesus.” Goats are busy counting their works, like a social media influencer counting followers. The goats are for the goats..So, what are you? Sheep or goat? In Adam, we’re all natural born goats. Naked, caught with our fig leaves down. Starving, thirsting, sick with sin and prisoners of death. The mirror of the Law only reveals a stinking, stubborn goat. But in Christ Crucified you are a righteous sheep, made woolly white by Jesus’ blood. By water, word, and the Spirit, you are Jesus’ little lamb. Hear the Good Shepherd’s voice: ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My Savior paid the debt I owe And for my sin was smitten; Within the Book of Life I know My name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, And Satan cannot threaten me; There is no condemnation! (LSB 508:5)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/26/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Saturday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 25, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 26: Psalm 39:4-5, 7-8, 12a; antiphon 2 Peter 3:13Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 11:1-23, Matthew 24:1-28In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The end of the world is going to happen and Christian’s and non-Christians believe it.  We love to stream shows depicting a zombie apocalypse.  The world hears warnings of financial collapse or global warming,- burning our world up.  It seems that we can all agree that this world will come to an end. But how? Peter assures us that the Day of the Lord will Come; in the Lord’s time, with destruction for the ungodly, but salvation for the faithful.Do we have the same attitude toward the end as the rest of the world? No! Every week we get to say that Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (Nicene Creed) – it could be any moment.  The good news is that Peter says: “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” In Jesus and His forgiveness you are ready, you are prepared, let us pray come Lord Jesus, come quickly. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Zion hears the watchmen singing,  And all her heart with joy is springing;  She wakes, she rises from her gloom.  For her Lord comes down all-glorious,  The strong in grace, in truth victorious;  Her star is ris'n, her light is come.  Now come, Thou Blessed One,  Lord Jesus, God's own Son,  Hail! Hosanna!  We enter all   The wedding hall  To eat the Supper at Thy call.  (LSB 516:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/25/20233 minutes, 49 seconds
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Friday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 24, 2023Today's Reading: James 5:7-11Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 8:18-9:12, Matthew 23:13-39Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (James 5:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The church year is almost over and we are moving to where we hear about the end times.  That’s what James is reminding us today.  I’m not a farmer, but I have grown plants. There can be a long time in between planting and the harvest when you don’t see much of anything. There needs to be the right amount of rainfall, sun and time for the crop to mature for harvesting. The farmer needs to be patient. But in the end, he knows the harvest is coming.James is telling us Christians that Jesus will return. Hold on. Hang on. Just be patient. Our Lord is coming. You have his word on it.“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” When the Lord comes He will judge the living and the dead.  When the Judge comes in, what will he find?  Will there be fruit or a dried up plant?Take heart.  Jesus is the sower of the seed who has planted His cross for the life of the world.  His cross is the vine in which you are the branches and by His precious blood He bears all good and righteous fruit in you.  The harvest is coming, be patient, the sower of the seed has cared for you His dear creation. In Him you have life, you have fruit, you are part of His good and gracious harvest. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Savior, rend the heavens wide;  Come down, come down with mighty stride; Unlock the gates, the doors break down;  Unbar the way to heaven’s crown.  (LSB 355:1)
11/24/20233 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thursday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 23, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 7:1-29, Matthew 23:1-12And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”  (1 Kings 17:1-24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Coloring books are all over the place these days. In Christianity those color books are about happy events in the Bible.  I think we should have color pages for people like Elijah.  We could have pages and pages that we could consider in the life of Elijah.  How would you color Elijah’s struggles? How would you struggle with the boy on his deathbed? What Elijah faced was a long, arduous journey through the valley of the shadow of death.  It seems as if there was no room for light, color or beauty.  Elijah’s pictures might be at best gray, but mostly black and void.We too walk in the valley of the shadow of death wearing the vale of tears we face.  However, we trudge through the valley of the shadow of Jesus’s death. We walk with the veil of tears with the promise.   Even in the darkest moments of despair, pain, and loss there is beauty and even color.  At the deathbed of a young boy, there is the beauty of prayers being heard and resurrection given.  The cold, gray, pale shades of death, are colored back in with the reviving life and color on his face as the boy was alive again.   There is beauty and color for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  As we look at  our own lives under the cross there really is beauty in the resurrection of all flesh, the color and vivid life of the new heavens and the new earth, the new creation. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Open now thy gates of beauty,  Zion, let me enter there,  Where my soul in joyful duty  Waits for Him who answers prayer. Oh, how blessèd is this place, Filled with solace, light and grace!  (LSB 901:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/23/20234 minutes, 18 seconds
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Wednesday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

 November 22, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: The Sacrament Part 1Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 5:1-19, Matthew 22:23-46It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Hungry?  Sure, you’ve all been there. If you don’t eat, you get “hangry”, weak and will eventually die.  God takes care of you daily by giving physical food and drink.  In the same way He feeds you in this Christian faith.  He gives you forgiveness, life, and salvation. Are you hungry for forgiveness because of your guilt? Are you weakened and troubled by your sins? Then come and eat! Go to the altar and receive the gift of God’s forgiveness. There you are filled with Christ’s forgiveness that heals your soul and will bring wholeness to your body. Just like physical food strengthens you, so too the Eucharist is given to strengthen you in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another. So come to the altar and be assured of God’s love for you. He loved you so much that he gave his only Son for you, that you would not perish but have eternal life.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, life-giving Bread,  May I in grace possess You.  Let me with holy food be fed,  In hunger I address You.   Prepare me well for You, O Lord,  And, humbly by my prayer implored,  Give me Your grace and mercy.  (LSB 625:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/22/20233 minutes, 36 seconds
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Tuesday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 21, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 3:6-4:2, Matthew 22:1-22But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (1 Thessalonians 5:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. During this time of year we are coming to the close of another church year. Between this time and the season of Advent, we hear an awful lot about the return of Jesus: the last day, the day of judgment. So many and Christianity want to know when that will happen. So many Christians are terrified by that day, and left in our sins we should be terrified!   So many in Christianity today like to act like they know when it’s going to happen because of signs and seasons all around us. Paul’s words today in 1 Thessalonians 5 show us how we should anticipate Jesus’ return. Holy Scripture is silent, we don’t know when it’s gonna happen.  Pray it happens, but don’t fret about it.  The Lord’s final verdict for you in Jesus is “not guilty”.  In Christ you are perfect, and without blemish or stain of sin. That is who you are now in your Baptism, and that is who you are, when the Lord returns to judge the living and the dead.  We don’t know when this last day will happen, but we should fervently pray for it to happen sooner than later. On that day, the Lord will return to bring us to that place where there is no darkness, no sin, no death. In Christ, we will see him face-to-face, and live in the light of his glory forever and ever, come Lord Jesus come quickly!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The One whom angels tended comes near, a child, to serve; thus God, the judge offended, bears all our sins deserve. The guilty need not cower, for God has reconciled  through his redemptive power all those who trust this child.  (LSB 337:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/21/20234 minutes, 2 seconds
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Monday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 20, 2023Today's Reading: Zephaniah 1:7-16Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19, Matthew 21:23-46 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.  (Zephaniah. 1:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine if your pastor started his sermon with “Be quiet!” It would get your attention.  This is how Zephaniah speaks in today's reading. Zephaniah tells the people of God to be quiet, in other words, “Hush up, you’re in the presence of the Lord.” Thanks be to God?What Zephaniah says is meant to strike fear in the hearts of God’s people. The day of our Lord's return is nearer today than it was yesterday.  We do not know when it will happen and this time of year we are shaken up by the reminder of his return.  This shaking up is a reminder to repent, confess your sins.  Where is the Gospel in all of this?  It’s all about Jesus!  Jesus, is the one who is returning to judge the living and dead.  But remember Jesus is the one who takes the judgment promised by Zephaniah onto himself. He is judged with your sins in our place on Good Friday.  The day of the Lord’s return can be scary stuff!  In Christ, however, it becomes good news for you and we pray for His return as soon as possible.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The night will soon be ending; the dawn cannot be far.  Let songs of praise ascending now greet the Morning Star!  All you whom darkness frightens with guilt or grief or pain,  God’s radiant Star now brightens and bids you sing again.  (LSB 337:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/20/20233 minutes, 41 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty Fifth Week of Pentecost

November 19, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 25:14-30Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Matthew 21:1-22His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’  (Matthew 25:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We can easily get bogged down by these parables to see who we are in the reading.  These parables are all about what Jesus is doing for you!  Let them be all about Jesus and His work for you!  Jesus is the good and faithful servant. Christ Jesus was entrusted with God’s Word.  He is the only one who perfectly kept the Commandments of God.  The Father entrusted the salvation of the world with a single life, His very own Son.  Jesus lived that life without fault, in perfection, in true faithfulness to His heavenly Father, for you!  In turn the Father says to Christ Jesus, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” You are forgiven in Jesus’ righteousness because of that the Father likewise says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”His faithfulness spills over to us in your love and generosity to others in need. Jesus does all the work, by faith you get all the credit, pray that the lord would work His love and generosity in and through you for the benefit of your neighbor. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Dispel from us the works of darkness and grant us to live in the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  (Prayer for Pentecost 25)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/19/20233 minutes, 56 seconds
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Saturday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 18, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 25: Psalm 143:2, 5-6, 10-11; antiphon Psalm 143:1Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 32:28-52, Matthew 20:17-34Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!  In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!  (Psalm 143:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. David was betrayed. There were those who ran after him to take his life. One of those who wanted him dead was his own son Absalom.  David’s very life was in danger, he felt crushed into the ground.  We have betrayed ourselves in our sins.  Not only have we betrayed ourselves but we are also being pursued by enemies of death, the devil, a fallen, wicked world. This is why we pray Psalm 143 and our Lord answers your prayer with His mighty deliverance. Rather than running away Jesus is betrayed in your place.  He lets our sins hunt Him down for our sake.   He is hunted, beaten down, crushed, crucified, and died for you!  He is risen and now Jesus pursues you through the valley of the shadow of death.  He does not pursue you with betrayal or death.  He pursues you with goodness and mercy all the days of your life.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From depths of woe I cry to Thee,  In trial and tribulation;  Bend down Thy gracious ear to me, Lord, hear my supplication.  If Thou rememb’rest ev’ry sin,   Who then could heaven ever win  Or stand before Thy presence?  (LSB 607:q)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/18/20233 minutes, 31 seconds
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Friday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 17, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 36:22-28Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27, Matthew 20:1-16And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 37:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sin loves to eat at us. Even if it's not bugging you all the time, you still find yourself bothered at times. You just can't get over it! If it wasn’t bad enough looking at your sinful heart, we also hear that sin is a beast ready to pounce and consume you (Genesis 4:7). 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”  Our sin and the devil are actively working to rule us and we have no problem with it.It's all a matter of what your All-knowing and Almighty God says about it. It's the part we don't want to think about. While no one else may know except you, there is someone who always knows: your God.  He sees no life, no color, no blood pulsing from your heart of stone.  We are dead in our sins.  Ezekiel was not only consoling Israel who were brought into their own land, but he was foretelling of the new covenant God has given to us. The name of God, the Word of God is made flesh and dwelt among us.  As the Word made flesh is crucified for you, blood and water burst forth from His side to cleanse you. That's why Ezekiel connects the name of God, with God washing us clean and giving us a new heart.  Daily as we live out our Baptism we are reminded that we are part of the family of God.  Stony hearts are ripped out and new hearts of flesh are given to us. And your hearts are alive, full of color and live, hearts that are now the temple of God. In Baptism your veins now pulse with the blood of Christ in you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice.  Should a guilty conscience seize me, since my baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, sprinkling me with Jesus’ blood?  (LSB 594:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/17/20234 minutes, 19 seconds
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Thursday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 16, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:1-29, Matthew 19:16-30The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “The Lord be with you” is a statement you often hear your pastor say.  This is not a simple greeting, it is a blessing and consolation, of the promised presence of the Lord Jesus with you. Moses was 120 years old, he was told he would not be able to enter into the promised land. Now things are handed off to Joshua, to continue the Lord’s promise of the land they would inherit.  Surely there was fear, confusion, and uncertainty. We face life each day with the same things before us. Each, and every time we gather for Divine Service we are constantly reminded of the great blessing that the Lord is with you. He is with you, as the prayer of the day is being prayed in the congregation.  He promises to hear our prayers. He is with you as He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies in the Eucharist. He is with you as He sends you out the doors of the church with his heavenly benediction, and blessing for you.  Be sure to catch that the next time you’re in the Divine Service where the pastor says the “Lord be with you.” It is key, it is intentional and it is Jesus’ promise said through your pastor.  No matter what we face in life do not be discouraged, do not be afraid, Jesus is with you promising you the everlasting inheritance that is laid before you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In these last days of sore distress  grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastnessthat pure we keep, till life is spent,  your holy Word and sacrament. (LSB 585:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/16/20233 minutes, 48 seconds
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Wednesday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 15, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: The Office of the KeysDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 30:1-20,  Matthew 19:1-15but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you go to a doctor, maybe you have a small issue that bothers you. Maybe it’s a larger issue that you can’t handle.  You’ve tried to give yourself a remedy but nothing works. The doctor enters privately, examines you and gives you a path forward for healing.  What is said and shown to the doctor remains with the doctor.  This is how you should view your pastor with private confession.  Luther calls the pastor the “soul physician”.  In private confession Jesus is doing the forgiving when pastors forgive the sins of the people given into their spiritual care. Jesus says “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).  Unlike a doctor, the pastor’s medicine always works because Jesus is always the medicine you need.  Go to your pastor just like you go to your doctor.  Confess your sins as the self inflicted wounds that need help and healing.  Just like others wound you and a doctor heals those wounds, absolution heals the wounds done against you.  Jesus will take all sins away, even the ones done against you because by His cross, His death brings life and the medicine of immortality to you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For your Son has suffered for me  Giv’n Himself to rescue me   Died to save and restore meReconciled and set me free  Jesus’ cross alone can vanquish These dark fears and soothe this anguish(LSB 608:3)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/15/20233 minutes, 43 seconds
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Tuesday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 14, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29, Matthew 18:21-35In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Death is very confusing.  It’s really confusing for those outside of the church. For a non Christian, a funeral is pure grieving, pure loss, pure hopelessness, because death is only seen as permanent separation. And this is the approach the Thessalonians were drifting into when it came to death as well. Even as Christians we are not immune from the sting and confusion of death. Those of us who have had loved ones pass away do not hear from them anymore, do not see them anymore, do not find encouragement from them anymore. At death, they are removed from us and they seem to be completely gone. This was and is the assumption of those without the encouragement of God’s promises.But because of Jesus we do not lose hope or insight to the future.  Death for Christians is not a permanent loss, it is nothing more than sleep!  What a joy!  We placed our loved ones in the cemetery, the place of sleeping.  We have a great hope when it comes to facing the death of those who fall asleep in Christ! Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. Jesus’ death and resurrection have an intimate connection to the believer’s life. Because Jesus paid for all of our sins and served as the first-fruits of the resurrection, we know that those who have fallen asleep in the Lord will be awakened from their death-slumber on the last day. God will bring those who have fallen asleep to himself. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Awake, my heart, with gladness– see what today is done!  Now, after gloom and sadness, comes forth the glorious sun.  My Savior there was laid  where our bed must be made  when to the realms of light  our spirit wings its flight.  (LSB 461:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/14/20233 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 13, 2023Today's Reading: Amos 5:18-24Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 28:1-22, Matthew 18:1-20But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Justice is a big buzzword in our society today. Our world says we must have justice for whatever we are passionate about. Many Christians today  emphasize the Christian faith needs to be all about justice for everybody else.  Justice is why the church exists today. But what does that justice and righteousness look like?  Amos’ message is harsh, it bites, it thrusts the Law of God’s sword into our hearts. We do not love God, or our neighbor, as ourselves. We, like the people of Amos’ time, have given God cheap lip service. We have felt that we have offered proper worship to Him and that we have done well in His sight. This leads us to ignore the needs of mercy and forgiveness that our neighbors desperately need from you.  Confess your sins, confess you don’t know what you’re doing before God, or that you can know true justice and righteousness on your own.  But also give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s justice and His righteousness flow out of the pierced side of Jesus for your forgiveness. Strengthened and washed by the blood of Jesus, you now receive God’s undeserved justice and righteousness. As Christ now lives in you, you know justice, you know  true righteousness, you know, true love, and mercy for your neighbor, in need all because of Jesus.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Today Your mercy calls us To wash away our sin. However great our trespass, Whatever we have been,However long from mercy Our hearts have turned away, Your precious blood can wash us And make us clean today.  (LSB 915:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/13/20233 minutes, 53 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty Fourth Week of Pentecost

November 12, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 25:1-13Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 27:1-26, Matthew 17:14-27The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.”  (Matthew 25:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some read this parable and say “Do you have enough oil?”  Or in other words, “Do you have enough faith?” That’s the question so many want to ask today in Christianity. No way, that is not how Christianity works. Faith is a gift, given wholly and freely to you by God the Holy Spirit! You did not choose this, rather Christ has chosen you! And your faith is always kept for you by God!  God in his unconditional love goes to great lengths to protect our faith. Faith can die, we can walk away. However Jesus’ desire, His plan, is to keep our lamps filled with oil so we can rejoice when He, the Bridegroom, arrives. He gives us lamps. He lights our lamps. He fills our lamps with oil. He keeps our lamps full of oil. How does He do this? Our lamps are filled with Christ through His Word. We need the oil that Holy Scripture can bring. In hearing the Word, in preaching and teaching, oil is poured into our lamps so that we are prepared for whatever may come our way. At the font Christ filled you by washing you clean and warding off the attacks of Satan. At this Holy Table, where Christ enters your body and soul to forgive your sin, strengthen your faith in this difficult, fallen world.  You are given faith, you are in Christ, you are His beloved who is seated at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Zion hears the watchmen singing,  And all her heart with joy is springing; She wakes, she rises from her gloom. For her Lord comes down all-glorious, The strong in grace, in truth victorious;  Her star is ris'n, her light is come.  Now come, Thou Blessed One,  Lord Jesus, God's own Son,  Hail! Hosanna! We enter all  The wedding hall To eat the Supper at Thy call.  (LSB 516:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/12/20234 minutes, 4 seconds
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Saturday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 11, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 24: Psalm 84:1, 9-12; antiphon Psalm 84:3Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 25:17-26:19, Matthew 17:1-13Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King | and my God. (Psalm 84:3 )In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God makes room for the worthless.  It strikes a chord with my self hate that understands the Law better than I wish it did. I understand what I break. I understand what I fail to do. The sparrow costs a penny. Sometimes I’m pretty sure the sum of my time isn’t worth that.  But the sparrow finds a home at the LORD’s altars.  Not just to visit. To live.  Lots of people will put up with me for a time. But I’m pretty sure they’ll leave.  God calls me to live here.  And there is a promise never to cast me out. He doesn’t bicker with me about the best construction. He doesn’t weigh the pros and cons of my time here. He just forgives. Daily. Renews.  Daily.  Grants worth, not based on what I can do, but based on what was paid for me. Daily.  I’m worth the blood of Jesus. He feeds it to me here, at His altars.  I want to live here. Free from the accusations of the Law. Where there’s an answer to my self-talk as the Gospel is preached to me by my pastor, who won’t argue either. He just forgives.  I’d rather be a doorkeeper here than invited into the tents of wickedness. Not because I choose good. But because in those tents all I am is the sum of what I do.  I know what that leaves me with, even if I manage to take a little more from others.  How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts.  It is a shield against the torments of reality.  Not because it’s fake. But because it grants a new creation. A new reality. It changes what was wrong into what is forgiven. Here, there is favor and honor. I sit with brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us equal, all of us redeemed, and all of us loved.  No good thing does the LORD withhold from us.  Even in this veil of tears, when He safekeeps it for a time until the Resurrection.  We’d only ruin it if we got it before then.  He still gives us the foretaste in His supper.  We participate in the Resurrection even now. This is why I go to church. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me (LSB 878:1)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/11/20234 minutes, 37 seconds
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Friday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 10, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10, Matthew 16:13-28Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who do you say that the Son of Man is? We’re still asking the same question.  We’re past the days where people haven’t heard the name Jesus.  Even today, He still gets a lot of press.  The thing is, when you listen, we all seem to be talking about someone different. Most of them aren't real. There's a good example of Jesus, who helps you be better until you don’t wanna be so bad anymore.  But most of the time he just ends up being the guy used to bash you over the head when you don’t do what someone else wants you to.  There’s bigoted Jesus who calls people sinners in a hate filled book that does nothing but set the scene for hate crimes in the name of a higher power.  Some just say he’s a myth, because how could a loving God let the world look like this? If I were God I’d do things differently, and even though I need help using the dishwasher sometimes, I’m still pretty sure I’m smarter than any deity that created us.Have you noticed a common theme yet? Grab hold of a select part of the Law, ignore the Gospel completely, then weaponize religion.  It’s what the people wanted from Elijah, who they wanted to be a weapon against a world set against them.  It’s what they wanted from John the Baptist and Jeremiah, who were both ridiculed and hated by the world and the religious alike, not because they were wrong, but because they called everyone to seek mercy in the Lord who not only calls sin wrong, but loves sinners enough to forgive them.  But who do you say the Son of Man is? This is ‘not a what does Jesus mean to you’ essay.  That’s where all of those other ones went wrong.  Not one is a confession of who God is, just speeches about how we’d use Him.  You can try to use the law, but you can only receive the gospel.  And if Jesus is something to use, not receive, he only ends up being what we wish he was.  Either to help us win, or to excuse us from having to listen to Him, it always ends up being law and no gospel.  Those are answers from flesh and blood.  They should sound ridiculous.  This is not a chance to come up with your own answer.  Instead we’re given a common confession. Peter’s answer is not from flesh and blood, but from God. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  We answer the same.  Because there’s mercy there for sinners. For us. It will stand. Even against the gates of hell. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here stands the font before our eyes, Telling how God has received us. The_altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice And what His Supper here gives us. Here sound the Scriptures that proclaim Christ yesterday, today, the same, And evermore, our Redeemer (LSB 645:4).- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/10/20235 minutes, 1 second
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Thursday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 9, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 21:1-23, Matthew 16:1-12“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus tells the Pharisees that there will be no sign except the sign of Jonah, His death and Resurrection.  Then He rebukes the disciples because they do not remember the signs given to them in the feeding of the 5000.  One side gets yelled at for wanting more signs.  The other gets yelled at for not expecting to see more.  Thanks, Jesus. The Pharisees and the disciples have the same problem.  They take their eyes off of Jesus.  The Pharisees only want signs, not what they point to, God made man to die for sinners.  They want appetizers, but not dinner.  The disciples don’t expect signs, because they overlook the simple idea that God will care for them, even though He was made man to die for sinners. They sit at the table and are shocked there’s actually food there. I shouldn’t write reflections when I’m hungry.  Or I’ll just pretend to be like Jesus and insist I’m not actually talking about food, either. In all reality, when it comes to miracles we usually set our hearts in the wrong places too.  We want a vending machine God who only gives us the things we ask Him for, and could care less about what He actually wills.  We seek miracles that prove He’s real when the greatest miracle of all towers over us, not just as a sign, but as salvation.  He dies and rises from the grave.  The sign of Jonah is death and resurrection. It is a historically verifiable miracle, proof that Jesus is God, who has saved you.  The sign of Jonah is what we cling to in doubt and fear. It’s what we cling to for forgiveness for seeking the leaven of the Pharisees and for not seeing the goodness God daily bestows upon us in ways we just overlook.  Look to the cross, where Jesus died for you. It isn’t just Him proving Himself right to those who are wrong. It’s Him winning salvation for them, for us, for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world’s redemption, For the weight that hung on thee (LSB 454:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/9/20234 minutes, 37 seconds
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Wednesday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 8, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: ConfessionDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20, Matthew 15:21-39Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God doesn’t just want to forgive your sins.  He wants you to firmly believe that your sins are forgiven.  He wants to address your conscience.  Because you’re baptized, and that daily and richly forgives your sins.  But sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.  Sometimes it just clings. Scratches. Tears apart from the inside out.  That thing that you want to erase.  God wants to speak to you about it.  Tell you that it’s gone.  As far as the east is from the west.  Guilt festers. So God speaks.  He uses your pastor to tell you.  Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  That sin is forgiven.  Because I can walk past a group of people who start laughing and tell myself that it’s definitely not at me. But sometimes it feels better to hear for sure.  God speaks forgiveness from the outside in so that when guilt piles up, He would be able to remove it.  See, it isn’t a question of whether you can be saved. Jesus died and rose. Your sins are forgiven. Paid for already.  The real battle ground is over your conscience.  The devil would have you look only at yourself in guilt.  God wills that you have a pure conscience, and so He gives us confession.  Go to your pastor.  Hear about forgiveness. Don’t stew in guilt.  If you wait until Sunday, fine. Your sins are forgiven. But if it keeps you awake on a Tuesday night, know that you can go earlier. God doesn’t only forgive sins an hour a week. Private confession exists to give you the same gifts whenever you need them. It isn’t about talking more about a sin you want to think about less. It’s about not having to let it hang over you until Sunday.  Private confession exists so that forgiveness is given out each day as it is needed. In all of it, though, God simply wills you firmly to believe. You don’t suffer from doubt. You don’t suffer anguish. So confess, and hear absolution.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.And though it tarry through the night And till the morning waken, My heart shall never doubt His might Nor count itself forsaken. O Israel, trust in God your Lord. Born of the Spirit and the Word, Now wait for His appearing (LSB 607:4).- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/8/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Tuesday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 7, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20, Matthew 15:1-20“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For all the talk of sexual ethics in the church, it’s easy to overlook the first and most important sentence.  God wills you to be holy.  So He makes you that way.  He takes all that is unholy from you and bleeds for it. He cleanses you in the waters of Baptism and gives you a new identity. His child.  Holy. Worthy of love.  Holy people do holy things in the same way that apple trees make apples.  That isn’t to cast off the idea of good works as unimportant. It’s to recognize they flow out of what we are.  Now we can talk about sexual sins.  In Jesus, they are forgiven.  In Jesus, you are forgiven.  But sometimes even that’s hard to hear.  There’s a reason.  It isn’t just that some sins pollute more than others.  It’s that some seem to grab hold of us in a way that they become our all.  Our identity.  That’s the real issue with these sins.  It isn’t that they can’t be forgiven.  Christ died for all the world, even sinners who sin like that. Like us.  It’s that we wrestle with these sins on such a personal level that we can finally understand the nature of original sin. It isn’t what we do. It’s who we are.  Corrupt. When we lean into that identity, we lean away from Christ.  When we would rather be known by our sin than our Savior, it says more about us than it does about Him who died to forgive us these very sins.  You are not the sum of your lusts, your actions, your browser history, or the things you’ve endured.  You are Christ’s.  Holy. Worthy of love. Not because you’ve abstained. Because Christ died.  This is the will of God. That you be holy. So we lean into that. We try to serve our neighbor. We try to tame our lusts.  And when we fail, we return to the source of holiness to be made new all over again in Baptism.  It’s war. You’ll lose. A lot.  But Christ still wills you to be holy so firmly that He makes you that way all over again. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, forsake me not! Take not Your Spirit from me; Do not permit the might Of sin to overcome me. Increase my feeble faith, Which You alone have wrought. O be my strength and pow’r—O God, forsake me not!  (LSB 731:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/7/20234 minutes, 42 seconds
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Monday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 6, 2023Today's Reading: Micah 3:5-12Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 18:1-22, Matthew 14:22-36“Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.” (Micah 3:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People have been weaponizing religion ever since sinners realized there was power in it.  It’s not ok.  Ever.  From simple greed to much darker sins, it’s hard to see how organized religion seems to function.  I get why people would swear it off.  The LORD speaks through Micah and promises a retribution most seem to avoid today, even if Jerusalem was handed over into captivity back when.  The people looking for vengeance are still a step behind the rest of the heartbroken who have sworn “never again”.  They want to see someone hurt. Maybe they have. Maybe not yet.  But the rest ask the more important question.  Why would God want there to be a church in the first place when this is what is done with it? It’s probably the best question to ask. Because The LORD is pretty unhappy with those who would make weapons out of the things that make for peace, too.  That gives you the chance to consider something.  God sees the evil done within His walls and still decides to keep His religion around.  If you pack a box full of sinners, they’re gonna sin, even if the box is called a church.  That doesn't just mean you have to take the bad with the good. Decry it. Leave no room for sin to thrive.  And grow from it what the evil one would only use for ruin by realizing that it can’t stop God from working peace even when false prophets would try to wield it like a club.  The peace that He gives is so potent that it thrives where evil would only destroy.  It’s so powerful that evil men would use it for selfish gain.  But God is so good that He would let that power remain so that it can save us sinners.  That truth grants grace not just to look at yourself, but to look at the religion and hope.  Christ came to suffer at the hands of the same kind of men.  He redeemed His church that it would be again a bringer of good news to men.  His mercy is given even where evil would attack it, but His mercy endures and thrives to make a mockery of every terrible plot.  There is bad in the church, but there is God working salvation too. If it is evil, cast it out. If it is of Jesus, cling to it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Spirit, who didst once restore Thy Church that it might be again The bringer of good news to men, Breathe on Thy cloven Church once more, That in these gray and latter days There may be those whose life is praise, Each life a high doxology To Father, Son, and unto Thee (LSB 834:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/6/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty Third Week of Pentecost

November 5, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 23:1-12Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20, Matthew 14:1-21“And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These verses either read like a threat to authority or an excuse to ignore it.  Maybe because the whole “unity in Christ” bit would be a lot easier if we weren’t told what to do by people who screw up.  So we get vaguely punk rock about it and try to ignore the fact that the very voice that told Moses the 4th commandment was to honor your mother and father is now telling us to ignore all that. Still, it sounds good.  If nobody can tell anyone else what to do, nobody is above or below anyone else. Unity.  After all, real unity always happens when everyone just does what they want on their own anyway. Understand what it all means.  Best case scenario, this is just another chance to turn inward. You’re all you’ve got and the best thing God would ever give you is an excuse to ignore what you don't like and be on your own. And when you look in the mirror and pretend never even a hint of doubt that you might be wrong, that you might be not good enough, that you might actually be a sinner like the one true Father says, then what? At least it’s all equal in the pit? But what if God actually loved us enough to want to help sinners? It sounds like a nice enough concept until you see who He sent to help you. Other sinners. Parents and teachers.  The real miracle is that their sin won’t stop God from working through them.  Even in the mess their sin makes.  Call no one father, but know your Father in Heaven loves you so much He would give you one anyway, then work through him, even if he’s wrong sometimes. God is still stronger. Real unity doesn’t come at the expense of casting off anyone given to you who happens to be a sinner. Real unity comes from the cross where Christ does away with our Sin.  Christ, who promises to work good through sinners who continue to sin. Real unity comes from Baptism. From a God who calls you His own child no matter who you are or what you’ve done, then gives you others to love and be loved by, then even promises to work through all of you. None of us will do it perfectly. All of us will receive forgiveness. This is where we speak in unity. Our Father who art in heaven. And He is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful and gracious Lord, You cause Your Word to be proclaimed in every generation. Stir up our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may receive this proclamation with humility and finally be exalted at the coming of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/5/20234 minutes, 41 seconds
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Saturday the Twenty Second Week of Pentecost

November 4, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 23: Psalm 149:1-4; antiphon Psalm 148:13Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22, Matthew 13:44-58For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We treat it like it reads “pretend to be less than you are and God will be happy with you.”  Really, it’s “when you are so humiliated the best you could hope for is pity, and it tastes so sour you’re not sure whether or not you’d just prefer to be abandoned, the Lord sees you the same way your dog does when you come home from school.” Where I come from, humble just means “don’t be braggy”.  Which means the Psalm reads something like give God praise for all the things you’re afraid to admit publicly to having because they sound too nice.  It makes for a monotonous liturgy.  But humble doesn’t mean pretending to be less than you are. It shares a root with humiliation.  The thing where you actually are less and you know that everyone knows it.  Humiliation is a word that somehow becomes a time machine to everyone’s terrible,horrible no good very bad days.  But it is the humiliated that God adorns with salvation. He wraps it around you like clothing, so that others may see it too. It looks like white robes.  Baptism.  The mark of the baptized isn’t a lack of humiliation. It’s an identity that cannot be marred by it.  It brings about the genuine praise the Psalm calls for.  He is the God who sees us in our humiliation and is exalted by joining us in it and conquering it for us.  He leaves the angel choirs to be mocked by the crowds.  He leaves the power of heaven to die at the hands of ignorant men, naked and ashamed.  He is helpless as His mother looks on.  And after dying to save the ones who did it to Him, us, He rises.  He promises the same to you.  You are not just God’s creation, but His children. The liturgy sings not of how you feel on your good days or your humiliated ones, but of God’s works, that we would have something to cling to when everything seems to slip away, and something to taste in His body and blood that aren’t sour. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.At the name of Jesus Ev’ry knee shall bow, Ev’ry tongue confess Him King of glory now. ’Tis the Father’s pleasure We should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning Was the mighty Word (LSB 512:1).- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/4/20234 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday the Twenty Second Week of Pentecost

November 3, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 14:18-15:15, Matthew 13:24-43We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul throws this verse in at the end of telling everyone how great a job he and his fellow pastors have done.  I can hardly read it. I feel guilty.  I am guilty.  I have not worked as hard, walked as purely, or served as well.  When I look at my works, I have not walked in a manner worthy of God.  Lord have mercy.  Not just on me, but on the people I’ve been charged with caring for.  It’s so easy to mark our failures in the face of other’s success.  It’s not even jealousy.  It’s shame.  It’s compounded when I read Paul’s words.  My sins didn’t just hurt me and the people around me.  They hurt the witness of Christ.  You hear it everywhere.  The world loves our hypocrisy. We believe in a Law we don’t walk in.  We love commandments we break daily.  They imagine our sin proves our faith wrong because we are not by our works what God commands us to be.  But we are what God commands us to be by His works.  He forgives our hypocrisy.  He forgives my sins and yours.  And this is a greater witness to the power of our religion than me being a good person.  I really still wish I was. I really still wish I did better, and I really do want to do better.  But the walk in a manner worthy of God isn’t about your steps. It’s you being carried home by the Good Shepherd who seeks those who have strayed.  He daily seeks us in our rebellion. Daily gathers us and carries us home in mercy.  That’s actually the bigger miracle.  That God would forgive me. I hope that’s what I can be known as. I hope that’s the witness. Jesus forgives sinners, of which I am numbered.  God be praised.When it comes to Christian witness, let it be the Law and the Gospel, and not just the Law.  Let it be not our works, but Christ’s mercy.  None of us can by our own works be worthy of God.  All of us, by our Baptism, are worthy already.  We walk as we have been made to be.  Redeemed.  Faith in Jesus goes to Jesus.  We seek the Lord in His mercy when we have failed to live up to the standards of the Law.  It isn’t just a place God covers your shame.  It is a place He demonstrates the worthiness of our faith.  The worthiness of His name.  We have a God who forgives sinners, and invites more to receive the same. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me  And on His shoulder gently laid  And home rejoicing brought me (LSB 709:3).- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/3/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thursday the Twenty Second Week of Pentecost

November 2, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: Baptism Part 4Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18, Matthew 13:1-23What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Baptism is supposed to make your life harder.  Actually, it’s supposed to end it.  Kill you. That’s the best thing it can offer.  Death with Jesus. Life with Him too.  But we only focus on the second part.  Usually to our detriment.  We imagine the baptized life as God’s holy children to be cleaner. Better.  Wholly devoted to Him and His service. Instead we lose a war with ourselves every day.  Because the Old Adam wasn’t drowned once.  He has to die daily.  Old Adam daily drowns.  He must be a strong swimmer. Paul might say it better than Luther. St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4).”  The Lord throws the dirt on you while you still claw at the coffin.   Because He loves you.  He loves you enough to bring to nothing the things that will kill you, and unite you to the death that actually saves you: Christ’s. Old Adam’s struggles are found in trying to live by chasing things that kill. And we won’t stop, even after receiving His forgiveness, life, and salvation. So He nails us to the cross with Jesus in our Baptism.  Throws us into the tomb with Him, and keeps throwing dirt on us every time we claw our way out.  Because death with Jesus yields life with Jesus.  Daily.  Daily you are made new. Holy. Daily you are tied to salvation.  Your last mistake, the same one you made daily for as long as you can remember and wish you could forget? That’s forgiven. Daily.  Because you’re baptized.  Remember it.  Daily. Make the sign of the cross. It doesn’t forgive you. It reminds you of the forgiveness you can’t escape in your Baptism.  Because God won’t stop pouring out mercy.  Daily.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christian, firmly hold this gift And give God thanks forever! It gives the power to uplift In all that you endeavor. When nothing else revives your soul, Your Baptism stands and makes you whole And then in death completes you. (LSB 596:5)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/2/20234 minutes, 32 seconds
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All Saints Day

November 1, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32, Matthew 12:38-50“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  (Matthew 5:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some folks feel awkward in church.  They don’t fit the decor.  They know it. To them, the whole thing feels fake.  It might be where the meek go, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are peacemakers.  It might be where folks mourn, but unless they’re burying someone they feel out of place.  This is a place to be merciful, but it’s a little too stuffy, and there are other options for that.  But the thing that really cuts is that this is a place for the pure in heart.  And God knows.  They probably have a better read on things than the rest of us. God is actually present here in a meaningful way.  A different way than He’s everywhere else.  But the more time we spend here, the more we can be tricked into forgetting it.  We lose sight of the magnificent in the liturgy we have memorized.  The divine is here, and His standards don’t change just because you’re not impressed by the felt banners and bald pastor.  If it’s your job to fit in here, the house will stand empty.  If it’s a house for the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, that’s not you.  Because it’s not your house.  It’s Christ’s.  Even when some swagger around like they own it. Even when some of us know full well we don’t fit.  He reminds us that above all the rest, this is a house for the poor in spirit.  To the one utterly alienated from God.  And that still isn’t you.  It’s Christ, who though He was rich, became poor, who though He knew no sin, became sin.  It would be tragic except for the fact that He did it for you.  Which makes it beautiful.  Every beatitude is Jesus for you.  He becomes all of those things and gives you every reward.  He took your sins. He took everything about you that doesn’t fit. And invites you to receive every good thing He has.  It’s never measured in you.  It’s always given by Him.  On the good weeks where you got a little better. On the worst weeks where everything fell apart.  It is only this: Are you in Christ Jesus?  Are you baptized?  If you’re the kind of sinner that’s scared to be here, or the kind of sinner that isn’t anymore, that forgiveness is still yours. You are a saint now. A holy one of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/1/20234 minutes, 51 seconds
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Reformation Day

October 31, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 3:19-29Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12, Matthew 12:22-37But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it. (Romans 3:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Words of law are always the most optimistic. “This is what we should do.  I have a plan.” They bear witness to righteousness.  They just can’t give it.  It would come from the Law if we could fulfill it.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Words of Law will leave you wanting to love Jesus but getting lost under hating yourself.  Looking for an excuse for everything you do that He says not to, which usually just means finding someone else to hate instead.  We can’t help but see the worst intention in people because deep down we know our own. We know what we did this week, and try to ignore the fact that God saw it too.  We know what we’re called, and what we can’t unsee when we look in the mirror.  We know how tiring it gets to balance our accomplishments against our failures on a lopsided hill.  Every mouth is stopped sooner or later.  But it’s Reformation Day so let’s just tell the story of Luther and a church door. Christianity has become a race to not actually needing Jesus anymore.  And it doesn’t work.  The Law bears witness to how things are supposed to be.  It just can’t get us there.  So, God, in mercy, fulfills it for us.  Then bears Himself the wrath we rightly deserve. The righteousness of God is manifested on the cross.  It’s called the Gospel.  Jesus died for you.  For all the things that you have done and been through that aren’t the way they’re supposed to be.  And your sins are forgiven.  You are holy. You are baptized.  The righteousness of God is manifested in that font for you. You wear that righteousness.  And in Christ, even the Law bears witness to you.  It paints a picture of how God sees you. It paints a picture of good that you can freely live in, because it doesn’t measure you.  It was measured in Christ. It is finished. It is yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/31/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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Monday the Twenty Second Week of Pentecost

October 30, 2023Today's Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18Daily Lectionary:Deuteronomy 11:1-25, Matthew 12:1-21“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."  (Leviticus 19:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I’ve never had to go to court, so I guess I haven’t done injustice there.  Mostly because I’ve never gotten caught doing injustice outside of the court.  I should probably definitely try to speak better of my neighbor.  Or at least talk a little less trash.  There’s a commandment about that somewhere between 7 and 9.  Realistically, I could probably do that better. I don’t know how to carve the hate out of my heart though.  It plants itself in past wrongs.  It festers in old wounds.  It carves away that which should be given to love and corrupts it, even darkening my reason.  Ask me how I was right when it comes to those who have wronged me.  Even my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Law shows us our sin.  Because it doesn’t paint a picture of us.  The Law paints a picture of Jesus. He is the one who actually fulfilled it.  He is the one to imagine when we want to see what it looks like.  The LORD is holy.  But our text does not call us to try to be like God.  That led to some problems in the past between Genesis 2 and 4.  God speaks.  Something happens.  Think Genesis 1.  Let there be light.  And it was good.  You shall be holy.  And you are.  Jesus, who fulfills the Law in your stead dies on the cross to forgive your sin.  Your pastor pronounces absolution.  Your sins are taken away. You are holy, even as holy as Jesus. He makes you that way.  So when we read the Law and find all our shortcomings, we take them to Him who forgives us, and makes us new to love our neighbor free from having to measure.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; My ev’ry act, word, thought be love (LSB 683:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/30/20234 minutes, 16 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty Second Week of Pentecost

October 29, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22, Matthew 11:20-30And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. (Matthew 22:35 )In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees were a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.  If the question seemed too easy on the surface, you’re right.  The core of the 10 commandments is love.  Love the Lord. Love your neighbor. These are the two tables of the law. The real question is underneath it. If that’s all it takes…what are you doing here? The answers in your catechism show how much love demands in each commandment, but there’s more.  The Pharisees could only measure love in themselves and their actions. The things they did. The things they abstained from. The Lord ceased to be the provider of all good things worthy of love.  Instead, He became the measuring stick who can only be appreciated by the worthy. The neighbor to be loved ceased to be a neighbor, the subject receiving love.  Instead, they became objects, proof for each Pharisee that it was ok to love themselves.  Jesus isn’t content to leave us here, loving ourselves above all things. They ask about the law.  He responds with the Gospel.  Who is the Christ? How can He be the Son of David if He is David’s Lord?  The answer is easy, too.  Love.  Not as a feeling or a measuring stick, but as a sacrifice. God, who is love, took on human flesh, born of David’s line, yet David’s Lord, to redeem sinners like him, like us, and like the Pharisees too.  He not only fulfills the law, but forgives us for falling short.  In this freedom we can finally stop looking at ourselves to provide all good things and look to God.  Our neighbors can finally be the subject of mercy instead of an object to prove we’re doing enough.  We already have the victory in Jesus. Sin, death, the devil, and even our best efforts lie defeated under His feet.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You have commanded us to love You above all things and our neighbors as ourselves. Grant us the Spirit to think and do what is pleasing in Your sight, that our faith in You may never waver and our love for one another may not falter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/29/20234 minutes, 25 seconds
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St Simon and St Jude

October 28, 2023Today's Reading: John 15:12-21Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22,  Matthew 11:1-19If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  (John 15: 18-19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Happy St. Simon and St. Jude day!  Simon is the patron saint of saw workers and St. Jude is the patron saint of desperate situations or lost causes.  More on that in a bit.  If you look up St. Simon and St. Jude you won’t find much information other than they were the 10th and 11th disciples named among the 12 disciples.  We don’t set these saint days apart to pray to the saints or uphold them with some unnecessary esteem.  However we do give thanks to God that He worked through men like this for the extension of His Kingdom throughout the world.  It is kind of comical that St. Jude is the patron saint of “desperate situations and lost causes.”  It's comical that Christians would pray to St Jude about desperate situations and lost causes.  St. Jude was in need of a savior just like you and I are!  Who did St. Jude pray to when he experienced desperate situations and lost causes?  He prayed to Jesus!  Jesus who today says that the world is a place full of desperate situations and lost causes.  Sin has caused all of our desperation, it has caused us to lose our own way.  If that wasn’t bad enough, Jesus tells us today that the world is going to hate you for being a follower of Him! Talk about desperation and losing out in the game of life!  However, Jesus tells us this today not to bring fear, but to remind us that the world treated Him the same way. The world hated Jesus so much that they didn’t want Him anywhere but on a cross.  The world hates that Jesus loves you so much that He shed his precious blood to cover you of all your sins. Because of that glorious cross the world hates that Jesus promises you everlasting life by His death and resurrection.  In a world of desperation and lost causes remember what Jesus says to you today “I chose you out of the world.”  In your Baptism all desperation and loss is turned into hope and joy because Jesus has sought you out and found you. Thanks be to God Jesus preached the same message through St. Simon and St. Jude.  Let the world think what it wants of you, they hated Jesus, they hated Simon and Jude and all the other saints, they will hate you because you are baptized.  Let the world do its worst to us, they have no victory over Jesus or you as you walk as a redeemed saint who is precious in His sight.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered among the glorious company of the apostles. As they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so may we with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/28/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Friday the Twenty First Week of Pentecost

October 27, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 10:24-42Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Matthew 10:24-42Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Life is full of so many unexpected twists and turns.  There are always those things that we never anticipated happening, being dumped into your lap.  We thought we knew what was going on and suddenly we had to re-evaluate our plans and future.  As Christians it is very important that we realize this rather than shy away from it.  Jesus was never one who promised a life full of ease and happiness. For us today who live in the shadow of Jesus’ cross we have to constantly be brought to the realization that we really aren’t in charge.  In your sins you want to be in control, you want to be the author and sustainer of your life, but your sins also show you that is not the case.  Sometimes when God allows chaos, uncertainty or suffering to be dumped into our lap God may very well be stopping our selfish and sinful plans. However this is a daily battle we face each and every day.  Luther says that our greatest enemies are sin, the devil and even ourselves in our sinful flesh.  Yes, that means you are your own worst enemy.  It’s so hard to have God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but even then Jesus has come to take on our mortal and sinful nature for us.  His path seemed to have many unexpected twists and turns, it seems as if so many things he faced were unanticipated.  However in all things, He knew the path set before Him. His path had His eyes set on you, His joy and delight.  He is the one who lost His life, so that you might gain eternal life. In the case of uncertainty and suffering we find comfort in the fact that Jesus Himself is acquainted with suffering and grief but even more He is the one who came for the sake of you, to endure the cross and its suffering and chaos to insure that you will live with Him never to be of concern about your plans or future.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/27/20234 minutes, 28 seconds
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Thursday the Twenty First Week of Pentecost

October 26, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19, Matthew 10:1-23They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,  and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. ( 1 Thess. 1: 9-10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s hard to be hopeful today about many things. Finances, social statuses, our health, what kind of techy pads or phones we don’t have, all the way down to loneliness, despair, depression and abandonment.  It really stinks living in a world that is drenched in sin.  If we had some hope, it might motivate us a bit more.  We need hope, we would like to put something hopeful in our calendar or social media status.  Anything to keep us from facing the daily pains of our sins.  However, most of our hope is based on us and how we can make things better.  We say “well, things will get better if I just get through this day…” “things will get better when I’m married or get a raise…” But what if things don’t get better? What if the pain and struggles continue for the foreseeable future?  When we talk about hope as Christians we need more than just a temporary fix.  Hope is more than making lemonades out of life’s lemons because our problems are much bigger than we see. Sin is at the core of all that is broken, full of despair and hopeless.  As Christians we see hope in Jesus’ permanent fix for this life.  Paul says today “[God] raised from the dead Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath of to come.”  Jesus gives you permanent hope. Believe it or not this hope actually cuts through the sharpest of pains in life all the way down to our trivial complaints. This hope forgives and heals you of your sins. That’s why we rejoice - because faith, love and hope are for you in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Hope of the world, God's gift from highest heaven, bringing to hungry souls the bread of life:still let your Spirit unto us be given  to heal earth's wounds and end her bitter strife.  (LSB 690:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/26/20234 minutes, 14 seconds
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Wednesday the Twenty First Week of Pentecost

October 25, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism: Baptism Part 3Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25, Matthew 9:19-38“Clearly it is not the water that does it, but the word of God that is in and with the water, and the faith that trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Water is the greatest earthly gift that God has given to us in this life.  You are reminded of how important it is to drink your 8 glasses a day of water each day and that probably gets annoying.  If you lose too much water you get dehydrated and can die.  How many times have you seen a show where someone is in the desert parched and looking for just a simple bit of water.  Even the rich man sitting in hell asked for Lazarus to simply dip his finger in some water to cool his tongue.  Water is a big thing in Christianity too.  All Christians speak about Baptism in some way or another.  Have you noticed that so many Christians today tend to focus on the water?  Sprinkling, immersing, churchy bathtubs, rivers or the ocean.  So much tends to be focused on how much water one needs to be baptized.  If  you think about it, water isn’t exactly in huge abundance for all peoples and locations.  In some areas water is a very precious commodity.  People have to spend an immense amount of time, money and energy to have access to water.  What water they do have is extremely precious and wisely used.  If I am in an area where there is a severe drought and water is very precious, does God really require us to fill a large pool or tub to be immersed?  That’s why as Lutherans we have always stated that God sets no standard for how much water we need or where it is to be found.  To be blunt Luther today is really saying “To be sure, water is absolutely necessary for Baptism, but let's not lose focus of what Jesus is doing in Holy Baptism.”  In Baptism the focus is on the fact that God has attached His Word to water.  It is His command and His promise attached to water that Jesus works through, whether it be a sprinkle or Niagara Falls.  The Word of God that is in and with the water is the very hand of God, giving out all the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection for the life of all sinners.  Thanks be to God for water,  you need it for everything in this life that we live. Thanks be to God for attaching His Word to the waters of Holy Baptism where He gives you all that you the waters of everlasting life, never to evaporate or recede, for Jesus says to you; “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/25/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Tuesday the Twenty First Week of Pentecost

October 24, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 45:1-7Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9, Matthew 9:1-17“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of…”. (Isaiah 45:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever seen God work in someone that you totally never expected?  Maybe the person was a nominal Christian or maybe they were the furthest thing from a Christian.  It can catch us off guard at times with how God can use evil people for His will to be done.   In the events leading up to our Old Testament text today from Isaiah. Israel found themselves in exile from God.  Another way of putting it is that they were “divorced” from God.  However, God was still at work for their benefit.  When Israel was sent into exile, God used both the Babylons and the Persians to do His will for the children of God.  Today we hear of the Persian King named Cyrus.  Cyrus is not an Israelite, he never will be one of them.  He is a pagan ruler who knows nothing about the remarkable history between Israel and God.  However the God of Israel will use Cyrus for the deliverance of Israel.  In the reading today, notice that in working with good or evil, God is the active agent in this story, no one else. Read the text again and you will see almost every sentence begins with “I”, the “I” being God.  “I will go before you,” “I have grasped,” “I will give,” “I call you,” “I name you,” “I equip you,” "I form” and “I make.”  They are all there.  And why does God take action through this man named Cyrus; for the sake of his servant, Israel, His chosen people.  All of God’s actions are done for the sake of his people who he has not forgotten.  God could have raised one of Israel’s own up to do what needed to be done, but instead he chose an outsider.  By the way, notice in verse 1 what Isaiah says of Cyrus. Cyrus is the “anointed one”. The word in Hebrew for “anointed one” means “Christ” in Greek. Not something you might have expected.  God’s work is in unusual and surprising ways.  Simply look at the cross and see the dead Son of God bringing the Life of the World to you. In our sins we are divorced from God. However Jesus’ unending love for you, His bride, placed him on the cross. He became the exiled one so that we could be brought back into the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father and the inheritance prepared for you in the life of the world to come.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, in Your mercy guide the course of this world so that Your Church may joyfully serve You in godly peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/24/20234 minutes, 45 seconds
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St James of Jerusalem

October 23, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 15:12-22Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21, Matthew 8:18-34After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. (Acts 15:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You all probably know someone who does not believe in Jesus.  I'd be surprised if anyone reading this doesn't have a dear loved one, who does not trust in Christ. It's the saddest thing in the world. Today we observe the Feast of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of our Lord.  James was Jesus' brother (Mark 6:3). Yet, we are told in Scripture that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). In fact his family thought he was a downright cuckoo! (Mark 6:21) How sad that James couldn’t believe what Jesus had come to accomplish.  However, all hope is not lost. We know that at some point James believed in Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:7 that after his resurrection Jesus appeared to James after he appeared to his disciples. In Acts 1:14 Jesus' brothers, who didn't believe in him were in Jerusalem devoting themselves to prayer and waiting for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. James didn't only become a believer and a witness of the resurrection of Christ, but he is counted among the Apostles (1 Corinthians 9:5) and. Paul even calls him a pillar of the church! (Galatians 1:18-19; 2:9). The Epistle of James also is believed to be written by the same James.  We know that Jesus is able to sympathize with us in our weakness and was tempted like us in every way, except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Yet, we also know that Jesus dealt with the pain of having his own flesh and blood reject him and not have saving faith. But our Lord continued to pray for his brother. He continued to preach and confess the truth. And those prayers and those words worked. James was baptized and led to confess Christ, and he died a Christian death.  So while you have loved ones who aren’t Christian, Christ knows the same sadness and pain. He will not give up on them, just as He did not give up on James. You have the comfort that God hears your prayers for your loved one. And you have the encouragement to not give up confessing Christ. God's word has the power to create faith (Romans 10:17). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the Just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide Your Church. Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/23/20234 minutes, 32 seconds
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Sunday the Twenty First Week of Pentecost

October 22, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 22:15-22Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40, Matthew 8:1-17And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  (Matthew 22:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees today try to trap Jesus. They want to see if He would be for or against paying taxes to the Romans.  Jesus famously uses the image of Caesar on the coin to show that He wasn’t a revolutionary who refused to pay taxes or overthrow the Romans. He submitted to the governing authority yet knowing that the Romans or Herod would never have authority unless it had been given from on high. The image of Caesar meant it belonged to Caesar, but you are made in the image of God, which means that you belong to God. It is God who claims us, who made us in his own image. We do not belong to anything or to anyone else. We don’t even belong to ourselves. We belong to God in all our being, with all our talents, interests, time, and wealth. The consequences of belonging to God are really beautiful. First, it means that God will not forsake us. The Pharisees and the other religious leaders that Jesus denounces were notoriously bad at caring for the people. They neglected their responsibilities and the people God gave into their care. Second, it means that because we belong to God, we belong to the people of God, the body of Christ. We are baptized into this Body and no political or governing authority can take that away from you.  Pay your taxes?  Yes, as hard as it is to accept that. Pay your way to get back into God’s good grace?  No way!  Jesus paid the price for you so that you now live with Him in His kingdom. The cross was the final trap of the Pharisees, but through that cross Jesus paid the price in full for the life of the whole world.  You bear the image of Jesus in your Baptism, God has rendered to you His son so that you may be His forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/22/20234 minutes, 22 seconds
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Saturday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 21, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 21: Psalm 121:1-4, 7-8; antiphon Psalm 121:5Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20, Matthew 7:13-29The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 121 is a “song of ascent”. It was sung by the pilgrims who were making their journey to Jerusalem and the temple.  Their journey was often met with intense heat, rocky terrain, dangerous roads and even people who would rob or kill them. This Psalm is the perfect Psalm to describe the beginning and end of your life as a Christian.In the life of the church we typically use Psalm 121 in the rite of Holy Baptism and sometimes at funerals.   Baptisms and funerals are the two events that are a part of every Christian’s life.  Baptisms and funerals go together perfectly.  In Baptism you are connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection, you are washed clean and walk in the newness of life.  At a funeral the first thing we do is acknowledge that the deceased “IS” baptized, not was baptized. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection the deceased will rise again on the last day in resurrection of all flesh, never to die again.  Likewise for us living today that means that in your Baptism you are clothed in Christ. Even as we journey in the treacherous paths of life, through danger, suffering, even in the valley of the shadow of death Jesus keeps you and guards you from all evil.  Jesus has placed the sign of the cross on your forehead to mark you as one who is redeemed by His blood. By all these promises God who watches over our comings and goings now and forever more. . In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.There is nothing worth comparing to this lifelong comfort sure!  Open-eyed my grave is staring: Even there I’ll sleep secure.  Though my flesh awaits its raising, still my soul continues praising:  I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise! (LSB 594:5)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/21/20233 minutes, 58 seconds
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Friday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 20, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29, Matthew 7:1-12“Do not judge others..”. (Matthew 7:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you ever watch a courtroom trial on TV, you will always notice the trial takes time. Sometimes the trial is a few hours, sometimes it takes months. You will always notice that the judge doesn’t immediately make a judgment at the start of a trial.  Judges listen carefully to the facts, they read the laws and take all things into account before bringing in the verdict. Their duty is to make sure that the trial is fair to all sides with all the facts put on display.  Today everyone loves to throw the Words of Jesus at us “Judge not!”  It’s probably the most memorized verse in and outside of the church today.  However, in Matthew 7, Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees, who spent most of the time immediately criticizing the sins and shortcomings of everyone except themselves. Jesus eventually became so frustrated with the Pharisee’s self-righteousness (viewing themselves as perfect) that He called them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27).“Judge not”. Most of the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They seem to think Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching. If we see what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, He commands us to know people by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessment is necessary for that. The Christian is called to unconditionally love. But the Christian is not called to unconditional approval. We really can love people who do things that should not be approved of. Instead, Jesus is speaking against being judgmental, that is, judging motives and the inner man, which only God can know.  We can judge the fruit of a man, but we can rarely judge their motives with accuracy. Sin is an addiction and our neighbor cannot free themselves of their sinful condition. Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, we do not let all the facts be made known. Jesus will judge the living and the dead, but He will do so with a standard we cannot see in ourselves. His final verdict is given from the cross “forgive them for they know not what they do.”  That is your verdict in Jesus and it's our prayer, not judgment, that many more would be declared not guilty because the blood of Jesus covers a multitude of sins.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“The Law of God is good and wise  And sets His will before our eyes,Shows us the way of righteousness, And dooms to death when we transgress”. (LSB 579:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/20/20234 minutes, 40 seconds
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Thursday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 19, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, Baptism Part 2Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37, Matthew 6:16-34It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Baptism today is practiced by so many Christians throughout the world today.  It is a key to the teaching and practice of Christians since the great commission of Jesus to baptize all nations in Matthew 28.  However, if you take a look at the majority of Christian views of Baptism you will find that they are all over the map in terms of teaching and practice.  How much water is needed to baptize?  Who is old enough to be baptized?  Do you need to understand what Baptism is and do you need to give a testimony of faith?  Does Baptism require something from you first?  If you notice these questions, they center on one thing, you and me.  Baptism has been twisted into something that is empty, symbolic and centered on us and how we meet Jesus where He is.  However, Baptism is not something that you do.  It’s not about how much water, how old you are or if you even understand what is going on.  Baptism is all about what Jesus is doing for you, not vice versa.  Jesus then drowns your old Adam in His water and blood that flow from His pierced side on the cross. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3).  It is critical that we as Lutheran’s hold strong to this simple yet profound teaching on Baptism: “It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil and gives eternal salvation.” Read the explanation again and again. Jesus is the one doing the work in Baptism, because apart from Him we stand guilty, death will consume us and the devil will lead us to hell.  The entire message of the Gospel is Jesus at work for you and His church.  In Baptism He does this in all places and times, with various amounts of water, various people of all ages and understandings. Rejoice!  Jesus has washed you in His blood and declares you are now His beloved child. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer:  I am baptized into Christ!  I have comfort even stronger:Jesus' cleansing sacrifice.  Should a guilty conscience seize me  Since my Baptism did release me  In a dear forgiving flood,  Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood!  (LSB 594:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/19/20234 minutes, 43 seconds
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St Luke

October 18, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15, Matthew 6:1-15Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. (Luke 10:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.Today’s verses have certainly been used by so many to give a pep rally for us to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God in all that we do.  The 72 were sent and they were told not to worry about their earthly needs, so go out there and you can do the same thing!  The problem is that the whole passage of the 72 isn’t about you or me and how we can fulfill the harvest for the Lord.   Jesus is the one doing all the work in, with and under the 72 He sends out. Go back and look at the passage again and see who is doing all the work.  In the first verse, Jesus appoints and sends. In the second verse, He centers the entire mission on God. God is the Lord of the harvest, and God sends laborers into His harvest. The sent ones do not need to worry about their earthly needs because God will see to it they are provided for. Some would accept them and the peace they bring, others would not, if they are turned away don’t take it personally, for Christ bears the rejection Himself, and will do so ultimately on the cross.  In all that they do they are simply sent to proclaim what has been told to them by Jesus “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.” And when the seventy-two come back, they return with joy! But even then Jesus redirects their joy beyond their efforts and experiences to the gracious work of God, as the One who writes their names in Heaven.That is the whole point of Jesus sending out the 72.  In the same way He sent out St. Luke as well.  They weren’t sent to equip others for how they could somehow be faithful fulfillers of God’s harvest announcement.  They were sent out to proclaim what God in Christ has already done for the life of the whole world.  They were sent to point people to Jesus and His greater work in the victory of eternal life.  Your pastor and your church are sent for the same reason today. As you live out your holy vocations as God’s baptized child He will work where and when He pleases in you because the Kingdom of God has come near to you.  Rejoice that Jesus continues His work of the harvest  by continuing to bring His kingdom to us through His Word and Sacraments in the church.  In all of this the Lord of the harvest is at work not only bringing more to faith, but also reminding you that your name is written in heaven by the blood of Jesus Christ.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For that belov’d physician  All praise, whose Gospel show   The Healer of the nations,The one who shares our woes.  Your wine and oil, O Savior,  Upon our spirits pour,And with true balm of Gilead  Anoint us evermore. (LSB 518:26)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/18/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tuesday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 17, 2023Today's Reading: Philippians 4:4-13Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36, Matthew 5:21-48“The Lord is at hand…”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord is at hand..Rejoice in the Lord always…do not be anxious about anything”. Yeah that seems like it's not gonna happen.  When you look at everything around us today it seems like there is very little to rejoice over.  If the struggles and fears of life weren’t bad enough, Paul’s words today have been severely misused with Christians.  So much of Christianity today loves to beat people over the head with this passage from Philippians, as if this somehow a hand-book for being a happier and stress-free Christian. Paul’s words today are not some sort of self-help to make you more happy and anxious-free as a Christian, the key to all of this passage today is “The Lord is at hand…”.  Life truly stinks.  The pressures we face each day and the sins we constantly love to swim in are drowning us.  Living a life of rejoicing and not being anxious is something you can’t accomplish on your own, it must be done by the Lord who is at hand. Our lives are lived under the cross of Jesus Christ who suffered and bore our sins, our shame, our guilt that have caused us despair and fear. We did our worst to Jesus at the cross and He rose from the dead victorious over death, not to give us some sort of example to follow but to give to us that same victory over sin and death.  Your greatest fear and source of anxiety has been covered in the blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus  says to you each and every day, “Do not be afraid”.  If you aren’t comforted by that, if you can’t rejoice in that, if anxieties don’ cease, then confess your sins to Jesus who forgives.  Pray to Him who hears your prayers and cry out “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief”.  He hears your prayers, He sees your suffering and fears and He promises that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will never pass away.  This means that this world of suffering and fears is not permanent for you.  He has overcome your death, He promises you that this veil of tears, anxiety, and negativity are not all that we have to look forward to.  Whether we live or die, “the Lord is at hand” shepherding you to that place He has prepared for in the glory to be revealed in heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Rely on God your Savior   And find your life secure. Make His work your foundationThat your work may endure.  No anxious thought, no worry,  No self-tormenting careCan win your Father's favor;  His heart is moved by prayer.  (LSB 754:2)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/17/20234 minutes, 36 seconds
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Monday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 16, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18, Matthew 5:1-20And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.  (Isaiah 25:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Many of us can probably remember a very special meal that we were a part of.  It may have been a meal that we anticipated like a birthday party or a holiday meal.  Eating with loved ones and friends is a very beautiful thing when you think about it. I would love to be able to sit down to a meal with my dad and grandparents and aunts and uncles who have passed on from this life.  Our reading from Isaiah points to a meal that is prepared for you and all who are faithful in Christ.  This meal is exquisite with the richest and most luxurious food and drink.  However, the meal is more than just sitting down to a tasty meal.  The meal Isaiah speaks of today is the Feast of Victory of our God.   Listen to what the Lord does with this meal: “And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.”  Let those words sink in for a moment. “The Lord will swallow up death forever! Usually it is death that swallows us up. But the day is coming when the Lord will swallow up death itself. Forever. That is something to look forward to. For now death is like a veil, a shroud, a covering that is draped over all humanity.  Death is not something our Lord ever planned for us, our sins brought it upon us and death’s shadow has covered you your entire life. But the day is coming when that shroud will be lifted.  Until then we do not hunger or thirst.  Jesus continues to prepare a table here and now in the presence of our enemies of sin, death and the devil.  As you partake of the Holy Eucharist, you receive the forgiveness of sins that banishes death.  You are strengthened in the eternal promises of God are yours today and that a place is prepared for you at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end.   The day is coming when “the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.” “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Joy, because the Lord has promised to swallow up death, forever and seat us at the feast of victory.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now no more can death appall,  Now no more the grave enthrall;You have opened paradise,  And Your saints in You shall rise.  Alleluia!  (LSB 633:6)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/16/20234 minutes, 34 seconds
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Sunday the Twentieth Week of Pentecost

October 15, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-14Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6, Matthew 4:12-25The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  (Matthew 22:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you sit down to eat with your family either at home or at a restaurant, you generally eat with the people you know and love.  It would be rather odd to have some stranger sit down and start eating your food.  They haven’t been invited, they aren’t part of the family, get lost, you don’t belong at our table.  Jesus speaks of the King’s wedding feast today.  The table is set.   Who deserves to be at the table?  No one!  Not one single person born of Adam deserves a seat at the feast of our Lord!  We only deserve present and eternal punishment.  That’s it.  We deserve nothing from our God and Lord, which is why we cry out in repentant faith, “Lord, have mercy!  Christ, have mercy!  Not for my sake, but for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.  Forgive me all my sins.” And you know what?  He does exactly that!  In fact, He doesn’t just show us mercy.  He bestows on us His grace.  (Remember: Mercy is not getting what you deserve, and grace is getting what you don’t deserve.)Look to the font, the pulpit, and the altar.  This is the feast of victory—His victory!  You don’t have to wait to get home to heaven to start feasting.  I realize it will be inconceivably better in heaven, but the Divine Service is where the King has set up His now!  He continues to send His faithful servant, Jesus Christ, to feed us and nourish us with His grace, His mercy, His love, His peace.  Consider the gifts of life, grace, mercy, and peace given to you by God Himself in the waters of Holy Baptism.  Consider how your Lord feeds and nourishes you each and every Sunday, at this earthly side of the Master’s heavenly feast table.  Each Sunday our Lord is bringing heaven to earth, to a bunch of sinful beggars and lowlifes like us!  Consider the very words you hear, spoken directly to you precisely so that you can hear and trust, words spoken in the stead and by the command of the Master Himself.  “You are forgiven.  For the sake of Christ’s bitter suffering and death, you are forgiven.  Depart in peace.” Recognized through the eyes and ears of faith, how could you want anything else?  How could you even want to be anywhere else?  Hold fast to this blessed, Christ-centered Truth.  Fear not.  Be at peace.  Your sins are forgiven in Christ and because of Christ, have a seat at the Feast of Victory!I n the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/15/20234 minutes, 53 seconds
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Saturday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 14, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 20: Isaiah 61:10; antiphon Psalm 146:2Daily Lectionary:Malachi 2:1-3:5, Matthew 4:1-11I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  (Psalm 146:2)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Hallelujah is Hebrew for “praise the Lord.” The Greek word is alleluia. Alleluia is an invitation to praise God. That is why we sing it so much in our worship. We sing alleluia to ourselves and to each other.  We are encouraging and inviting each other to the joyful work of praising God, speaking of all he is, said, says, did, does and will do. Let us do this together! We sing praise in the congregation for the mutual blessing of knowing and believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is good to sing praise to the Lord.Praise is not done for God. He doesn’t need it. We do. In praising God we bring to our minds and hearts what God has said and done for us men and for our salvation. God knows what He has done and said He doesn’t need reminding. Sinners tend to forget. Through praise God does His work of saving among us. Preaching and hearing God’s Word is praise that goes into our ears. The praise that comes out of our mouths is our joyful response. Within the congregation our praise also enters our ears and those nearest us. Hear what God has done for me! Daring to be Lutheran is praising God boldly and clearly in worship.The liturgy is full of God’s Word. The Psalms along with the readings, sermon and hymns guide us in our praise. Through God’s Word, preaching and the sacraments we know that God is with us to distribute His gifts of life and salvation through the forgiveness of sins. We also know that God is present among us in our praise. The psalmist put it this way: You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3). God reigns among His people in their praises! He distributes His kingly divine gifts to us. Christians give way to joyful praise because through Baptism they have been clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Christian praise is to put our trust in God rather than men. Praise puts to death the old sinful man and raises up Christ, the New Man within you. The breath of men departs and they die. The breath of God that is poured out through our worship and praise brings forth life and eternal salvation. “I will praise Him as long as I live!” In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  It is good to give thanks to the Lord,    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;    to declare your steadfast love in the morning,    and your faithfulness by night,   For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.   (Psalm 92:1,2,4)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/14/20234 minutes, 51 seconds
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Friday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 13, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14,  Matthew 3:1-17John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   “…The voice of one crying in the wilderness…” (Matthew 3:1,2,3b)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. God wants you to be a happy hearer. Satan, on the other hand, wants you to despise preaching and to reluctantly listen to your pastor. Despising preaching is easy to do. The Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t gladly hear John’s preaching. They despised it because it called for them to confess their sins and believe in Jesus. Christians gladly hear preaching because it works repentance in them and delivers Jesus their Savior.Pastors don’t always appreciate the work of listening. They are busy preaching. The pastor's job, above all, is to preach boldly and clearly, God’s Word. He owes this to the hearers. Pastors strive through God’s Word and prayer to give the hearers something worth gladly hearing. The preaching task is done for the sake of the salvation of sinners. Your pastor is a preacher, a proclaimer of God’s Word, His good news for sinners.John the Baptist was ordained by God to prepare the way for Jesus through preaching. Preaching is a really big deal to God. The hearers of John’s preaching knew that God promised to send a Savior. John’s preaching prepared the hearers to receive Jesus gladly.The primary purpose of your ears is to hear God through preaching and the scriptures. Having ears is a daily reminder that you are a hearer of God’s Word. God gave them to you, your ears, that you may know Him more fully. It is a mystery that God does His work in this way: from the mouth of a human preacher into the ears of sinners. We pray that “Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.” (Psalm 85:13). The righteousness that goes before Jesus is the preaching of John and all faithful pastors. Preaching prepares you for Jesus in you. The righteousness of preaching is the message of Christ crucified for sinners. When we pray, “Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way,” we confess that preaching is for sinners and their salvation and ask that it would be so for me. Preaching makes a path for Jesus straight into your happy hearing ears. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;    incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,  and the wonders that he has done. (Psalm 78:1-4)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/13/20234 minutes, 53 seconds
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Thursday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 12, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38, 1 Timothy 6:3-21But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Your life should reflect who you are in Christ, all of your life. You are baptized and empowered to live life accordingly. This is what Paul means by godliness. Living a Christian life is far more than simply being a faithful Sunday morning worshiper. The strength and source of living a godly life is Jesus. The Divine Service is where we are plugged-in, so to speak, to Him. Without Jesus there is no godly life. What does your life look like outside of the Divine Service? Is it God pleasing? Godliness is keeping God at the center. It is keeping His Word before our eyes, in our ears and upon our hearts daily. It is reflecting that Word in our words and works of love towards God and neighbor. Why does Paul instruct Timothy to preach and teach about godliness with contentment? And to charge Christians to live a holy life fleeing from sinful desires and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness? For these reasons: for the sake of true joy, peace and contentment and that we may not lose what we already have been given freely in Christ nor cause others to stumble and fall away. We don’t worship or live a godly life for compliments. Your godliness in no way atones for sins and gains salvation. However, Jesus’ perfect life of godliness and death does… atone for your sins and saves. God wants us to have good things, he “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” However, He doesn’t want us to fall into faith destroying snares. The temptations of riches, power and worldly desires are always ready to entrap us. Satan uses such things to drive us away from Jesus. O Christian flee from those things! Godliness that finds its joyful source in the righteousness of Jesus, freely given, provides a life of contentment. We give thanks for all that God has provided in this life, whether little or an abundance. And how much He has given! What the world considers good and needful is most often just the opposite, hurtful and detrimental to faith. There is only one thing needful for you and that is Jesus, your crucified and risen Savior.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,   for those who fear him have no lack!   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing, Better is the little that the righteous has   than the abundance of many wicked. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness  for his name’s sake. (Psalm 34:9, 10b; 23:1,3)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/12/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Wednesday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 11, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, Baptism: Part 1Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21, 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  In the beginning was water. The Spirit of God hovered over the water, and the Word of God was spoken according to the will of God. All of creation had its origin out of the water. God, the Word of God, the Spirit of God and water are the ingredients of creation, The Holy Trinity and water. God remakes His creation in the same way He made it, by means of water and Himself…the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “It is He who made us and we are His” (Psalm 100). This makes you a disciple of Jesus, a hearer of His voice. It makes you…what you are. It gives you identity in God. He knows exactly who you are and lovingly reminds you daily of His love for His very own. The Lord loves the baptized. He made them. He made you.In a perfect world we all would have been conceived within the marital union and love between a husband and wife. And wouldn’t it be great if we all grew up surrounded by their perfect love, of those parents, in the same house. The brokenness in this world often causes us painful and confusing identity crises. Who am I and why am I here?  The world that God created by means of water and His Word is horribly broken…it cannot simply be repaired. It can be remade. Jesus empowers His church to do the work of remaking… “go and make disciples…”Despite the brokenness of life in this world into which you were born, God chose you to be His baptized, remade, child. Not only did He form you in the womb, but He remade and marked you for eternity in Baptism. The pastor may have administered the Baptism, but the words “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” show clearly that God is the one doing the “making.”  He makes disciples. He baptized you. God’s work of remaking you continues in His church. Baptism gave you ears to hear. The church teaches the baptized that they may learn who they are by listening. What does it mean that I am baptized? Who am I in Jesus? The answer is in the preaching and teaching that you hear from your pastor. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. The voice of the Lord is over the waters;  the God of glory thunders,  the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful;   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.Know that the Lord, he is God!    It is he who made us, and we are his;  we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (Psalm 29:3,4; 100:3)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/11/20234 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tuesday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 10, 2023Today's Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4, 8:1-18, 1 Timothy 5:1-16I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)It is personal. Faith is first about you and Jesus, just the two of you. That is how it began. Jesus chose you. Remember your Baptism. We Lutherans tend to get a little squeamish if we use words like, “I”, “my” and “mine” too much. We should. Those first-person personal pronouns tend towards self-centeredness. They often leave little room for God and neighbor. Sinners are all about themselves, not Jesus or anybody else. But when it comes to Jesus and you those pronouns are the way to go…use them. St. Paul did and so should you. Jesus knows you personally. He is your Lord and Savior to know and love. It can get a little emotional, and sometimes a lot, like any relationship. This one is the most important of all. Dare to be Lutheran… call Him “my Lord.” The Psalms help us sort the emotions out by knowing the mind and heart of Jesus. For Paul it was very personal. He lost everything, from a worldly perspective, when Jesus came thundering into His life. It blinded Him. He didn’t see it coming. He met the Lord, the one he was persecuting. That One wanted to be Paul’s Lord. He wished to call him “My” Paul…to save him. Jesus desired Paul to reciprocate and call Him “my Lord.”To have nothing but Jesus as your Lord is far better than having everything without Jesus. This is a hard perspective for us to have in such a self-centered and material society. It is difficult spiritual work. The only way is by prayer and God’s Word.  Other “lords” strive to push Him out of the center, His rightful place. These pushy and tyrannical “lords” manifest in countless ways. You know who and what they are…if you wonder, examine yourself according to the Ten Commandments. God’s law flushes them out for you…keeping Jesus as your only Lord to love and trust for that which is good and beneficial in life and for your salvation. I am continually with you;   you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel,   and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?   And there is nothing on earth  that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  For me it is good to be near God;  I have made the Lord God my refuge.  (Psalm 73:23-26, 28b)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/10/20234 minutes, 48 seconds
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Monday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 9, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16, 1 Timothy 4:1-16What more was there to do for my vineyard…? (Isaiah 5:4a)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. God is a gardener. He planted the first garden in Eden out of love. It was perfect; a garden that was destined to be forever green with blooming flowers and fruitful trees. God Himself watered the garden with a mist from the ground. This garden He made for man, for Adam and Eve and their offspring. The fruit of this garden that God desired, above all, was the love and joyful obedience of man. God had made it all for them to know His love and to love Him in return. But the garden’s fruit began to rot. God continued to garden. He planted a people, the house of Israel and the men of Judah, His chosen people. It was the Lord’s vineyard. Like the first garden, God desired His loving care for this vineyard to produce fruit…love and obedience to His Word. God is a faithful vinedresser. He did everything He could for this vineyard to be fruitful. But the fruit it produced was worthless, rotten from loveless and disobedient hearts. Out of love God destroyed this vineyard. He had its walls torn down and the vineyard trampled. By God’s doing it became a waterless wasteland full of briers and thorns. He stopped the rain. He did so, not out of despair, He wasn’t giving up. He was being the faithful vinedresser. He was gardening, caring for His pleasant planting.In the dried-up desolate land where the vineyard was planted was a stump. It was left there by God. The stump blossomed. It was the line of David. Jesus was the fruit born of Mary. He came to His vineyard. The vineyard rejected Him like before. But this time He would bring forth fruit on its behalf. He would do so from a tree, the cross…the fruit of perfect love and obedience. What more could He do for His vineyard? He did it by dying. We are God’s pleasant planting, His church, His precious vineyard. This vineyard will never be destroyed but come to its fullness on the last day. He has joined us to Himself, the Tree of Life. In His church He does His gardening, pruning, planting, and watering. May we be fruitful in joyful love and obedience in and through Him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. O God, you are my God;  earnestly I seek you;  my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,  as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,  beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life,  my lips will praise you. For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-3,7,9)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/9/20234 minutes, 53 seconds
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Sunday the Nineteenth Week of Pentecost

October 8, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 21:33-46Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23, 1 Timothy 3:1-16But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Matthew 21:38, 39)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. The master of the house who planted the vineyard is God. The vineyard is Israel, God’s people. The tenants of the vineyard are the religious leaders. The servants sent to gather the fruit of the vineyard are the prophets sent by God to preach and teach God’s Word. The son sent by the master of house is Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. The parable was a direct and clear condemnation of the elders of the people and the chief priests. Jesus was pointing a finger directly at them, “you have done this!” God’s Word from the mouth of God Himself condemned them. There was no wiggle room for these leaders. They and all who heard knew what Jesus meant. They should have repented. But rather they bound themselves in their sin and hardness of heart and desired Jesus dead. Perhaps, some by God’s mercy later, after Jesus' death and resurrection, saw clearly, repented and believed with Jesus’ parable still burning on their hearts and minds.Leaders of God’s people, then and now, are always in grave danger of forgetting to whom the vineyard belongs. The church is always in need of faithful pastors, of tenants, to care for God’s people according to His Word and will. Unfaithfulness in preaching and teaching mutes the voice of the Apostles, those sent by God, effectively killing them and throwing them out of the church. Jesus’ parable serves as a reminder to pray for faithful pastors who hold tightly to the Word of God. “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers...” (Matthew 9:38). Pray daily for your own pastor. Pray that pastors would always remember whose vineyard it is in which they work. They serve in the stead and by the command of Jesus for your salvation. Pray that the lay leaders of your congregation would support faithful ministers as they serve God’s people. It is the Lord’s vineyard, His people, for whom He sent His Son to die.You, and all believers, are the fruit of God’s vineyard. His fruit brought forth through Baptism and faithful preaching and nurtured in the Holy Communion.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.You brought a vine out of Egypt;   … and planted it.  Look down from heaven, and see;    have regard for this vine,   the stock that your right hand planted… Let your face shine, that we    may be saved! (Psalm 80:8,14b, 15a, 19b)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/8/20234 minutes, 39 seconds
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Saturday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 7, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 19: Psalm 118:22-24, antiphon Psalm 118:1Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20, 4:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:1-15This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. You are a child of the day. Day is for light; for seeing clearly. You are not a child of any ordinary day but of an extraordinary day; a day coming since the creation of the world. A day set by God. A day that has come. The psalmist speaks of this day…“that the Lord has made.” (Psalm 118:24)We are talking about a specific day in history that God made. We have reason to rejoice and be glad every day because of this day, one far greater than any other. It is the day the rejected stone became the cornerstone. You are a child of that day. A day full of light and life.The Temple was built with enormous stones. The cornerstone was selected to join two walls together. The psalmist is not speaking of an earthly building or stones. He is speaking of Jesus. He is the stone that was rejected by His own people according to God’s will and design. Jesus came to build something far greater than the Temple. He came to build His church of which He is the cornerstone. The church which is the household of God filled with the children of the day. The day that stone was laid in place for His church is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day of which we speak. A day of resurrection and light. Jesus was rejected. The religious leaders with the crowd cried, “crucify him.” He had done nothing deserving such rejection. Yet, He was not only rejected by His people but also by His Father. He was stricken, smitten, afflicted and forsaken by God. Rejected. Crucified. Buried. But let us get to the day, to the light that scatters the darkness… Resurrection Day. The day the stone was rolled away. The day the crucified Jesus rose, laying an everlasting foundation for His Church. He who was laid stone cold dead in the tomb, sealed by a stone, is our resurrection cornerstone. The Cornerstone who joins all the children of the day to Himself and to each other. We are children of that day, the day of Resurrection. A day the Lord has made for rejoicing and gladness. You became a child of that day, your Resurrection day, in Baptism. In Jesus, our resurrected Lord, we see clearly, as in the day, what God has done…it is marvelous in our eyes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.Open to me the gates of righteousness,  that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. (Psalm 118:19, 21, 28)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/7/20234 minutes, 58 seconds
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Friday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 6, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10, 1 Timothy 1:1-20The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Timothy 1:15)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. In Jesus, God saves sinners. Jesus is God. All things were created through Him. Jesus is fully man. He became enfleshed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus became a sinner. He claimed your sins as His very own. They stuck to Jesus, the God Man. You hear the voice of Jesus, the sinner, in the Psalms calling your sins His. Jesus prayed, “I acknowledged my sin.” The Psalms are the Lord’s prayers given to the baptized, prayers by the sinless Son of God as sinner. God made Him who was sinless to be sin in your place. In Jesus, God saves sinners. Jesus needed saving. He became the foremost of sinners. Only He as God could save Himself. Only He could die for the sins that had become fully His. In the ignorance of unbelief those surrounding the cross unwittingly suggested He do that very thing…save Himself. “Save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:3) And He did just that, save Himself and us. By dying in the flesh, made to be sin, as God, sin lost all its power. In Jesus sin died. By saving Himself as sinner in our place He fulfilled His Father’s will to save sinners. In Jesus, God saves sinners. Jesus wasn’t about saving Himself, clearly. He was all about saving you. This was His Father’s will. You can’t save yourself from sin. Jesus did the saving by dying. He rescued you. It is a trustworthy confession that Jesus came into the flesh to save sinners. This is the theme of the entire Bible. He did not come as a lawgiver to beat you down into despair and submission. He came as Savior. He came for all sinners. And that includes you! In Jesus, God saves sinners. It is a sin to doubt what God has said He has done and will do. It is sin to think in your heart that God can’t forgive and save you. He forgives your doubts as well. Those doubts were on Him at the cross. They died. Faith, God given faith, firmly planted in you, believes, clings, trusts and accepts that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. You may not always feel that way, but it is true, nonetheless. God said so. In Jesus, God saves sinners. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.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. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,     and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 32:5; 18:3)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/6/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Thursday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 5, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23, Colossians 4:1-18Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Are you a preacher or a hearer? If you are a preacher, as you well know, you must also count yourself a hearer. What does the preacher preach? The mystery of Christ, the Word of God (both Law and Gospel), repentance and Christ crucified for sinners, the forgiveness of sins. What does the hearer hear? All of the above, the clear Word that flows from the faithful preacher’s open mouth…the splendid mystery of Christ revealed, the forgiveness of sins. Who do the hearers receive from the preacher? They receive Jesus. All of Him. What great gift God has given to His Church for you. He opens heaven to you through the preaching of God’s ordained ministers. This is a joyful mystery of God’s working in us and among us. So, we give thanks and pray for the preachers that He would open doors for the Word to be declared in all its clarity and power. Hearers (that’s all of us) live as such…hearers of the Word, wherever you may find yourself. “Walk in wisdom” is another way to say the same thing. Hearers walk in and with Jesus. The baptized, who are the hearers of the Word, are baptized into Christ. Jesus is the wisdom of God who dwells in you, and you in Him. “Walk in wisdom” … walk in Jesus. Christian speech, by which I mean how we speak in all of life’s situations, begins with preachers putting Jesus into our ears. How we speak to those within the household of God, fellow believers, and “outsiders” matters…it matters a lot. Gracious words are words that don’t betray your hearing, and expose you to be a hypocrite…hearing one thing and speaking another. Gracious words reveal Christ in you to those who hear you. Speech “seasoned with salt” is not laced with profanity, gossip and animosity. Christian speech is not argumentative. Gracious speech is seasoned with kindness, sincerity and truth. Gracious speech is a mark of hearers living under God’s grace. “Grace be with you,” that you may be gracious. “Grace be with you,” St. Paul’s final word to you today, a good final word, for God’s grace is His eternal kind and merciful favor towards you that you hear in the preaching of Christ crucified. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,  O Lord God of hosts;let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me.   O God of Israel.My prayer is to you, O LORD. In the abundance of your steadfast love  answer me in your saving faithfulness. (Psalm 69:6,13)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/5/20234 minutes, 59 seconds
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Wednesday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 4, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, The Lord's Prayer: ConclusionDaily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25, Colossians 3:1-25For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.In the name of Jesus, Amen. Thine means yours. Let’s be clear. Thine doesn’t mean “mine.” Thine is a form of Thy before a word beginning with a vowel. Daring to be Lutheran is to boldly give all the glory to God in our praise, forever. We don’t get any glory apart from Jesus. Without Jesus we have no power. Without His death and resurrection we have no kingdom to call ours. It is His kingdom to reign. It always has been. And will be forever… yes, yes…this is so.We call Him our Father because He gave His Son into death for us. The only power to save is through the Son’s death and resurrection. Without the Son’s saving work there is no forever and ever for us. No glory, no kingdom, nothing good for you to call “mine.” It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? That the kingdom, power and glory are all His? But not so obvious to the world…and our sinful nature. The world is not going to acknowledge that anything truly belongs to God. Our sinful nature wants it all for itself. All of it…the kingdom, the power and the glory. By our sin we claim it all as “mine,” not “thine.” In this life we dwell in a kingdom fiercely opposed to God’s kingdom. Satan is the prince of this world. This world is presently his kingdom. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God would protect and guard us from the devil’s evil reign which surrounds us. God’s Word empowers us to live godly lives under this tyrannical rule. So, we pray… “Thy kingdom come!” Your kingdom, as an heir with Jesus, prepared for you.God alone has the power to create and recreate. “The whole world lies under the power of the evil one… [but] we are from God” (1 John 5:19) The power of sin is death. Death has no power over us who have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. God’s saving power, secured in Jesus crucified, is for you, your power over sin, death and the devil.The glory of the Father, simply put, is Jesus. Jesus is the glory of the Father because He took on visible flesh and died on the cross. When you see Jesus, you see God’s glory. Jesus is God in flesh forever and ever. He is your Savior Jesus, your glory for all eternity. Because of Jesus, your Baptism into Him, the kingdom, the power and the glory of the Father are all yours. Fully and completely, all freely. Go ahead, call what is His, your very own. Now and forever. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.The LORD is great in Zion;  he is exalted over all the peoples.Let them praise your great and awesome name!  Holy is he! (Psalm 99:2-3) -Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/4/20234 minutes, 59 seconds
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Tuesday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 3, 2023Today's Reading: Philippians 2:1-18Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11, 14-33, Colossians 2:8-23Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus... (Philippians 2:4,5)In the Name of Jesus, Amen. There is only one God, the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is one with the Father and the Son. When you were baptized the Spirit of God was poured out upon you. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. By baptism you were made one with God; Christ in you, and you in Christ. Your life is in Him and He lives and reigns in you. What joyful oneness and unity you have with God who delights in YOU. I am sure you know that your congregation is not perfect. Perhaps you have seen members argue or even yell at each other. Maybe your pastor lost his temper and said something that shouldn’t have been said. The people of Israel and their leaders were much like our congregations. Now, as then, God’s people sinfully grumble and argue in ways that are not right and God pleasing. This ought not be. Sinful pride and self-centeredness can tear congregations apart. The devil works hard to cause conceit and selfish ambition in God’s people in order to destroy Christian fellowship and unity. Satan does not want peace and joy in Christ among and in God’s people.Do you have the mind of Christ? Do you think like Jesus? Do you desire what God desires? That is, do you love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself? Do you love Jesus? Do you believe He died for you? To have the mind of Christ is to love God and your neighbor, that is, especially and most importantly, your brothers and sisters in Christ in your congregation. This is not easy to do as sinners. You are one with God in Christ. This is a great mystery. It is equally true that all your brothers and sisters in your congregation share the same oneness with Jesus as you do. Jesus is the perfect brother that put Himself last for you and for them. In Him was no selfish ambition or conceit. He loves you and them and considers us all of far more worth than His own life. He gave His life for you and them. What joy! The same Spirit of life dwells in all of God’s people in your congregation. This is hard to remember and to put into practice. But through God’s Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit we can live in great joy, peace and unity in our congregations!  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” For my brothers and companions’ sake,  I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,  I will seek your good.  (Psalm 122:6-9)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/3/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Monday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 2, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25, Colossians 1:24-2:7For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. (Ezekiel 18:32)In the name of Jesus, Amen. It’s not my fault! I didn’t do anything wrong! Why do I have to pay the price for what someone else did? This is what the people of Israel meant when they quoted the proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?” It was passing the blame onto their ancestors for their suffering, playing the victim card. The people of Israel suffered great affliction. Yes, the sins of their fathers didn’t help.  But neither did they in their own sin and unbelief.  We too would cry out to God and complain, blaming others and God as they did. Christians daily do all of the above, cry out, complain and blame God. It is okay to cry out to God and complain, but not to blame him. Such prayer is very good when it is done in faith, love and trust in God. Our crying out and complaining get muddled with our sinful hearts and minds. And God sometimes, through His Word, speaks sternly and directly to us in our sin as a loving father, as He did for the people of Israel. Our prayers often are self-centered. God sorts that all out, our sin and faith that is, through His Word and Holy Spirit. That is one purpose of prayer; getting things sorted and cleared-up in our hearts and minds.  So, we pray “with all boldness and confidence…as dear children ask their dear father.” God doesn’t mind the “why me” prayers at all. Because he hears and answers according to His good, right and merciful will. It is good to ask God why and seek the answers in prayer and His Word.All people, including those who have caused suffering in our lives, will be held accountable before God and judged. We cannot fully know now the reason for affliction that God permits. But we do know that He uses suffering for the purpose of saving sinners. God is always about giving life over death in Jesus. Through suffering, His Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit, God turns us from our human thinking and ignorance. He draws us to Himself so that we can see clearly that Jesus suffered and died in our place. We will stand fully alive before God on the last day as forgiven and cherished sons and daughters with Jesus. In the name of Jesus, Amen.Turn to me and be gracious to me,   for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged;    bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble,    and forgive all my sins.  (Psalm 25:16-18)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/2/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
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Sunday the Eighteenth Week of Pentecost

October 1, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 21:23-32Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 32:1-22, Colossians 1:1-23For John came to you in the way of righteousness…the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. (Matthew 21:32a)In the name of Jesus, Amen. Authority is the right to do or say something within your vocations. Humans have no true authority unless it is given to them. All authority in heaven and earth belongs to God. God was not given dominion and power over heaven and earth; it is His by right as God and Creator. Authority is God’s alone to give. Parents have authority to parent from God. Pastor’s have authority from God through the Christian congregation. The chief priests and elders of the people taught that all authority comes from God. So, they questioned Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” We cannot look into their hearts like Jesus, but their question was also motivated by pride and jealousy. The religious leaders often acted as if their authority was their own not from God. John the Baptist’s authority to say and do what he did, as the forerunner of Jesus, was from God. God’s Word bestowed to John the divine right to preach and baptize. Jesus’ question to the chief priests and elders was to call them to repentance and to search the scriptures about John and Himself. Sadly, instead of searching the authoritative scriptures they discussed Jesus’ question among themselves. In themselves they would not discover the truth of John’s baptism, that it was from God, nor see and believe that Jesus was God in the flesh.The son who repented (changed his mind) is the one who did the father’s will. The chief priests and the elders prided themselves in doing God’s will in their words and works. However, they refused the work of faith, believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. Faith is God’s work within us. Repentance is also God’s work within us. Faith and repentance are the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. John preached the righteousness of Jesus; that Jesus would take our sins and give His life in our place. John called sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus. Sinners who gladly heard this preaching and were baptized were made sons of the kingdom of God!Through the authority of God’s Word and Baptism, faith and repentance have been worked in you. The kingdom of God is yours! You are the first son with Jesus. Through Him you have done the Father’s will. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Create in me a clean heart, O God      and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation     and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10, 12)-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/1/20234 minutes, 48 seconds
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Saturday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 30, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 18: Psalm 147:1-5; antiphon Psalm 147:6Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21, Philippians 4:1-23He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we lived in Corpus Christi, one of our unique experiences was learning what happens when a category 5 hurricane blows through the area. Corpus Christi itself didn’t receive as much water damage from Harvey as Houston or as much wind damage as a dozen towns that were just up the coast from us. But for the next two years, our congregation was a base camp for volunteers from all around the country—they came to help tear out water damage, repair sheetrock,  install flooring—they even replaced a few roofs! We had almost a thousand volunteers who came and stayed at our church. I led devotions each morning for the volunteers before they went to work. One of the verses that became a “theme verse” for us was Psalm 147:3, that God heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. I came to love this verse because of all the broken-hearted folks I met along the way. Some folks had lost everything in the storm, and I certainly had no words on my own that would have fixed anything. But God did. I’ll never forget the looks on some of the homeowners’ faces when our teams showed up to help. When we got there, they looked hopeless, like the task in front of them was more than they’d ever be able to handle. But these folks who showed up to help…showed up. And when they came, they didn’t expect any thanks or recognition. One homeowner couldn’t stop thanking a volunteer to the point that the volunteer was having a hard time getting his work done. He almost didn’t know how to respond…You’re welcome, don’t mention it, it’s my pleasure—he tried everything…until it dawned on him. This thanks shouldn’t have been directed toward him at all. “Could I pray with you?” he asked. In his prayer, he asked God to draw near to his new friend. He thanked God that He had brought this group to this house on this day. And He asked God to continue to show the folks in that area His mercy through the work that was being done to rebuild what had been broken by the storm. Some of the acts of God described in Psalm 147 are incredible, like determining the number of the stars…others may seem less impressive, like lifting up the humble…but for the one who has been lifted up, it’s the greatest thing they could ever ask of God. In  the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Voices raised to You we offer; tune them, God, for songs of praise. Hearts and hands we bring in tribute for Your gifts through all our days. Alleluia! Alleluia! Triune God, to You we sing! How can any praise we offer measure all the thanks we owe? Take our hearts and hands and voices–Gifts of love we can bestow. Alleluia! Alleluia! Triune God, to You we sing! Amen. (LSB 795:1)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/30/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
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St Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 18:1-11Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24, Philippians 3:1-21“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I was younger (like, during the 1900s), there was this movie that came out called Angels in the Outfield. I don’t remember all of the details of the movie, but I do remember thinking, even as a kid, how unusual the premise was that there would be angels whose ministry was to help a Major League Baseball team win. (Also, I think that may technically be cheating.) Helping sports teams is NOT what God created angels to do. Angels show up here and there throughout scripture; sometimes, we see them singing praises to God; other times, they deliver God’s messages (the Greek word for “angel” means “messenger”); in a few places, we hear about angel battles…and in Matthew 18, our text today, Jesus talks about little children and “their” angels who always see the face of Jesus’ Father in heaven. “Their” angels? That’s exactly what it says! This is reminiscent of Psalm 91, when God promises to “command His angels, concerning YOU to guard you in all your ways.” God’s angels are certainly messengers; they delight in praising God day and night; they fight and do battle when called upon to do so; but they also protect you—likely, many times when you don’t even know it! In the same way that our churches don’t pray to saints, we don’t pray to angels. But Luther, in his Small Catechism, suggests that angels should at least be on our mind. In his morning and evening prayers, Luther concludes with these words: “Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” God has promised that His angels will be with us, working behind the scenes to frustrate the plans of the devil wherever he would snatch the certainty we have in Christ. As we said in yesterday’s devotion on Revelation 12, Michael led God’s angels in battle against the devil; casting him out of heaven. Christ, by His blood and death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, has conquered…and your angel who sees God’s face, watches over you now and always! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as You holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/29/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Thursday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 28, 2023Today's Reading: Revelation 12:7-12Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13, 10:18-29, Philippians 2:12-30And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”(Revelation 12:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When was the last time you read the book of Revelation? I teach Religion at a Lutheran High School, and this past Spring, our final unit was on Revelation. There were a few students who were nervous about that part of the class. I’ll tell you what I told them. In Revelation, Jesus wins. In fact, by His death and resurrection, He already has. There are scary things that will happen between His ascension and return, but those will happen whether or not you read Revelation. And if you study Revelation, you’ll see the beautiful comfort that Jesus revealed to John, so that he could share it with the church who faced persecution in the late first century.That being said, look at today’s text! There’s a battle. All out warfare in which an angel named Michael commands an army of angels to fight against the dragon, that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the world. And the good guys win. But then, we’re re-introduced to a theme that showed up near the beginning of Revelation: conquering. That was the title Jesus used to describe the faithful in chapters 2-3, the letters to the seven churches. In each letter, the “one who conquers” would receive some share in Jesus’ life. But what is conquering? It doesn’t necessarily mean living a successful, wealth-filled, happy life right here and now. Remember that Revelation was written to the church as she patiently endured persecution at the hands of the Romans. According to Revelation 12:11, conquering has very little to do with winning, at least in the way we usually think about winning. Instead, God’s people conquer and overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb—by Jesus’ blood that covers every sin the devil could have hurled at them—and by the words of their testimony. That word, “testimony,” is the same Greek word we translate “martyr.” You and I are more than conquerors through Him Who loves us and gave Himself for us—even if we are called to testify of His love by the shedding of our blood. If suffering—or even death—is the worst that we may suffer, Christ is still risen, and our lives are in Him. Death (and the devil) have nothing over us! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Long on earth the battle rages, since the serpent’s first deceit; twisted God’s command to Adam, made forbidden fruit look sweet. Then the curse of God was spoken: “You’ll lie crushed beneath His feet!” Jesus came, this word fulfilling, trampled Satan, death defied; bore the brunt of our temptations, on the wretched tree He died. Yet to life was raised victorious; by His life our life supplied. Amen (LSB 521:3-4)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/28/20234 minutes, 58 seconds
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Wednesday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 27, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: Seventh PetitionDaily Lectionary: 2 Kings 6:1-23, Philippians 1:21-2:11The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:7-8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As we’ve walked together through the Lord’s Prayer, it has become more and more clear to me that each petition of the prayer Jesus taught us could offer more instruction than we could hope to learn in a lifetime—and the final petition is no exception. “Deliver us from evil” is all-encompassing. It’s praying “with a broad brush.” It’s bundling up everything that might afflict us in this life—sickness, temptation, persecution, doubt, plague, drought, hatred, flood, depression, death—maybe you’re thinking of something I haven’t listed…When God delivers us from evil, He delivers us from ALL of these. He rescues us from everything that can assault the body or soul. Our Father delights to hear us offer up these words because this deliverance is found solely in the cross of Christ. At the cross, we see the epitome of what evil can do. In Adam and Eve’s rebellion, they essentially told God that they wanted to be like Him—not in the image-bearing sense that He created them, but on their own terms. The full-blown rejection of God was complete when mankind nailed God’s Son to the cross. As Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross, it seemed as if God’s Kingdom would never come. As they mocked and shamed Him where He hung, the evil will of man was done. Now, the Bread of Life Himself knew hunger and thirst, and instead of daily bread, His lips touched sponge and bitter wine. He cried out, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing,” as He met God’s righteous wrath and was Himself forsaken. On one side there hung another, not led into temptation—not mocking, not cursing. “Remember me,” was his plea—a child of paradise Christ named him. When we look at the cross of Christ, we see evil outpoured. But He went willingly. He drank the cup of judgment that we might take the cup of Salvation. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant it. Evil is finished, you’ve been delivered from it. Believe it. Cling to it. Until your “last hour comes,” when we ask God to “give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty, everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the Last Day we shall be raised in glory to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/27/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
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Tuesday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 26, 2023Today's Reading: Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 5:9-27, Philippians 1:1-20For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul’s faith amazes me. I wish I could say that I’d have his attitude if I found myself in his circumstances in the book of Philippians, but I don’t have that kind of confidence in myself. Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians. Even so, the tone of Philippians is one of joy in every circumstance. The content of the letter is, at least in part, a thank you letter for their support of his ministry and for the Church at large. In our text today, he reports back to them that his imprisonment has actually served to advance the Gospel, even into the household of Caesar. And as Christians heard about Paul’s boldness to preach to his persecutors, they themselves became more bold to preach! But even in the midst of his seemingly unwavering faith, Paul admits that he’s torn. He knows that it is far better for him if he should be killed for the name of Jesus so that he could join his Lord in heaven…but there’s still work to be done. He knew that Jesus had appointed him to the task of being His apostle to the Gentiles, and Jesus would preserve his life until his work was finished. At the top, I know I made it sound like I don’t have the same confidence “in myself” that Paul seemed to have. But if you really look at our text, you’ll see that Paul’s confidence was never in himself. In Philippians 3, Paul says that he has every reason to have confidence in the works of his flesh…but he counts them all as garbage when he compares them with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus [his] Lord.” (Philippians 3:8) The beautiful good news for you and for me is that we have the very same confidence that Paul did. It’s not in our own faithfulness! It’s not in our own righteousness! It’s in Christ! You have been baptized in Christ’s name; and you are united to Him. His perfect obedience is now yours. In His death, you died to sin. He is risen! So are you. The life you now live, you live it by faith in the Son of God Who loved you and gave Himself for you! (Galatians 2:20) So, right now, you can have bold confidence to say, “to live is Christ.” And whenever your death should come, you’ll know the joyful “gain” that is heaven!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, it belongs not to my care whether I die or live; to love and serve Thee is my share, and this Thy grace must give. If life be long, I will be glad that I may long obey; if short, yet why should I be sad to soar to endless day? Amen. (LSB 757:1-2)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/26/20234 minutes, 59 seconds
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Monday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 25, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:38-5:8, Ephesians 6:1-24“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever sought a second opinion? Usually, that’s something that happens in a medical context. A doctor might suspect a particular illness or recommend a course of treatment. If the patient doesn’t like the doctor’s diagnosis/recommendation, he or she may choose to seek a second opinion from another doctor. There are times when it makes good sense to get a second opinion on something. But whose opinion should you trust? In matters that are even greater than life and death–and by that, I mean matters of eternal life–you should go to the One whose opinion actually matters…God Himself. In today’s text, there’s an invitation to “Seek the LORD while He may be found” and to “call upon Him while He is near.” People are to seek the LORD in order that we might see His ways, how they are holy and upright (unlike ours), and so that we may repent of our wicked ways and thoughts. The LORD will have compassion; He will pardon! The problem is one of perspective. It’s all too easy for us to lose perspective on what God has called good and evil. We tend to live in the moment; scratching every sinful “itch.” We try to justify our own sins by pointing out that they aren’t that bad…but what we’re really demonstrating is that we see things differently than God. He has a perfect perspective. From His vantage point over all things in creation, He can truly say that, “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” So the question boils down to this: whose opinion are you going to trust? There’s an added urgency to these words…When should we seek the LORD? While He may be found! When should we call upon Him? While He is near! As this was yesterday’s Old Testament lesson in worship, it makes sense for us to think of it in light of the Gospel lesson from Matthew 20. There is a time when God is calling us into His field to labor…and a time when the laborers’ wages will be doled out. There is a way in which God will generously give His laborers the fruits of their faith. But beware the temptation to grumble when God forgives the wicked and the unrighteous…and remember that God’s thoughts and His ways are higher and better than ours–for it is in His ways and thoughts that YOU are saved! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The will of God is always best and shall be done forever; and they who trust in Him are blest; He will forsake them never. He helps indeed in time of need; He chastens with forbearing. They who depend on God, their friend, shall not be left despairing. Amen. (LSB 758:1)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/25/20235 minutes, 1 second
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Sunday the Seventeenth Week of Pentecost

September 24, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 20:1-16Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:8-22, 32-37, Ephesians 5:15-33“So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This parable of Jesus, sometimes called the “Laborers in the Vineyard,” can be misapplied in two ways. The first is addressed in the parable itself. For longtime Christians, the actions of the master attack our idea of fairness. How could this master be so cruel to the workers who labored throughout the heat of the day?! Wouldn’t it have made sense for him to double their pay? If a day’s wage was what they were going to receive for their day’s work, shouldn’t the ones who worked an hour receive a fraction of that? The master’s kind words to the tired, grumbling servants are instructive for us: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong.” When we, like the disgruntled workers, look at the affairs of others, we play the comparison game: “What do they have that I don’t?” “What opportunities have they been given that I haven’t?” “Why them…and not me?” But the master comes into clear focus when he points back to his generosity toward the dissatisfied worker. “Didn’t we agree you’d work for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, go!...do you begrudge my generosity?” It’s as if he’s saying, “This is enough for you.” The idea of daily wages reminds me of the Fourth Petition, concerning daily bread. Remember Israel, wandering through the wilderness for forty years? God gave them daily bread. If they were greedy and took more than they needed in a day, it rotted overnight. God supplies our needs. The second misapplication of the parable is the temptation toward sloth, effectively saying, “If the reward is the same whether I’m there all day or just the final hour, why would I ever show up early?” Or, to put it another way, “Why should I spend a lifetime being a Christian, when I’ll be just as saved with a deathbed conversion?” It’s important to remember that none of us knows when our day will end–so we shouldn’t plan for things that aren’t promised…But there’s another dangerous omission in this flawed attitude: the workers don’t decide when they start working–the master does. He goes out, seeks them, and calls them into His service. He goes out all day long, gathering more and more to work in his field, but also to enjoy His rich generosity! You didn’t choose to work in the Lord’s field, you were called! This parable invites us to see less of our own desires and jealous comparisons with others–and to fix our eyes on the generosity of the Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before you relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/24/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Saturday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 23, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 17: Psalm 116:12-13; antiphon Psalm 116:17Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:19-25, 4:1-17, Ephesians 4:25-5:14What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? (Psalm 116:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “How can I ever thank you?” Think of a time in your life when someone gave you some undeserved kindness. Maybe it was a gift you received or a loving act that you didn’t feel like you deserved. For some reason, in situations like this, we often feel like we need to thank the person by returning the favor. But what could we possibly do to “pay God back?” You already know the simple answer: there is nothing that we could ever do to even begin to express an appropriate level of gratitude for God’s great love and mercy. He has forgiven (and daily forgives!) all our sins for the sake of His Son, Jesus. Psalm 116 is not an attempt to pay God back or to return the favor, but to extol God’s grace through a hymn of praise. It’s a prayer of thanks for God’s always open ear to hear us when we cry out for help. It’s a recounting of the fact that even when we’re brought low, God listens to us and saves us. And it’s a Psalm that points us to God’s faithfulness in the darkest of times—even when death draws near. The psalmist proclaims, “I will call on the name of the LORD as long as I live!” (vs. 2) and although he recounts that he had been brought low to a place of stumbling, tears, and death, he still has confidence to say, “I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” (vs. 9) When we consider the love that Jesus has shown us through His life, death, and resurrection, we may be left asking, “How can I ever thank you?” Jesus spells it out plainly. We abide in His Word. We take up the cup of the salvation of our God. We offer Him our thanks and praise. And when we call upon His name, He does exactly what He always has done and will always do—He gives us what we don’t deserve. He gives us life and salvation. You’ll never be able to thank God enough for all that He has done for you. He knows that. That’s the beautiful thing about His grace. It’s utterly and completely free. God be praised! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord, and fill to the brim our cup of blessing. Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life. Gather the hopes and the dreams of all; unite them with the prayer we offer now. Grace our table with Your presence, and give us a foretaste of the feast to come. Amen. (LSB 955)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/23/20235 minutes, 41 seconds
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Friday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 22, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 2:8-3:11 (OT for St. Matthew)Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:1-18, Ephesians 4:1-24And He said to me, ‘Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them." (Ezekiel 3:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you feel about public speaking? A hasty search on “the Google”  informed me that 77% of people have some level of anxiety about speaking in front of a group of people. Statistically speaking, the odds are that you’re in that crowd. But here’s a question to consider: does the anxiety that accompanies such speaking fluctuate based on the audience? If you’re surrounded by your peers, is it easier to find your voice than if you were in a room filled with folks you don’t know? What if the room is filled with experts in the field that you’re discussing? I’m sorry if I just got your heart rate up. Ezekiel was called by God to preach to the house of Israel. His calling was peculiar, in that God gave him a scroll and instructed him…to eat it! God literally placed His Word into Ezekiel’s mouth. The words are sweet in his mouth, likely as a reminder that God’s Word is always good and right. It’s helpful to remember that when you see what was written on the scroll. There was writing on the front and on the back–words of lamentation, mourning, and woe. I imagine any degree of comfort that Ezekiel had when he learned that his audience was going to be his own people melted away when he saw the words that God was giving him to proclaim. On the one hand, his preaching would be simple enough: the people lived where he lived and they spoke the same language he spoke, but then God broke the news to him that if He had asked him to travel to a strange land where they spoke a foreign language, they would’ve listened to him. Israel wouldn’t listen. They hadn’t listened to God up to this point, and Ezekiel’s charge was to preach to spiritually deaf ears, hard foreheads, and stubborn hearts. Why? Because God is stubborn in the very best way. He is patient with His people. He will send prophet after prophet to call them to repentance. They’ll be carried off into exile and Ezekiel will go and tell them that God will raise up a New Temple, a New Israel, even a New Creation. In short, Ezekiel preached Christ to a people who had forgotten that God is their salvation!   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/22/20235 minutes, 3 seconds
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St Matthew

September 21, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 19:1-21, Ephesians 3:1-21As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus came for sinners...God be praised! That means that He came for you and for me. And He came for Matthew, too. Matthew, also known as Levi, must’ve lived a conflicted life up until the day he learned that Jesus came for him. The name Matthew means “gift of the LORD,” but when he came around, the people experienced less of a gift of the LORD, and more of a tax burden of the Roman Empire. The name Levi brings to mind service in the LORD’s Temple and the tribe of Moses, Aaron, and the entire priesthood of Israel. But Matthew Levi’s life, to that point, was certainly not devoted to the matters of God. Two words changed everything. “Follow me.” I’m not sure why Jesus called some to follow and sent others away. Just before today’s reading, Jesus healed the paralytic with the instructions, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” A few verses after today’s text, Jesus raises a young girl from the dead and heals two blind men. None of these are given the invitation to follow Him. While we certainly can’t be sure, a potential explanation may be the utter unlikeliness of a tax collector being called to leave behind his tax booth and the relative financial security that he would have enjoyed in his employ to the Roman Empire. It’s plain to see that the former paralytic, the recently-revived young girl, and the two men, once blind but now they see–each of these needed Jesus. Aside from the hatred of his kinsmen and being branded a “sinner,” Matthew very likely enjoyed a life of wealth and importance. But here’s the thing...He needed Jesus just as much as the others. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches are all too capable of choking out the Word. But Jesus, the Master Sower, knew exactly where a few seeds would take root and flourish into a life of faithful following, a masterful insight into Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament, and a firsthand account of Jesus’ life, ministry, passion, death, and resurrection! God be praised for the hundredfold fruit of those two little words, “Follow me.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/21/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Wednesday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 20, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: Sixth PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40, Ephesians 2:1-22“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Any time our family is traveling somewhere we’ve never been, we try to visit a zoo that we’ve never seen. There’s just something incredible about seeing God’s creation up close and in person. But while penguins, parrots, and monkeys look like they would make great pets, the lions, tigers, and bears (Oh, my!) put off a different vibe. These beasts don’t look cuddly. They have teeth and claws that look like they were designed for tearing things limb from limb. And that’s the image–a lion–that the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to put in our mind about the devil, that old evil foe, and the first tempter of mankind. I’ve always found Luther’s explanation of the Sixth Petition to be simply brilliant. From the start, he quotes James 1:13 and the simple fact that God tempts no one. “Lead us not into temptation” is a plea that God would lead us away from temptation, that He would guard and keep us out of the clutches of the “unholy trinity,” which consists of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. These enemies wage war against us. But take note of this: their deception aims to mislead us, first and foremost, into false belief; then, despair; and, almost as an afterthought, other great shame and vice. When most people think of temptation, their minds go to shameful sins and vices first. The devil’s aim in tempting us is not primarily to make us sin. He certainly can use sins and even our conscience to mislead us into thinking that we’ve “outsinned” God’s forgiveness, or that we are so forgiven that it doesn’t matter if we sin. His target isn’t just sins or conscience, though. His aim is to corrupt our faith. After all, false belief is what damns. The devil prowls like an angry lion, all eager to devour us. But for us fights the valiant One. He cannot overpower us. Our Champion is a Lion, too, you know. John heard about Him in Revelation 5:5. He’s the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and by His death He has been declared worthy to open the scroll in God’s hand so that His plan of salvation might come to pass. God grant that our faith in Christ may be guarded and kept secure. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You justify the ungodly and desire not the death of the sinner. Graciously assist us by Your heavenly aid and evermore shield us with Your protection, that no temptation may separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/20/20235 minutes, 6 seconds
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Tuesday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 19, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 14:1-12Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19, Ephesians 1:1-23For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:7-8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 1 Corinthians 6 and 7, Paul says, “You were bought with a price.” There is tremendous comfort in the knowledge that “we are the Lord’s.” As the Catechism teaches, Christ “purchased and won [us] from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that [we] may be His own…” But what does life as God’s people look like? If that’s our question, we’re in luck. It seems like half of the New Testament was written to describe life as the people purchased and won by Christ. In our reading today, Paul is dealing with meat sacrificed to idols, observing religious days, and Christians with weak consciences. It boils down to this: don’t use your freedom in Christ to erect a stumbling block that could scandalize your brother or sister in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with the issue in more detail. He basically says that, even if we know that idols aren’t real (since there’s only one God), we ought to pay attention to our neighbor in Christ, who may not understand that idols have no power, and if we participate in eating food that was sacrificed to an idol, their conscience may be defiled and throw them into confusion or despair.A similar situation might arise today around a Christian’s participation in Halloween. If a new Christian only knows Halloween to be the commercial holiday that seems focused on the occult, you could understand their reluctance to allow their kids to dress up and beg for candy…The important reminder Paul gives us in Romans 14 is that our lives are not our own; and we’re charged to live these lives–created by God, redeemed by Christ, and being sanctified by the Holy Spirit–with that in mind. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.No saint on earth lives life to self alone or dies alone, for we with Christ are one. So if we live, for Christ alone we live, and if we die, to Christ our dying give. In living and in dying this confess: We are the Lord’s safe in God’s faithfulness. For to this end our Lord by death was slain, that to new life He might arise again. Through sorrow on to triumph Christ has led, and reigns o’er all: the living and the dead. In living and in dying, Him we bless; we are the Lord’s, safe in God’s faithfulness. Amen. (LSB 747)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/19/20235 minutes, 7 seconds
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Monday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 18, 2023Today's Reading: Genesis 50:15-21Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24, 2 Corinthians 9:1-15“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you remember the account of Joseph? I think Joseph’s life is one that most of us remember pretty well. His father’s favorite son (out of twelve!); his colorful robe; the brothers’ conspiracy to kill him or to leave him in a pit…but ultimately they sell him into slavery; the incident with Potiphar’s wife by which he wound up in prison; the dreams of the cupholder and the baker; the dreams of Pharaoh; and Joseph’s exaltation to the place at Pharaoh’s right hand, where his brothers showed up, bowing down to him and begging to buy grain. I think his life is so memorable because it’s such a rollercoaster. He experiences highs and lows that may be hard for us to even imagine. But our text today comes near the end of the account of Joseph’s life, and having endured being brought low and having enjoyed abounding, he speaks as a man who has perspective. He looks back on the evils that his brothers perpetrated against him, the years that he languished in a jail cell, and he sees how God used the terrible evils of mankind to ultimately bring about his good purposes. When we endure difficult times, it can be hard to find the good purposes of God at work. But Joseph is a “type” of Jesus (a type is like prophecy, but instead of a message, a type is a person, place, event, etc.) When we see Joseph arrayed in the splendor of his father’s affection, it is reminiscent of Jesus’ Transfiguration, when Jesus is adorned in heavenly bright robes and the Father’s voice proclaims Jesus His beloved Son. When Joseph is  forsaken and sold by his brothers, we do well to remember the 30 pieces of silver Judas exchanged for his brother and Lord, Jesus. When Joseph languishes in prison, even though he was innocent, our hearts are drawn to Jesus’ time in the custody of the soldiers who beat, mocked, and scourged Him. But Jesus, in similar fashion to Joseph, is also exalted. When God is at work, crosses give way to empty tombs! When the Son of God’s life slips away on a Friday afternoon, He’ll have all authority in heaven and on earth by Sunday morning! We don’t always see things with the perspective of God’s good purposes (sometimes hiding behind the wicked intentions of men), but we see Christ with the eyes of faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The will of God is always best and shall be done forever; and they who trust in Him are blest; He will forsake them never. He helps in deed in time of need; He chastens with forbearing. They who depend on God, their friend, shall not be left despairing. (LSB 758:1)-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/18/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Sunday the Sixteenth Week of Pentecost

September 17, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 18:21-35Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34, 2 Corinthians 8:1-24“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” (Matthew 18:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Many of our readers are students, so the next thing I write may not be as applicable to you as the rest of the devotion–I hope it startles you a bit. In the year 2023, American citizens owe a total of $986 billion to credit card companies (for perspective, that looks like $986,000,000,000 when you write it out!) That is an unfathomable amount of money that has been borrowed and is now owed to banks…with interest. In Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant, we see a figure that is just as shocking. Ten thousand talents is equal to about 60 million denarii (a denarius was the daily wage for a day laborer)...in other words, the servant owed his master a little over 164,000 YEARS’ worth of work. How could he have possibly wound up in that kind of debt?! Well, you and I both know that’s not the point of Jesus’ parable. The master graciously canceled his debt! I can’t imagine how the servant must have walked away from that encounter–his burden removed, he was FREE from that crushing weight of debt…until he saw a fellow servant who owed him  a couple months’ worth of income. That’s not the astronomical amount he had owed the master, but it’s also not nothing. Suddenly, the shoe was on the other foot. The man whose balance had swung from about as negative as is possible to breaking even found himself in control; he had a little power–and he completely missed the point of the master’s forgiveness. That’s what this parable is really about, after all. The master forgave sins beyond number with the desire that his servant, who had now become his friend, would go and do likewise! Instead, he took the master’s forgiveness for granted and held his neighbor’s debt against him. How often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? The answer’s not seven. It’s also not five-hundred-thirty-nine (seven times seventy-seven.) It’s more like a calculus problem where “the limit does not exist.” Dear reader, you’re forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ innocent blood, spilled on the cross where He died to pay the debt your sins incurred. He died for your neighbors’ sins, too! If we ever think that someone has outsinned our forgiveness, God grant that we remember, in that very hour, the countless sins God has forgiven us when He called us friends–and we would likewise befriend our neighbor. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/17/20235 minutes, 41 seconds
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Saturday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 16, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 16: Psalm 143:1-2; antiphon: Psalm 143:9Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh! I have fled to you for refuge! (Psalm 143:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Psalm 143, David is praying for refuge from his enemies and rest. Whether he is thinking of Saul, or the other sons of Solomon, or any number of other enemies, he is being pursued, and he finds only darkness and weariness. But behind those earthly enemies is God. If God enters into judgment with David, he will not survive, because no one living is righteous before Him (143:2). Everything depends on whether God is for you or against you. Even if you have no earthly enemies, if God is against you, what does it matter? On the other hand, even if everyone in the world is against you, what does it matter, if God is for you? “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, because there is not a righteous one before You of all the living.” If God is going to answer us, we need Him to answer us according to His righteousness, not ours. Of all the living, there is no one righteous–except the Man who is also the living God. He alone is righteous, and God enters into judgment against Him on the cross. Because His righteous one faced the judgment of sin and death, God will not enter into judgment against you.   In the Presence of the only one whose judgment matters, we flee to Him in the flesh of Jesus for refuge. In Him we will find rest from our enemies: He is the one who conquered our sin, which threatens to bring us under God’s condemning judgment, and He is the one who conquered death, which is behind the threat of every enemy. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him! Blessed is the one who finds refuge in the promises of God, in the baptismal name, in the absolution, in the body and blood that we eat with the bread and wine. In all of these means, God assures us that He delivers us from all our enemies, even our own sinful flesh. On every Lord’s Day, we flee to Him for refuge. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From depths of woe I cry to Thee,  In trial and tribulation;  Bend down Thy gracious ear to me,  Lord, hear my supplication, If Thou rememb’rest every sin, Who then could heaven ever win  Or stand before Your presence?Though great our sins, yet greater still  Is God’s abundant favor;  His hand of mercy never will  Abandon us, nor waver.  Our shepherd good and true is He,  Who will at last His Israel free  From all their sin and sorrow” (LSB 607:1, 5).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/16/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Friday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 15, 2023Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-18Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26, 2 Corinthians 6:1-18Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Do not receive the grace of God in vain,” which means to receive God’s grace to no purpose, for emptiness, or as if it were worthless. Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians is based on this fact: whatever their problems, whatever their sins, whatever their conflicts, they have received the grace of God. God has not kept it from them. Paul is citing a promise given to the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah, that God would restore them after their exile. He would send a servant as a light for both Israel and the nations (Gentiles) (Isaiah 49:6, 8). To receive God’s grace in vain would be to plaster it as an excuse over our sin and rejection of God’s will. This is what Solomon did in 1 Kings 11, when he made room for the idols of the nations, which came into Israel through his many wives and concubines. And Paul touches on the same point in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, when he emphasizes that every baptized Christian has been set aside, taken out of the kingdom of this world’s darkness, and put into Christ’s kingdom of light. The actions of the Corinthians often show that they are more closely tied to the world than to Christ. Of course, we are no different. We, too, are often conformed to the ways of the world, rather than transformed by the renewal of our minds in Christ. This is where Luther’s morning and evening prayers can be so helpful for the daily living of our life in Christ: in the morning, remind yourself with the sign of Christ’s holy cross that you are baptized, no matter what happens today; thankful that the Lord has kept us this past night, we pray that He would keep us today from all sin and evil. Then, when we come to the end of the day, we give thanks that He has brought us through the day; we ask Christ’s forgiveness for what we have done wrong, and we make the sign of Christ’s cross to remind ourselves that no matter what happened today, we belong to Jesus. Every single day is the favorable time when God calls us back to our baptism; every day is the day of salvation. Today is the day that God hears you cry out for His mercy. Today He helps you with His grace. Today He makes His dwelling with you, so that you are the temple of the living God! Today; and tomorrow when it is called today, and every day after that, until we see the salvation that is ours in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Today Your mercy calls us To wash away our sin./However great our trespass,  Whatever we have been,  However long from mercy  Our hearts have turned away,  Your precious blood can was us/And make us clean today” (LSB 915:1).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/15/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Holy Cross Day

September 14, 2023Today's Reading: John 12:20-33Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 9:1-9, 10:1-13, 2 Corinthians 5:1-21"Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:31-33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Seeing is believing, we say. I’ll believe it when I see it. But in this age of Artificial Intelligence and Photoshop and increasingly realistic deep fakes, do we still trust what we see? Is what we see always what we get? When it comes to the world and to God, the answer is no.St. Paul encourages the Corinthians this way: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). What we see is not what we get. When the Greeks tell Philip that they want to see Jesus, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). Great! They will get to see Jesus in His glory! Yes, but like this: “‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.’ This He said signifying what kind of death He was about to die” (12:32-33). This is how the Son glorifies the Father, and the Father glorifies His Name (12:28). But it doesn’t look like what we might want or expect the glory of God to look like. A bloody man stretched out on a Roman cross, helpless and weak and defeated? Remember: what you see is not what you get. Because sinners turned everything in God’s creation upside-down, calling good evil and evil good, now Jesus turns it back around. In shame, death, and defeat, Jesus brings to an end sin and death in His own body. The cross is His coronation and His victory, and the resurrection proves it. The crucifix is not a sad reminder of what went wrong, until God got it right in the resurrection. It is the eternal sign of victory, because the crucified one is God, who is the Life. Because of Him, all the death and destruction we see in the world will not be the final word. The things that are seen are transient. “We adore You, O Lord, and we praise and glorify Your holy resurrection. For behold, by the wood of the cross joy has come into all the world” (Good Friday Chief Service, Adoration of Christ). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, was lifted high upon the cross that He might bear the sins of the world and draw all people to Himself. Grant that we who glory in His death for our redemption may faithfully heed His call to bear the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/14/20235 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wednesday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 13, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, the Lord's prayer: Fifth PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us (SC, LP, Explanation to the Fifth Petition)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian Faith. No forgiveness, no Christianity. If Jesus does not take all our sins upon Himself in order to crucify them in His own body, and then deliver forgiveness to us in His resurrection life, there is no Christianity. That forgiveness is not conditional. He gives it freely, just as the master freely forgives the enormous debt owed by the servant in Matthew 18:23-27. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like: a master forgiving a debt that the servant could never repay, no matter how much time he had.But then that same servant goes out and uses his new-found freedom from debt to force someone else to pay him. He won’t even give the second servant some more time, although the second servant is far more likely to repay the first than the first would be to repay the master. In other words, the first servant refuses to extend the gigantic gift of the master to the second servant. Jesus concludes the parable with the words of the master: “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:33-35). Why are Jesus’ words so harsh? Simply for this reason: if God’s forgiveness in Christ is not big enough to cover the sins of  those who sin against us, then it is not big enough to cover our sins. It is all or nothing with God: either His forgiveness covers every single person, or it covers no one. So how do we learn to forgive others? Only by being forgiven. Our forgiveness of others is not actually ours; it is God’s. It does not come naturally to us; we often find it difficult, or even impossible. And, in fact, it is–for us. But the entirely undeserved forgiveness that God gives us in Christ not only covers us, but it covers those who sin against us. When we forgive, we are forgiving with Christ’s forgiveness. We’re playing with house money. All for us, and all for others. Forgiveness is everything. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they may trouble us no more;  We, too, will gladly those forgive Who hurt us by the way they live.  Help us in our community  To serve each other willingly” (LSB 766:6).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/13/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Tuesday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 12, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 13:1-10Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21, 2 Corinthians 3:1-18Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We do not often think of our obedience to governing authorities (or any authorities, for that matter) in terms of love. What does obeying the law of the land have to do with love? But that’s what Paul says. Even paying taxes he calls an exercise of love! He talks about all of this in terms of giving to each person what is “owed” to them, and then he says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). The fulfilling of the commandments is love, because God commands His law for the good of people. It is not good for people if their lives are threatened by murder; it is not good if their possessions are stolen; it is not good if husband and wife are not united completely; it is not good if children do not obey their parents, and governmental authority is an extension of the parents’ authority (see the Explanation to the Fourth Commandment in the Small Catechism). To do what is truly good for another person is truly loving. And we don’t have to wonder what is truly good for another person, because God’s commandments tell us. Consider what would happen if we all decided not to obey the governing authorities. Would anarchy and chaos be good for us or for our neighbors? We obey the governing authorities because God has established them for our good and for the good of people around us, and we love them and want what is good for them. Of course, sometimes the governing authorities go beyond their God-given authority and act against Him (as parents sometimes do). In that case, as the apostles demonstrate, it would not be loving our neighbor to obey them, for example, to stop preaching the Gospel, or gathering around Jesus’ words and gifts. Then we must obey the God who puts all authorities in place, rather than the authorities who are rebelling against God. But all of it is for the love of our neighbor, whom God has given us to serve. As God has loved us, though the price of that love is the crucifixion of Jesus, so we love our neighbors as ourselves, whatever the consequences. Jesus fulfilled the law of God on our behalf; now we do the good works of the commandments, not to be right with God, but for the sake of our neighbors and their good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful God, for freedom You have set us free through Christ’s liberating death and resurrection. In this freedom, teach us to live in the fruit of the Spirit given us in our Baptism that we may bear in our bodies the fulfillment of the Law as we love our neighbors as ourselves; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/12/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Monday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 11, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 33:1-10Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-18, 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17How then can we live? (Ezekiel 33:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we observe the nature of the world, the sins of people against us, and our sins against others, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. We can identify all sorts of problems in the world, but we do not seem to be able to solve any of them. We recognize the symptoms of the problem in violence, hatred, injustice, division, and a lack of care for anyone but ourselves. The people of Israel did not have the technology to spread their sin, as we do, but they had the same sins. In Ezekiel 24, when God tells Ezekiel to declare to Jerusalem that the king of Babylon has laid siege to the city, God calls Jerusalem “the city of blood” (24:6, 7, 9). This is a repetition of the charge in chapter 22: “You shall say [to the people of Jerusalem], Thus says the Lord Yahweh: …You have become guilty by the blood you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made. … Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you,” among many other things (Ezekiel 22:3, 4, 7ff.). To a greater or lesser degree, all Jerusalem’s sins are still present in our world. Ezekiel was sent by God to declare the people’s sins, just as God still sends preachers of His Word to declare His Law. When God’s Law brings to our attention the depth of our sin and idolatry and corruption, we might well say with the people, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live” (Ezekiel 33:10)? God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel” (33:11)? Sin and rebellion against our Creator, who is our life, makes no sense. Why would we turn from Him and die? But that is what sinners, left to themselves, will always do. So God finally breaks the stalemate between His desire and sinners’ actions. He sends Jesus to become the wicked one and take all the world’s wickedness upon Himself, though it does not belong to Him. He fulfills Ezekiel’s vision and not only warns us of our impending death, but becomes our death. How then can we live? In Christ, crucified and risen; who gives Himself to us in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Holy Supper. This is how we live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, our heavenly Father, You desire not the death of a sinner, but rather that we turn from our evil ways and live. Graciously spare us those punishments which we by our sins have deserved, and grant us always to serve You in holiness and pureness of living; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/11/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Sunday the Fifteenth Week of Pentecost

September 10, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 18:1-20Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 3:1-15, 2 Corinthians 1:1-22“For where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where is Jesus? He says, “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I among them.” Notice the three parts of that: two or three gathered; in My Name; and there am I. So is Jesus not with us when we are alone? Do we have to meet another Christian so there are at least two of us, before Jesus will be present with us? No. Of course, Jesus is with each and all of His baptized children, “all the days, until the completion of this age” (Matthew 28:20). Here in Matthew 18, Jesus is speaking within the particular context of repentance and forgiveness. The idea of “two or three” goes back to Deuteronomy 19:15, where two or three witnesses are necessary to establish a charge against someone (see also 2 Corinthians 13:1). If there are two or three witnesses to a sin in the Body of Christ, then Jesus forgives that sinner and restores him or her within the gathering of two or three. Within the assembly of the Church (“two or three”), who are created and gathered in the Name of Jesus in Holy Baptism, there Jesus Himself will be present to forgive. Jesus is certainly present everywhere, because He is God, but He has not given us the promise of forgiveness everywhere. This is because He does not want us to be in doubt about where that forgiveness can be received. So here and in the last chapter of Matthew, He has given us a sure and certain promise: by the same Name into which people are baptized, Jesus will be present to forgive and restore us. The Name marks our existence as His people: we are baptized into that Name; each week, we hear the Invocation of that Name, which marks the gathering of His baptized Christians; then we hear the Absolution, which is proclaimed in that same Name, and which keeps us in and restores us to Christ’s baptismal grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My faithful God, You fail me never; Your promise surely will endure. O cast me not away forever  If words and deeds become impure./Have mercy when I come defiled; Forgive, lift up, restore Your child” (LSB 590:3). O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant to us, Your humble servants, Your holy inspiration, that we may set our minds on the things that are right and, by Your merciful guiding, accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/10/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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Saturday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 9, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 15: Psalm 92:1-4, antiphon Psalm 92:5sDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13How great are Your works, O Yahweh! Very deep are Your thoughts! (Psalm 92:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Here’s a clue to the theme for each Sunday’s Divine Service: trace the thread from the antiphon of the Introit (the first and last verse of the Introit), to the Collect for the day, to the readings. Sometimes the theme will be clear and obvious; other times it will be a little bit harder to identify. It is easier during the festival half of the Church Year (from Advent through Trinity) than it is during the Sundays after Pentecost. But looking ahead to the Introit with its antiphon, reading the assigned readings, and praying the Collect will help get the Word of God into your heart and onto your lips in preparation for the Divine Service. For example, for tomorrow, the Introit comes from Psalm 92 and the antiphon is 92:5, which I translated above. The psalm puts in parallel God’s “works” and God’s “thoughts,” and says that they are “great” and “very deep.” This causes us to ask, “What are God’s thoughts? Can I know them?” If God did not reveal His thoughts, we could not know them. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). We would (as we often do) make up our own ideas about what God would do or not do.But God has not left us to imagine His thoughts or figure them out on our own. He has revealed Himself in His great works. Christians start with what God has done and then we understand what God is like. What He says is the same as what He does. How He acts is the same as who He is. And He reveals His thoughts finally and forever in His Son, Jesus. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see the true depth of God’s thoughts, and the greatness of His works. In God’s works, we see God’s thoughts. Who could imagine that God would become flesh and die? Who could imagine that God would take on Himself the offense and curse of sin? Who would think that the least, the last, the helpless, the child would be the greatest in the Kingdom (Matthew 18:1-2)? More than that, God gives His Kingdom only to those who cannot give Him anything in return (18:3-4). None of us could imagine a mercy that never fails to seek those whom people would consider “lost” (18:10-14). God seeks us in Jesus, and then He seeks everyone through His Church, wherever two or three are gathered around His forgiving love (18:18-20). These thoughts of God would be too deep for us to imagine, if He had not sent His Son and revealed them to us in His works. How great are Your works, and very deep are Your thoughts! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (Psalm 92:1-2).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/9/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Friday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 8, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:14-31Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15-35, 1 Corinthians 12:14-31Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God puts the Church together as He chooses. There is a command here not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought (Romans 12:3), as if the Body of Christ would not survive without us. But there is a promise as well: God chose each one of us in Jesus Christ to be members of Christ’s Body. God has chosen you for salvation. Whenever we think we are indispensable to the Lord’s work, we actually make idols of ourselves. The only indispensable one is Jesus Himself. But graciously, He has chosen you and, in that sense, He has made us an integral member of Christ’s Body. We are not free to think of any other member of the Body as dispensable, because God has chosen each of them as well. Because God chooses sinners, and only sinners, to be purified by Christ’s blood as holy members of His Body, we will not have perfect (or, even, very good!) love for others, and they will not have perfect love for us. But since we are all, by God’s mercy, in this together, we are forced to practice love and forgiveness for one another. Just as you do not choose the family into which you are physically born, you do not choose the Church. We do often choose our local congregations, but here is an argument for being joined to the Body of Christ in the faithful congregation most local to us. We will have to learn to love the people there, with all their faults, and they will have to learn to love us, with all of ours. But wherever we are, we should remain (unless there is persistent false teaching), because God arranges the members of the Body, and all things, as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:18). This is, finally, a comfort to us. Everything does not depend on us. God has put each of His Christians in their individual vocations, with particular people, to exercise our love for those whom God has put before us. And He has put us before them. We are not responsible for every person in the world, to serve everyone, or bear witness to everyone. He has put other people in those places. Our vocations are limited in how many relationships we have, but they are unlimited in love, since we will never run out of good works to do. When we are burdened, exhausted, and weary from all those good works; when we have not fulfilled them as we should; then we remember that it is the Body of Christ, and He forgives, sustains, and nourishes us by the Body and the Blood in the Sacrament. Thanks be to God for His continual provision for His Church! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, help us walk Your servant way  Wherever love may lead  And, bending low, forgetting self,  Each serve the other’s need (LSB 857:5).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/8/20235 minutes, 15 seconds
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Thursday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 7, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-13Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 12:1-25, 1 Corinthians 12:1-13Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed (1 Corinthians 12:1-13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Corinthians have  a lot of questions. Apparently, they had asked Paul to teach them about “spiritual” things. The word “gifts” is actually not in 12:1. Paul does talk about gracious gifts of the Spirit starting in 12:4, but the Corinthians’ question was broader: what are “spiritual” things, because they seem to be competing with one another for the most spiritual, as the end of chapter 12 through chapter 13 shows.They wanted to know about “the things of the Spirit.” Sometimes we want to separate “spiritual” things from “physical” things, as if the Spirit has nothing to do with our everyday lives, but is only concerned about “deeper” or “higher” things. But all of it is in the realm of the Holy Spirit! For those who have been reborn in Christ by water and the Spirit (John 3:5), all things are “spiritual.” The “gracious (gifts)” (where we get our English word “charismatic,” but which really refers to God’s gracious or free giving) of which Paul begins to speak in 12:4 are related to any and all things that the Christian does, especially in loving service to the neighbor. It is a Trinitarian work in and through us: one Spirit; one Lord (Jesus); one God (the Father) (12:4-6). Paul does not give an exhaustive list here of all the gifts the Spirit gives. His point is not that we all find ourselves in this list, but that the Spirit gives as the Spirit pleases. The Spirit orchestrates the work of the members of Christ’s body for the good of one another, as He sees fit (12:11, 18). Some of these gracious gifts are more “spectacular” than others, but none of them is expendable. The summary point is 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” or for the benefit of the whole body. So what gifts has the Lord graciously given you, baptized and remade by His Spirit? What talents? At what things do your parents, friends, teachers, or pastors say you are good? Whatever it is, it is a “spiritual” thing, because you have been given the Spirit in baptism. Spiritual people do all things in the Spirit, and all for the good of others. You are, with all the other baptized believers, one Body in Christ. God has set up the Body perfectly according to His will, and He uses each person as He chooses. He has chosen you in Christ for His own purposes, and you can rejoice in the Spirit that God knows exactly what He’s doing with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.How clear is our vocation, Lord, When once we heed Your call: To live according to Your Word And daily learn, refreshed, restored, That You are Lord of all And will not let us fall (LSB 853:1).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/7/20235 minutes, 23 seconds
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Wednesday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 6, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, the Lord's Prayer: Fourth PetitionDaily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 11:1-27, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34We pray in this petition that God would lead us to…receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. (SC, LP, 4th Petition)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God gives daily bread to everyone, even to the evil. This is the sort of God He is. Daily bread includes anything and everything that has to do with these bodies and this life. The God who created everything still sustains His creation and the people who live in it. Sinners, however, always believe that they have gotten everything for themselves. People make themselves into their own gods, and thank themselves for doing what they need to survive. Christians can get sucked into this way of thinking, when we forget that everything we have is a gift. We become selfish with our money and our time. We work and get a paycheck and provide for our needs. Then we expect that if someone does not have what he or she needs, the solution is for that person to work harder. You get what you deserve, after all.We can only think that way about other people when we forget that God is the giver of all our daily bread. We would not have a job if God did not provide for it. We would not have food and clothing if God did not provide it. We would not have “good weather, peace, health, self-control, a good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like” if God did not give it. Instead, we continue to pray that God would keep us in mind of all His gracious gifts for as long as He gives us life and breath. Even more, in Christ He gives us everything we need to share His divine and eternal life. He is the true bread who has come down from heaven to give life to us and to the world, so that eating and drinking His body and blood, we will never die. We have deserved none of this. “All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me” (Explanation to the First Article of the Creed). You can’t earn a gift. And since everything is gift, none of it is earned. Though many do not know that everything they have comes from their Creator, the Holy Spirit has graciously given us faith to know our dear Father through His Son, Jesus. We know where everything comes from, so we rejoice and give thanks to Him. And we also know that God serves those in need through those whom He has blessed with abundance. Freely have we received, freely we give (Matthew 10:8), until the new creation is revealed, in which no one will lack anything necessary to their life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Give us this day our daily bread, And let us all be clothed and fed. Save us from hardship, war, and strife; In plague and famine, spare our life,  That we in honest peace may live, To care and greed no entrance give (LSB 766:5).- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/6/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Tuesday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 5, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 11:33-12:8Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:19-29, 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:16Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Verbs matter. In Romans 12:2, there is one active verb (“present”) and two passive verbs (“be conformed” and “be transformed”). And then there is a verb form that flows from that being transformed (“testing-to-approve”). Either the world is working on us, conforming us to its shape–which is our natural shape as sinners; or God is working on us by His Spirit, transforming our natural ways of thinking to align with His. Either we will be living sacrifices for the sake of the world, or die as this world dies. In His mercy, God has grafted us into Christ, the Vine, though we Gentiles do not deserve it any more than the Israelites who reject Christ. In Christ, He has chosen you and had mercy on you, though you, like all people, were bound up in your disobedience to God. Jesus is the only sacrifice for sins, now and forever. So you do not offer your bodies, your works, your love for others as sacrifices for your sins, and hope it all shakes out in your favor on the day of judgment. Jesus already took care of your sins. Now you are turned toward others as living sacrifices–a strange contradiction! No sacrifice ever stayed alive. But covered in the mercy of God, you are given as a sacrifice for the sake of other people, as long as you live in this world. And since you are “holy and pleasing” to God in Christ, you can know what is “good and pleasing and perfect,” His will for you. Paul goes on to give some examples of what that might look like: prophesying (in right relationship to the Christian Faith); serving, teaching, exhorting and encouraging; in generous contribution, zealous leadership, and cheerful acts of mercy (12:6-8). God gives each of these gifts to the members of Christ’s body, to be used in humility for the sake of other people. The English translation calls all this our “spiritual worship,” but the word “spiritual” isn’t there (instead, it is something like “rational” or “reasonable”), and the word for “worship” can also be translated “service.” So we offer our bodies, redeemed and cleansed by Jesus, as living sacrifices of good works for our neighbors. And this is our “reasonable service,” according to God’s command, which tells us what works are actually good. This is the Christian life: God has had unfathomable mercy on us, which transforms our minds to think according to the mind of Christ; and we pour ourselves out for the good of our neighbors in our God-given vocations, according to the gifts He gives us. This work is good and pleasing to God because we are good and pleasing to God in Christ. And He who began this good work in us will bring it to its perfect conclusion in the resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, You have had mercy on us in Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice for our sins. Continue to make us living sacrifices, poured out in love for one another. Amen.- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/5/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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Monday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 4, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17, 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22“My salvation will be forever” (Isaiah 51:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner” (Isaiah 51:6). That sounds a lot like many of the fears expressed by people today: fear about what’s happening in the world; fear about what’s happening to the creation; fear about death. But Isaiah is not repeating the fears of people; he’s speaking the words of Yahweh to His people. Listen to Me, God says. Look; pay attention. Look at all the things and know that none of them will last forever. This creation and all the people in it are subject to sin and death, and thus they all wear out and fade away. So do not put your trust in them! Do not make anything in this creation your god. None of it can save you. Listen, instead, to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek Yahweh. Look to Me, the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug (51:1). I am your creator. I made Abraham and Sarah, and from them I made Israel, My people. And by that family line, I bring to the world My salvation and My righteousness. All creation waits for Me to restore it in Christ. Listen and look! My salvation and My righteousness are in Jesus, by whom I judge the nations. He spreads out His arms, nailed to the cross, and My judgment is fulfilled in His body, to give you My righteousness and My salvation. I will comfort you in the midst of the mess of this creation, the mess of your family, the mess of your life. I will make deserts into gardens, and this old, wilderness creation into a new, Eden creation. You can find this comfort now in the places I have promised to be, in My Word and My Sacraments. There you can find the beginning of rivers in the desert, of the Garden I am making in the middle of the wilderness of this world. The day is coming when there will be only joy and gladness and thanksgiving forever, because God’s salvation in Jesus, risen from the dead, cannot be removed or killed or destroyed. “My salvation is forever, and My righteousness will never be dismayed” (51:6).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“In Thee is gladness Amid all sadness, Jesus, sunshine of my heart. By Thee are given The gifts of heaven, Thou the true Redeemer art. Our souls Thou wakest, Our bonds Thou breakest; Who trusts Thee surely  Has built securely; He stands forever: Alleluia! Our hearts are pining To see Thy shining, Dying or living To Thee are cleaving; Naught can us sever: Alleluia!” (LSB 818:1) - Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/4/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Sunday the Fourteenth Week of Pentecost

September 3, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-20Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19, 1 Corinthians 9:1-23“But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Who do you say that I am?” That’s the question, isn’t it? When Jesus asks the disciples about who people say that He is, the disciples respond with the various answers they have heard: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another one of the prophets (16:14). People today have other answers: a good teacher; or the founder of a religion; or a revolutionary, standing bravely against oppression and injustice. Perhaps none of those answers are entirely wrong. But the real question is, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter, as always, is ready to answer on behalf of the other apostles: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16).  And Jesus responds: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah [“son of Jonah”]! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (16:17). Peter makes this good confession, but it did not originate in Peter’s mind or heart or mouth. He didn’t figure it out by himself based on the evidence.  God put those words there. “Confession” means to say the same thing. And so Peter says the same thing that God has revealed to him: that Jesus is the Christ (Anointed One) whom God has sent to bring life to the world. Only God the Father draws people to the Son by His Spirit. And this is the blessing of God: to believe in one’s heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and to confess with one’s mouth that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). The first question is not what we say about Jesus, but what God says about Jesus. The answer is the comforting truth that the Son of the living God entered our flesh in order to reveal Himself to us. In His healing of the sick, feeding of the hungry, raising the dead, and casting out demons; in His suffering and death; and in His resurrection, He reveals to you that He is the one whom God has sent to undo sin, death, and the evil that is so prevalent in our world. That we believe and confess this is a great, undeserved blessing. Jesus builds His Church on the truth of this confession, so that no matter what people may say about Jesus, He remains the Lord who destroys the power of death and hell for you. You belong to Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and not to your sin, or to death, or to the devil. Blessed are you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/3/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Saturday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

September 2, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary:2 Samuel 5:1-25, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Corinthians 8:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Knowledge is a gift, until it becomes a weapon. Freedom is a gift, until it too is used as a weapon. You might be wondering, though, how can knowledge or freedom become weapons? Learning stuff is good! Being free is good! Agreed. However, we (sinners) take that which is good and mess it up. We who still struggle (daily) with our sinful nature take gifts and often make them into clubs (to use against our neighbor). In 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing about food offered to idols. He acknowledges that of course idols are not real deities; they aren’t God and have no power over anything. That knowledge is good; that knowledge comes from being taught the Law (in specific, the First Commandment). However, when that knowledge  is used to belittle or cause one of our neighbor’s to sin, that knowledge has now become a weapon. Paul is instructing the believers in Corinth to not let their knowledge outweigh their love for their neighbors - especially over something as short-lived as food! In love, we share what we have been taught with our neighbors. But then, also in love, we sacrifice ‘knowing it all,’ for the sake of one who is struggling. We deny our ‘right knowledge,’ in favor of walking alongside an unsteady neighbor. In the same way, freedom in Christ is a gift! We are freed from sin; death and the devil are conquered enemies. However, freedom used against our neighbor is no longer Christian freedom; now our freedom has become a tether to a false god: pride. True Christian freedom is always understood in relationship to your neighbor and their needs. We are not free to cause hurt, harm, or discourse for someone else. We are not free to tempt or hurt another’s conscience. Knowledge and freedom are gifts from God and rightly understood in Jesus. Our sinful minds like to take gifts and make them into weapons. Repent of this. Humbly remember that, before God, we are all beggars. You and your weaker neighbor are both in desperate need of forgiveness and mercy. You and your weaker neighbor are both receivers of God’s gifts:  Baptism, the preaching of His Word, and the Lord’s Supper. Learn and be free - in the Gospel. Learn with your neighbor. Be free in your service of your neighbor. Rejoice that God saw you in your weakness and sent His Son to pay for your sins! You (and your neighbor) are loved and forgiven.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Love in Christ is strong and living,  Binding faithful hearts in one;  Love in CHrist is true and giving.  May His will in us be done.  (LSB 706:1) -Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/2/20235 minutes, 20 seconds
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Friday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

September 1, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27, 1 Corinthians 7:25-40So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. (1 Corinthians 7:38)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We love when things are straight-forward and are logical. Opposites make sense. You are hot or cold. There is up or down. You turn left or right. We like to think in absolutes, put everything in its proper box, and usually give it a label. We do this with our neighbors too. ‘Those sinners’ and us, the good people. ‘Those making all the wrong choices,’ and us, making all the right ones. ‘Those who keep voting wrongly and us,’ who have our politics in order. It can be quite easy to fall into the temptation to group ‘others’ in relation to us. In the 1 Corinthians reading, it might seem like Paul is trying to create a logical ‘either or’ statement. However, he also seems to be getting things mixed up. He says marriage is a gift. But he also says that singleness is a gift. He says that getting married is not a sin, but also speaks very highly about remaining single. What’s the deal, Paul? Why can’t you make up your mind? In our desire for logic and reason, we usually see options in contrast to other options. For example, you can’t be married and also stay single. However, what if God has given us two good options? What if God, in His bountiful goodness, allows for marriage and singleness to both be good gifts? What if, instead of pitting the gifts against one another, we rejoice in the ways in which God has given us to love our neighbor? The Law is good. It shows us right from wrong, good from evil. However, when we apply the Law to situations in which it doesn’t speak, we create division that is not good or helpful. Marriage is a gift from God; from the beginning of time, God created Eve for Adam and gave them, one to another, in marriage. Singleness, though, is also a gift. The single person is able to devote time and energy to caring for other neighbors in their life. Both of these vocations are good! God gives good options for His people. Whether single or married, your identity is as a Baptized child of God. You are part of God’s family through Jesus’ death and resurrection; that is what sticks for eternity. Rejoice in the opportunities you are given to love your neighbors - either as a married person or a single person - knowing that both vocations are good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Hear us, dear Father, when we pray  For needed help from day to day That as your children we may live, Whom You baptized and so received.  (LSB 865:3) -Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/1/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Thursday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

August 31, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 11:33-12:8Daily Lectionary:1 Samuel 31:1-13, 1 Corinthians 7:1-24For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s Word often describes the Body of believers as, well, a body. It talks about each of us making up one united being with Christ as the Head. This is a beautiful picture of who we are! We are joined with all other believers; we are included and precious. However, our sinful nature has a way of taking that which is wonderful and creating disharmony. We become obstinate about our own abilities and importance. We seek to be bodies of one, completely independent, and often try to disconnect from others (usually because they sin differently than we do, so clearly we would be better off without them). Reread Romans 11:36: For from him and through him and to him are all things. Hmmm… ‘All things.’ From God, through God, and to God, are ALL things. What does that mean about our own ‘independent’ abilities? What does that mean for our insistence that we are better than another part of the body? What does that mean for our judgment of another’s gifts? In the words of today’s reading, we are reminded that we are not alone and cannot survive alone. We are told that it is all from, through, and to God. We have been uniquely created and given all that we have. Our gifts were not given to lord over someone else or to be used in competition. Instead, God created each part of the body as a gift to and for one another. Do we have different gifts than our neighbor? Yep. Thanks be to God! If a body was all an elbow, how would we see or eat or walk? If the foot overpowered the ear, how could we hear? All things are in God. All things are completed by Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross. Your sins of worry, comparison, coveting, and self-seeking glory are paid and gone. In their place, there is peace, unity, and forgiveness. You are part of the Body. You are needed by your neighbor. Rest in your Baptism. Rejoice that all things are from God, through God, and in God. You don’t have to fight for a place in God’s family. You don’t have to earn God’s acceptance. The work has been done by Jesus; we now *get* to love and serve our neighbor using our unique and specific gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Know that the Lord is God indeed;  Without our aid He did us make. We are His folk, He doth us feed,  And for His sheep He doth us take.  (LSB: 791:2)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/31/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wednesday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

August 30, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, Lords Prayer: Third PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 28:3-25, 1 Corinthians 6:1-20And when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. (How is God’s will done?) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you heard the phrase, ‘battle of wills?’ It means that two (or more) people have their own ideas or plans that are not matching up with others’ plans or ideas. Each person wants their will to be followed and is unable or unwilling to make room for someone else’s needs or will to be done. When this happens, there is, well, a battle. When engaged in a battle of wills, we fight for OUR wants. We desire to win, dominate, and succeed over others. In actuality, though, after a battle of wills, there is usually angst, sadness, resentment, and pain. Often, even the person who wins is left feeling hollow; their victory came at the expense of someone else’s pain or failure. The Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer is ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ The sinner in us may become immediately suspicious: what is God’s will? How will it (negatively) affect ME? What will it cost me? What might I have to give up? How can I get around it or battle it and win? Our sinful nature immediately reacts to this prayer, realizing that it is about God’s will; this means that it isn’t our will. Furthermore, we realize that none of us are God and that we don’t have control. In fact, God’s will is going to crush my will because His is perfect and mine is sinful. Do I want God’s will to be done? Yes! God’s will is that all people are saved. God’s will is that sin, death, and the devil be defeated. God’s will is Jesus paying for the sins of the whole world, defying death, and giving life to all believers. God’s will is to claim YOU as His own through Baptism; He continually strengthens and feeds you through His Word and with Jesus’ Body and Blood. God’s will is done apart from our prayers and works; God’s will is done for us. God’s will won the battle on the cross and gives us victory, life, and salvation. Yes, God’s will is good and holy. God’s will is for you: that you are washed, revived, forgiven, loved, and kept secure with Him forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your gracious will on earth be done  As it is done before Your throne, That patiently we may obey   Throughout our lives all that You say.  Curb flesh and blood and ev’ry ill  That sets itself against Your will.  (LSB 766:4) -Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/30/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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Martyrdom of John the Baptist

August 29, 2023Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13And the king was exceedingly sorry. (Mark 6:26a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist’s executioner was exceedingly sorry that he would put John to death. But, punishments follow crimes committed, right? Why would King Herod feel sorry?  In fact, Herod’s interactions with John are confusing. First, Herod sends John to prison because he doesn’t like what John said about his marriage. But, we also read that Herod, ‘feared John…and kept him safe’ (v. 20). Even more puzzling, though, was that when King Herod heard John speak, ‘he was greatly perplexed, and yet…heard him gladly’ (v. 20). Wait, what? Herod puts John in prison for what John said about his marriage. But then, we read that Herod (the KING) fears John, protects John, and is glad to hear John speak. So, John is punished for speaking, protected for speaking, gladly heard when speaking, but then ultimately put to death for speaking. This is weird, right? Perhaps it’s because John had a dynamic and inviting personality. He must have been relevant and very popular. But…that’s not what Scripture says. John was the ‘weird guy’ who ate bugs and lived out in the wilderness. John was the guy who kept talking about someone else coming, about God’s Law, and the need for repentance. It wasn’t his personality that caused Herod’s sorrow. John the Baptist faithfully preached God’s Word. He reminded sinners that they couldn’t do anything they wanted (like marry their brother’s wife, for example), that they needed to repent, and that the Savior was coming. John pointed to Jesus. God’s Word promises to never return empty, but to always accomplish God’s work (Isaiah 55:10-11). The Law is good and necessary; it shows us our sinfulness and our desperate need for a Savior. John was faithfully preaching God’s Law. Herod’s confusing reaction to John makes sense; he was struck by the truth of John’s teaching even as he recoiled that the Law was for him too. We are often like King Herod; we react to God’s Law with anger or reluctance. (I hope, though, that you aren’t throwing your pastor into prison when he preaches it to you!) Like John the Baptist, God sends us faithful pastors to preach God’s Truth in its purity. Your pastor reminds you of your sins and your deadness on your own. But then, he points to Jesus. He comforts you with God’s grace and mercy through Jesus’ death and resurrection. You are declared forgiven. Today, we remember the faithfulness of John the Baptist; we give thanks for faithful pastors. We rejoice that we have a loving and merciful God who gives us His Word, both Law and Gospel, for our eternal good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Our thanks for John the Baptist  Who, till his dying day,  Made straight paths for the SaviorAnd heralded His way!  In witnessing to Jesus  Through times of threat or shameMay we with faith and courage  The Lamb of God proclaim. (LSB 517:24)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/29/20235 minutes, 45 seconds
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Monday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

August 28, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:23-44, 1 Corinthians 4:1-21My salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed. Isaiah 51:6bIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Disaster. War. Murder. Slander. Cursed. Defiled. Ugly. These are heavy words. These are words we use to describe horrible things that happen to us or around us. These are words that cause a pit to form in your stomach, tears to fall from your cheeks, and cries of despair to leave your lips. Life in a sinful world is hard. Living as a sinner, with other sinners, often hurts. Our bodies break. Our minds are overwhelmed. Our communities suffer. Our world is ugly. God’s people throughout history viscerally understood these struggles. Isaiah is writing to people who knew the kingdom of Israel had split into two nations: Israel and Judah. In fact, they knew that the ‘other’ kingdom was their enemy. They had experienced the roller coaster of bad kings and *not as bad* kings. They had been in war; they had suffered through battles and saw death. And yet, in today’s reading there is hope. God has not abandoned His people. He promises comfort. He promises salvation forever! He reminds the people (and us) that this world, riddled with sin, is not going to last forever. The heavens and earth will wear out and perish; we see the decay around us every day. And yet, we are reminded, just like the people to whom Isaiah is writing, that God’s righteousness will never be dismayed (v. 6). There is hope in the midst of our hurt. There is promise in the midst of disaster. Jesus is with us within and through every trial and trouble. God sent His Son to be our Savior; He sent the only One who could enter a broken and dying world and give it new life. In your Baptism, you are made clean and holy. You are given life eternal. You will live forever with Jesus! Take heart and cling to the promises of God: we who are in Christ will not be dismayed. Life in a sinful world hurts now, but the hope for tomorrow is found in Christ. You are not alone, forgotten, or left behind; in your Baptism you are part of God’s family forever; God has declared you as His own. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All who believe and are baptized  Shall see the Lord’s salvation;  Baptized into the death of Christ,  They are a new creation.  Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand  Among the glorious, heav’nly band  Of every tribe and nation.   (All Who Believe and Are Baptized, LSB 601:1)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/28/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Sunday the Thirteenth Week of Pentecost

August 27, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-20Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23‘For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’ Matthew 16:17bIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In today’s reading, Jesus asks a question to His disciples: ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ The disciples respond with what they have heard: some say this person, some say that person. The answers seem to make logical sense; they  include: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another prophet. These responses are reasonable and understandable; the Son of Man must certainly be a teacher or someone who is well educated about the Scriptures. We hear these same types of explanations today: Jesus was a good teacher. Jesus is one way to heaven. Jesus taught the people to love everyone. Jesus is a great example of how to treat others. In our flawed human thinking, we try to make sense of all that is unbelievable. And, we like to control the message; if we put Jesus in the ‘one option’ category or as a ‘decent teacher,’ then we can pick and choose what we believe. We can justify our own choices and actions because, afterall, we are being logical and reasonable. After the disciples answer Jesus, He asks a follow-up question: Who do you say that I am? Peter answers with a statement of faith: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16). This answer doesn’t make logical or reasonable sense: the Son of the living God? How? Why? But, what about me as god? And Jesus responds to Peter: Blessed are you! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven (v. 17). Peter has been given faith and confesses who Jesus truly is. It doesn’t make sense that God would send His perfect Son to be the Savior of a sinful world. And yet, that is exactly what happens. In your Baptism, you received the Holy Spirit. In God’s Word, you hear and are reminded of whose you are and who God is. Jesus is our merciful Savior. Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man. Jesus loves, forgives, renews, and revives us. Jesus gives us His Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. This doesn’t make sense. This isn’t easily explained. And yet, this is the Truth. This is your faith. This is your reality. Thanks be to God for all that does not make sense, and yet is ours completely. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life that we may boldly confess Him to be the Christ and steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect of the Day) -Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/27/20235 minutes, 42 seconds
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Saturday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 26, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 13: Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 24:1-22, 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. (Psalm 28:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s been a long week. It seems as though attending the Divine Service last Sunday was longer than 6 days ago. Maybe a particularly difficult day this week is still replaying in your head. Maybe a committed sin keeps coming up in your thoughts (and stealing your sleep). Maybe a hurt caused by someone else has made its home in your heart. Life is hard down here; living in and with sin hurts. Today’s Psalm speaks about the weight of our need as sinners. We try and try, but we fail. And then, someone fails us. Usually, both happen frequently. We try again, and fail again. We try to fix what is broken, but make the mess messier. We cannot make it better and often feel beaten up by the end of the day, and certainly by the end of the week. We cry out to God in frustration, pain, and sorrow. We cannot carry the burdens of our sins and our hurts. It is heavy. It hurts. It is too much. Friend, your prayers have been heard. You are not alone in your pain and suffering. You have a loving God who has heard your cries and answers them. He meets our sin with forgiveness. He meets our pain with relief. He meets our deadness with new life. He does not leave us to wallow in our failures, but gives us victory. In our Baptism, we are made new. We are breathed to life and given Jesus’ life as our own. We are washed clean, renewed, loved, and mercied. In the Divine Service, we hear God’s Word preached. We hear our sins forgiven. We hear our neighbors’ sins forgiven. We receive Jesus’ Body and Blood. We are filled with the truth of whose we are and what we have been given. We are reminded of God’s grace and His mercy. The week has been long. But tomorrow, the table has been prepared for you. Your pastor will, in the stead of Christ, forgive your sins. He has prepared the Word to point you to your Savior. Carry your worries, burdens, hurts, and sins to church. Receive God’s promises, love, forgiveness, and hope. Blessed be the Lord! He has heard our cries for mercy!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be still, my soul, before the Lord,  For God is always near.  Before your mind is moved to pray,   God listens and will hear.   (Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord, LSB 771:1)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/26/20235 minutes, 16 seconds
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Friday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 25, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:24-42, 1 Corinthians 1:1-25‘Not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.’ (1 Corinthians 1:17b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul, inspired by God, wrote  to the Corinthians. Paul, also known as Saul, had been well educated and had been a high ranking Jew. He studied with great teachers and had been given great authority (think about the permission he had been granted to travel, find followers of Jesus, and arrest them). And yet, did you hear how he would refer to himself and his teaching? He wrote that he was preaching the Gospel, ‘not with words of eloquent wisdom.’ Wait a minute. He was a big deal, right? Even after he was converted, he was well-known. And yet, he is rebuking the Corinthians for claiming him, or other prophets and teachers, and causing division among themselves. How often do we stumble over our words when trying to speak about our faith? Or, in frustration with the world and the horrible sinners in it, we discuss Jesus in a way that sounds more like an argument - one which we will certainly win. We use our churchiest words and our fanciest terms and, well, we witness…about ourselves. We make the conversation about how much better we are than our neighbor and how great life with be if only *they* were like us. We decide to be god and attempt to convert others to ourselves. Paul knew he had nothing to offer to God. He knew that anything he said, attempted, or tried would fail. He lamented about his inability to just do what was right (Romans 7). And, in the first letter to the Corinthians, he reminds them that the power of God, true wisdom, is found in the most illogical place of all: the Cross. True wisdom is not found in the best argument or the greatest speech. It is not found in well-formed discourse  or strongly defended debates. Instead, true wisdom is Jesus crucified for you. True wisdom is in the all-encompassing mercy given to sinners through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Remember your Baptism. Rest in the folly that is freedom through Jesus’ Work, not your own. When you are talking to your neighbor, don’t worry about winning. Share the joy you know as a redeemed sinner. Point to the true and only God who, when you were dead in your sins, saved you, washed you in His blood, named you, and gave you salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Good Christian friends, rejoice and sing! Now is the triumph of our King!  To all the world glad news we bring:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!   (Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing, LSB 475:1)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/25/20235 minutes, 16 seconds
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St. Bartholomew

August 24, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 22:24-30Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:1-23, Acts 28:16-31But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:27b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. Bartholomew was one of the Apostles. He traveled with Jesus,  listened to Jesus teach, and saw Jesus’ miracles. He heard again and again about who Jesus is and what Jesus was going to do. And yet, he didn’t get it. In today’s reading, he was with the disciples as they argued about who was the greatest. This argument occurs right after Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper! It is Holy Week! Jesus is soon going to the cross! And yet, the apostles, including Bartholomew, are concerned about right now. They want a judgment of ‘who is the best.’ They want power, authority, and status. If they were declared the best, then they weren’t the worst -they weren’t last. Jesus knew what they were discussing. And even on the cusp of going to the cross and His own painful death, He continues to love them and teach them. He recognizes the power that comes with status: ‘For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table?’ (v. 27a). And yet, He points to Himself, who is the greatest of all, and clearly states that He is their servant. He, the Savior of the whole world, came to serve and save. Even amidst and after their squabbling, Jesus reminds them that His Kingdom will be theirs. We are like Bartholomew and the other disciples. We don’t get it. We focus on this temporal world and want power, glory, and dominion now. We want to be the greatest and the best; if you are the best, you don’t need help and aren’t weak. And yet, left on our own, we are dead; we are powerless against sin, death, and the  devil. We are unable to save ourselves and certainly cannot dominate over anything else. We are lost and helpless. In His mercy, Jesus saves us. He went to the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world, including Bartholomew’s and including yours. He forgives us our every sin, washes us in Baptism, sends us the Holy Spirit, and keeps every promise. We too are inheritors of His Kingdom. We too are conquerors; it is not by our own merit, but by His mercy and grace. Bartholomew died a martyr’s death; God gave him faith and was with him, even unto death. God gives us faith and is with us every moment of this life and the next. We rejoice in the certainty that we are loved, forgiven, and redeemed. We look forward to being in heaven, with Bartholomew and all the saints, eternally praising and worshiping our Savior Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.  Alleluia! Alleluia!  (For All the Saints. LSB 677:1)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/24/20235 minutes, 21 seconds
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Wednesday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 23, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: Second PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 19:1-24, Acts 28:1-15…so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. (Explanation of The Second Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Did you see it? In this petition, we are praying that by HIS GRACE we believe His Word and live godly lives. But isn’t living godly lives according to the 10 Commandments? Don’t we check the ‘good works’ boxes of behavior and live the Christian life? And furthermore, this petition is about God’s kingdom. That sounds like battle - fighting to the death - winning by force. If only everyone’s behavior would get better. If only *insert a sin that isn’t yours* would be stopped. If only *your neighbor* would act differently. THEN God’s kingdom would come. Then we would win; we could kick back and lord it over those ‘others.’ And yet, that isn’t how it works. That isn’t how God works. And eternally, we are grateful that He doesn’t work that way. The consequence of sin is death, and no one escapes it. We are guilty. We are unworthy. We are dead. And furthermore, we were born that way. There is no amount of behavior that can undo a death sentence from the womb. And yet. God sent a solution. He had a plan to save you, to save the whole world, to make His Kingdom come: through grace and mercy and forgiveness. He sent His perfect Son Jesus to pay for your sins, for the sins of the whole world, and to defeat sin, death, and the devil. After three days, His victory, and ours, was complete.  Therefore, in this petition, we remember that God brings His kingdom by giving His Spirit. He gives us grace in the face of sin and death. In Baptism, we are given new life. We are brought back to life. We are brought into God’s kingdom - through grace. We remember that we are the receivers of mercy and are beggars before Him. This means, though, that we must also  remember that He loves and redeems our neighbors - even that one who keeps sinning. You are forgiven. You are part of God’s kingdom through His grace. You are Baptized and Redeemed. Share this Good News with those around you; as a fellow sinner, you know how God’s Kingdom comes. You receive His Body and Blood in the Divine Service; you have assurance in your Baptism. Rest in the assurance that His Kingdom does come and it is through grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy Kingdom come; thy Grace be nigh,  O'er all the Earth, o'er all the Sky; The Holy Spirit of thy Grace, Bestow his Gifts on Human Race.  From Satan's woful Tyranny,Keep all thy Churches safe and free. (Our Father, Who From Heav’n Above, LSB 766:3)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/23/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tuesday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 22, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 13-18, 28-32Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 18:10-30, Acts 27:27-44For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s Word is trustworthy and true. How do we know? Every promise He made, He kept. Every word He gave has come to fruition. In today’s reading, there is another reality: Gentiles get to be part of God’s family too. His gifts and His mercy extend to those outside of the house of Israel. To the proud and Pharisetical Jews, this was awful. How could *those people* get to be included? They didn’t have the *right* bloodline. They didn’t have the *traceable back to King David* family tree. And in fact, Saint Paul writes even more outrageously: ‘branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in’ (v. 19). Not only are Gentiles included, but members of the house of Israel have been excluded. On what merit or word does this get to be the reality? Members of the house of Israel were focusing on the wrong thing. They were so sure of their history and their works, they had fallen into unbelief. Unbelief causes separation from God. Similarly, these unbelievers had declared judgment on their Gentile neighbors and were sure that no Gentile could be redeemed. Oh how wrong they were! ‘You, a wild olive shoot were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree’ (v. 17). God pruned the plant, cutting off what is dead and including what was alive. You struggle with the same sin as the Pharisetical Jews. You declare yourself ‘god’ when you look at a neighbor who sins differently than you do and think (or say) that they cannot possibly be loved or redeemed by Jesus. Their sin is too bad. Their life is too broken. Or, you look at fellow Christians and think, ‘well at least I am not judgmental like them.’ Saint Paul has a warning for this too: ‘do not become proud, but fear’ (v. 20). We all fall short of God’s perfect Law. We become complacent and comparative with our actions or in our attitudes. Repent. Remember that you (and your neighbor) were born in sinfulness. You (and your neighbor) were brought back to life in Baptism. You (and your neighbor) have God’s full pardon through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Rejoice in the overwhelming love you have been given from our merciful and forgiving Lord! Rejoice that God’s love is so abundant that it completely covers you and your neighbor. Rejoice and rest in the knowledge that you (and your neighbor, yes, even that one…) are washed in the blood of the Lamb and are included in God’s family. His Word promises it; God always keeps His promises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me, died that I might live on high,  lives that I might never die.  As the branch is to the vine,  I am his and he is mine!  (Chief of Sinners Though I Be, LSB:611 1)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/22/20235 minutes, 39 seconds
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Monday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 21, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9, Acts 27:9-26The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. (Isaia 56:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Outsider. Foreigner. Doesn’t belong. Outcast. These words describe exclusion. These words create division: if you are out, that means you are NOT in. If you are ‘in,’ there is a temptation to breathe a sigh of relief and do whatever is necessary to maintain the ‘included’ status. To be left out hurts; no one desires to be slighted, forgotten, cut off, or left behind. In today’s reading, there is a wild declaration from God: He is going to INCLUDE those who were on the outside of Israel. He was going to not only gather the ‘outcasts’ of Israel, but also include those ‘others’ too. That hardly seems fair; they must be ‘outsiders’ for a reason. And by their exclusion, we can be sure that our inclusion is secure…right? How radical of an idea that those who have been on the outside of God’s mercy can suddenly be included! In our sin, we create labels for ‘others.’ We struggle to not self-justify our status as ‘better-than-others’  based on external descriptions (at least I don’t sin like that person) or a false sense of earning our place with God (I go to church every week, so I am definitely ‘in’). We can become complacent in the reality of our own former status as ‘other.’ Before our Baptism, we were dead in our transgressions and alienated from God. We were without hope, certainly not able to earn a spot or make for ourselves an ‘in’ with God. We were the outsiders - the foreigners - the outcasts - the other. God in His mercy sent His Son to pay for our sins, give us new life, and declare us as His. This was not earned by us. This was not a negotiation we won. This was His plan for our salvation. In our Baptism, we are made alive, given God’s name, and declared ‘in’ with Him. We live in our Baptism for eternity. He claims us for eternity. But what about the worry that including others might take from us what we have? This is unfounded and unnecessary. Jesus died to pay for the sins of the whole world: He has more forgiveness than we have sins. Therefore we joyfully share the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection with all of our neighbors, knowing that God’s mercy is for them abundantly - just as it is for us!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God would not have the sinner die; his Son with saving grace is nigh.  His Spirit in the Word declares  that we in Christ are heaven's heirs.  (God Loved the World So That He Gave, LSB 571:3)-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/21/20235 minutes, 7 seconds
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Sunday the Twelfth Week of Pentecost

August 20, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 15:21-28Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.’  (Matthew 15:22b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mercy. Undeserved reprieve. Declared innocent in light of clear guilt. In today’s reading, a mother is crying out for mercy to be shown to her daughter. She is desperate and coming to Jesus. She has the diagnosis: demon possession. She needs the only true cure: Jesus. However, she is rebuked by His disciples and, at first, dismissed by Jesus. But she is persistent: she comes before Him, kneels, and cries out for help. She does not offer a bargain or a trade. In fact, when Jesus tells her that she is not an Israelite (and in fact suggests that she is a dog), she rightly acknowledges her status. She knows and readily admits who she is and what she needs; she may be an outsider, but she knows who the Master is and what He can do. She feels the weight of her daughter’s troubles and knows that the solution must come from someone beyond herself. She is weak, helpless, and unable to save her daughter. We too were once outsiders; before our Baptism, we were dead in our sins and enemies to God. Dead! Dead things cannot fix themselves (or help others). Enemies! Even if we could do something, we would do the wrong thing - the evil thing. We are guilty. We are broken. Left to ourselves, we are hopeless. We know the weight of sin; sin causes that which should be perfect to break. We have been brought to our knees in the face of the consequences of sin: our own sin and sins done against us. We are like this Canaanite woman: we are guilty, broken, and have no recourse except to cry out to God for mercy. Here’s the Good News! God has and continues to show you mercy! It is undeserved and a reprieve from lasting death. In your Baptism, you were given new life; you are covered by Jesus and named as one of God’s children. We who were enemies have now been claimed and redeemed, chosen and made clean. We have God’s infinite mercy, won for us by Jesus, through His death and resurrection. We didn’t earn it nor do we deserve it, but it is ours. Rest and rejoice in the merciful goodness from our Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting Father, You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/20/20234 minutes, 56 seconds
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Saturday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 19, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 12: Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 28:8Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19, Acts 26:1-23Psalm 28:7: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The tenses matter.  David is calling out to God for help. Present tense.  Right now.  If God won’t answer him he’ll die.  Present danger.  There are wicked workers of evil around him.  Present tense. He’s in trouble as He prays this psalm.  Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.  Past tense.  Before David ever cried out to God for help, the Lord had already heard.  Before they call, I will answer them, says the LORD.  The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  Present tense.  David, surrounded by enemies and about to die, is helped.  Present tense.  The help that brings him comfort can exist even in the present tense and danger.  It isn’t held out to the future.  It isn’t quarantined to a time you don’t need it anymore.  It’s present tense.  The help David found comfort in, even surrounded by problems, was rooted not in the absence of problems but the presence of God.  God heard and worked even before the problem.  He has sent His Son to rescue you from every evil before you could ever call upon Him.  The prayers we pray are comforts, not because we need to make God work in the future to fix our present problems, but because He has already worked in the past, and His present Word reminds us of our help now.  That help lasts forevermore.  The rescue we have is eternal.  The victory we have is over the grave.  When you pray, don’t think of prayer as leverage to make God work. Use those words to remember God’s promises.  Everything that you’re asking for has been paid for. The help that you need is from a God not far off.  The rescue that you think can’t be today is already yours.  Blessed be the Lord, who has already worked to deliver us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all believe in one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Ever-present help in need, Praised by all the heav’nly host; All He made His love enfolds, All creation He upholds. (We All Believe in One True God, LSB 953:1)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/19/20234 minutes, 54 seconds
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Friday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 18, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 16:1-23, Acts 25:13-271 Samuel 16:7: “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord looks at things differently than we do.  We want might. He wants mercy.  Pastors love alliteration even more than allegory.  So when Samuel goes out to visit Jesse to see which of his sons would be the newer, better king, there’s something for us to learn.  Samuel assumes the taller. The stronger.  Someone to crush Saul, who has turned evil.  Someone who would protect the people.  The Lord rejects this idea.  It’s going to be David, despite all the things that make him look weak.  David’s Son, yet David’s Lord is no different.  The God we want help from stomps the people we hate. He cures all our diseases. He fixes all our problems.  Instead, we get the God who dies on the cross.  We’re as perplexed as Samuel.  But where mercy is worked, peace follows.  We talk a lot about the theology of the cross and the theology of glory.  We know the difference between mercy and might, and which one our Lord uses.  But we often overlook which one brings peace.  A theology of glory never gives true lasting peace.  Each rescue only kicks the can down the road until the next tragedy, pain, or trial.  Each rescue isn’t a chance to rejoice, but only a chance to look over your shoulder for something else.  But a theology of the cross provides a rescue that even death itself cannot destroy.  It provides the peace of knowing none of these things can separate us from the love of God which joins us in the pit to suffer, to work mercy, and to save.  Ours isn’t a hope of escape from one problem at a time.  Ours is a hope of salvation that none of our problems can rob us of, whether we have them or not.  It’s of a God who isn’t just mighty, but loving enough to work within suffering so that suffering can become a gift, and not just something to spend our days afraid of.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, my God, to Thee I pray: O cast me not in wrath away! Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart, But let Him draw to Thee my heart That truly penitent I be: O God, be merciful to me (To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All, LSB 613:2)!-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/18/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Thursday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 17, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 10:5-17Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 15:10-35, Acts 24:24-25:12Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God sends His word to you so that you will believe it and be saved.  And we’re still scared that Christianity is going away.  Despite the boomers telling you how full the church was “back in their day”, it’s not a new problem.  One verse before the promise that faith comes by hearing is the lament of Romans 10:16, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel.” For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?””I love it when old people complain to me about things I worry about too.  Generation after generation has worried about the wellbeing of Christendom.  Generation after generation has lamented.  Generation after generation has been preserved in faith.  Because no matter how much we worry, God still sends preachers.  He still sends His Holy Spirit by His Word to call, gather, enlighten, sanctify, and keep.  The feet are beautiful because God sends them to speak salvation.  It's not your job to ascend to heaven. It’s not your job to save yourself.  It’s not your job to save others.  It’s Jesus’ job to descend.  To die. To rise. To ascend back into heaven.  To send forth the Spirit by the feet of preachers.  And to save you and many more by the hearing of that Word. Not all will believe.  That doesn’t nullify the Word.  It just makes it matter more.  In a world of not enough hope, God is still speaking more.  He can’t be silenced any more than He can be uncrucified.  So we hear. We believe. And we confess.  Christ Jesus saved me by His death and resurrection.  He has saved you too. The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To hope grown dim, to hearts turned cold Speak tongues of fire and make us bold To shine Your Word of saving grace Into each dark and loveless place (Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide, LSB 585:3).-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/17/20234 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wednesday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 16, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: First Petition Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 14:47-15:9, Acts 24:1-23Hallowed be Thy nameIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People misuse God’s name a lot.  Not just where toes get stubbed.  Where people lie about who God is. Where people teach falsely in His name. Where people use His name as a weapon for a cause they deem more important than His will.  And yet, God’s name is already holy.  You can’t make God’s name more holy by your prayers.  You can’t make it less holy by your actions.  But we pray in this petition that God’s holy name would be a gift to us.  That the name we can’t sully by our sins would be the name of our redeemer.  That our redeemer wouldn’t abandon us to our sins, but give us a name to call upon in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!This Petition is a gift because it points to who God already is. That turns the prayer from a burden to a gift.  Now you don’t have to pray for something to happen, but rejoice that it happens near you and for you. He’s establishing His holy name in your life by His Holy Spirit where His Word is preached and His Sacrament administered. You can know where it is and pray that it is given to you too.  You can find comfort in receiving them.  You can find holiness brought near you.  God gives His holy name that you would find comfort in praying to Your Father in heaven, and life in His only Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your name be hallowed. Help us, Lord, In purity to keep Your Word, That to the glory of Your name We walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; All poor deluded souls convert (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:2). -Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/16/20234 minutes, 21 seconds
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St. Mary, Mother of our LORD

August 15, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-55Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18, Acts 23:13-35Luke 1:48: “for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blessed are you among women To be called the mother of God by the small whispering wordAnd so much worse by those without ears to hear.The virgin shall conceive and bear abuse. But she named it all Immanuel.God with us. For the belittled and the befouled The mocked and reviled, the virgin gives a hymn.He has regard for the humiliated. who in their shame would prefer sticks and stones to words used to cause much deeper hurt He sheds precious blood and names the least of these holy.  Exalting what has been profaned,and blessing what others only curse.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/15/20233 minutes, 39 seconds
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Monday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 14, 2023Today's Reading: Job 38:4-18Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 12:1-25, Acts 22:30-23:11Job 38:4: ““Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where were you when God worked? To create. To redeem. The real question the Lord poses to Job is “Why would you think you need to be?” It’s a harsh question for a reason.  After everything that Job went through, it’s easy to question how a loving God could let it happen. It’s easy to come up with 100 other options that involve less hurt.  The Lord doesn't take time to entertain them.  He doesn’t make it a contest of ideas, but of identity. Because we have questions and ideas.  And honestly it’s going to be tough to convince anyone in the midst of Job’s suffering that it’s totally a good idea. We still try. We treat “everything happens for a reason” like a magic spell that just makes it all ok.  Instead, Job is left with a reminder about who his God is.  Because honestly, he’s not going to understand the reason.  The Lord berates Job for chapters on end for assuming he possibly could.  You are not God. You’re not going to understand the reason.  You were not even there.  And that’s a gift. Why would you think you’d need to be?  Did the God who did all these we don’t understand and hate put Himself farther away from creation or closer? He was incarnate.  Did He put Himself farther away or closer to suffering? He took flesh to die for you.  Were you there?  Why would you measure creation by your experience of it? Why would you think you had to be at the foot of the cross to make it matter more? It’s evil to measure it by your experience.  If God is only working in ways that you experience as pleasurable, when you need Him the most, He’ll feel the farthest away.  He didn’t abandon Job.  Thinking that way is demonic.  It’s literally what Satan wanted.  Sing songs about where you were when Jesus was crucified all you want, but what matters isn’t just that it happened, but it happened for you. Even if you weren’t there. That it was the work of a God smarter than you. Holier than you. Who loves you.  He does things we don’t understand and don’t like.  But He also bears the worst of it Himself, even for the very sinners who question His motives while He does it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh . . . Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord (Were You There, LSB 456:1)?-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/14/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Sunday the Eleventh Week of Pentecost

August 13, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 14:22-33Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 10:1-27, Acts 22:17-29Matthew 14:24–25: “but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s easier to talk about the Jesus who walks on water than the Jesus who made the disciples get in the boat before the winds and waves pulled their boat from land and soaked the disciples to their bones.  The wind was against them.  Which is an understatement sort of like when someone asks you “how’s it going?” and you say “OK”.  The wind was against them in the kind of way that took control of their boat from them and threatened death.  It’s great that Jesus walked on water in a storm, but if you ignore the reality that He also made the disciples go out into what just might have killed them, you’ll miss the point.  Both were done out of mercy.  In the middle of the night, surrounded by death, the deeper truth is that Jesus rescued the disciples from the misconception that calm is the same as peace.  When Christianity confuses calm for peace, it offers neither.   But still, so often, we want to describe our faith as a calmed storm, not a present Lord. We imagine that a thriving faith is the kind that can walk on water and not sink, but I wonder how many of the people who’d criticize St. Peter for the doubt that sunk him into the sea also took swimming lessons.  “O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?” O ye of little faith, why would you think that would stop God from working.  The disciples were anything but calm.  Peter doubted.  God still saved.  All of this is given to you so you’ll stop measuring the storm, stop measuring the calm, stop measuring your faith, and start looking to your God.  Christianity is not Christians copying Jesus to walk on water.  It’s Jesus pulling up sinking sinners.  He reaches down into death and pulls us back out.  He dies upon the cross for you and rises from the dead, taking you with Him. And if Christ can pull you out of the grave, go ahead and let your calm be damaged. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.Almighty and most merciful God, preserve us from all harm and danger that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish what You want done; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 
8/13/20234 minutes, 20 seconds
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Saturday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 12, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 11: Psalm 34:4-8; antiphon: Psalm 34:1Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 9:1-27, Acts 21:37-22:16Psalm 34:7: The angel of the LORD encamps around those who I fear him, and delivers them.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The angel of the Lord is, more than sometimes, the Son of God.  Angel means messenger.  Voice. Word.  The Word of the Lord made flesh spoke even before He was made flesh.  The Son of God was at work in the Old Testament too.  The angel of the Lord who saves the poor man out of his troubles, who encamps around those who fear them and delivers them is the one who would become man to die and rise.  It doesn’t just change the actor. It changes what the help looks like.  We imagine help from angels looks like spiritual war protecting us from demons.  We imagine it looks like forces unseen at work to keep us safe.  But the angel of the Lord dwells with us in our suffering to deliver us by suffering for us on the cross.  God won’t be far from our cries for help in times of trouble.  But He saves us not by sending legions of angels to conquer the trouble but by bearing it Himself.  God saves us through weakness, not strength.  But that means when you look around and things are falling apart, it isn’t because God has left us.  It usually just means we’re looking in the wrong places.  Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.  God dwells with sinners to save today.  In communion, Jesus encamps on altars surrounded by the faithful, struggling with sin week after week. Struggling with death. Struggling with the evil one.  He gives the victory we’re desperate for week after week.  He brings deliverance you can taste. His body and blood for you.  They save you.  From the sins you can’t escape on your own.  From the death that looms.  From the evil one.  We eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus that forgives all your sin, brings life everlasting, and robs the devil of all his might.  That It’s worth praising. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From evil, Lord, deliver us; The times and days are perilous. Redeem us from eternal death, And, when we yield our dying breath, Console us, grant us calm release, And take our souls to You in peace (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:8).-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/12/20234 minutes, 36 seconds
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Friday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 11, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 21:15-36Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 8:1-22, Acts 21:15-36Acts 21:24: “take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul seems to go back and forth on little details, but makes a huge deal of them.  In some places he urges circumcision. In others he forbids it.  Sometimes he speaks about eating food offered to idols as no big deal, and today he shaves his head to show he’s not down with that tomfoolery.  It’s almost easier to blame it on the hypocrisy of Christians.  Today we don’t talk about food sacrificed to idols, and circumcision isn’t a trending topic, but can you shop at Target?  It really seems like everyone is making up their own answers, justifying them from Scripture, and condemning others even if they end up changing their minds and justifying their new answers from the same Scriptures.  There is a way to see through the haze.  First, right and wrong are defined by the 10 commandments.  Those don’t change.  If the commandments are silent, for example, on food that was sacrificed to Ba’al or  Ta’arget, we ask a simple question.  What does this confess? Not just what do you intend, but what do other people see? You can fly a rainbow flag as a remembrance of God’s promise to Noah, but the world will see something different.  What does this confess? That’s why Paul’s answer changes.  To those who would make a weapon out of the Law and use it against others, he preaches Christian freedom.  To those who would be harmed spiritually by being subject to the trends of the day, he preaches a clear distinction between faith and unfaithfulness.  When you go out into the world, can you be made unclean by anything in your Baptism? No! Jesus died for you. Daily you are washed.  Your salvation cannot be robbed by the dollar spot.  Might there come a time for some people in some places that they cannot be associated with unbelief to the point where they’ll have to look elsewhere? Sure.  But in each case, the question is what does this confess? We confess Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins and the free salvation given to sinners by His promises.  Let that be our identity.  That saves more than public declarations of boycotts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All who confess Christ’s holy name, Give God the praise and glory. Let all who know His pow’r proclaim Aloud the wondrous story. Cast ev’ry idol from its throne, For God is God, and He alone: To God all praise and glory! (Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good, 819:5)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/11/20234 minutes, 58 seconds
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Thursday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

 August 10, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 19:1-22Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 6:19-7:17, Acts 19:1-22Acts 19:19: “And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Magic always boils down to the same thing.  Whether it’s Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or genuine dark arts and witchcraft.  Manipulate something spiritual to affect something physical.  Poke at something you can’t see to get something you can.  Which, if you think about it, is a lot like how most Christians treat prayer.  That might actually be a good way to think about this.  In the text the exorcists weren’t calling out to Satan to cast out Satan. They were using the name of Jesus. They thought they knew the magic words.  It’s what broke the second commandment.  Magic is evil because it’s about control.  Using God’s name as a magic word to get what you want (please) is evil because it’s about control. The difference between magic and prayer is control.  Are you praying to a Heavenly Father who loves you for comfort in the knowledge that His will is going to be done in your life as it is everywhere else, or are you trying to manipulate something you can’t see to get something you can? God’s name is not something you use to get something else.  God’s name is a comfort to all who trust in Him.  The difference between the exorcists and Paul’s teaching about the Holy Spirit and baptizing in the triune name isn’t just that Paul’s stuff worked. It isn’t because Paul meant it for good and the people trying to cast demons out of the sick and suffering had ulterior motives.  It’s that God would not allow His name to be misused to teach people He was the same as any other spiritual force out there.  Call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.  But do so knowing you have a Father in Heaven who loves you, and that any peace comes from knowing you have received the Holy Spirit and need not worry about having to do magic in the first place.  Because God is in control.  That’s way better.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord’rest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel! (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, LSB 357:2)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/10/20234 minutes, 41 seconds
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Wednesday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 9, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Table of Duties: Intro to the Lord's PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 5:1-6:3, 10-16, Acts 18:1-11, 23-28Our Father who art in HeavenIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is about comfort, not stuff.  For some reason we’ve come to see it the other way around.  Prayer is about making God do stuff for you.  The problem is that the second prayer is rooted in stuff and not comfort, there’s never any comfort to be found until you get the stuff.  So everything becomes devoted to getting it.  Which means you have to pray more. And be more heartfelt about it. And definitely get more people to do it with you and for you so that God will help you.  Because He only helps the popular kids, right? Also, when prayer becomes about stuff and you’re not getting your stuff, it’s hard not to see God as the bad guy in the situation.  Some Christians even call themselves prayer warriors.  The thing is, Satan was defeated at the cross.  So, who’s left to fight except God?  So Jesus teaches us to pray.  Our Father who art in heaven.  We pray as if we have a Father in heaven who actually loves us enough to take care of us.  Who calls us to ask for all things with the knowledge that the answer isn’t rooted in you doing enough to earn a prize, but in Him loving you enough to take care of you.  Sometimes that means saying no.  Sometimes that means saying later. But even when you don’t get what you want, even what you need, you still have a Father in heaven, and this prayer is a comfort because it reminds us of that.  The thing we need isn’t everything.  You have a God who will care for you, even without it if He knows it to be best.  When prayer is about comfort, you can bring all your complaints, your worries, and even your sins to God with your petitions and know that He gladly bears them all for you.  He answers not as a vending machine would, but as a Father.  This is the greater good. Your parents don’t stop being your parents because they say no to you.  You’re better for being told no once in a while.  The comfort of prayer is knowing that God, who is smarter than you and holier than you, is on your side, and working in all things to care for you as a dear Father cares for His dear children. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Father, who from heav’n above Bids all of us to live in love As members of one family And pray to You in unity, Teach us no thoughtless words to say But from our inmost hearts to pray (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:1)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/9/20235 minutes
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Tuesday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 8, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 9:1-13Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 4:1-22, Acts 16:23-40Romans 9:11: “in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s a dangerous thing to look at missions and assume you’re more loving than God is.  Almost all of us have someone in our life outside of the faith.  Every single one of us is uncomfortable about it.  Even though God is the one who did the work to die and rise again to save us. Even though we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in this Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him, we make it our “mission” to make sure someone else does.  What can we do? What can we say? How can we make them believe? Paul struggles with it, and I deeply understand his frustrations.  To Paul’s people belong the promises, the Law, the worship, the covenants.  Yet not all of them are children of Abraham.  It is not as though the Word of God has failed, though.  Remember, God’s purpose of election, His love for sinners, is what first drove Him to the cross.  Do you think He loves us less this side of Easter, now that the painful part is over?  All who hear and receive God’s promises in faith hear because He calls.  Yes, some will hear and ignore.  Some will close their ears to the Law and the promises.  It doesn’t mean God doesn’t want them saved. After all, He calls them, which shows He wants them saved.  It also doesn’t fall on you to fix what God supposedly did wrong.  There will be people who hate the promises, but they can’t unmake them.  It isn’t yours to save your friends anymore than it is Paul’s.  But God wants them saved even more than you do.  Even if they hate the promises now, they can’t unmake them.  So God will still proclaim, and the Holy Spirit will still work to call, gather, enlighten, sanctify, and even keep. Rest here. If there are such things as missions, recognize it is God who is at work, and simply take joy in the reality He cares about the people in your life enough to make promises to them over and over, and that His Word does not return void. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Elect from ev’ry nation, Yet one o’er all the earth; Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses With ev’ry grace endued (The Church’s One Foundation LSB 644:2).-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/8/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Monday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 7, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:1-5Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 3:1-21, Acts 16:1-22Isaiah 55:2: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It doesn’t makes sense, but I still watch a basketball team I don’t think will win and eat food I know isn’t healthy.  I say money can’t buy happiness, but I also say practice makes perfect, so I guess I’ll try it one more time anyway.  Everyone nods sagely when we talk about the futility of these things.  Simplicity and productivity fill my feeds.  They get millions of views because all of us see through the foolishness and are convinced that if we just finally abandon the ridiculous things we cling to. our stress will go away along with it. We figure If we can't have all we covet, money must be bad, even though we thank God for the gifts it buys because we know who made it, gave it to us, and called it good in the first place.Money isn't bad, leisure isn't bad. Being more organized and less stressed isn't bad. But God won't limit Himself to where these things might theoretically exist.  If you want to measure God's presence or goodness or even just whether or not He exists based on how little stress and how much money you have, when you need God the most He'll be the farthest away. He doesn't need those things as much as you think He does. God puts Himself in poverty and chaos.  God invites in those who have no money, and all who thirst.  He makes a covenant with sinners, and promises to save, help, and redeem.  He doesn't need money or work/life balance to manage it.  He takes on human flesh and weakness, and even the human sin that looks for God where He has never promised to be found, in us getting better enough to not need Him anymore.  We find Him not living the best life, but dying the righteous death upon the cross.  It’s so that if you have plenty, you can thank God, and if you don't, I'm sorry, and you're allowed to lament it, but just don't think you somehow lost God in the midst of it, or that He won't continue to care in ways that all those things you think you need could never manage. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All depends on our possessing God’s abundant grace and blessing, Though all earthly wealth depart. They who trust with faith unshaken By their God are not forsaken And will keep a dauntless heart (All Depends on Our Possessing, LSB 732:1)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House
8/7/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Sunday the Tenth Week of Pentecost

August 6, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 14:13-21 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 2:18-36, Acts 15:22-41Matthew 14:14: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The feeding of the 5000 happens right after John the Baptist gets his head cut off for preaching the stuff God told him to preach.  It makes bread and fish seem like less, even if He healed a few sick people along the way.  Especially since Jesus left afterwards so He wouldn’t have to do it again.  Reading about miracles in the Bible only seems to highlight the places they aren’t today.  So instead of measuring God by every single problem, by everything you think you lack, look to who He is in the face of all of it.It was compassion that moved Jesus each time.  It was compassion for the loss of His friend that drove Him to the desolate places to mourn.  It was compassion for the people there that drove Him to feed the people that followed Him.  It was even compassion that drove Him away after.  When He went, it wasn’t to abandon them. He carried their pains and fears and most of all their sins with Him. He wanted to do more than answer one fear after another as they arose.  He wasn’t meant to be that kind of King.  He left to snuff them out completely.   His was to go into Jerusalem to wear a crown of thorns so that sinful desire and scared idolatry would not devour us, that enemies like death and the devil would be robbed of their sting. That the sinners would find mercy.  That the dead would live. That those who hunger and thirst for righteousness would be satisfied.  Even when everything looks like this.  Maybe you don’t see Him still working in the middle of all your problems, but neither did the disciples surrounded by hungry mouths to feed.   In the face of fear and sorrow and a complete lack of everything needed, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples. 5000 were fed.  The same love, the same mercy that drove Him to care for those saints drives Him to care for you, even if He does it differently.  Today I don’t see 5000 fed, but the body and blood of Jesus forgive my sins.  That does more than leave me fed once and looking for the next meal. You can have some too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits,and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. -Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/6/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Saturday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

August 5, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 10: Psalm 105:39-43; antiphon: Psalm 105:1Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:17, Galatians 6:1-18They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.  (From the Introit for Pentecost 10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is no surprise that this is tomorrow’s Introit when you know that the Gospel reading is the Feeding of the 5000. These words dovetail (or is it ‘quail tail’?) nicely with what Jesus does.This psalm is a quick overview of what God has done for his people from the call of Abraham up to the people coming into the Promised Land. It is a remembrance of all that God has done in love for His chosen ones.When you hear these words tomorrow, and your pastor proclaims the Gospel to you about how Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, think back to these words and rejoice that God our Father has been providing for His people in strange and mysterious ways century after century since He called Abraham to be the father of his people.Sure, the modern grocery store may not seem as miraculous as the loaves and fish, or manna on the ground each morning, or flocks of quail drifting through the camp at catchable speed, or water gushing from a rock in the wilderness, but it is indeed a miracle of modern engineering that fresh (and shelf-stable) foods are replenished as fast as you can load a grocery cart. Not to mention fast food outlets and their offerings.The giving of First Article Gifts, of our Daily Bread, is what God our Father does for a living. He allows the rain to fall on the just and unjust, He provides food and shelter for all of His creations, and He preserves us in safety with an eye to eternity.These gifts of food and drink, house and home, and all that the explanation to the First Article of the Creed in the Small Catechism spell out come to us because God remembers his holy promise.As marvelous and as amazing as these miracles are, and the reception of our Daily Bread, they all pale in comparison to Jesus giving his very self for us and our salvation. Even this is a gift of God because by it, He remembers His holy promise.So the next time you are wowed by a beautiful dinner or a surprising find at the grocery store, remember that God your Father remembers His holy promise to you and He sustains you because He loves you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining. Have you not seen All that is needful has been Sent by His gracious ordaining?  (LSB 790:2)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/5/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Friday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

August 4, 2023Today's Reading: Galatians 5:1-15Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:1-20, Galatians 5:1-26For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  (Galatians 5:1, 13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a lot going on in Galatians 5. St. Paul is angry to the point of throwing things, he’s so mad about how the Galatian Christians act in response to God’s Word and outside influences that he can’t even see straight. He can’t believe that people who have heard the sweet words of the Gospel can so quickly return to trying to earn salvation under the Law.Freedom in the Gospel is primary, here. Don’t think you need to live under the fear of the Law once you have been recreated in Christ through baptism. It is easy to think that if you just followed all the right rules in all the right ways, that life would be awesome and you’d have no problems because you were following the script handed down from above.The problem is, sinners get in the way of that perfect plan. Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh causes everything to flip upside down, and all of a sudden you are trying to please God by following a checklist instead of receiving His good and gracious gifts.And that’s why St. Paul urges you to stand firm in the freedom of the Gospel. But see that freedom as a way to love those around you, not to just go crazy and do whatever you want and say, “it’s fine, Jesus forgives me!”The Christian life is a life of loving God with every fiber of your being and your neighbor as yourself. That means living a life that honors your neighbors because they need to know the love of God as much as you do.Freedom in Christ isn’t living for yourself. It isn’t trying to get the most out of life at the expense of others. It is living the life God our Father has given you, a life lived in love for those around you, and in you receiving the love of others for you, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Called by worship to Your service, Forth in Your dear name we go, To the child, the youth, the aged, Love in living deeds to show; Hope and health, goodwill and comfort, Counsel, aid, and peace we give, That Your servants, Lord, in freedom May Your mercy know and live.  (LSB 848:4)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/4/20234 minutes, 38 seconds
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Thursday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

August 3, 2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 40:1-4, 48:35Daily Lectionary: Judges 16:4-30, Galatians 4:12-31“And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” (Ezekiel 48:35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words “hope” and “Old Testament prophet” don’t often go together in our minds. But the very reason the prophets are sent is because of hope. Because the Lord God wants to draw His people back to His side, into His hands, into a place set aside for them that is safe from all outside attacks.And so it is that the prophet Ezekiel, after calling out God’s people (and many foreign nations, too) for their faithlessness and wandering, ends his book with a word of profound hope and peace. It takes him nine chapters to outline just how magnificent and glorious the New Jerusalem God promises is. He’s mostly known for dry bones, weird visions, and baking bread over manure, but all of that pales in the light of what he lays out at the end of his book.God’s people know why they are in exile. They know why Jerusalem, their lifelong home, had been destroyed. And they wonder if God will ever return them home. They have just about given up, even though there have been many times Ezekiel has comforted them throughout his time as a prophet.And so it is with us, too. We’ve heard God’s Law against our failures. We’ve heard his Gospel promises and assurances of our forgiveness and salvation in Jesus, but we still wonder if it is all true. If God really means it. If he will return and take us to that New Heaven and New Earth he’s promised.And that’s the thing. He has promised it to us. Our not believing it doesn’t make it untrue, it just makes our lives more difficult. The Word of God stands whether we trust it or not, which is why Ezekiel goes to such pains to outline the gloriousness of the future.And he doesn’t stop there. He finishes his book with the line from our reading today. That the name of this place prepared for us, the New Heaven and Earth, the place where the uncountable multitudes shall gather for all eternity, is: “The Lord is There.”And that’s all we need to know. The Lord is there, so of course it will be magnificent beyond description. Beautiful beyond comprehension. Glorious beyond all understanding. The Lord is there, and so are we, his baptized, redeemed, and forgiven children. There forever, before his majestic glory. There is no other place to be for eternity, because He’s made it for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God Himself is present: Let us now adore Him And with awe appear before Him. God is in His temple; All within keep silence; Humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence. He alone On His throne Is our God and Savior; Praise His name forever!  (LSB 907:1)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/3/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wednesday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

August 2, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Third Article Part 2Daily Lectionary: Judges 15:1-16:3, Galatians 3:23-4:11What does this mean? In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. (Small Catechism, The Third Article, Part 2 of the Meaning)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week we talked about how the Holy Spirit is like a lifeguard saving a drowning person; He does all the work to save, the drowning one can only rest in His arms and be saved.This week, He does this for everyone other than you. Just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you, He does the same for every single Christian on earth. And then, once safe in the ark of the church, the Spirit keeps that church in the faith.The Holy Spirit works through your (and every) pastor to make sure that the saving Word of God is taught and proclaimed in its truth and purity, and that the Sacraments are administered as God intended, that they may work to keep, strengthen, and preserve you in the one true faith.The Holy Spirit is the ‘silent partner’ of the Trinity; He doesn’t call attention to himself. He points you to Jesus, always to Jesus. He works behind the scenes so you always see your Savior before you. He carries the Word to your ears, makes sure Christ’s Body and Blood paint your tongue, and sees to it that you are comforted in times of need.“Jesus died for you. Jesus is risen for you. Your sins were washed away by Jesus’s blood, and your Baptism is where that happened. Need to be reminded of what God has done for you? Listen to his Word. Feeling your sin? Come to the Supper—eat, drink, and live!” That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s what He is doing for you and for every believer in all of history.Calling you into the family of God by the Word, gathering you together with the saints before the throne of God, enlightening and making you holy with the Sacraments. All of this, for you. Jesus’s gifts, given for you, their delivery made certain by the Holy Spirit.. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  (Collect for Pentecost Tuesday) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/2/20234 minutes, 40 seconds
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Tuesday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

August 1, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 8:28-39Daily Lectionary: Judges 14:1-20, Galatians 3:1-22What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  (Romans 8:31-32)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Romans 8 is a favorite chapter of so many Christians. And why not? It says so clearly what we need to hear from our Lord about living safely in God’s hands.But what if it was the other way around? What if St. Paul had written: ‘If God is against us, who can be for us?’ What a despairing thought! How horrible! If God himself turned against us in wrath, who would be able to save us? Certainly none of the comic book heroes, not one created being would be able to stand before God in his full wrath.And that’s good, because He wouldn’t be God if one of His creatures could win against Him. Because there once was a time when God was against us, and that was when all of our sin was piled high upon Jesus.When St. Paul says “He who did not spare his own Son,” He gives it away. That was the moment when God stood against not only you, but against all of humanity. God did bring His full wrath and anger down, like a bolt of lightning, like a slamming hammer, but not upon us, but upon Jesus for us.The very Son of God was the only one who could withstand such an onslaught. The God-Man endured, even though He died, and brought salvation to you. The God-man passed from death to life to rescue you, having satisfied God’s anger and wrath.Yes, it is a frightful thing to consider Almighty God being against you. And maybe things have happened in your life to make you think He is against you, that He is angry with you. But that’s when you go back to this chapter of Romans and read it once again to see that no, God’s Word itself promises that He is not against you, He is not punishing you.He has done all of that in Jesus, who endured His cross knowing that by dying for you, you wouldn’t have to suffer eternally. Sure, this life will bring suffering. Any sinful world will. But even in all of that, nothing will separate you from the love of God, because He is on your side; He is for you. And all things are yours, all of eternity is yours, because of that love He has for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, when the tempest rages, I need not fear, For You, the Rock of Ages, Are always near. Close by Your side abiding, I fear no foe, For when Your hand is guiding, In peace I go.  (LSB 722:2)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/1/20235 minutes, 6 seconds
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Monday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

July 31, 2023Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-9Daily Lectionary: Judges 13:1-25, Galatians 2:1-21Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.  (Deuteronomy 7:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Deuteronomy. A Bible book titled “The Law Again,” essentially. These are Moses’s final words to God’s people before his death beyond the Jordan River.The Lord God knows what will happen once the Children of Israel enter the Promised Land, so much like parents reminding their children what they should and should not do before they leave them home alone for an evening out, He has Moses give them “the talk” one more time.Sure, there are reminders of punishments to come for misbehavior. Warnings of dire consequences to fall upon them for not doing what they’ve been asked to do. But it isn’t all doom and gloom. God doesn’t threaten to destroy them; He reminds them of His love for them.He reminds them that, even though He knows they will fail, even though they will misbehave, even though they will turn their backs on Him, He will still love them. He is their faithful God, Yahweh Elohim, the LORD God, and He is always faithful even when His people aren’t.How faithful? To this very day He has preserved His children, His church. Nations have come and gone, churches have been planted, grown, and died out, Entire populations have come under His protection and passed out from it again, and He has still kept His church, His faithful, in safety.There was a time when Elijah thought he was the only one left, but God reminded him that there were still 7000 faithful believers in Israel. Your church might also look tiny and weak these days. You might have seen a migration away from your area, or people not coming back after Covid. It might seem bleak.But the LORD your God is God. He is faithful to you, to your church, no matter how large or small it may be. No matter how many baptized Christians gather to hear the Word and receive the Sacraments.You may be preparing to take on a new challenge in life: high school, college, a new job, moving to a new home. Don’t worry, don’t be afraid. The LORD your God is faithful, and He will sustain you and be with you wherever you go. Hear His voice, receive His gifts, and be comforted in His presence. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We praise and laud and worship You; We give you thanks forever, O Father, for Your rule is true And just and changes never. With boundless pow’r, Your mighty reign Fulfills whatever You ordain. Lord, grant us ev’ry blessing!  (LSB 947:2)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/31/20235 minutes, 6 seconds
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Sunday the Ninth Week of Pentecost

July 30, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 13:44-52Daily Lectionary: Judges 7:1-23, Galatians 1:1-24“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  (St. Matthew 13:44)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. of Jesus. Amen. Fill in the blank: “I would give everything I have for _____!” For what would you give everything? Is it really worth it? Is it something that you would truly be satisfied with after giving up absolutely everything you have? And I mean everything.Most of the time, we’re a bit flippant about that question. Is it a car? A dream home or job? Or is it more time with a family member who has died? Is it Jesus? Often, this text is preached in a way that we are the ones who are to get rid of everything in order to “buy” Jesus.And that isn’t a bad reminder; we should be willing to (as our Confirmation vows say) “suffer all, even death, rather than fall away” from the faith. But that can only happen once we are called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We are already among the faithful at that point.What if the man who found the treasure is Jesus, though? He finds his creation buried in the dirt and filth of this sinful, broken world and sees the absolute treasure that you are. How utterly precious you are to him. So He gives up everything He has. He steps away from the right hand of the throne of God and becomes man. He leaves the indescribable light of the heavens to become an infant dependent on young Mary for food and shelter. He gives up His majestic glory, where He is served by angel hosts, to learn a trade from Joseph. He leaves His comfortable home to live where “the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” He humbles himself and “endures the cross, scorning its shame” because He found you completely lost and in need.That’s where the true comfort of these words is found. You are in the most horrible place possible—lost in sin, covered in death and despair, unsure about how you’ll find your way in this world—and Jesus comes and buys you back. He redeems you from sin, death, and the devil. He gives up absolutely everything He has, even His life, so that you would be brought into his New Creation for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and love, that, receiving what You have promised, we may love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Sunday of the Ninth Week of Pentecost)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/30/20235 minutes
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Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany

July 29, 2023Today's Reading: John 11:1-44Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:25-40, Acts 15:6-21Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (St. John 11:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are people important to Jesus. They had become very dear friends throughout the time of Jesus’s ministry, and you see that in the message the sisters send to him when Lazarus falls sick: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”It might be easy to categorize the siblings into caricatures: Mary is frivolous, Martha is the overachiever, and Lazarus…well, Lazarus doesn’t seem to do much of anything but die and be raised, and then eat a big dinner.But there is much more to them than these snapshots, as there is much more to you than what people think of when they hear your name (yes, people have an idea about you that you might not even consider as your identity!).The raising of Lazarus is a text that has been used at funerals for centuries. It’s where Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Arguably, this is the most important interaction Jesus has with the family, at least, the most eternally engaging.Martha is known for her industriousness and service, which is also a good thing. She’s remembered for her service in the Collect appointed for this day, being hospitable and providing a place for Jesus to rest and eat.Mary is most often remembered for being ‘lazy,’ for sitting around and listening to Jesus instead of helping Martha. But she is also known for something more important, I’d say. She is the Mary who anointed Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume right before Palm Sunday. Jesus said she did this to prepare him for his burial, already pointing ahead to what was to come.Three different saints, with different sets of abilities and gifts. What they have in common, though, is that Jesus loved them dearly. Just like He loves you and all your varied gifts and abilities.Regardless of your aptitude, Jesus sees your faith, your trust, your hope. And that’s what’s most important. Love and serve those around you, it’s what you’re given to do. But remember why you do that. You love those around you because Jesus first loved you. And He loves you so much that one day, like Lazarus, you’ll be called from your grave to life everlasting with him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, Your beloved Son befriended frail humans like us to make us Your own. Teach us to be like Jesus' dear friends from Bethany, that we might serve Him faithfully like Martha, learn from Him earnestly like Mary, and ultimately be raised by Him like Lazarus. Through their Lord and ours, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/29/20234 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday the Eighth Week of Pentecost

July 28, 2023Today's Reading: John 10:1-10Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24, Acts 14:19-15:5So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.  (St. John 10:7–9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is always a bit jarring to talk to our fellow Christians who don’t see the importance and depths of the Sacraments that we do. In large parts of Christianity, Baptism is simply a loyalty vow; Communion is just an act of remembrance because Jesus said to “do this.”If you insist that Jesus’s words actually mean what He says they mean (‘This IS My Body…’), you will often get a question about this part of St. John in response: ‘Well, does that mean Jesus is a literal DOOR?!?’Of course He is a literal door! But not in the way you think of your bedroom door, or the church door. Jesus says that whoever enters by him will be saved. Whoever passes through Jesus is in the kingdom.See it through the eyes of the shepherds of Jesus’s time and how they took care of their sheep. They would go out for the day, eating from the green pastures and drinking from the still waters. But then, when it gets close to dark, and the shadows lengthen, the sheep are led back to the pen, usually build out of stone, where the shepherd would lay down for the night in the opening of the pen, the doorway, to both keep the sheep safely in and the predators out. They were the doors to the pens.Not only is Jesus your Good Shepherd who leads you beside the water of Baptism and the grass of his Word, but he guards and keeps you from all that would attack you, holding you safe in his arms. He brings you through the narrow door of salvation—His life for yours—and keeps you safe within the kingdom that can only be entered through Him.Yes, He is the door. The strongest and most secure, and also most open door, in existence; the door that wants all people to enter into his safe pasture. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant to Your Church Your Holy Spirit and the wisdom that comes down from above, that Your Word may not be bound but have free course and be preached to the joy and edifying of Christ's holy people, that in steadfast faith we may serve You and, in the confession of Your name, abide unto the end; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Collect for the Word) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/28/20234 minutes, 51 seconds
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Thursday the Eighth Week of Pentecost

July 27, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 8:18-27Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24, Acts 14:1-18Likewise 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.  (Romans 8:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we considered how it is that the Holy Spirit brings us to faith. That it is all his doing. You play no part in ‘deciding for Jesus,’ because by the time you ‘decide’ that you have come to faith, the Holy Spirit has already created and planted and enlightened that faith within you by the power of the holy Gospel.But the Holy Spirit doesn’t stop there. As part of the enlightening and sanctifying work that the Spirit does for you, He also prays for you, interceding before God the Father on your behalf.Just like you can’t save yourself from drowning, praying properly is something you can’t do without help either. So, St. Paul says, the Spirit takes all those prayers you lob heavenward and gathers them, considers them, and then—with groaning and communication we can’t begin to comprehend—He presents those prayers to the Father in a clear way that He is sure to understand.That doesn’t mean that you give up on prayer because the Holy Spirit is doing it for you. No, you keep on praying like your life depends on it, because it does. Because your Father always wants to hear from you. He always delights in your prayers, even if they aren’t clear enough to be included in a prayer book.It just so happens that you’ve got an expert interpreter who knows what you truly need on a deeper level than you can ever imagine. And your needs are carried to the Father who loves you by the Holy Spirit who loves you so that the work of the Son who loves you can bless and keep you all your days.You are never alone in this world, no matter how dark some days may seem. For, even in those toughest of times, The Holy Spirit still prays for you so that the Father can answer those groanings to your benefit and for your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Holy Spirit enter in, And in our hearts Your work begin, Your dwelling place now make us. Sun of the soul, O Light divine, Around and in us brightly shine, To joy and gladness wake us That we may be Truly living, To you giving Prayer unceasing And in love be still increasing.  (LSB 913:1)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/27/20234 minutes, 44 seconds
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Wednesday the Eighth Week of Pentecost

July 26, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Third Article Part 1Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31, Acts 13:42-52What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.  (Small Catechism, The Third Article, Part 1 of the Meaning)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A drowning person can’t save himself. He is beyond reason and ability; panic takes over and even the lifeguard must be careful to not be dragged down in an attempt to save him.Thankfully, Jesus isn’t in danger of drowning when He saves us. He’s already been through death and come back to life, securing our eternal life and salvation. That’s a hard thing to believe, though. As is what we confess in this article of the Creed: ‘I believe that I cannot believe.’ We have to say that, though. We must be honest with ourselves that we cannot believe without being brought to that faith by the one who authors it. Like the drowning person who must finally give up and fall into the arms of the lifeguard who  pulls him from certain death, we can only fall into the arms of the One who has spoken salvation and faith into our ears and hearts, trusting that His work does what He says it does.Look who is running the verbs in that explanation above: the Holy Spirit is doing all the action. All we do is confess that we can’t. But look just how much the Holy Spirit is doing. He doesn’t just throw you a life ring and say “Hang on!” No, the Holy Spirit calls you to faith by the living Gospel of Jesus, enlightens you—fills you with saving knowledge through Word and Sacrament, and sustains you in that faith with those same gifts.Almighty God has reached into this tumultuous sea called life and grabbed you from the chaotic waves. He has pulled you to safety, set you on dry ground, and comforted and cared for you. Thanks be to God that none of this was up to you, because you could never do it alone!Instead, Father, Son, and Spirit all worked together to bring you to safety; eternal safety. A safety and peace that can only be assured by the all-powerful working of the One True God who, now that He has you in his hands, will never let go. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, who gave Your Holy Spirit to the apostles, grant us that same Spirit that we may live in faith and abide in peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Pentecost Monday)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/26/20235 minutes, 4 seconds
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St. James the Elder

July 25, 2023Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45Daily Lectionary: Judges 2:6-23, Acts 13:13-41And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”  Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (St. Mark 10:36-38)In the Name + of Jesus.of Jesus. Amen. It’s a pretty bold thing for James and John to ask, right? They think they know what they are asking for—Jesus is going to be made king of Israel, and they want to be at his side when He ascends his throne.This kind of ambition is good today; it shows that you are a go-getter and ready to take on more responsibility than people who don’t want to jump into the action. Except, they didn’t know what they were asking, did they?Which is why Jesus asks them flat out if they are able to “drink the cup” that He is soon to drink. To suffer as He is soon to suffer. To be baptized into death, not just for himself, but for all of humanity.Jesus says that they will indeed drink and be baptized as He is, which is a rather forbidding thing to say as it is, but then He goes farther and says that the places to his right and left have already been assigned.Even before Palm Sunday, Jesus knew who was to be crucified with him on Good Friday. Those places had been prepared from eternity, because even then, before the first “Let there be…” was spoken on the first day of creation, God knew that his Son would need to become man to save all people from their selfish ambition.Eventually, St. James does drink the same cup Jesus drinks, when Herod beheads him for proclaiming the gospel. But St. James goes to his earthly death in faith and trust, because he knows that when Jesus ascended his glorious throne of the cross, death, sin, and the devil were defeated, and he could rejoice that he would soon be at the Lord’s side in eternity.May we always have this same faith and trust; that even when we lose sight of the Lord’s work for us, we may always trust that he saves and keeps us, and he does it all without our help. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O gracious God, Your servant and apostle James was the first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ. Pour out upon the leaders of Your Church that spirit of self-denying service that they may forsake all false and passing allurements and follow Christ alone, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for St. James the Elder, Apostle)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/25/20235 minutes, 1 second
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Monday the Eighth Week of Pentecost

July 24, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 44:6-8Daily Lectionary:Joshua 24:1-31, Acts 13:1-12Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last;  besides me there is no god.”  (Isaiah 44:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, we tend to think that one of the worst jobs in the world was that of the Old Testament prophet. We see them standing on the street corner in shabby clothes, with wild hair and a long beard, just yelling at people that God’s punishment is right around the corner and YOU BETTER REPENT OR DIE!While there are plenty of examples of that in both the Old and New Testaments (thanks, John the Baptist!), these men of God were not one-trick-ponies. They spoke the fullness of God’s Word to his people. Sometimes, it was a word of condemnation, but just as often it was a word of consolation, peace, or love.While Isaiah has just given God’s people a tongue lashing for their faithlessness, he starts Chapter 44 with a “but…” He reminds them that they are still His chosen people, and that He will restore them. Then he reminds them who He is as their God with the words above, and a few verses later reaffirms his vow to save and preserve them through all trouble.Much like a loving parent who needs to discipline a child, so also is our God. The Lord God Almighty—he who spoke into existence the entirety of the universe, He who made you and all you see, He who became man for your salvation—is your champion and defender, even when you sin against him.Sure, you may have days when you feel like God has “gone all Old Testament” on you; that He’s allowed wrath to fall on you. Even then, your Lord God is with you. Even then He is acting in love for you.There are examples throughout Scripture where these words of comfort follow words of discipline. Your God never wants you to think that He has abandoned you, or that He is powerless in the face of this sinful and broken world. You are always safe in his hands, always preserved from evil when He is your defender and champion.St. John quotes Jesus in his Revelation, that He is “the Alpha and the Omega,” that He is “the first and the last,” and He will never leave you. So it has always been for God’s people, and so it will be for you. Your God is with you now and always, He is all-powerful for you, and—oh, yeah—He’s the only God there is. And He is your Savior. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Lord, my God, be praised, My God, the everliving, to whom the heav’nly host Their laud and praise are giving. The Lord, my God, be praised, In whose great name I boast, God Father, God the Son, And God the Holy Ghost.  (LSB 794:4)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/24/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Sunday the Eighth Week of Pentecost

July 23, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16, Acts 12:1-25But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’  (St. Matthew 13:29-30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Life is challenging for the faithful, confessing Christian. If only all the distractions and wicked people could be rooted up, life would be so much easier! If only Almighty God would allow his holy angels to rip the unbelievers and haters out of our lives, then we could live in peace and harmony!But would getting rid of all the ‘bad’ sinners make life for us easier? Of course not. We  forget that each and every one of us is a sinner, too. We don’t want to admit it, and we close our eyes to the truth of it, but getting rid of the ‘bad’ sinners would just lead to the ‘not-so-bad’ sinners making the list next. And then where are we? On a quest to purge everyone who isn’t holy enough from the world, just so we can be at peace; at least, what we think is peace.Our Lord and God is quite a bit smarter than us, thankfully. He sees the big picture, the telos, the end goal of all His work on earth given through His read and proclaimed Word, through His holy Sacraments, through the work of the Holy Spirit.Evil and sin has sown disastrous things among the people of this world, but it wouldn’t serve God’s purposes to prematurely purge it. In his overwhelming love, God allows things we don’t understand for the greater goal of his saving Gospel being proclaimed to more ears that will hear.He doesn’t want the faithful to be harmed in any way, so He allows the weeds among the wheat so that none of the wheat be harmed. Even though there are weeds all around, you still grow, safely and securely rooted in the Word and work of Christ for you.The living soil of God’s kingdom nourishes and sustains you until the day of harvest comes; then and only then, will you be gathered into the ‘barn’ He has prepared for you for all eternity. Sure, the weeds are all around, but you are planted solidly in God’s kingdom, safe there where his gifts come to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of Your final judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with You in perfect joy hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Sunday in the Eighth Week of Pentecost)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/23/20235 minutes, 4 seconds
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St. Mary Magdalene

July 22, 2023Today's Reading: John 20:1-2, 10-18Daily Lectionary: Joshua 10:1-25, Acts 11:19-30“Mary”  John 20:16In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the resurrection account there are a lot of people who are scared, perplexed, even doubting this all took place.  Their faithful disciples had a hard enough time believing the message they first heard, let alone from a woman for whom Jesus had removed demons. In the middle of all the confusion, Mary from Magdalene, stood outside the tomb and wept.  She looked inside and saw two angels.  She was wailing loudly, for she loved her Lord.  She saw His arrest, crucifixion, and death.  She learned much from Him, and He had cast seven unspecified demons from her. Not only was He dead, but His body was missing.  In her sadness and despair she failed to recognize her risen Lord standing in her presence…until He spoke a single word.  He who created the world by speaking a word, He who spoke a healing Word to many who were ill, demon-possessed and dead, speaks to Mary a very simple yet profound Word on that first Easter -  He simply says,"Mary!" In our sins, we can be so clouded by fear, despair and doubts that we cannot recognize our Lord on our own.  Yet in all of this the risen Lord Jesus has prepared the fruits of HIs cross and resurrection for you just as He did for Mary. In the Divine Service, Jesus calls us by name and bids us to follow Him through our Baptism into His death and resurrection.  Each Sunday Jesus gathers us around the cross and resurrection and speaks over and over as He proclaims His death and resurrection and attaches those promises to water, bread and wine.  Through these Means of Grace our Lord gives us the gifts He won on the cross for us; so we are not left in the sadness and despair of our sins. We are the blessed recipients of Mary's being the first eyewitness to the Lord's resurrection, for the Lord rose from the dead for her, and for you. The Eleven did not believe Mary, but the Holy Spirit inspired St. Matthew, St. Mark (an associate of St. Peter), St. Luke (associated with St. Paul), and St. John to record that which Mary saw and that to which she testified.  And it is this same Holy Spirit who takes us poor, miserable sinners and makes us faithful. Just like Mary and the followers of Jesus, He is bringing us out of the great tribulation by washing our robes in His blood. The resurrected voice of Jesus is still alive and active as He is calling each of us by name, and promising you His resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All praise for Mary Magdalene, Whose wholeness was restored By You, her faithful master, Her Savior and her Lord. On Easter morning early  A word from You sufficed; For she was first to see You, Her Lord, the risen Christ. (LSB 516:20)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/22/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Friday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 21, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 11:1-18Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28 “Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.  Acts 11:6-7In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Bible is full of people having all sorts of interesting visions. Today we hear of Peter having a bizarre idea! The Jews were allowed only to eat foods declared clean by God.  In Peter’s vision, a picnic blanket descended from heaven by the corners three times, covered with unclean food! This doesn’t exactly look like something Peter would want to eat; it would make him unclean.  And then God speaks: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” A new order came down from above, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” The vision ended, and Peter sat perplexed.The vision Peter was given was about much more than permitting him to discover that bacon makes everything taste better! The food laws no longer apply to Peter, but God’s command to “no longer consider unholy” goes far beyond pork chops and shrimp cocktails. God is showing Peter that Jesus, His church, His Word, and Sacraments are for all nations, even you!In the past, Jews and Gentiles never mixed, let alone would a Jew eat what the Gentiles considered clean.  After this vision, Peter is told to go and interact with Cornelius, a Gentile. The centurion Cornelius was what the early church would have called a “God-fearer,” a Gentile who believed in the one true God. He was given the vision to reach out to Simon Peter so that Peter would go and see Cornelius preach and teach all about Jesus Christ.When Peter was finished, he said: “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” No, they cannot withhold the water! Cornelius and his entire household were baptized that day and added to the kingdom of heaven.Peter was later put on trial for his baptizing of Cornelius. Peter’s actions scandalized the leaders of the early church. But in all this, we see that the Kingdom of Jesus is for “all nations.” Jesus was talking about that when He said: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” What this means is that the Gospel is for you as well!  You may not be of Jewish heritage or someone who could have encountered Jesus in the flesh, but Jesus has sent you His Word and Sacraments so that you might partake of His grace and forgiveness today.  You who were once unclean are now declared clean by your baptism into Christ.  No heavenly visions, no restrictions on food, just a place at Jesus’ table with all of the company of heaven, no matter their heritage, feasting on the marriage feast of the lamb in HIs kingdom, which has no end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/21/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Thursday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 20, 2023Today's Reading: Joshua 7:1-26Daily Lectionary: Joshua 7:1-26, Acts 10:34-48“I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him”  Joshua 7:19In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  You can’t escape your sins for the as the Psalmist says you were born in sin.  “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”  (Psalm 51.)  Through the Law of God you know your sins, but do you always know the ramifications of your sins?  How your sins might have affected others around you?  In today’s reading we hear of one man’s sin and how it affected the entire nation of Israel.  Jeremiah chapter 6 tells us of the remarkable victory at Jericho. In their victory at Jericho the nation of Israel was  not to take for themselves anything of the ‘accursed’ things—that is, all that was under the ban and destined for destruction. The very beginning of Chapter 7, however, tells us of a sad failure. “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things . . .” (v. 1a). The entire nation of Israel was declared guilty, but it was all at the hand of one man, Achan.  “for Achan…took off the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel” (v. 1b). One person’s sin brought God’s anger upon the whole nation. Jeremiah seeks Achan out and asks him to make confession of his sin. Achan responds “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done.”  However, Achan’s sin had deep consequences. 36 men died in the battle with Ai, and the people of Israel mourned their defeat.  Achan was not truly repentant, but rather sorry he was discovered.  The consequence was his own death at the hands of the nation of Israel.This should show us the magnitude of sin in God’s sight, but also the deep and expansive ramifications your sins have against everyone around you.  You may not know how far those ramifications are, but your sins have certainly caused harm to yourself and others.  This is why we speak of the importance of Confession and Absolution in the life of a Christian.  As Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” God’s attitude towards sin hasn’t changed (1 John 1:5-7). It’s as true today as it was in Joshua’s day—”If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). Confess your sins to God, go to your pastor and bring the darkness of your sins and its ramifications on you and others into the light of Christ.   As King David wrote in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We implore You to have compassion on the frailty of our mortal nature, for we acknowledge that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Mercifully pardon our sins that we may obtain the promises You have laid up for those who are repentant; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey..Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/20/20235 minutes, 57 seconds
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Wednesday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 19, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Apostle’s Creed: Second Article Part 3Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27, Acts 10:18-33-in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I hear the word “kingdom” I usually think of a king sitting on a throne with his knights, loyal subjects and people serving him.  Whatever the king wants, the king gets.  The king is in charge and if you don’t obey, you are an insurrectionist and deserve death.   This is not how the kingdom of God works for you. During holy week, when Jesus enters into Jerusalem we hear the shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The people of Jesus were longing for their king to come in and rid them of the Roman authorities. Later on King Jesus is betrayed, arrested and put on trial.  The  “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” submits to the authorities of both the Jews and Gentiles.  As Jesus is on trial with Pontius Pilate, Pilate asks the crowds who they want him to release, Jesus or Barabbas.  The crowds demand that Barrabas be released. Barrabas, who’s name means, “son of the Father” was not a robber, but an insurrectionist. He was known for rebelling against the Roman authorities. The crowds were disappointed in the Kingdom of God Jesus brings.  Jesus' Kingdom is a Kingdom where the King becomes the servant even to the point of dying for the entire sins of the whole world.  This kingdom which is at work for you today.  After King Jesus rises from the dead He tells His disciples that “All authority in heaven and earth are given to Me…” (Matthew 28).   No government, king, president or anyone else can take this authority from Him, as His kingdom grants you “righteousness, innocence, blessedness and resurrection.”  In the Divine Service Jesus’ Kingdom comes to you through His Word and Sacraments. In the Divine Service we pray the words of our King in the Lord’s Prayer.  We pray, “Thy kingdom come”, and we specifically pray those words during the liturgy of Holy Communion.  The prayer for the Kingdom of God to come is immediately answered as you hear the Words of Institution and receive the King’s flesh and blood in the Eucharist.  Yes, Jesus reigns from the right hand of God the Father, but He doesn’t rule as a terror or taskmaster.  He reigns and brings His kingdom to you so that maybe forgiven by His blood and constantly reminded that His kingdom is yours now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, You release us from out bondage to sin, death, and the devil as the healer of the nations. When it came time to release You, the crowd chose a murderer instead. Through our death and resurrection with You in the waters of our Baptism, may we continually be released from our sins as we confess You to be our everlasting King; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/19/20235 minutes, 9 seconds
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Tuesday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 18, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 8:12-17Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6, Acts 10:1-17For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Slavery isn’t something we really think of today in terms of ourselves.  If slavery is ever mentioned it's usually associated with our country’s past or even things like the slavery of people or the Israelites in the Bible. However, as our devotion in Roman’s 7 showed us, we  are addicted to our sins.  To be an addict is to be a slave to whatever controls us.  As Paul  points out we are never able to free ourselves from our sins and in those sins the Law of God brings terror and shame for what we have done.   Sin is the worst kind of slavery for us to endure, and unfortunately every human being finds themselves bound up in sin’s chains. This is why we need Jesus.  Jesus is the one who knew no sin, no slavery, no addiction to sin, and yet took on our sins in order that we might be set free.  When Jesus takes away sin is that He doesn’t simply take our sins away like we take the garbage to the garbage can.  Jesus immerses Himself into our sins, He takes on the shame, the guilt and weight of our sins and the Father’s wrath and anger over sin.  He is slave to us and our sins as Paul says in Philippians;  “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  In your Baptism you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.  In those Holy and blessed waters you are cleansed in the Blood of Jesus which forgives your debt to the Father. Because of that you no longer live in a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of freedom and life.  That word “sons” doesn’t mean that there are no “daughters”.  This term “sons'' is in reference to those who receive an inheritance.  In the ancient days the first born son was always the recipient of the inheritance from his father.  What Paul is saying is that all Christians, male and female, are the first to receive the inheritance your heavenly Father has promised for you.  Jesus becomes the last as He breaks loose your chains of sin and death and sets you free to live in His forgiveness and love.  Because of that adoption you are now part of the family of God, no longer a slave to sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your great love for this hath striven  That we may, from sin made free,  Live with You eternally. Your dear Son Himself has given  And extends His gracious call,  To His Supper leads us all. (LSB 559:2)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/18/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Monday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 17, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:10-13Daily Lectionary: Joshua 4:1-24, In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You’ve all seen rain and snow fall down from the sky.  You’ve also probably studied the natural water cycle in science class as well.  In our reading from Isaiah we can easily picture the Word of God like rain or snow, falling down to water things and produce good crops.  Isaiah is not just simply speaking about the Bible's falling from heaven like rain and watering the earth and returning to God.  Our passage today is not a simple object lesson for how we should view the Bible. John 1:14 speaks of the Word becoming fleshing and dwelling among us; “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  Hebrews says “ the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Jesus is the one who is living and active among us.  He is the one who “came down from heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary”.  This is more than rain or snow, this is Jesus coming to serve you with His precious body and blood given up for the life of the world.  But even then this Word must be preached, taught and heard.  As Romans says “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”(Romans 10)The Word is preached by your pastor who is the called and ordained servant of the Word, Jesus Christ.  The pastor’s proclamation is meant  to convict us of our sins and confirm in us His blessed absolution where you are forgiven and given the flourishing fruits of the cross in you.  Jesus is the rain of heaven who waters the earth with the life giving waters of Baptism. He is the snow whose blood covers the scarlet of our sins (Is. 1:18). He is the one who gives us the blessed bread of his flesh to eat in Eucharist, and he does not return to the Father fruitless.  Jesus returns to the Father with you, cleansed, spotless, fruitful and alive. The Bible is the voice of God, every single page speaks of Jesus, His promise, death and resurrection all showered upon you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word; Curb those who by deceit or sword Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son, And bring to naught all He has done. ( LSB 655:1)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/17/20234 minutes, 59 seconds
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Sunday the Seventh Week of Pentecost

July 16, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17, Acts 9:1-22“Behold, a sower went out to sow.”  Matthew 13:3bIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Let's start off right away by saying these parables are not about you.  They are not about you  and your role in them or anything else that is about you and what you can do for Jesus.  Don’t ever read the parables that way.  Don’t ask the age-old question churches for the last 100 years have asked with this parable; ”what kind of soil are you?”   As Christians one of the worst things we can do is somehow break these parables down into little object lessons that teach us how to be better little Christians.    “What kind of soil are you?” is the wrong question. This parable isn’t really about dirt – it’s not really about us – at all, but the Sower and the seed. This Sower  makes a pretty terrible farmer. He will probably lose his farm within a year. Why? Well, he’s pretty reckless with his seeding.  75% of His crops fail. He’s a very inefficient farmer.   But even then, no matter the condition of the soil, the seed is always powerful. Jesus says very clearly that the seed is the word of the kingdom. The seed is the Word of God. The seed is the Law and the Gospel. Nothing else will do. The parable is all about the Kingdom of God and how it works for you!  Left to ourselves we don’t even want to receive the seed, we don’t want to be near the farmer or His agriculture work. When we look at these parables, look at what Jesus is doing all for you. He is the one who makes you the “good soil” in order to live and flourish in His kingdom. If you know anything about good soil, it is usually tilled and broken up.  Sometimes we call that “plowing” which is a very violent action meant to make the soil good.  The Word of God must plow up our rocky, thorny and stubborn hearts as we hear “repent”.  Confess your sins, die in your Baptism daily, as Christ promises firmly to root and grow in you by His cross which has been planted in the earth for the world.  .   St. Peter sums this up well when he says; “22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,  1 Peter 1:22-24So stop asking, “What kind of soil am I?” Instead, ask,“Is the seed, the word of the kingdom, being sown around me? Am I hearing Law and Gospel being planted in my heart daily weekly? Is the forgiveness Jesus won on the cross and provides for me in Baptism and Absolution, regularly watering my soul? Is the fertilizer of his body and blood feeding the seed of faith he has planted?” If those things are true then I can assure these parables are not about you, but all for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/16/20235 minutes, 44 seconds
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Saturday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 15, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 7: Psalm 103:15-19; antiphon: Psalm 103:8Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24, Acts 8:26-40The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalm 103:8In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today’s text from Psalm 103 is what I typically call a “commercial passage” of Scripture. What I mean by this is that we typically see this kind of passage from Scripture  plastered on t-shirts, inspirational calendars, water bottles  and bumper stickers.  We love it, we love the sound of it. “The Lord is merciful and gracious” Whatever that means, it means nice.  But when you ponder this passage in light of yourself, you probably don’t find it so “inspirational”. . We don’t really use this word “mercy” or “gracious”  alot today, but we like that the Lord acts this way toward us. But what about you?  Have you shown mercy or compassion and understanding to those around you?  Have you been the first in line to help those in need, especially those who you don’t know or maybe aren’t comfortable with you?  Where is the mercy that God has first shown you?    What about graciousness?  Are you quick to be forgiving of each other?  Are you ready to put the best construction on everything and show grace to those who have offended you?  Where is the grace of God in you that He has first given to you?“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”  This is a passage we all read with a collective sigh of relief.  Thanks be to God He is not swift to punish me in anger for what I did in my sins.   Yet how many times have you been angry?  Heated anger pouring out of every vain against your parents, siblings, friends or others.  Anger that is directed right at them and quickly served up.  What about steadfast love?  That word “steadfast” means unwavering or always firm.  Scripture says “We love because He first loved us” (another commercial passage). Yet John later says “If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4). Suddenly you want to burn that t-shirt, throw the inspirational calendar away and recycle the water bottle.   There are always two sides of the coin with the Scriptures, we call them Law and Gospel.  This Psalm is comforting for sure, but it's not because you can somehow follow Jesus’ example. Only Jesus can be merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  When you hear Psalm 103 tomorrow at church look at the cross of Jesus.  On the cross of Jesus you will see HIs great mercy, grace and love.  The righteous anger was poured out on Jesus fully so you would not have to endure it eternally. Rather than a cute water bottle, t-shirt or bumper sticker, wear a crucifix, put one in your car or wherever it can be seen by you and others.  In Christ on the cross you see not a commercial Jesus, but a merciful, gracious, always loving Savior who pours Himself out freely so that you might be saved, but also to show mercy, grace and love to those around you, all by His blood shed for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy love and grace alone avail  To blot out my transgression; The best and holiest deeds must fail To break sin’s dread oppression. Before Thee none can boasting stand, But all must fear Thy strict demand  And live alone by mercy. (LSB 607:2)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/15/20235 minutes, 31 seconds
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Friday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 14, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18, Acts 8:1-25No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Joshua 1:5In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our English Bibles don't lead us down the path of understanding what's going on in the Old Testament and how it is connected to the New Testament.  However, in today’s reading we have a good glimpse of that connection between the old and new.  Today we hear about Joshua.  In the Greek language, the name Joshua is Jesus.  Joshua is what we theologians call a “type of Christ.  After Moses died, the Lord gave authority to Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land.  With the help of the Lord, Joshua conquered the land of promise for God’s people and boldly stood up to their enemies.  Likewise, Jesus conquered the forces of evil, both human and demonic, as well as the grave itself, so that His people would inherit an eternal land of promise, the new heaven and the new earth.The Law of Moses with its threats and promises could not bring God’s people forgiveness or eternal rest.  The blood of lambs and bulls was not enough, because they only pointed to a greater Lamb to come.  The plagues upon Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea, fantastic and powerful as they were, pointed to even greater realities to come: the plagues of God’s wrath against sin.  That wrath was placed onto the greater Joshua, Jesus Christ on the Cross.  In your Baptism you have passed through the sea of death and sin and hell and have been preserved safe.Jesus, the greater Joshua, grants you  eternal promise of life and salvation..  We cross the Jordan in Baptism, and will soon take possession of that promised land we have been given, when Jesus returns to resurrect all flesh.   So our enemies are conquered, even though it does not always seem that way.  The world is still full of evil that threatens us.  Death terrifies us sometimes.  The devil is as deadly as always, even though he is mortally wounded by our Jesus.In Jesus be strong and courageous as you go through this world.  Yes, you are vulnerable to the attacks of many enemies.  But with Christ our new Joshua, He will lead us in order that we can be strong and courageous.  Thanks be to God for Joshua’s courage by the mighty Hand of God.  Thanks be to God for our Joshua, Jesus,  Who has faced down our strong foes so that we share the victory He purchased with His suffering and death and resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Mighty Victim from the sky, Hell's fierce pow'rs beneath You lie; You have conquered in the fight, You have brought us life and light. Alleluia! (LSB 633:5)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/14/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Thursday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 13, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31, John 21:1-25Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Gospels speak about two charcoal fires that have some pretty significant meaning.  As Jesus is being put on trial Peter is warming himself by a charcoal fire in the courtyard.  It is there where he is questioned about following Jesus and he denies it three times.  The second charcoal fire is in today's reading.  It is after Jesus’ resurrection, shortly before His ascension. Jesus bids his disciples to come and eat with Him after their second great catch of fish.  Jesus would go on to ask Peter “Do you love me?” Three times.   At the first fire, there is darkness, it is cold, the Son of God was betrayed and abandoned by His disciples.  There is a feeling of emptiness, cold darkness, no unity around the fire, fear and lack of faith.  At the second fire there is light, warmth, a miraculous catch of fish, calming of fears, and the resurrected Jesus bringing the disciples unity and strength and even something to eat.  Jesus still stands by his charcoal fire, calling all of his denying, deserting, fallen disciples to come to him and be forgiven and fed.You have denied Jesus just like Peter did.  This isn't a case where you know better than Peter. Every day we deny Christ by words and actions, surrendering to the pressures of the world. Denying him also by failures to speak, and by inactions. Like Simon Peter, you and I have denied our Lord Jesus more times than we can count. Some, in particular, may stand out in our minds and memory, like those times in the courtyard did for Peter.But the good news today is this: Jesus is calling you over to himself, maybe not to a charcoal fire, but to the fire of His love. A fire that purifies, cleanses and does not burn.  This fire is the Light of the World that the darkness cannot overcome. Not only that but Jesus also feeds you.  Jesus has it already laid out for you. It is His holy Body and Blood, given for you to eat and to drink in his Blessed Sacrament. Come and eat. Come and be forgiven. Come and be restored. Jesus is with you in the Divine Service dear friends, and the holy fire of forgiveness is still burning all for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come Holy Fire, comfort true, Grant us the will Your work to do And in your service to abide; Let trials turn us not aside. Lord by Your pow’r prepare each heart, And to our weakness strength impart That bravely here we may contend,  Through life and death to You our Lord ascend. Alleluia. (LSB 497:3)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/13/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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Wednesday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 12, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Apostle’s Creed: Second Article Part 2Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33, John 20:19-31“purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and with His inno­cent suffering and death.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Christian God speaks of the creator becoming the created.  “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1)  No other world religion speaks of their god or gods this way.  Jesus is truly God, but He is truly human. Jesus ate, drank, slept, walked, talked, and wept, just like you and me.  Think of the great consolation that Jesus, true God, and true Man, experienced and knows everything you and I know. Jesus had real flesh on his skeleton of bones and real blood flowing through His veins.  The whole Old Testament teaches us what Hebrews 9 summarizes for us in the New Testament: Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. If a sinner is to be forgiven, then blood must first be shed. In other words, death must first occur as a substitute for the end of a sinner who deserves to die. In the Old Testament, it was animal blood, an animal’s death, that the Lord accepted, but only because He was teaching Israel that a much more precious death had to occur.  The blood of Christ, the end of Christ, true God and true Man, was the total atoning price for the sins of the world, the entire payment for all sins, so that God can and will forgive any sin to the one who claims the atonement made by Christ, to the one who believes in Him as the Redeemer.In Christ, we have full communion with God as we partake of Jesus’s real body and precious blood in the Holy Eucharist. In this meal, God does not make demands of you or simply gives you a memorial.  He comes to you and places into you His body and blood that were given into death, now become one with you in body and soul.  As St. Paul writes, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Take heart, you have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus, which redeems you, but that now also pulses in your veins as He currently lives in you and you in Hm. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, You have given Yourself to us in this holy Sacrament.  Keep us in our faith and favor that we may live in You even as You live in us.  May Your body and blood preserve us in the true faith to live everlasting.  Hear us for the sake of Your name.  Amen.  Prayer for thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament, (LSB page 308 (157))-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/12/20235 minutes, 13 seconds
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Tuesday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 11, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 7:14-25aDaily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24, John 20:1-18“For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”  Romans 7:15In the Name of Jesus, Amen. I’m sure you are like most people who hear the word “sin” you think of the things you have done. In our reading today, Paul does mention the sins he hates, but he also says the power of sin, which is, you guessed it, sin.  What does this mean?  We can’t stop sinning because sin is at work and lives within us. Does that mean we can blame sin for our sinning and somehow squirm our way out of blame?  Not at all; the Law of God still stands and reminds us of all that we have thought, said, and done in our sins under the power of sin. This is similar to addiction.  At the beginning of addiction, the person freely chooses to become interactive with that addictive substance. Drugs, alcohol, porn, food, you name your favorite addiction; it can wreak havoc on all of us.  However, within addiction, soon that substance controls the individual, whose life becomes dominated by seeking the next fix. When that happens, you’ve bought into the habit at one level while overwhelmed by it at another.  And so “it is a sin that dwells within me” that is both the power at work in you and the addiction you always return to.  What does this mean for you as a Christian?  Well, simply put, you are simultaneously a saint and a sinner.  In other words, you are at war, not only with sin but yourself and your addiction to sin.  In other words, as Paul says, we are very much with ourselves.  It's “the law of sin that dwells in my members” that takes us captive.  There is a war going on, and sin is taking its prisoners!  The result is hopelessness.  “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”  And the answer?  “God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Christ Jesus is your victor in the circular battle against sin, the devil, and your flesh.  Apart from Christ, the victor you are hopelessly lost and defeated.  “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5:21.  Your sins are great, but Jesus is greater.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of your sins, and plead the blood of Jesus to your heavenly Father, who hears you.  There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood.  Christ knows your addiction to evil and yourself, and He desires to kill you by the Law so that you may be made alive in Him, forgiven, restored, and clean. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone. (LSB 579:6)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House
7/11/20235 minutes, 18 seconds
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Monday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 10, 2023Today's Reading: Zechariah 9:9-12Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 25:1-22, John 19:23-42“Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What a weird statement from Zechariah today, “prisoners of hope”.  What does it mean to be a prisoner of hope? Remember that the people of Israel had been in the habit of groaning about their captivity. They were used to whining about the fact they had been exiled from Jerusalem, from everything they had held near and dear, particularly the temple.  They would groan and whine, the Lord would set them free and the cycle would repeat.  The same goes for us.  We are prisoners to our sin, but prisoners of hope.  Zechariah calls the people to face the fact their hopes had been dashed, because their hope had been misplaced. It was a false hope that, once the messiah showed up on his war horse, everything could go back to the way it was. But the way it was meant turning away from God, rejecting God’s promises. This is your daily battle with life as well. St. Paul reminds us:  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7). Like the Israelites in Babylon, we have to face the fact that we constantly sin but we are also called the saints of God. This is why the prophet Zechariah says “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!”  We may be prisoners in our sin but our hope is in the Lord your God. Repent of your sorrow and lament, and rejoice in the salvation accomplished for you in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. Bow your meek head to mortal pain, then take, O God, your pow'r and reign.  (LSB 441:5)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/10/20234 minutes, 38 seconds
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Sunday the Sixth Week of Pentecost

July 9, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 11:25-30  Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22, John 19:1-22“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by all that is thrown at you?  Family, school, friends, social media trends,  or other things.  What about being overwhelmed with how God might view you and what you have done in your sins against Him and others.  Jesus says today “Come to Me, all you who labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” What is it, then, to labor and be heavy laden, to be weary and burdened? What does Jesus mean by that? Jesus speaks to those who are weary of trying to please God by their own efforts. He gets to the heart of the matter if you are burdened with the weight of sin?  Is family, school, or friends etc, heavy and burdensome?  Sure!  But with most burdensome and heavy things we tend not put the best construction on what's going on.  We become weighed down with the weariness and burdens that life in this vale of tears lays upon us. Jesus speaks to those who are heavy-laden with loads they are unable to carry. To those who realize their weariness and burdened state, Jesus says today, “... I Will Give You Rest.”Jesus’ words were directly aimed at the people who were under the weight the Pharisees would load on people’s backs. They thought, and they taught, that the Law was something–if you worked hard enough–you could keep. That was how you could be accounted righteous before God–by your works. But when you add all that typical sinful human beings encounter each and every day we know we cannot please God or treat our neighbors with love.  This is why Jesus speaks of giving us rest.  That rest is found in Sunday’s in the Divine Service, in regular reading and participating in the Word of God and evening the life of prayer.  Jesus speaks of all that being rest for us because when we take that time it is Jesus who forgives us and renews us and feeds us His forgiveness and mercy with His real presence with us.  Not only does He forgive and feed us, He also takes on your weights, your burdens and places them onto himself as your Redeemer and Savior; all so that you may be set free, no matter what you face.  His rest is for you, His comfort is for you, He will carry your weights and burdens now and into eternity.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/9/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Saturday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 8, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 6: Psalm 91:2, 9-10; antiphon Psalm 91:1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-28:12, John 18:15-40He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. (Psalm 91:1–2 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You live in occupied territory. You live behind enemy lines. You are a citizen of a great kingdom, but you live in a place that does not recognize you or  your king. You live in a place that seems to be permanently at war with your king. Things are not as they appear. The great battle is over, the war is won, you king now rules over all but the victory parade has not yet reached you. This is the reality of being a Christian. You live in the now and the not yet. Jesus is king  now, eternal life is yours now but His reign and your place in it  has not yet fully manifested itself. The world you live in continues on a day to day basis as if Jesus does not reign, as if the battle was still going on. Even worse it is engaged in an active disinformation campaign telling all who would listen that there is no kingdom and no king.  In the face of the constant onslaught of the already defeated sin, death, and the devil you have a place to take refuge in. God himself is your fortress. Your local congregation gives you sanctuary from the forces arrayed against you and God himself is present there with His gifts that give a glimpse of what will be at the full coming of His kingdom. This is what the Word and Sacrament ministry of the church is. Every time the Gospel is proclaimed it is a declaration of God’s victory. Every Baptism is a little more new creation taking over the old. Every celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the feast to come. Every worship service is a manifestation of the kingdom that is coming, a kingdom that you already belong to, a kingdom that this world cannot and will not stop. The very king who is coming is the very king who is your fortress and your refuge. He is here now and He will guard you and keep you until the full coming of His kingdom.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.A mighty fortress is our God, A sword and shield victorious; He breaks the cruel oppressor's rod And wins salvation glorious. The old satanic foe Has sworn to work us woe. With craft and dreadful might He arms himself to fight. On earth he has no equal.( A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, LSB 657:1) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/8/20234 minutes, 58 seconds
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Friday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 7, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21, John 18:1-14“Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:4–6 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees who plotted the arrest of Jesus probably thought that all their back room machinations were finally bearing fruit. You can almost hear them say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” They had received inside information on where Jesus was going to be absent from the crowds that had been preventing them from acting.  One of Jesus’ own inner circle was willing to betray him. At last they would be rid of this interloper that was challenging the status quo. They were wrong on all accounts.What was going on in there in the Garden on the night in which Jesus was betrayed was not the coming together of the plans of those who plotted Jesus' arrest. Rather what was coming together was the plan that God had set in motion from the very creation of the world. The Sadducees and Pharisees thought that they were conspiring against a man. Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary. Jesus who until now had avoided all their other set ups and traps. Instead Jesus was in full control of everything that was happening because it was His plan all along that was coming together. Look at His answer to His question about who they were looking for. He does not say ‘that is me’ so much as He says ‘I AM’. He identifies Himself as the creator God. He was not the son of Joseph, He is the incarnate Son of God. Nothing happens to Him by surprise. His betrayal and arrest in the garden had to happen because it was part of the plan. Creation was broken and could not fix itself. The creator had to enter His creation to fix it and His plan was to become incarnate, to become man, to die on the cross and fix everything that had gone wrong. They fall to the ground because they understand who Jesus had said that He is. At this point in the passion narrative it looks like the Jewish authorities are the ones in control, but as the story unfolds it becomes more and more clear that Jesus is in control of all the events of his arrest and interrogation. The way of the cross was the plan from all along. Jesus is doing the very thing that He came to do and He is doing it for you.  The plan of God from all eternity to save His people was the plan of God to save you. What happened to Jesus was all part of the plan.  The great I AM came seeking you.  Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He sent no angel to our race, Of higher or of lower place, But wore the robe of human frame, And to this world Himself He came.  (O Love, How Deep, LSB 544:2) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/7/20235 minutes, 32 seconds
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Thursday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 6, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25, John 17:1-26“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20–21 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The words of Jesus in John 17 are known as the High Priestly Prayer. Here Jesus prays for His disciples, He prays for those who would come to faith through their preaching, and He prays for the unity of all Chrisitans everywhere. Jesus is often spoken of as being prophet, priest, and king. Here He is exercising His office as priest. Indeed the author of Hebrews will go on to call Jesus the great High Priest of our confession. In Jewish tradition, under the Mosaic covenant, the High Priest was the one who could go into the very presence of God on behalf of the people on the Day of Atonement. The people had no direct access to God. The priest had to go for them.All this changed because of Jesus. His death on the cross ended the Old Testament priesthood. People no longer needed a priest to go to God on their behalf. They themselves had access to God. There was no longer any need for a mediator. Luther would refer to this as the Priesthood of All Believers. What this means is that all God’s people have access to him in prayer. They can come into His presence without fear. Everytime you go to church, everytime you receive the Sacrament of the Altar, you are in the presence of God. You are a priest. You have direct access to God in prayer. You don’t have to go through any kind of mediary. That is your privilege as part of the priesthood of all believers. You can go straight to God in prayer on your own behalf as well as on behalf of others in your life. This means that you can pray for yourself but other Christians can pray for you just as you do for them because they too are part of the priesthood of all believers.  All the while the one who made all this possible continues His prayers for all His people including you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace, Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race: By your praying, by Your willing That Your people should be one, Grant, O grant hope’s fruition: Here on earth Your will be done. (Son of God Eternal Savior, LSB 842:4) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/6/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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Wednesday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 5, 2023Today's Reading: Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: Second Article Part 1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28, John 16:17-33And [I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christology (what we have to say about Jesus) can be one of the more complex areas of theology. But before you get lost in all of the minutiae of the communication of attributes, it is important to remember that as rigorous as the topic can be, discussion of who Jesus is need not be overly tedious. In fact, for Luther, the Second Article of the Creed is the centerpiece of his catechism. This is the most important part of the entire thing. Another way to put it would be to say that the entire Lutheran theological system centers in Jesus. What this means is that your salvation does not come from the Ten Commandments, nor does it come from any part of the Law. Your salvation does not come from your saying the Lord's Prayer a certain number of times or with the right emotional inflection. Nor does your salvation come from participating in the Sacraments as if they were simply ceremonies that must be performed. Without Jesus the whole thing falls apart and you are left holding a half cooked bratwurst at a potluck in a church basement for no particular reason. With Jesus, however, the whole thing comes together. With Jesus the Law loses its condemnations because He fulfilled it for you; with Jesus God becomes your dear Father who hears your prayers, with Jesus the Sacraments become means of grace where He is present for you. He may not make the half cooked bratwurst better, but you will know why you are there. Jesus is the place where time and eternity come together. He is at the same time both man and God. When you say that Jesus is your Lord you are saying that Jesus is the God who saved you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gentle Mary laid her child Lowly in a manger, He is still the Undefiled, But no more a stranger, Son of God of humble birth, Beautiful the story; Praise His name in all the earth; Hail the King of glory! (Gentle Mary Laid Her Child, LSB 374:3)-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/5/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Tuesday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 4, 2023Today's Reading: Jeremiah 28:5-9 Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 16:1-24, John 16:1-16As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet. (Jeremiah 28:9 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Context is one of the most important things to take into account when reading the Scriptures. Without understanding the context, Jeremiah can come across as the Debbie Downer of the prophets. You can almost hear the ‘wha wha’ sound when he stops speaking.  Without the proper context it also appears that a prophet’s job is to only announce the bad news of war, famine, and pestilence. What Jeremiah is reacting to in our reading is the specific false prophecy that the Babylonian captivity would be over soon; that it would be short and not require any repentance on the part of God’s people. Jerusalem would be restored and the king would return from exile. Jeremiah knew better and that is why he speaks differently than the false prophets. He had been prophesying to them with different words before our reading and continues to prophesy to them after our reading. The Babylonian captivity would someday end, but it would not be soon. Jerusalem was not going to be restored and the king was not going to be returned in the short term. Jeremiah was not all doom and gloom, however, and you can see this in his enigmatic statement about the prophet who prophesies peace and his word coming about.  Jeremiah knew that the Babylonian captivity was not God’s last word to His people. He knew that there was a way back, he knew that there would be a restoration, but he also knew that the context for that went beyond his immediate time. You live in a completely different context than Jeremiah and his words of warning spoken here are not spoken directly to you in the sense that all he has to say to you are words of war, famine, and pestilence. Instead you are part of what Jeremiah knew would come after his own time. You are part of the new covenant he prophesies in chapter 31. What Jeremiah could only look forward to, you can look back upon. What he could only hint at, you know. The true prophet of peace has come and He is Jesus who has restored the people of God and brought to an end the exile of His people. The muted ‘wha wha’ of the trumpets of doom have become the resounding peal of the trumpet of salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Herald, note the sound of gladness; Tell the news that Christ is here; Make a pathway through desert For the one who brings God near.  Sound the trumpet! Tell the message: Christ, the Savior king, is come! (Herald, Sound the Note of Judgment, LSB 511:2)-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/4/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Monday the Fifth Week of Pentecost

July 3, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 10:34-42 Daily Lectionary: Proverb 15:1-29, John 15:12-27“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our reading presents us with a Jesus who is not familiar to us. We tend to like our Jesus meek and mild with never a raised voice or a harsh word.  A Jesus who comes not to bring peace but a sword is something else entirely. The sad truth is that the gospel divides and that division sometimes splits families. Jesus even says that he has come to set son against father, daughter against mother, and daughter in law against mother in law. This would have been especially surprising in the ancient world where the family relationship took priority over almost everything else. Jesus’ words in our reading come from His instructions to His twelve disciples prior to their Galilean mission. He is letting them know that their proclamation of the kingdom would result in strife and division. This is still true in many parts of the world today where becoming a Christian comes at a great cost. This is, of course, not all that Jesus has to say to The Twelve. He also lets them know that rejection is not the only reaction that they would experience. There would also be those who would receive them and even treat them well. This is where the words about receiving a cup of water because of being a disciple come in. Paul will later use the vocabulary of family to describe the relationship between Christians. The very message that divides families also creates a new family known as the church. For early Christians who had lost their family because of their faith the church functioned as a substitute family. Christianity was never meant to be a solo venture or a religion of loneliness. God does not create individual believers as much as He creates a whole people. What this means for you is that even if your family is intact, because of your faith, you are a member of an extended family that is the people of God. You have an uncountable number of brothers and sisters that are part of the one holy Christian and apostolic church. While the Gospel may have divided you from some, it has united you to many, many others. No matter what your circumstances are, you are part of the family.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For strife He came to bring a sword, The truth to end all lies; To rule in us our patient Lord, Until all evil dies: For in His hands He holds the stars, His voice shall speak to end our wars, And those who love Him see His scars And look into His eyes. (In Silent Pain the Eternal Son, LSB 432:3) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/3/20235 minutes, 15 seconds
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Sunday the Visitation

July 2, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-56Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 14:1-27, John 15:1-11“He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:54–55 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. ‘A pregnant virgin goes to visit a pregnant old lady’ sounds like the opening line of a joke or the pitch for a really awful reality television series.  In the case of Mary and Elizabeth it is no joke but the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. Elizabeth is pregnant with the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets while her relative Mary is carrying the promised Messiah.  At Christmas time it may be popular to sing, Mary Did You Know? but it is clear from the words in our reading that both of these women were aware of what was going on. Elizabeth refers to Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ and even the baby in her womb leaps at the presence of the child Mary is carrying. Elizabeth also makes it clear that she knows the circumstances of Mary’s pregnancy.   Mary’s response to Elizabeth makes it even more clear that she did indeed know.  Her response to Elizabeth has been put to music and is known as the Magnificat. Her song has become the song of the church. Today’s reading is about far more than a joint baby shower, it is the meeting of the first Christians gathered around the presence of Jesus. What both of these women knew was that their children were part of the great story of salvation. Their children were part of how God was going to fulfill His promises to save his fallen creation. In other words, both these women knew that what was going on with them was ultimately about you. Mary’s words are about the God who has done great things for her and those great things are the same things that He has done for all people.  They are the same things that He has done for you. In Jesus the child of Mary was help for Israel and the mercy promised to Abraham. The promises of God have been fulfilled for you in Jesus. You are part of the promise to Abraham and you are part of His people Israel. Mary’s song is also your song. When you gather for worship it is in the same presence of Jesus.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/2/20235 minutes, 3 seconds
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Saturday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

July 1, 2023Today's Reading:  Introit for Pentecost 5: Psalm 89:15; antiphon Psalm 89:1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25, John 14:18-31Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. (Psalm 89:15–16 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How long has it been since you let loose with a good festal shout?  The benefits of the primal scream are fairly well established, a scream of anger and frustration is thought to be cathartic. In fact, we are all too quick to express our anger and frustration at things. What about the opposite? What about the shout, cry, or song of joy?  Lutherans in particular seem to be more restrained in their expressions of joy.  If you don’t believe me just look at some pictures of 19th century Lutheran pastors and you’ll see what I mean.All kidding aside, it is all too easy to give into the negative view of things. The keyboard warriors on social media and the talking heads on television seem united in the effort to give you new things to be outraged at every day. In addition, according to them, any joy that you may be feeling is most likely oppressing someone somewhere else. At times the world itself seems against you. In fact, that is just how Satan wants it. He wants the worries of this world to wash away your joy and wash away your faith. As a Christian, however, you have a lot to be joyful about and no need to feel ashamed for it. You have every reason to join in a festal shout. Think about your baptismal identity. You are a child of God. You are one who walks in the light of God’s face, you are exalted in His righteousness. This means that the source of your joy comes from God Himself. This is no fleeting feeling without a substantial base. Your joy is a gift from the creator of the universe. As frustrating as life in this world can be, you have already overcome the world. This is what it means to be a person of faith. Eternal life is already yours. The forgiveness of sins is already yours. What God has given you cannot be taken away.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I will sing my Maker’s praises And in Him most joyful be, For in all things I see traces Of His tender love for me. Nothing else than love could move Him  With such deep and tender care Evermore to raise and bear All who try to love and serve Him. All things else but have their day; God’s great love abides for aye. (I Will Sing My Maker’s Praises, LSB 977:1)-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
7/1/20235 minutes, 9 seconds
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Friday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

June 30, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23, John 14:1-17“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You would think that in a day and age where multiple navigation apps are available for your phone that it would be hard to get lost. You should always know where you are, and even better you should always know how to get where you are going. If you have ever used any of the navigation tools available, you know that they are sometimes better in theory than in practice. There have been multiple reports of people getting lost or led on routes that included roads that were undrivable because they followed their navigation app without questioning it. Even the show The Office has an episode where manager extraordinaire Michael Scott drives his car into a lake because his navigation unit told him to. He sees the water ahead of him and drives in anyway because, “the machine knows.” The irony here is that the Christian life oftentimes should be more like this episode of The Office. The way that Jesus is, is the way of the cross and it leads us to places that look impassable. When this happens we should be more like Micheal Scott and proceed forward in faith because the Savior knows. Instead we trust our senses instead of our Lord and look for another, easier way. What looks to us like an easier route takes us off the way of Jesus and leaves us stranded on the shores of unbelief. When it comes to the Christian life the way of Jesus is the only way.  When Luther wrote about these words of Jesus he used Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea as an example.  God led His people into the parted waters and from their viewpoint things might have looked perilous indeed. They were surrounded by walls of water on each side with Pharaoh's army behind them. There was no other way for them to go but forward to the other side. This is the way of Jesus. Sometimes you are being led through things where it appears that it would be easier to go around. In those times always remember that you are not alone. Jesus who is the way and life is with you and will lead you in the way you need to go. You can proceed into what looks impassable because Jesus knows.   In  the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ the unfading Light Of everlasting day, Our Morning Star in splendor bright, The Life, the Truth, the Way; That light of truth You give To servants as to friends, Your way to walk, Your life to live, Till earth’s brief journey ends. (Christ the Eternal Lord, LSB 829:4)-Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/30/20235 minutes, 4 seconds
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Saint Peter and Saint Paul

 June 29, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-20Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18, John 13:21-38“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our reading allows us to draw a straight line from Peter, to Luther, and then to Lutherans.  Peter confessed Christ, Luther confessed Christ, and Lutherans continue to confess Christ. This may be true, but Peter’s confession also draws a straight line into the past as well.  In other words, the confession of Peter plants the New Testament church firmly in the soil of the Old Testament.  The words of both Peter and Jesus here bring to mind the promises of God to David and Abraham. When Jesus gives Simon the name of Peter, He places him alongside others in Israel’s past who had been given new names.  People like Abram who became Abraham.  Abraham was given the promise that he would become the father of many nations, that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed.  This means that Peter and the church after him are linked to that promise.  Peter and the church are part of the great multitude of the children of Abraham that are the people of God. Even the word ‘rock’ here is important because of its ties to the promise to Abraham (Isaiah 51:1-2 )  This rock theme is also tied up with David and the building of a house for God.  The rock at the base of the temple on Mt. Zion was thought of as the center of the cosmos. It was the place upon which heaven, earth, and even the underworld came together.  Now Jesus is saying that upon this rock he will build his church.  The church is the place where heaven and earth meet.  It is the center of the cosmos and the very gates of hell will not prevail against it.  In other words, death itself has no power in the church of Christ.  Confessing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God makes you into His living people, people that death cannot touch. Here resides the true mystery of the cross. In the death and resurrection of Jesus is the death of death itself and the promise of resurrection for all God’s people.  The covenant God made with Abraham, the covenant God made with David, are all fulfilled in Jesus. You are part of those covenants.  You are all children of Abraham, and you are all subjects of the Davidic King. You were all given new names in Baptism and You are part of the great house of God that is the church and you have nothing to fear from the gates of hell. In other words, you rock!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful and eternal God, Your holy apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of your Son. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/29/20235 minutes, 28 seconds
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Wednesday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

June 28, 2023Today's Reading: Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: First Article Part 3Daily Lectionary: Proverb 8:22-36, John 13:1-20 All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  When it comes to the doctrine of creation we spend so much time talking about when it happened and how long it took that questions about what it means to be a creature don’t get the treatment they deserve. When we confess our belief in God the Father Almighty,  Maker of heaven and earth we are confessing far more than a belief in what took place during God’s six days of creative work. We are also confessing that God continued to be involved with His creation even after He rested on the seventh day. We are confessing that God continues to be involved with us. The Creator God who made all things is concerned with you. He did not make you and then take a step back to see what you could do on your own. He did not wind up creation like a clock and then step back to let it run on its own, He remains active in HIs creation and He remains active in you. He does all this, not because of who you are but because of who He is. God did not have to make the universe but He did. God did not have to make you, but He did. God did all these things because he chose to. He is a God of love and mercy and He creates and sustains us because that is who He is and that is what He does.  He sent His own Son into creation to save it. The creator entered into His creation to save you. This means that God follows you (not in a social media kind of way)  and is involved with your day to day existence. He provides all that you need both spiritually and physically. He doesn’t do this because you live a particularly Instagram worthy life or because you are an influencer. He does this because He is the Creator God and you are one of His beloved creations. Confessing the creator God is confessing the God who is for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all believe in one true God, Who created earth and heaven, The Father, who to us in love Has the right of children given. He in soul and body feeds us; All we need His hand provides us; Through all snares and perils leads us, Watching that no harm betide us. He cares for us by day and night; All things are governed by His might. (We All Believe in One True God, LSB 954:1) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/28/20235 minutes, 9 seconds
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Tuesday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

June 27, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 6:12-23Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21, John 12:36b-50“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17–18 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the common storytelling tropes is that of someone selling their soul to the devil. It has been used in all manner of books and movies over the years and is familiar to most people. The problem with it is that you are not free to sell your soul because it is not yours to sell. You don’t own it. This is the reality of the fall into sin. You are not born in a neutral state with a decision to make between good and evil. You are born enslaved to sin. God and Satan are not opposite ends of the spectrum of human choice because you are not free to choose. This is the human condition, born into slavery to sin without any natural ability to seek freedom. You can’t break the chains of sin. You can’t run away from sin, and you cannot choose to not sin. The amazing truth of the Gospel is that what you could not do, God did for you. He purchased you with the life of His Son Jesus. You were bought with a  price. Because of Jesus you have been brought from death to life. You have been set free from sin but you are also under new ownership. You were a slave of sin, now you are a slave of righteousness. The direction of your life has been changed because of Jesus. Before your slavery could only lead to lawlessness piled upon lawlessness. Now your slavery leads to righteousness piled upon righteousness. You were under the dominion of the law but now you are under the dominion of grace. Your sinful nature remains, but you are no longer a slave to it. The God who bought you does not leave alone free but helpless in a hostile world. He who bought you remains with you. Jesus who saved you is the same Jesus who washed you in the waters of Baptism, and feeds you with His very body and blood in Communion. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Before you could only earn death, but now you have been given the gift of eternal life. You were a slave of sin but now you are a slave of God. Slavery to sin can only lead to death, but slavery of God leads to eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be, Himself a servants form puts on To set His servants free. (The Advent of Our King, LSB 331:2) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/27/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Monday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

June 26, 2023Today's Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23, John 12:20-36a“Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.” (Jeremiah 20:13 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you ever feel like Lutheranism has given you a raw deal? Do you think that being part of the people of God is not all that it is cracked up to be?  Are you tired of being ridiculed by others simply for believing in God?  This is what Jeremiah appears to be thinking when he writes, “O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived..”  He has encountered one of the uncomfortable truths of the faith. Belief in God is not a guarantee of a trouble free life. In fact, being faithful to God can bring about trouble in the world. In Jeremiah’s case the very prophecies that God gave him to speak caused the people who heard them to ridicule and persecute him.  Jeremiah is simply doing what God has called him to do, and the entire Israelite cancel culture has risen up against him.   Jeremiah’s response to this comes in the form of a lament. He makes his complaint directly to God. What is important to realize here is that in all of this Jeremiah remains faithful. Complaining to God is an act of faith. Jeremiah complains because he believes that God can actually  do something about the situation.  His suffering is real, but so is his belief in God. Jeremiah never loses sight of the realities of his faith. God will be the ultimate victor. In the end His kingdom will come and His will will be done. This is why in the midst of his lament Jeremiah can still write, “Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.”  The same is true for you. Being faithful may cause you to suffer at the hands of the enemies of the faith. In the face of your suffering you can make a faithful lament to God. He did not abandon Jeremiah and He will not abandon you. You can bring your complaint right to Him. The God who called you in the waters of Baptism, the God who will bring you forth from the grave, the God whose victory is assured is the God who is with you even when you lament.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Yet even though I suffer The world’s unpleasantness, And though the days grow rougher And bring me great distress, That day of bliss divine, Which knows no end or measure, And Christ, who is my pleasure, Forever shall be mine. (From God Can Nothing Move Me, LSB 713:6) -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/26/20235 minutes, 1 second
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Sunday the Fourth Week of Pentecost

June 25, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 10:5a, 21-33Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 4:1-27, John 12:1-19“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” (Matthew 10:26 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christianity is not so much about what you know as it is about what you believe. This does not mean that you have to check your brain at the door when you become a Christian, but it does mean that you don’t have to have an exhaustive knowledge of theology to follow Jesus. You also don’t have to have an exhaustive knowledge of theology to tell other people about Jesus. There are plenty of things about God that we do not know. Sometimes these are the very things that those who are against the church choose to focus on as the basis for their unbelief. The words of Jesus in our reading come from a section in Matthew where He is sending out His disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. He tells them that their proclamation will be met with resistance and hostility. He tells them that their experience will mirror His own. For sure the disciples did not understand everything that Jesus was telling at this time in His public ministry. At this point they don’t even know the magnitude of what they don’t know. This  lack of full understanding is not a reason to keep silent. They are to proclaim openly what Jesus has told them. In time what is covered will be revealed and what is hidden will be made known. The use of the passive voice here indicates that it will be God Himself that does the revealing and making known. They are to focus on what they know, that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand in the person of Jesus. Nothing that anyone can do to them can change the truth of that.The Kingdom of Heaven has come to you as well. That same Jesus who sent His disciples has come to you in water, word, bread, and wine to make and keep you as His own. This is true whether you understand the deep mysteries of the faith or not. You need have no fear of anyone who questions what you believe or treats you badly because of what you believe. The same God who gave you that faith also keeps you in that faith. Until the time when all is revealed, you can be secure in what you do know and believe; that Jesus was, is, and will always be for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, because Your abiding presence always goes with us, keep us aware of Your daily mercies that we may live secure and content in Your eternal love; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Grant Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, California.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/25/20234 minutes, 56 seconds
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John The Baptist

June 24, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 3:5-24, John 11:38-57And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways. (Luke 1:76)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Usually, Luke 1 and 2 are reserved for Advent and Christmas. Many of you who read this can still remember being in Christmas programs at church when the story is repeated each and every year. But we don’t usually focus all that closely on the foretelling and subsequent conception and birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. But it makes sense that John, six months older than Jesus, would show up on the scene about 6 months before we celebrate Christmas, so today, we’ll celebrate the nativity of the Baptist. It had been a strange time in Zechariah’s home over these last 9 months. He returned from his priestly duties unable to speak. The angel Gabriel had met him as he offered incense at the Temple, telling him that his barren wife, Elizabeth, would conceive and bear a child in her old age. Zechariah hadn’t believed the angel’s unbelievable message, and had subsequently struck him mute. Sure enough, Elizabeth conceived. The last few months of her pregnancy, a relative had come to visit—Mary—who was visited by the very same angel, and who had conceived, by the Holy Spirit, another child. Mary’s greeting caused Zechariah’s child to leap for joy in the womb. When he was born, Zechariah insisted that he would be named John, as Gabriel had instructed him—and Zecharaiah’s tongue was loosed into words of praise directed to God…and a prophecy of his own, concerning this child. He had leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, and he would continue to precede Jesus; to herald our Lord’s entrance into the spotlight at His baptism in the Jordan River, and to lay down his life, not to atone for sins, but to show what the world intends to do to those whose trust is in Christ. The good news for you, dear Christian, is that God has gone above and beyond to point you to His beloved Son. Through the prophets, priests, and kings of old, we see a promise that God would certainly fulfill…and when John shows up, we know that Christ is coming soon. In short, I guess you could say that June 24th is a perfect day to remember that the beautiful promise of Immanuel (God with us) is coming soon. That God has sent a herald to announce the coming of the Kingdom—even the coming of the King Himself! So look for John! Where you hear his message of repentance and faith, you can rest assured that the Savior of the world is drawing near! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We praise You for the Baptist, forerunner of the Word, Our true Elijah, making a highway for the Lord. The last and greatest prophet, he saw the dawning ray of light that grows in splendor until the perfect day. Amen. (LSB 518:18)-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/24/20235 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 23, 2023Today's Reading: John 11:17-37Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 1:8-33, John 11:17-37Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”(John 11:25-26a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus is in the resurrection business. Let that sink in for a minute. Martha had stomped out to meet Jesus before He even made it to the house. “If you had been here,” she sobbed, “my brother wouldn’t have died!” You get the idea that she and her sister had rehearsed these words as Lazarus’ health had gone from bad to the very worst…Martha knew that her brother would rise again on the last day…but that didn’t speak to her grief right then and right there. But at that moment, when Martha correctly confesses the resurrection, Jesus has a “mic drop” moment that brings peace and comfort to her, to Mary, and to all of us as well. “I AM the Resurrection and the Life,” He said. To know Jesus is to know life and resurrection. As we heard yesterday, Jesus brings the light of life where there would otherwise simply be death and hopelessness. Mary was told that Jesus was headed to the tomb, and she tried to share the same, rehearsed line: “Jesus, if You had been here—” but Jesus continued His march to the tomb…The compassion that brought Jesus to tears and had opened the eyes of the blind carried Him to place where His friend had been laid. You see, He needed to have a word with the dead man. More specifically, He needed to have three words with him: Lazarus, come out. And the dead man rose. These words are comforting for you, dear Christian reader. These words were spoken to Lazarus (who surely tasted death again…) for YOUR good, so that you might believe that Jesus is YOUR resurrection…so that believing, you may have life and never fear the grave. Death is undone and Christ’s resurrection pledges a resurrection for YOU as well! In the Name + of  Jesus. Amen.O Christ, Who shared our mortal life and ended death’s long reign, Who healed the sick and raised the dead and bore our grief and pain: We know our years on earth are few, That death is always near, Come now to us, O Lord of Life; bring hope that conquers fear! “I am the Lord of life and death!” You answered Martha’s cry, “And all who hear and trust My Word shall live, although they die!” You walked the path to Laz’rus’ tomb, You called him forth by name, and living, loving once again, From death to life he came! Amen. (LSB 552:1,10)-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/23/20235 minutes, 30 seconds
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Thursday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 22, 2023Today's Reading: John 11:1-16Daily Lectionary:Ecclesiastes 12:1-14, John 11:1-16Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (John 11:9-10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do me a favor: re-read John 11:1-16–pay special attention to each of the extra details that St. John includes about the situation. Jesus’ friend Lazarus was sick. We learn a few extra details about Mary and Martha—and that Jesus loved their family.  He knew what was going on—He knew what He was going to do for Lazarus. They stayed a few extra days where they were—Jesus wasn’t in a rush. When Jesus told the disciples it was time to go to them, a few of them questioned the wisdom of a return back into the heart of Judaism where the leaders were seeking Jesus’ life. But then, the very same Jesus who called himself the “Light of the World” (John 1:4-5, 9, 8:12, 9:5), offered a comforting commentary on just what that light in the world means. Where Jesus is, there is light, and where there is the light of Christ, the fear of stumbling into death flees like darkness when the lights come on. Next, Jesus tells the disciples exactly what’s going to happen—that Lazarus had fallen asleep (the same term used by the early church to describe the death of a Christian), but that Jesus was going to wake him up again. Even though the disciples had witnessed other miracles of this nature, they didn’t get it. I’ve always scratched my head about Thomas’ response to this whole situation… “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” What did he mean by that? Is it out of concern based on the other disciples’ fears about returning to Judea? Is he feeling particularly brave and ready to charge into Judea, no matter what’s waiting? Maybe he still thinks Jesus is talking in a figure of speech? Maybe we can’t figure out what Thomas meant, what was in his head…But what’s important for us to see is the Light himself. We see His willingness to go to Mary, Martha, Lazarus—and ultimately to the cross and empty tomb. His light still shines today. You see it when you hear the sweet words of the Gospel, when your pastor pronounces God’s verdict concerning your sin: FORGIVEN! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O wondrous type! O vision fair of glory that the Church may share, Which Christ upon the mountain shows, where brighter than the sun He glows! And faithful hearts are raised on high by this great vision’s mystery, for which in joyful strains we raise the voice of prayer, the hymn of praise. (LSB 413:1,4)-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/22/20235 minutes, 34 seconds
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Wednesday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 21, 2023Today's Reading:Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: First Article Part 2Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 11:1-10, John 10:22-42Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (Matthew 6:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is that all? I know, I know…if you’ve read through Part 1 of Luther’s Small Catechism’s explanation for the First Article, the response I should expect is: Isn’t that enough?! “God has made me and all creatures!” He has given me my body and soul and still takes care of them. That’s no small feat! Something that only God could do. But Dr. Luther is intent on rescuing us from any delusion we may have cooked up that we’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, or that “our” stuff is really “ours” at all. “He also gives me—“ and I just love it when Luther starts listing things like this. He really gets on a roll here—from the clothes on my back and the shoes on my feet  to my home, family, and the (admittedly modest) little group of animals who provide us with things like eggs and occasionally even meat—all this is from God. And we can’t overemphasize this point. It’s not enough to simply believe that God created us. He is still, right this moment, actively holding all things in creation together. And working together the very same things for your good. I know that there are days when you just don’t see it. Maybe you don’t have one of the things on the list. I know that feeling, and it’s not easy. There’s nothing I can say that will soften that feeling of incompleteness, but there is something that Jesus has said on the subject. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that anxiety fixated on food, drink, and clothing is not how creation looks to its creator. The birds are well fed and nourished, the grass is clothed with beautiful flowers…and you? God has already taken care of these things. So seek first His Kingdom and the rest will be added to you. After addressing the body- and life-supporting stuff in creation, Luther reminds us of God’s protection. Danger and evil flee from our Father, and we do well to hide in the shelter of His wings—to call upon Him in our day of trouble—and in so doing, more often than not, our perspective on the temporal things He has given us strikes a more thankful tone. Thanks be to God for the stuff He gives us…but so much more for the love with which He gives it! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Consider how the birds above feed day by day with carefree ease—Does God not keep them in His love? Are we not worth much more than these? Be not afraid to suffer loss of all the things for which you pray, for He who faced for you the cross will give you strength to live each day. Amen. (LSB 736:1, 5)-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/21/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 20, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 5:6-15Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 10:1-20, John 10:1-21“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Timing is everything. I don’t know how those three words make you feel. But, in one way or another, they’re the absolute truth. Think of all of the things that have happened in your life that you look back on after and realize just how perfect the timing had to be. I wouldn’t have met my wife if she hadn’t stopped where she was standing to take a phone call and I happened to be walking in her general direction. I’ve driven past car accidents that, if I were just a few minutes earlier, I would’ve likely been a part of. Maybe you’ve played baseball or softball or a musical instrument…you know that being a split second early or late will result in a strike or an unintentional solo. Sometimes, we can plan the timing of things—but a lot of the time, we get it wrong. Think of Adam and Eve in the garden. The terrible timing when Eve’s curiosity and Adam’s reluctance to interfere led to the rebellion that brought sin and death to all people. Our timing is usually not the best. But God, the author of time, has things under control. That’s what our text from Romans 5 tells us. At just the right time, while we were stuck in sin and enemies of God—Christ died for us. I could try to explain why 2,000 years ago was just the right time for Jesus to be born, to die, and to rise, but it would just be my best guess. God alone knows. And as one for whom such a loving act has been carried out, who am I to question? It’s also no accident that the perfect timing of Jesus’ death was followed by a just-the-right-time Resurrection. Paul tells the Romans that we’ve been reconciled to God by Jesus’ death and saved by His life. We don’t always think about these two things (being reconciled and being saved) apart from each other, and I think that’s the point. Jesus’ death has paid the price for our sin, and made a way for peace between God and us—and His new life delivers it! Remember Jesus’ first words to the apostles on Easter evening in John 20? “Peace be with you!” That peace wouldn’t have been possible without the cross. It was proclaimed in the resurrection. And through the Word and Sacraments, it’s yours today, too! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I was in slavery, sin, death, and darkness; God’s love was working to make me free. Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, loves even me. He sent forth Jesus, My dear Redeemer, He sent forth Jesus and set me free. Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, loves even me! Amen. LSB 392:2-3-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/20/20235 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 19, 2023Today's Reading: Exodus 19:2-8Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 9:1-17, John 9:24-41“‘You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (Exodus 19:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our family loves camping. There’s something about the great outdoors, enjoying the beauty of creation, unplugging from responsibilities (and electronics) that always seems to give us a nice reset before we rush headlong back into the busyness of this life. If you look at the opening verses of our text this morning, you may have noticed that Israel, about 3 months after they were rescued from Egypt, came to the wilderness of Sinai, where they camped. But their camping was anything but a vacation! They weren’t there to relax and recharge. Instead, they were there because God directed them to that place in order that He might establish His covenant with them. The Lord instructed Moses to begin by reminding the people of His gracious act of redemption when He drowned Pharaoh and his army while Israel was carried out of slavery in safety. Next, comes the terms of the covenant. “Obey my voice…keep my covenant…” Essentially, it was a call to listen to God’s Word. Maybe someone has asked you before if you’re listening to them and you responded, “I heard you!” But there’s a difference between hearing something…and listening. God expected His people to listen. And the result of their listening? They would continue to be God’s treasured possession, His kingdom of priests, His holy nation. It doesn’t get much better than that! Moses reported the words to the people, and they replied, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” Part of me wishes that I could step back into that moment in time and (in Hebrew, so they could understand,) warn them of the foolish nature of their vow. But maybe that’s the point of the ongoing nature of Israel and God’s continued wrestling. God keeps choosing them according to His rich mercy; they prove faithless over and over again; and while there are certainly times when He allows them to fall into the pit they’ve dug themselves—more often than not, He forgives, rescues, and restores them to the favored status He originally bestowed upon Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. That said, we can learn a lot about what NOT to do when we see Israel making promises in vain. As we’ve seen in the last week, God is in the business of having mercy, but He won’t stand for fake righteousness. Repent and believe accordingly! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Law of God is good and wise and sets His will before our eyes, shows us the way of righteousness, and dooms to death when we transgress. To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, and humbly worship at His throne, saved by His grace through faith alone. Amen. LSB 579:1, 6-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/19/20235 minutes, 36 seconds
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Sunday the Third Week of Pentecost

June 18, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 9:35-10:20Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17, John 9:1-23Then Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Gospel lesson this week unfolds in the most beautiful fashion. Jesus had been teaching and healing, but then He saw just how bad things were–these crowds were like sheep without a shepherd. He immediately had compassion on them…He was moved to act on their behalf. But pay close attention to Jesus’ observation and instructions to His disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray…” He doesn’t say that “the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, so GO!” Prayer comes first. In prayer, we acknowledge that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. If there is a task ahead of us, we do well to start with prayer. And no sooner than Jesus instructed them to pray–He answered that very prayer by sending them out! This sending, sanctified by prayer, was given to the twelve…and it’s not the kind of sending most of us would’ve expected. Stay away from the Gentiles and Samaritans. Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and tell them that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. These were the ears and hearts who should’ve been eagerly expecting the Messiah to bring God’s Kingdom into their midst! Before the Gospel would be proclaimed to the ends of the earth, it would be preached in Jerusalem and Judea first. Jesus moves from the target audience to the task—you know, just the usual stuff—healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, casting out demons. Did He say raising the dead?! I’m not sure the disciples were ready for this kind of an assignment! And if all this weren’t enough, what happens next seems downright reckless! He instructs them to leave behind extra provisions for the trip. Don’t accept gifts along the way, don’t take a bag, don’t bring a change of clothes. Go and stay in the first house you enter. If no one will listen to you, shake the dust of that town off of your feet as a witness of judgment against them. But then, Jesus makes one final pronouncement to these disciples whom He is “apostling” (sending): “I’m sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…” Jesus is sending them AWAY from Him, the Good Shepherd, into wolf-infested territory! But the Holy Spirit speaks for them; He strengthens their faith. Your faith today is evidence that Jesus was faithful—and will be forever!. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty, eternal God, in the Word of Your apostles and prophets You have proclaimed to us Your saving will. Grant us faith to believe Your promises that we may receive eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/18/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Saturday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 17, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 3: Psalm 67:4-7, antiphon: 67:3Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 7:11-29, John 8:39-59; antiphon: Psalm 67:3Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (Psalm 67:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Judge not, lest you be judged.” I’ll never forget the first time these words were thrown at me. I was in high school, and I had questioned the behavior of a classmate. She knew I was a Christian, I knew she wasn’t. I wasn’t trying to hurt her or to put her down…but she had heard my words of correction as just that. In her mind, I thought I was perfect–holier than thou. I was on my perch, telling her how she needed to behave and acting as if I was the sole arbiter of right and wrong…so she quoted Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Now that I think of it, I think she even said “ye,” just to get the full force of the King James Version behind her argument. When I didn’t have a response, she told me I should go home and read my Bible more. I can’t tell you today that I went home and honed my argument from scripture and then went back the next day to win the debate…I was disheartened. I had been trying to help. Unfortunately, there are times when those outside of the Christian faith will close their ears and say anything they can think of to close our mouths. “Judge not” can be this kind of argument-ender. But Matthew 7:1 isn’t about not judging. It’s about judging yourself with the same metric first. It’s about judging from a place of humility, rather than a place of superiority. And this is crucially important for this reason: we’re under the very same judgment, or better said, under the same Judge. That’s why it may seem confusing that our reading today invites praise, gladness, and singing for joy–for the Lord judges the people with equity. Usually judgment is something that we fear! But here, we see that God uses the same standard for all peoples. He is equitable, not going easy on some and pouring out wrath on others. Paul shared this sentiment when he said that “God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:32) This means that, in light of Christ, salvation has been won for all people–because all people needed it. All were under the same crushing judgment of the Law–and the way of life has been opened equally to all! We can rejoice in God’s judgments, because Jesus has come to take them upon Himself and to give us forgiveness forever! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He comes to judge the nations, a terror to His foes, a light of consolations and blessed hope to those who love the Lord’s appearing. O glorious Sun, now come, send forth You beams so cheering, and guide us safely home. Amen LSB 334:7-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/17/20235 minutes, 31 seconds
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Friday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 16, 2023Today's Reading: Romans 4:13-25Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:10, John 8:21-38For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul’s life was forever changed when, on the road to Damascus, on his mission to imprison followers of Jesus, He met Jesus Himself. Paul was struck blind, but in a way, his eyes were finally opened to the One who is the way, the truth, the life. Paul wrote in Galatians about his self-imposed exile in Arabia and Damascus. During that time, he studied the Old Testament to better understand how these things could be true. Paul was a trained Pharisee under Gamaliel, a revered Jewish Rabbi. He knew the scriptures. But now, with Jesus at the center of them, everything became clear. All things pointed toward the fulfillment that took place in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus! Judaism was a religion of works, always emphasizing the obedience the people owed to God. And it’s certainly possible to read the Old Testament in that way. But not when you factor in the words and works of Jesus! Instead, it becomes plain that God showed His great love for us by sending His Son to live a perfect life in our place, to overcome sin and temptation on our behalf, and then, to suffer the punishment that we deserved. This Gospel-filled unpacking of the Old Testament taught Paul to see Abraham in a different light. No longer was Abraham the example of obedience, but of faith. “Abraham believed God,” (Genesis 15:6) became the defining characteristic of father Abraham. He didn’t merely provide a bloodline for the Messiah, or for the chosen people, Israel, but He believed. And God considered him righteous. It’s easy for us to think about the things that the Old Testament heroes of the faith DID. That’s what Sunday School stories teach us, right? David and Goliath…Noah building the ark…Moses raising his staff, parting the Red Sea…but we have to remember that the Old Testament, just like the New, is all. about. Jesus. So what we should actually see throughout the Old Testament is that faith in God is commended. Where there is faith, there are God’s righteous people. Abraham believed God and trusted when God told him that he would be father to many nations. God be praised that we can see these faithful men and women, carried along by God, trusting that we are called to walk, not by sight, but faith. And where there is faith…there is righteousness before God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, the Word of God incarnate, Lord and Son of Abraham; Christ, the radiance of the Father, Perfect God, the great I Am; Christ, the light, You shine unvanquished, Light and life You bring to all; Light our path with Your own presence, Grant us grace to heed Your call. Amen. LSB 540:1-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/16/20235 minutes, 52 seconds
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Thursday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 15, 2023Today's Reading: Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: First Article Part 1Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, John 9:1-23“Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.” (Psalm 102:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Father’s Day is right around the corner, and if your dad is anything like my kids’ dad, a good Father’s Day might consist of going to church, a nap, and a steak for dinner. But the important thing about fathers isn’t the stuff that they enjoy in life, it’s their function in the family. And a father’s function in the family isn’t something that society dreamed up or something that dads just started doing one day. We know what fathers are supposed to be like because God calls Himself our Father, and He has shown us what He is like. Now, it is true that our natural fathers pale in comparison to God (that should go without saying), and saying that fathers are in any way similar to God doesn’t mean that our father’s failures here are reflective of God. But God is truly our Father. He has truly made us–and not us only, but all things in heaven and on the earth.When Luther wrote his Small Catechism, the explanation he gave for the First Article is profoundly personal. It’s not enough for Luther to say that God has made all things. He didn’t talk in terms like “universe,” “cosmos,” or even “heaven and earth,” the words used in the Creed itself. Instead, Luther began with this simple confession: “I believe that God has made me…” This is Luther’s confession that God is his Father. God brought him forth. God has known him for every moment of his life. God knew him better than he knew himself. And the beautiful truth of this simple explanation is that it is true for you as well! There may be times in your adolescence when you don’t even feel like you know yourself…you’re trying on different “yous” and learning which “you” is going to be the “you” for the next chapter in your life. Trust me when I say that you’ve still got time to figure this part out. But trust this even more: God knows YOU–always has, always will. He made you. He’s your Almighty Father Who has loved you from before the foundations of the world. And not only has He created you, all creatures, and all things–He still takes care of them, still takes care of you. That’s a truth you can believe unto eternal life! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God the Father, be our stay; O let us perish never! Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, and grant us life forever. Keep us from the evil one; uphold our faith most holy, and let us trust Thee solely with humble hearts and lowly, let us put God’s armor on, with all true Christians running our heav’nly race and shunning the devil’s wiles and cunning. Amen, amen! This be done; So sing we, “Alleluia!” LSB 505:1-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/15/20235 minutes, 38 seconds
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Wednesday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 14, 2023Today's Reading: Psalm 50:1, 7-15Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16, John 7:32-53“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”  (Psalm 50:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever struggled to find a gift to give someone? Sometimes, picking just the right thing can be a challenge, it might even feel impossible. What do you buy for the person who has everything? Now, consider a gift you might give God!? Psalm 24:1 says “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” In other words, God owns everyTHING and everyONE in all of creation. In our text today, it says the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God. I feel like I should add that the cattle on the 1,001st hill belong to Him, too. All of the cattle on all of the hills—and everything else in creation that’s not cattle or hills—it’s His, too. I think I’ve made the point, God owns everything. But when God says that He won’t accept His people’s sacrifices, it’s not just that He doesn’t need what they’re offering. It’s that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) God isn’t looking for us to impress Him with our very best works, with our very best sacrifices, or our very best efforts. He’s looking for faith. He’s looking for us to die to our self-centered, idolatrous way of life. “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving…” Sacrifices are an interesting subject in the Old Testament. If you read through the Pentateuch, you’ll see sacrifices all over the place. If you read through Leviticus, you’ll see an entire sacrificial system that is set up in very specific detail. But the point of sacrifice was never the sacrifice itself. It was always a looking-forward-to event. Every sacrifice in the Old Testament was intended to point toward the one and only sacrifice that actually took away sins. The writer to the Hebrews wrote about this when he said that “Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins.” (Hebrews 10:12) So maybe  we’ve been asking the wrong question this whole time…maybe there are times when we feel like we should give God a gift…but our God is in the business of giving, not receiving. He rejoices to give You the gift of His Son, the perfect sacrifice for the removal of sin. And that is the perfect gift for each of us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain. Believing, we rejoice to see the curse remove; we bless the Lamb with cheerful voice and sing His bleeding love. LSB 431:1,5-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/14/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 13, 2023Today's Reading: Hosea 5:15-6:6Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22, John 7:14-31“Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.” (Hosea 6:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some lessons are harder to learn than others. I’m sure that comes as no surprise to you. In school, some subjects will be easier than others…but there are some things that we don’t learn in a classroom setting. Some things we have to learn by experience. One of the hardest things for most people to learn is when to admit that they’re in the wrong. Our reading today begins with God’s promise that He will return to his people when they confess their sins in earnest (truth). Hosea 6 starts with these words: “Come, let us return to the Lord…” The people even go so far as to acknowledge that God, by His Word, “tears” and “strikes down,” but that these harsh activities are ultimately for the purposes of healing and binding up. God tears down the idolatry in our hearts and builds up our faith through the promises that are in His Word. But had Israel learned the hard lesson of repentance? You guessed it. They don’t. God compares Israel’s repentance with a morning cloud or dew that dries up early. They’re insincere. They don’t mean what they say.  They say that they’ve learned repentance, but they’re still trying to placate God with their burnt offerings and  works. It won’t work. But the beautiful truth that resonates throughout Hosea’s prophecy is that God continues to return to His people over and over. There are certainly times when He comes with words that tear and strike down. When His Word tears YOU down and strikes YOUR conscience—it’s times like these that God is teaching us the hard lesson of repentance. God’s Word is true when it calls us out for our unfaithfulness toward Him. His Word is right to accuse us in times when we are insincere about our repentance. So don’t be like faithless Israel. Don’t play games with God. Don’t think that the things you do will please Him. He is pleased to show mercy upon sinners like you. He rejoices to save you from Your sin. He rejoices to deliver such salvation through Word and Sacrament, the means by which you are connected to Christ. Consider that a lesson learned.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O all-embracing Mercy, O ever-open Door, What should we do without You When heart and eye run o’er? When all things seem against us, To drive us to despair, We know one gate is open, One ear will hear our prayer. Amen. LSB 915:4-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/13/20235 minutes, 18 seconds
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Monday the Second Week of Pentecost

June 12, 2023Today's Reading: Matt. 9:9-13Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 2:1-26, John 7:1-13Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever  played the game, Follow the Leader? If you’re not familiar, you get in a single file line and the person in the front is the “leader.” The leader takes the line wherever (and however) he or she wants to go. If someone following the leader doesn’t execute a convincing enough T-Rex walk, or isn’t able to balance on the rail that the leader took them on, that player is out. In our reading today, Jesus tells Matthew to follow Him. Matthew was a tax collector. That meant he was Jewish, but was in the employ of the Roman government. If that weren’t bad enough, tax collectors’ wages came from the money they collected from their countrymen. Let’s just say that most of the tax collectors gave in to the temptation to extort a little extra money to line their own pockets…you could say that Matthew, like most tax collectors in those days, was following the idols of money, success, and status. But then Jesus said, “Follow me.” Matthew left his tax booth and his former way of life behind…and he followed Jesus. When Jesus was in the house, a few verses later, the Pharisees saw Jesus with tax collectors and public sinners. It’s at that point that Jesus draws the powerful distinction between those who are well and have no need of a physician—and the sick, who absolutely need health and healing. Jesus makes the very same distinction when He quotes Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus is not impressed with the righteous behavior of the Pharisees. Their “sacrifice” of living extra-holy lives resulted in them thinking that they didn’t even really need God all that much. They’re certainly the ones who thought they had no need of a Physician. But the tax collectors? Those labeled publicly as “sinners?” They’re the ones with whom Jesus dines. They know that their own righteousness will not cut it with God. They know that they have nothing to offer God, but they come to know that Jesus is not only a Physician for them, but a friend. He calls the sin-sick to find life in Him. In a word, He invites them to follow Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise, Lord, for him whose Gospel Your human life declared, who, worldly gain forsaking, Your path of suff’ring shared. From all unrighteous mammon, O raise our eyes anew that we in our vocation may rise and follow You. Amen. LSB 518:25-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/12/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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Barnabas, The Apostle

June 11, 2023Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13 Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18, John 6:60-71And [Jesus] called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.  (Mark 6:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everyone needs a Barnabas. No, I don’t mean to say that your life is somehow incomplete if you don’t have a friend who goes by “Barney.” Today, the Church remembers Barnabas, an Apostle and companion of St. Paul on his missionary journeys. His name appears throughout Acts–he’s with Paul through many of the hardships Paul endured and he’s there for a lot of the successes of Paul’s ministry, too. Barnabas first shows up in Acts 4 where he sells a field and lays the money at the feet of the disciples. This was common in the early church; the money was used to provide for the needs of the poor, widows, and orphans. It’s in this introduction to Barnabas that we learn that his name is actually Joseph, but the Apostles call him “Barnabas,” which means “Son of Encouragement.” Acts doesn’t tell us exactly why he’s given this nickname, but apparently it stuck.And I’ll stick with my original thought: everyone needs a Barnabas. We need encouragement. We need someone to walk alongside us in the places that Jesus has sent us, in the circumstances Jesus calls us into where we show loving service toward our neighbor. The terrifying and tremendous thing about a calling like this is that we don’t ever exactly know how these things are going to turn out. God will provide…but He’ll do so according to His timing and His will. Will my efforts to encourage others be met with mockery? Will I ever see the results of what I do?  What if they make fun of me or even hate me for telling them about Jesus?When Jesus sent out the Apostles, He sent them two by two. There’s a whole list of items they were not supposed to bring. Things like food, money, extra clothes—all of that is unnecessary. But a partner for ministry? That’s a must-have! Jesus sent them out, not just with a companion for their encouragement, but with His very own life-giving name! And encouragement given by the Son of God drives out discouragement like light drives out darkness. Rest assured, knowing that in Christ, you have the greatest “Son of Encouragement” there is! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the apostles and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/11/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Saturday after Trinity

June 10, 2023Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 2: Psalm 50:7-10; antiphon: Psalm 50:1Daily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 7:6-8:14, John 6:41-59 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. (Psalm 50:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I am at a stop light, I can yell all I want for the traffic signal to change from red to green, but my words don’t have that kind of power. When I watch hockey on TV the referees do not listen to my voice and change their call in my favor.God’s Word, however, is different. When God speaks, things happen. What God says is what occurs. God’s Word is more than sound and syllables and syntax. God’s Word is an event. God’s Word creates, gives life, and is active, doing what He says and giving what He promises. This is what the opening verse of the Psalm of the day for tomorrow is all about, the creative, powerful, life-giving Word of God. When God the Lord speaks, the Psalm says, he summons the earth. John and Paul and the author of Hebrews echo this verse when they say that all creation is made through Jesus, that in him all things are held together, and that He upholds the universe by His Word of power. The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. This is good news. God gives us His holy, saving gifts through His Word. When you go to Divine Service tomorrow, you will be in the place where God speaks. Luther even called the church a mouth-house of God’s forgiveness. You will hear the Lord speak in His Word of holy absolution, forgiving your sin through His called and ordained servant of the Word. You will hear the invocation that was spoken on the day of your Baptism when a pastor took water, spoke God’s Word, and washed away all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God’s Word is in and under the bread and wine as you receive Jesus’ body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins.As you get up and go to church tomorrow, rejoice that the same Lord who summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting also summons His Word to give you what he promises, His Word of life spoken, declared, and delivered to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to hear heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/10/20235 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Friday after Trinity

June 9, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 6:4-7:5, John 6:22-40I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. C.S. Lewis once observed that, “God likes matter; after all, He created it.” We see this truth throughout Scripture as well. Time and time again, God takes the stuff of His creation and uses it to bless and be with His people. God puts a rainbow in the sky to remind all creation of His promise to never again flood the earth. God takes water from the rock and quenches Israel’s  thirst. God sends oil and flour to the widow of Zarephath to give her and her son daily bread. God cares for creation, and we His creatures, so much in fact, that he took on human flesh for us. God the Creator of all became a creature to save us all. God the giver of life and daily bread became man who would eat and drink with sinners. God, who feeds and cares for all creation, comes in the flesh to be the very bread of life. As the crowds gathered around Jesus in John 6, He fed them with daily bread for their stomachs and the daily bread of His Word and promise for their body and soul. Once again God was taking the stuff of His creation and using it to bless and be with His people. Jesus does the same thing for us when he institutes the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday. Jesus takes the bread and gives us His body. Jesus takes the cup of wine and gives us His blood. Simple, ordinary, earthly gifts and yet heavenly, holy, sacred, and life-giving gifts full of forgiveness in Jesus’ body and blood.When our Lord gathers us in His house around His table and gives us His gifts, the words of Jesus in John 6 continue to ring in our ears. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” When we approach and kneel before our Lord’s table we hold, touch, taste, and see Jesus the bread of life. When we drink the cup of the new testament in His blood we are forgiven and given to drink from the true fountain of life. When we are gathered by our Lord around His table,,like the crowds in John 6, we receive Jesus who is the bread of life given for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Post-Communion Collect)-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/9/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Thursday after Trinity

June 8, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3, John 6:1-21 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”  (John 6:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are reminded that throughout the Scripture, God is the God who feeds His people and gives them what they need. God gave Adam and Eve the fruit of all the trees of creation save the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Joseph’s brothers food to eat in the midst of a famine in the land for seven years. God gave the people of Israel manna and quail in the wilderness. And the list could go on. In the New Testament we see the same story repeated over and over again. God in the flesh is the God who feeds His people and gives them what they need. Here in John 6, Jesus fulfills Psalm 23 and all the other Scriptures about God feeding His people. Jesus leads the people on the hillside, has them sit down, and feeds them. ​​Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”Like the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus fed the people with the daily bread of God’s Word, His very Word, and the daily bread for their physical hunger as well. Not only does Jesus speak God’s Word, He is God’s Word in the flesh. Jesus is the very bread of God come down from heaven. When Jesus feeds the thousands here in John 6 he is giving us a preview of the greater feast that is to come on the night when He is betrayed. When you come to the Lord’s table and receive the Lord’s body and blood, Jesus is doing the same thing for you that he has done throughout Scripture; Jesus gives you the daily bread of His body and blood. Jesus is the God who feeds you and gives you what you need, His very life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, You are the God who feeds us. Give us this day our daily bread with blessings for body and soul, at our table, and at the table of your holy altar, that we may have life in your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/8/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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The Wednesday after Trinity

June 7, 2023Today's Reading: Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: The Close of the CommandmentsDaily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 4:1-5:1, John 5:30-47 What does God say about all these commandments? He says, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,  but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep my commandments”.  (The Close of the Commandments)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Have you ever wondered why God gives us commandments? If so, you’re not alone. Many have wondered that same thing. Some have answered that question by saying that the commandments are given for us like a stairway to heaven so that we can climb our way into God’s grace and favor. Some have said the commandments are like the pirate code in Pirates of the Caribbean, they’re more like guidelines really. Some try to take God’s commandments and soften them like Mary Poppins and her spoonful of sugar. It doesn’t take too long to realize that these ways of thinking about God’s commandments fall short, just like we do in keeping them. God’s commandments aren’t given as a ladder, but as a mirror and a hammer to show us our sin and crush our sinful flesh. God’s commandments aren’t suggestions or guidelines we can do away with on a whim; this leads to thinking that God’s Law has nothing to say to us, when in fact it is given to show us our sin and our need for Jesus our Savior. God’s commandments aren’t meant to be sugar-coated either; they show us that we have failed to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Psalm 119:32 puts it this way, “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” When we come to the close of the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism, we quickly realize that we have not kept these commands, and that if we have done anything in accordance with them, it was all by God’s grace. And yet, God’s commands also help us to see our need for a savior. The commandments we have not kept, Jesus has kept for us perfectly. That is why in the close of the commandments, God’s punishment for our sin is outweighed by His love which lasts a thousand generations, the Scripture’s way of saying his love is everlasting. Where we have failed and falter at keeping God’s commands, Jesus has kept every one of them for you in His everlasting love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O holy and most merciful God, You have taught us the way of Your commandments. We implore You to pour out Your grace into our hearts. Cause it to bear fruit in us that, being ever mindful of Your mercies and Your laws, we may always be directed to Your will and daily increase in love toward You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/7/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Tuesday after Trinity

June 6, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 2:14a, 22-36Daily Lectionary: Song of Solomon 2:8-3:11, John 5:19-29 He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.  (Acts 2:31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Jesus met two of His disciples on the Emmaus road after His resurrection, He taught them how to read the Old Testament, to read it with eyes, hearts, and minds fixed on Christ’s death and resurrection. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”When Peter delivered his sermon in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, he was preaching what he had heard Jesus teaching, that all of God’s promises and prophets’ words of the Old Testament are found and fulfilled in Jesus.In today’s reading from Acts 2, Peter quotes two psalms of David. First, is Psalm 16. What’s Psalm 16 about? David and Peter tell us. It’s about the Messiah, the Holy One, Jesus. In Psalm 16, David foretells what Jesus, the Son of David will do; He will die and be buried but He will not see corruption. Jesus was not abandoned in the grave. Jesus rose again from the dead, and in doing so, Jesus, the Son of David, fulfills David’s words. Psalm 110 is the next psalm quoted by Peter. “The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Psalm 110 is another messianic psalm, pointing to the work of Jesus the Messiah. Peter moves us from Jesus’ death and resurrection to His glorious ascension and His reign on the throne of heaven. In Psalm 110 David proclaims the victory and triumph over the enemies of the Lord. Which enemies are those? Sin, death, and the devil. By His dying and rising, Jesus stomped and crushed the serpent’s head underfoot as Moses recorded in Genesis 3:15. And in His ascension, Jesus reigns as our victorious crucified and risen King forever.Peter’s sermon reminds us that when we go into the Old Testament, we see the work of Jesus already foretold, so that when we come to the New Testament, as in Peter’s own sermon here in Acts 2, we see the work of Jesus fulfilling the Scriptures for you. David points us to Jesus, the Son of David. Peter points us to Jesus, who is both Lord and Christ and who was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended where He rules and reigns for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and every hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/6/20235 minutes, 42 seconds
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The Monday after Trinity

June 5, 2023Today's Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4aDaily Lectionary:  Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7, John 5:1-18In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ever wondered where in the Old Testament you hear about the Holy Trinity? Just two verses into the book of Genesis and God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are already at work. God the Father is there creating, as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Moses also tells us that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, was there in the beginning as well. But what about the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity? Where’s Jesus? Don’t worry. He’s there too. Fast forward from Genesis 1:1 to John 1:1 and we hear these familiar words. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”John is telling us that all the way back in Genesis, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, was there too. In the New Testament this second person of the Trinity is Jesus. In the Old Testament He is named the Word, the one through whom all creation was made. This is a great and gracious mystery. Just as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were present in the beginning of creation and active in the work of creation, so too, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are active in the work of your salvation.In creation, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created out of nothing. God said, “Let there be light,” and it was so. God’s Word creates faith in your heart the same way, out of the nothingness of sin, God speaks, “Let there be faith and life” and it is so. When God speaks, whether it’s in creation or salvation, His Word does what He says and gives what He promises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Lord, You brought all creation into being out of nothing by Your grace, loving kindness, and Your creative, life-giving Word. By Your Son, Jesus the Word made flesh you redeemed and saved all creation by Your grace. Help us, as Your baptized children, to live by Your grace and mercy in our daily lives and vocations as we continue to live daily by Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/5/20235 minutes, 32 seconds
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Trinity Sunday

June 4, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 28:16-20Daily Lectionary: Numbers 35:9-30, Luke 24:28-53 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stay on the path. That’s one of the most basic rules of hiking. Those are also wise words for Trinity Sunday, a day when we celebrate one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday, the day we celebrate this great paradox and mystery of the Christian faith, namely, that God is both three and one at the same time. Three persons in One Divine Essence, One Divine Essence in three persons. Strange? You bet it is. Understandable? Of course not. So we confess it. As we will in the Athanasian Creed. A summary of about four hundred years of the church struggling to say it just the right way.  And even then, we can only come to an approximation, as though looking through a dirty window pane. We can describe God using words like “person” and “being” and “essence” and “substance” but we can’t really explain God. How can something be both three and one?  The trick to all paradoxes, is like the basic rule of hiking: stay on the path. Don’t subtract God’s Word. Don’t add to God’s Word. Confess what Scripture teaches. We worship three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one being or essence called “God.” It’s as simple as that. As we confess in the Athanasian Creed, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.  The triune life of God is also our life in Holy Baptism. We are baptized into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We live, move, and have our being within this Trinity, worshiping the Father in the Spirit and in the truth who is Jesus, having God as our Father, Jesus as our brother, and the Spirit as our Advocate and Guide. We are loved by the Father in the beloved Son who bears our humanity and are drawn by the Spirit. It is God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who leads, guides, saves you, and reveals himself in this great triune paradox that we might rejoice and confess, “Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him because He has shown His mercy to us.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the unity in the power of divine majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.  (Collect for Trinity Sunday) -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/4/20235 minutes, 43 seconds
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Saturday the First Week of Pentecost

June 3, 2023Today's Reading: Introit for Holy Trinity Psalm 16:8; antiphon: Liturgical TextDaily Lectionary: Numbers 32:1-6,16-27, Luke 24:1-27Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided unity; let us give glory to Him because He has shown us mercy.  (Liturgical Text)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a good mystery. Solving a riddle. Reading Sherlock Holmes. Watching Scooby Doo, Shaggy, and the gang unmask another dastardly villain.Tomorrow on Trinity Sunday we celebrate one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith, the Holy Trinity. Tomorrow we join the Scriptures in celebrating not so much an event, like Jesus’ birth at Christmas or His resurrection at Easter, but God’s revelation of himself. That God is Three in One and One in Three. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. A singular plurality and a plural singularity.Tomorrow we celebrate not a when, but a who. Today we rejoice in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. That…We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday, and there’s a mystery afoot. Ultimately, however, this mystery of the Holy Trinity isn’t a riddle to unpack, a puzzle to solve, or even a question we can fully answer, much less understand. Rather, the Holy Trinity is revealed in Scripture that we believe, teach, and confess. As we give thanks and praise the Holy Trinity, we also give thanks and praise that the God who is beyond our understanding reveals himself in words we can hear and understand. The uncreated God comes to us by means of his creation revealing his saving love in simple words, plain water, ordinary bread and wine. The incomprehensible God becomes comprehensible for us as he accomplishes the most incomprehensible, yet gracious act of all, as he goes to the cross to die for you. Yes, indeed, we confess a great mystery in the Holy Trinity. But it is a gracious mystery from our good and gracious Lord. Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided unity; let us give glory to Him because He has shown us mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday) -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/3/20235 minutes, 15 seconds
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Friday the First Week of Pentecost

June 2, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 27:12-23, Luke 23:26-56And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Exodus 20:24, when God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, He promised, “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and I will bless you.” With God’s name comes His peace, presence, and promise. It was true for Israel in the tabernacle. And it is still true for you in the true and greater tabernacle not made with human hands, Jesus, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, who literally tabernacled among us.Now wonder the Hosanna crowds rejoiced! Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Not only does Jesus bring the peace, presence, and promise of God, but as true God and true Man, Jesus is God’s peace, presence, and promise. This is what St. Peter preaches to the crowds gathered at that first Pentecost. The rushing wind. The tongues of fire. Speaking the good news of Jesus crucified and risen in the native languages of people gathered. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Church. It’s all part of God’s plan to give and reveal the saving Name of His Son Jesus once again, this time on and in the Church for the life of the world.In the Church, once again, God’s name is given. God causes his name to be remembered, to be present, and to bless His people once more. You are baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You live in this faith in the name of Jesus who promises to be with you always. You hear, read, mark, learn, and confess His name in the Scriptures. You are absolved of all your sin in the same holy name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Divine Service you are gathered by the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who prepares the table of the altar for you with Jesus’ body and blood. And there in His and by His word, Jesus peace, presence, and promise is with you as you gather in His name. Blessed are you who come in the name of the Lord and call upon His holy name! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Lord, we give thanks that in Holy Baptism we receive forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation. Grant that we who are baptized into Your holy name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, would continue to live in the faith into which we have been called, and boldly confess Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/2/20235 minutes, 25 seconds
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Justin, Martyr

June 1, 2023Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Numbers 24:1-25, Luke 23:1-25But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—  a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.  (Luke 23:18-19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we hear the word martyr, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is a Christian who dies for the sake of their faith in Christ, like Stephen in Acts 6 or Justin, Martyr, whose death at the hands of Roman persecution (A.D. 165) we remember today. This is one meaning of the word martyr, but there is also another meaning.The word martyr literally means witness. To be a martyr is to give witness to something or someone. So the women and the disciples at the foot of Jesus’ cross and around the empty tomb and in Jesus’ resurrection appearances were all martyrs. They were witnesses to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Later, all of the apostles, except for John, would also become martyrs in dying for the sake of their confession and faith in Christ. Martyrs in life and martyrs in death. This is also what our Lord Jesus did for us. His very life, death, and resurrection was a witness to God’s love, grace, and mercy towards us. Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate martyrdom, where he, the innocent one, was taken away into death for us who are guilty. Where Jesus the one who knew no sin became sin for us. Where Barabbas who deserved death walked away while Jesus who did not deserve death faced it on our behalf. This is the faith that Justin the apologist and martyr for the Christian faith bore witness to in his life, writings, and his death. Thanks to the work of Justin, Martyr, we know a great deal about the liturgy used in the second century Christian Church. Justin writes and gives witness to the early church pattern of gathering for teaching, preaching, and receiving the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day. His apologetic writings also give witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Today we join the Church in thanking God for martyrs like Justin who teach us how to be faithful witnesses in our day for the sake of Jesus crucified and risen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God and Father, You sent Your Son to take our nature upon Himself and to suffer death on the cross that all should follow the example of His great humility. Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in His patience and also have our portion in His resurrection; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
6/1/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Wednesday the First Week of Pentecost

May 31, 2023Today's Reading: Table of Duties Luther’s Small Catechism: Tenth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Numbers 23:4-28, Luke 22:47-71We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty. (Explanation to the Tenth Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is the God who calls. God first calls us to faith in His Son, Jesus. He calls you to life and salvation in the waters of Baptism. This is the vocation, or calling, of every Christian, to live daily in God’s gifts of repentance and forgiveness. God also calls us into various vocations, or callings, throughout our life where we are given many responsibilities and opportunities to love and serve our neighbor, and to love and serve God through our vocations. Martin Luther called these vocations in life the masks of God, where God would hide in us to serve others, and where we would serve God through the needs of others all at the same time. So God calls us into the vocation of the Christian life in His Church. God calls us into vocations within the home and family. God calls us into vocations in daily labors of life in a civil society. This little word, vocation, is one of the ideas that connects the Small Catechism’s teachings in the Table of Duties and in the Tenth Commandment. Both reveal our responsibilities in our various vocations, or callings, in life. The Table of Duties highlights three areas where we love and serve our neighbor, the home, the church, and in society. The Tenth Commandment, likewise, highlights our relationship with our neighbors and the various vocations which are a part of his household and life.Like all human relationships and vocations, we sin in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and left undone in the home, the church, and society. This is part of the reason God gave us the Scripture passages that are found in the Table of Duties and the tenth commandment, to serve a mirror that shows our sin in our many callings in life. Thankfully, for all the times we fail and sin in our vocations in life, we rest on and are forgiven in the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, whose calling it is to be your Savior. We live in service and love to our neighbor knowing that Jesus perfectly feared, loved, and trusted the Father in all things he said and did for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/31/20235 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tuesday the First Week of Pentecost

May 30, 2023Today's Reading: John 10:1-10Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:21-23, Luke 22:24-46The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  (John 10:3-4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where do you go to hear God’s voice? Some would direct you inward to your desires; “Search your feelings,” they say. Some would beckon you to the ways and whims of this fallen world like Ulysses and the siren’s call. Some would tempt you to find God’s voice in the things of this creation, like Satan tempting Adam and Eve. To find God’s voice you need not look inward to your sinful flesh, nor outward to the fallen world, nor to the devil’s lies.Where do you go to hear God’s voice? Go where He promises to speak to you in His Word through the voice of His Son Jesus. If you want to hear God’s voice look no further than the voice of Jesus who speaks, teaches, preaches, calls, leads, and delivers you in His holy Word. As sheep of the Good Shepherd we could start by listening to Jesus’ voice in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But don’t stop there. Read the book of Acts and hear the voice of the Good Shepherd leading, guiding, and saving His church. Go on further and read the epistles written by Paul, Peter, Jude, James, John just to name a few, and hear the voice of the Good Shepherd declaring His promises to you over and over again. The New Testament is full of the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd, but don’t stop there. Wherever you turn in the Old Testament, whether it’s the Psalms, prophets, or books of Moses, you will find and hear the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Wherever you read God’s word, from Genesis to Revelation, you are listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. In God’s word in your Baptism the Good Shepherd calls you by name. In God’s word of absolution the Good Shepherd calls you out of darkness and into His light and life. In God’s word joined to bread and wine, the Good Shepherd feeds you His body and blood. In God’s word  Jesus the Good Shepherd speaks, calls, saves, leads, and goes before you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 4th Sunday of Easter) -Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/30/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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Monday the First Week of Pentecost

May 29, 2023Today's Reading: John 3:16-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:1-20, Luke 22:1-23For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s a safe guess that most of us know John 3:16. It rolls off the tongue easily. It’s memorable for and memorized by many. It’s a great summary of the good news that in Christ God is reconciling the world to himself. But what if someone asked you to quote John 3:17. Could you do it without looking it up? John 3:17 is also a beautiful, comforting, memorable passage filled with good news for you in Jesus. Notice how John beautifully weaves these two memorable passages together.“For God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”These two verses contain more goodness than a mega-stuffed Oreo. Listen to all the things God is doing in these two verses. God the Father loves. God the Father gave His Son. Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh saves from death. God gives eternal life. God the Father sends His Son. God the Father saves you through His Son. But did you notice the one thing God does not do in these two passages? God does not condemn you. In Jesus, you are saved from condemnation.Old buildings are condemned. People guilty of crimes are condemned to their sentence. But not you. In Jesus you are not condemned. To be sure, because of our sin we deserved condemnation. But because the Father loves you, because the Father gave and sent Jesus, because the Father desired to save you and give you eternal life, Jesus was condemned on the cross in your place  and you were set free. Jesus died in our place to win eternal life for you. Jesus is sent into the world, not to condemn the world, or you, but to save you in His compassion, His crucifixion, and His glorious resurrection from the dead. So, the next time you feel weighed down by guilt, shame, sin, or death, remember this good news in John 3:17. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/29/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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Sunday the First Week of Pentecost

May 28, 2023Today's Reading: John 7:37-39Daily Lectionary: Numbers 21:10-35, Luke 22:1-23Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are certain things in life that are meant to go together, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or bacon and, well, just about anything. And if this is true with some of our favorite things in the kitchen, imagine how much greater it is in Holy Scripture. There are many things in God’s Word that are meant to go together. Law and Gospel. God’s gifts of Word and Sacraments. Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The cross and the Christian life. The list could go on. Here in John 7, Jesus reveals another one of Scripture’s  sacred combinations, the Holy Spirit and water. This connection between God the Holy Spirit and water goes back to creation. In the beginning, in Genesis 1, the Spirit hovered over the waters as God began his creating work. Fast forward to the beginning of the four gospels and once again, you water and the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus at His baptism in the Jordan River. In John 7, Jesus is at the Feast of Booths - the Old Testament feast remembering Israel’s wilderness wandering and living in tents -Jesus joins brings water and the Holy Spirit together again. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John tells us that  Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit who would be  poured out at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit who dwells with believers. The Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you in Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is the same Holy Spirit Jesus gives you, and who in turn, gives you Jesus. Jesus makes this connection personal. He takes water and His Holy Spirit and gives them both to you in your Baptism.Remember the words spoken at your Baptism,  as the living water of the Holy Spirit and water were poured over you. I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. There it is again. Water and the Holy Spirit. Jesus joins them together so that you would be joined together with Him forever. For you, our Lord brings together the greatest combination of all, water and the Holy Spirit to forgive, save, rescue, wash, and restore you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and to evermore rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Day of Pentecost) Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WAAudio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/28/20235 minutes, 42 seconds
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Saturday the Eve of Pentecost

May 27, 2023Today's Reading: John 14:15-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9, Luke 20:45-21:19John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my commandments”.  Faith, of course, is presupposed.  I guess that’s good…we assume Christians believe.  But also, when we take faith for granted, all that’s really left to talk about is what we want to come out of it.  We assume the most important part of what Jesus said, then leave all of the stress on something that wasn’t ever given to carry the weight.  We focus on the word keep.  We assume it’s ours to carry as obedience and call it proof we love God. The problem, of course, is that when this is our hope, our lack of obedience can really only be proof we hate Him.  Don’t presuppose faith.  See it for what it is.  The gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost celebrates that.  God wants to speak and give good gifts to sinners.  He sends the Spirit to bring faith, to bring to remembrance the teachings of Good. Not just to know them.  To remember them. To love them. To treasure them.  That’s what keep means.  Keep isn’t measured in obedience but in love.  Love what the world loves not.  Love the cross and all it brings.  Love the place God puts to death all evil and saves you from yourself.  Love the life He gives that only comes on the other side of the tomb, but already belongs to you in your Baptism. And so love the commandments too, as they paint a picture of the Lord who saved you by fulfilling them in your stead and then dying that you would live.  In the promise Jesus makes, you who love the Lord do treasure His words.  The word speaks and it shapes us. Each day it forgives, and each day it ties us to the great promise He makes us. The promise we cling to and keep because we love Him who has first loved us.  Rise. Let us go from here. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/27/20235 minutes
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Friday the Seventh Week of Easter

May 26, 2023Today's Reading:  Luke 20:19-44Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21, Luke 20:19-44Luke 20:25: He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you think stamping Caesar’s face on a coin makes it not God’s anymore? It isn’t just whether or not this is God’s coin. It’s whether or not this is God’s Caesar.  The Pharisees saw Caesar as something ungodly that came about by the will of men, not God.  They saw tribute to him as worship to an idol.  Maybe to those who saw him as a god, it was, but isn’t that the problem?  This isn’t about the coin. It’s about the face.  Is this God’s Caesar, or is this Caesar independent of God, and a god himself? It’s the same today. This guy who you don’t like and doesn’t agree with your beliefs is in charge.  He’s still not God. Even if some people worship him.  Do you think God doesn’t work there anyway?  Do you think that’s not God’s creation raised up to the office of president? If God puts someone in the office, He will work there. Even if it’s messy. Even if the person put there is sinful.  Even if the person put there is ungodly. The thing that is God’s is the authority to establish leaders, and the promise to work through them and their institutions.  The tax paid can be called theft. It might not be so far from it.  But render unto God the power and will to work good among thieves.  He saved you by dying in-between two of them.  Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.  He has authority given by God.  Render unto God what is God’s.  He has the will to work good through sinful men and the faithfulness to make His promises worth clinging to.  It makes the questions of church and state easier.  If it’s against God’s 10 commandments, call it sinful.  If God is risen from the dead, expect Him to work good through sinners.  That good won’t be measured in their sins becoming socially acceptable, but in God forgiving sinners by His death on the cross and His day by day working of blessings that should not be able to thrive in a field of so much sin.  Yet here we are.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Let us recall that in our midst Dwells Christ, His only Son; As members of His body joined We are in Him made one. (Where Charity and Love Prevail, LSB 845:5)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/26/20235 minutes, 9 seconds
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Thursday the Seventh Week of Easter

May 25, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 20:1-18Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13, Luke 20:1-18Luke 20:4: “was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who is running the verbs?  Who is doing the thing? It changes baptism. Not just because the Pharisees were afraid of upsetting the crowds, but because if all we have is a bath of good intentions, the waters never get less muddy. Pledge yourself to Jesus all you want.  But take an honest look at yourself and what you’re pledging each time you have to redo it because you screwed the last one up.  Do you think God really wants you to pledge Him that? Do you think God really wants your best intentions and the excuses for all the sins that lead you to having to do it in the first place? But if John’s Baptism comes from heaven, maybe it means something that Jesus climbed down in those muddy waters too.  God works something in your Baptism. Forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.  He climbs down from heaven to collect not your good intentions but your sins.  He gathers up not your promises to do better, but your past and all your excuses, carries it with your future ones too each step to a cross to bleed and die for you to save you.  Baptism is what God would do for you.  It now saves you. The Pharisees didn’t understand this.  So Jesus won’t tell them why He preaches either.  It isn’t just whether or not Jesus should be allowed to speak in the house built upon His name and promises.  It’s what He would say there.  Does the Gospel Jesus preached actually forgive sins, or is it just a call to try harder and come up with a new life plan?  Who is running the verbs? Who is doing the thing?  If all you want from Jesus is a chance to prove you can do better, you’ll miss out because the answer isn’t so tricky.  God has authority in His creation.  And God wishes to save sinners.  So when God works in His church, it isn’t actually about you. It’s for you. It isn’t about your works or your gifts or your intentions or your life changes.  It’s about salvation given freely to sinners. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.This miracle of life reborn Comes from the Lord of breath; The perfect Man from life was torn; Our life comes through Christ’s death. (This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now, LSB 591:2)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/25/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday the Seventh Week of Easter

May 24, 2023Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism Ten Commandments: The Ninth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40, Luke 19:29-48You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  In mercy, God will even guard your heart.  There’s already a commandment about not taking what’s yours.  You shall not steal.  You shall help your neighbor improve and protect his possessions and income.  We covered this.  But your heart can trespass too.  It can go where it ought not go.  Even the pagans recognize the shortsightedness of materialism.  Spending all day on Amazon and ignoring what you’ve been given is foolishness.  That doesn’t make the things we would covet sinful. It means that our hearts will do sinful things with them.  We usually call it greed.  Greed seeks more than God already graciously gives at the expense of others.  And greed creates problems with the extra it acquires.  To quote the hymnist, “More money, more problems.”So God gives us a commandment to guard our hearts.  Because greed is an ugly beast to slay.  It looks at the world and the possessions within it as a zero-sum game instead of a heap of gifts given by a merciful Father.  And God would rather your heart be fixed on Him who gives what we don’t deserve, then keeps on giving it even though everything in the world is falling apart, all just to make you a little more comfortable than you deserve on the beach with one set of footprints because He had to drag you kicking and screaming the whole way into the resurrection because you think your sandcastle is what really matters even though the tide is going to take it by tomorrow anyway.  Thou shall not covet.  Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Set not your heart on greed, which would take from others, but on God who would only give in mercy.  It isn’t just instructions to follow for a happier life.  It’s a joy that the Jesus who died to forgive you all your sins, even forgives your heart.  Your heart is forgiven too.  The greed that you hide and the greed that you don’t is forgiven by Jesus.  He numbers it among the 10 commandments He fulfills and the 10 He daily and richly forgives. So count it as a joy that God cares about your heart so much that He’d guard it, redeem it, and seal it for salvation.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“You shall not crave your neighbor’s house Nor covet money, goods, or spouse. Pray God He would your neighbor bless As you yourself wish success.” Have mercy, Lord! (These are the Holy Ten Commands, LSB 581:10)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/24/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Tuesday the Seventh Week of Easter

May 23, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22, Luke 19:11-281 Peter 4:13: “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter calls suffering a blessing.  I wish he wouldn’t.  It isn’t just how much it hurts.  It’s the question of why.  Because a loving God sends some suffering for good.  And also, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking to devour Christians.  Working havoc.  And suffering. It makes the suffering God sends hard to pick out from the suffering the devil brings.  And highlights the question.  Why?  We try to parse the source of the suffering. We try to parse the reason.  When all along, this is simply a call about where to take it.  We take suffering to Jesus, who joins us in it.  It’s going to hurt down here.  Be ready.  Some of it will come from the devil.  Some of it will come from God.  Some of it will come as the consequences of your own sins and sins others commit. And in the middle of it all, you won’t understand where it comes from. You’ll just pray it will go away.  You won’t understand why it’s happening, be it divine plan, satanic attack, or simply human stupidity.  But even if you do, it usually won’t be worth the trade to you. We have a bigger problem with suffering than God does.  That’s evident.  Not just because it’s too common or because it  hurts, but chiefly in the fact that suffering is how God saves you.  He suffers for you.  God dwells in suffering first.  He died on the cross to save you, not just from the attacks of the devil, but from the consequences of your own sins.  So that you could do more than hope that this world too full of suffering might get a little better.  He places Himself into suffering so that you can be placed into the resurrection and a world without it.  God dwells in suffering first.  His glory is revealed there.  Glory is a presence word.  It means that God is actually there.  God suffers for you on the cross and works good there.  When we are close to suffering, we are close to where God works salvation. That’s a blessing.  When we suffer, we join ours to Him who has already conquered it and we look past the cross to the empty tomb, that we would know suffering isn’t all there is, it’s just the rocky path already paved smooth by Jesus for your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O LORD, let us who suffer according to Your will entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Amen. -Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/23/20235 minutes, 22 seconds
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Monday the Seventh Week of Easter

May 22, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 1:12-26Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:26-45, Luke 18:35-19:10Acts 1:16: ““Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do you say at the funeral of a friend? Judas was numbered with them. Spent 3 years with them. Ate, laughed, and cried with them.  Then he killed himself.  This isn’t just a turning point towards the calling of Matthias, the 12th 2.0.  It’s a loss over what to say in the face of something so awful.  Sometimes there just aren't’ words. The heavy-handed law to anyone considering Judas’ end might look at how they don’t know what to say.  Look at how much work is still left to be done, but now by another.  Look at how little is fixed by this.  There is a field devoted to the tragedy that will never be the same to everyone left. It’s so easy to put a better construction on things than they rightly deserve.  Find a reason.  Peter doesn’t do that.  He points to the fulfillment of the scriptures, which don’t deny Judas his sin, but also provide the answer.  The scripture had to be fulfilled.  And it was.  Jesus was betrayed, crucified, and risen.  He ascended to sit upon the throne.  It’s not what Judas’ sin allowed. It’s what God insisted would happen, even for sinners like Judas.  Hope can draw near and exist even when there aren’t words to talk about what happened.  There is forgiveness, life, and salvation for all who believe.  Don’t excuse away actions. Cling to the word of God.  That endures to life, even when yours fall short.Trust in the baptism that saves sinners.  God saves through faith, even battered and broken.  Then, when you look back to Judas, it can be more than a cautionary tale.  If you look at the darkest funerals you stumble across, they can be stories of commending a fallen brother to the mercy of God, and a chance to look forward to seeing God who saves the sinners still at work in your life and to life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O LORD God, Dear Father in Heaven, give to us the Lamb in the midst of the throne to be our shepherd, that He will guide us to springs of living water, and will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Amen.-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/22/20235 minutes, 4 seconds
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Sunday the Seventh Week of Easter

 May 21, 2023Today's Reading: John 17:1-11Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25, Luke 18:18-34John 17:11: “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.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why does it feel so good to lament the decline of civilization? It seems like a solid 80% of the conversations I have with Christians involve some sort of complaint about the world. Why does it feel so good to think there’s nothing we can do about it but say “I told you so” in the face of calamity?  Maybe it’s because quitting feels easier. Or because when we are powerless to circumstance, it might be our problem but at least it’s not our fault.  Even with Christ who is risen from the grave, Christians aren’t just sad but despondent.  Hopeless. That’s worse than sad. Sadness can keep fighting. Keep struggling. But when there’s no hope, when the world is insurmountable, why bother? Hopelessness creeps into every part of life.  Relationships feel broken and unfixable.  Anxieties pile up and can’t be conquered. Illnesses are terminal and can’t be cured.  This is what giving up feels like.  And it feels good. Despondency feels good. Complaining about the world feels good. If you couldn’t have won anyway, you can be dragged into the same sins you lament in the world, the same culture you decry, but with a superior attitude and “I told you so” on your lips. Despondent people build altars to their own emptiness and turn the church into something that looks like it’s dying too.  Do you know how pitiful it is to quit something the Lord has already won the victory over?  Repent of your hopelessness. Repent of your politics and the despair they bring you.  Hear Jesus pray a prayer for glory and fully expect it to be answered by the Father with a cross. Know that this cross is for you. To forgive you your sins. To save you from a world destined to decay.  Cling to the resurrection and the promise it yields.  Nothing that falls apart won’t be put back together.  Christ died on the cross to save sinners.  To save you.  To save those in the world.  The world itself may fall apart. But you are already rescued, as surely as He is risen.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  -Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/21/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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Saturday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 20, 2023 Today's Reading: Psalm 100:1-5; antiphon: Psalm 101:1Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” (Psalm 100:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Holy Spirit has gifted some with amazing musical talent, which they employ in service to God’s Word. Think of all the musicians and poets whose work is compiled in our hymnal. Consider all the talent and dedication that make for choirs and festivals, which make up the music played on Lutheran Public Radio. Now think of your own congregation. Some are able to lead the congregation with their voice or instruments. Others can join in with their own voices. Still others are not gifted musically, and may even stay completely silent, while they listen to others sing to them. We may joke that our singing ability amounts to making a joyful “noise” to the Lord, but that’s not what the word means. It’s not noise like your parents say when they tell you to turn down your music. It’s a joyful cry to the Lord. A cry, as in when the walls of Jericho fell (Joshua 6), and as when the Lord entered Jerusalem to accomplish our salvation (Zechariah 9:9). It’s a joyful cry in response to what God has done. The reality is that every believer can make a joyful noise to the Lord, regardless of their personal musical ability. This psalm describes the natural reaction of lost, hopeless sinners being reconciled to God, of those who were dead being made alive together with Christ. Even if our vocal cords or our fingers are not capable, our spirit within us can rejoice. That doesn’t diminish the value of sacred music. The psalms invite us to come into His presence with singing, with the sound of lyres, horns, tambourines, and flutes. This is to give external voice to our inner devotion. Just as making the sign of the cross or bowing before the altar are an expression of our heart’s deep reverence toward God. Martin Luther once shared this insight about how God’s Word in music bolsters our faith: “Except for theology there is no art that could be put on the same level with music, since except for theology, [music] alone produces what otherwise only theology can do, namely, a calm and joyful disposition.” (LW 49:428) Don’t let the level of your musical ability or that of your congregation hold you back from making a joyful cry to the Lord and to come into His presence with singing. Be encouraged by the last verse of the Psalms: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Oh, that I had a thousand voices To praise my God with thousand tongues!  My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,  Would then proclaim in grateful songs, To all, wherever I might be,  What great things God has done for me. (Oh That I Had A Thousand Voices, LSB 811:1)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/20/20235 minutes, 31 seconds
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Friday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 19, 2023 Today's Reading: Numbers 11:24-29, 12:1-16Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29, 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37“Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him” (Numbers 12:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There was a problem with Moses: He couldn’t do it all. Today, we would have said Moses was close to burnout. There needed to be others to share the burden of spiritual headship. So, seventy men were appointed to serve as elders, and the Lord took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on them. Well, actually, 68 of them were present. When Moses heard of it, he—perhaps in exasperation—says, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” This turned out to be a prophecy. At Pentecost, the Lord again pours out His Spirit on His people. Peter explains this is something the Lord had promised through Joel: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28-32) However, Aaron and Miriam show that sin can still spoil God’s work in giving the Spirit. They became resentful toward Moses saying, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” They wanted to seize the Spirit to give themselves what they considered a promotion. The Lord checks such uppity “spirituality.” It’s true that the Lord continues to pour out His Spirit on His servants—young and old, men and women. What they all have in common is, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). But as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 14, the Spirit gives us gifts according to our vocations. Don’t get jealous of your fellow servants, but be content with the vocation He has given you in the Church. If you are a woman, it’s clear that you are not called to the role of pastor (“public prophesy”). Nevertheless, there are so many other ways the Spirit has gifted you to serve in the Name of Jesus. Parents can delight in prophecy by teaching and modeling the faith to their children. Friends can prophesy by sharing their faith and even inviting others to church. Our Lord Jesus has gifted us with His Spirit, and put each of us exactly where we need to be in His Church to fulfill His purpose.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and ever-living God, You make us both to will and to do those things that are good and acceptable in Your sight. Let Your fatherly hand ever guide us and Your Holy Spirit ever be with us to direct us in the knowledge and obedience of Your Word that we may obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/19/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Ascension

 May 18, 2023 Today's Reading: Luke 24:44-53Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  What’s a huge difference between Christianity and other religions? Not just that other religions require us to justify ourselves to God by works. It’s also that they rely on human works to spread. The mission of the first Muslims was to spread by military conquest, allegedly proving that Muhammad’s Allah was true. Judaism depends on the preservation of traditions handed down from one generation to another, and that Jerusalem be taken back. Mormonism relies on door-to-door missionaries and that people feel a “burning in the bosom” to know the far-fetched claims of Joseph Smith are true. Even the Wokeism of our day is a human effort, because it’s fueled by the cunning of academics and the power of politicians. Not so with Christianity, even though people are the instruments by which it spreads. Before His Ascension, our Lord explained His work as the fulfillment and confirmation of all the Law, Prophets, and Psalms—“that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations.” These are the mighty works of God, no longer just handed down to the sons of Israel. They are to be told to people of every nation. This is what He has done, and by Jesus Christ’s faithfulness and obedience; by His holy, innocent suffering and death, sinners have peace with God and can stand at the final judgment. This Gospel of Christ is not spread by our cunning or force. Even though God uses people just like us to spread that Gospel, we are not doing it on our own. The Lord told the apostles: “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” It is God the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies by this Gospel. Jesus ascended into heaven so that He would send the Holy Spirit who would draw all people to Him (John 12:32). That same Lord who spoke these reassuring and powerful words before His Ascension is the same who mightily sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and who still is at work wherever His Word of repentance for the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed. Even though He ascended on high, He is actually as near as our pulpits and in our words as we share this Gospel today.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Ascension) - Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/18/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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Wednesday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 17, 2023 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Ten Commandments: The Eighth CommandmentDaily Lectionary:Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16, the 8th Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  “Who is my neighbor?” the lawyer asks to justify himself (Luke 10:29). It’s easy to imagine standing up for our friends and family, or someone we have feelings for. But do you think of standing up for the reputation of those to whom you have no connection and maybe even disagree with? If you see a boy dressed in girl’s clothes getting bullied, would you stand up for him? Certainly, you don’t agree with his behavior, but it’s also wrong for others to mercilessly ridicule another person. That boy is a person who is valued by God, and priced with the precious blood of Christ, so we are to have compassion on him. God sees him as a whole person, not just by the surface of outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7b). Besides, how would we ever witness to other sinners if we, too, push them away? The Catechism explanation teaches us, “A good name or reputation is important so that each of us may enjoy the trust and respect of others.” Think for a moment how important that is for your own life. With trust and respect, you’re able to make friends, take advantage of opportunities, and show your capability. Take that away, and others will see you only for your faults, be suspicious of trusting you, and lead you to doubt your own abilities. Isolated by this, many people despair and even contemplate suicide. This is the damage people can do to each other’s reputations, but what are God’s ways? When Adam and Eve sinned, He gave them coverings for their nakedness. Specifically, it was with garments of skin, foreshadowing that such a covering for sin would come at the death of another (Genesis 3:21). We now know and believe that covering for our sins and others is the death of Jesus Christ, our Lord. In the wisdom of Proverbs, He teaches us, “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.” (Proverbs 11:13) This is the way of God: not to magnify faults and increase the damage of sin, but to cover a matter for the good of our neighbor. Yes, there are times when the safety of our other neighbors may require us to speak, but those are very specific. Rather than rushing to judgment, rush to the cross, where God has made the covering for the sins of all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty Father, it is Your gracious will to remove our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west by the atonement of Your Son. Grant us Your heart toward our fellow sinners, that we may deal graciously with them even as you have with us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. - Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/17/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Tuesday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 16, 2023 Today's Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (1 Peter 3:14-15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Imagine what it was like for Noah, those 120 years he was building the ark. People around him were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage. Meanwhile Noah was preparing for the upcoming destruction of the world. If we find it hard to be the only Christian we know at school or work, can you fathom what it was like to be one of the few on earth who feared God? Yet, Noah persevered. See, Noah had hope in a world to come, which those who ridiculed him didn’t have. They were occupied with this present life. The Nephilim were interested in being powerful and feared. The sons of God who were marrying the unbelieving daughters of men were grounded by their family ties to this present life (see Genesis 6:1-4). But Noah, who had found favor in God’s eyes, also had hope that went beyond this present and wicked life. We also can expect to be ridiculed by those who are perishing. The unbelieving around us say that this life is all you can hope for. They say follow your desires, and don’t let anyone tell you they’re wrong. When we deny that, they will call us names, pass us by in employment, or worse. Yet, they can really do no lasting harm. Like Noah, we have found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In Holy Baptism, He has looked at us in His Son: “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We hope in this heavenly Word, and in the promise of “the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come” (Nicene Creed). As we still live among the unbelieving, we bear testimony to our God, who desires the salvation of all mankind. This world is passing away, and our gentle and respectful lives bear witness to that. Even if stubborn unbelievers cause us suffering, we let go of whatever we lose and pray to our God: “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy.” (Psalm. 63:3, 7; LSB 286) There is plenty of room in the ark of the Church. We pray that the Lord would grant repentance to our family, friends, and neighbors who are of the world. The end of the world is coming. The end of each of our lives is coming, and then comes judgment. God grant repentance that we might live before Him with a good conscience!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts…and graciously to hear our prayers: We implore you to hear us, good Lord. (Litany, LSB 288) - Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/16/20235 minutes, 21 seconds
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Monday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 15, 2023 Today's Reading: Acts 17:16-31Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32They should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Acts 17:27) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  In seminary, I had a professor who said, “You need to exegete the culture.” Exegesis is what’s done when a biblical text is analyzed and application is drawn out from it. In the same way as you delve into God’s Word to draw out the message, look at the world around you. It’s important to acknowledge that all people are God’s creatures. When we hear the far-fetched things that people outside the church are doing, it’s tempting to say, “I thank you God that I am not like them.” But just as you have compassion when you see an awful car accident on the side of the road, we ought to see those lost in false belief. In many ways, the unbelievers are not completely cut off from God (yet). When Paul was in Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” He had compassion for these people who imagined that their life was in the hands of fate and moody deities. He started with what they sort-of had right: “I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” He even quoted where some of their poets saw the truth. Yet, Paul was clear to correct what they had wrong and would lead to them perishing eternally. We can do a similar thing in our own day. Think of a person who is confused about their gender because of their emotions and onset of hormonal changes. He or she needs to hear that they were created purposefully by God either male or female. They need to be guided to see their body as good, but damaged by sin, and to find help from this God who loves him or her and has compassion. The philosophy of Critical Theory is right to identify that people are flawed and commit injustices toward each other, and to want to remedy injustice and care for the oppressed. But, they need to be told of the God who “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” That evil is not in white skin, masculinity, or oppressive power structures, but in each of our failures to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Rather than upend society, we need to learn from Him who created and redeemed mankind. It’s easier to simply isolate and be glad that we have the Gospel. But God who “made from one man every nation” desires “all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world’s remotest races,  Upon whose weary faces The sun looks from the sky,  Shall run with zeal untiring,  With joy Your light desiring That breaks upon them from on high. (Arise and Shine in Splendor, LSB 396:3)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/15/20235 minutes, 22 seconds
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Sunday the Sixth Week of Easter

May 14, 2023 Today's Reading: John 14:15-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Luke 14:25-15:10“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.” (John 14:18-19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  One of the scary things about losing your parents is that you lose a connection to your roots. Your parents are a connection to where you came from. In the Holy Gospel today, our Lord makes two reassuring promises: I will not leave you as orphans and I will come to you. In Christ, we are not orphans, cut off from our roots. We are adopted into a lineage that goes back all the way to Adam and Eve. Now, you can’t find it on a genealogy website. But it is one that is recorded in Holy Scripture. Every baptized believer is born into the Church. This Church began with the promise made to Adam and Eve after the Fall, and stretched all the way into eternity. Our roots transcend generations, span oceans, overcome death, and will never be severed! And that’s amazing, but what about our day-to-day life in the body? That’s where the second promise comes to our aid: “I will come to you.” He’s not merely talking about His Second Coming. He is Immanuel, God with us, and that did not cease to be true when He ascended. Consider the ways He is with His Church, which we call the means of grace. He gives us Baptism as a proof that “I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:1-2) He sends His Holy Spirit with Absolution to assure us that the forgiveness which the pastor speaks is valid on the Judgement Day (John 20:21-23). He is with us in His holy Word, which is why we are taught to say, “Thanks be to God” when it’s read and we stand for the Holy Gospel. And if that is not enough, in the Lord’s Supper, He gives to you His own true Body and Blood to strengthen and keep you. If you get lonely, feeling like an orphan, go to church. If it’s a Tuesday at 8:45pm, go talk with your parents, or phone a brother or sister in Christ. If you’re away from home and can’t do that, read the Bible as your family history and pray to your Father because you are His dear child.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/14/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Saturday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 13, 2023 Today's Reading: Psalm 119:89-93; antiphon: Psalm 119:105Daily Lectionary:Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Our brothers in the Roman church often debate whether “sola Scriptura” (the all-sufficiency of Scripture) is taught in the Bible. If you ever want a strong case for that, look to Psalm 119, especially to these verses in Lamedh. Our God not only spoke creation into existence, but He also had it written down as an ongoing, trustworthy testimony for us. How can we have life if not for His commandments, recorded and faithfully handed down to us? Plus, as New Testament Christians, we have been blessed to know that life is through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We will pray these words tomorrow, in preparation for hearing the great promise from the incarnate Lord Himself: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments…Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15, 21) If we need something more than Scripture to know God’s salvation in Christ, we’re not told what it is or where to find it. Regardless of the fact the Reformers penned the idea of “sola Scriptura,” the Lord Himself has taught us that His forever-enduring Word is all the foundation we need to know Him. By it the heavens and earth were made, and remain to this day. He desires for us to find refuge and life in His Word. Outside of the Word of God is only uncertainty, fear, and even death. Think of what happens when God’s Word is far from people. Our darkened imaginations run wild and myths creep in. This is certainly the darkness that loomed over common people when the Bible was only in Latin. Sadly, it still happens today in churches that minimize the Word of God itself, and overshadow it with doing “Christian things” like missionary work, social ministries, and hoping America will return to its supposed Christian roots. But in the Word, there is certainty, perfect love, and life. Christ sends us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever, there is life and salvation—“By Your precepts you have given me life. I am yours; save me.” This is why we hold so joyfully to “sola Scriptura.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise You for continuing among us the preaching of Your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send Your blessing upon the Word, which will be spoken to us, and by Your Holy Spirit increase our saving knowledge of You, that day by day we may be strengthened in the divine truth and remain steadfast in Your grace; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. - Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/13/20235 minutes, 27 seconds
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Friday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 12, 2023 Today's Reading: Leviticus 26:1-20Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35“And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.“ (Leviticus 26:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  There’s a certain strange comfort in believing that the world works like this: God is in control of everything. He gives prosperity and power to the good people. The bad people he sends calamity and weakness so bad they’ll wish they were good. In this nicely ordered world, how good you’re being can be told by your prosperity and lack of calamity. This was the world of Job’s three friends. This is the world of televangelist Jerry Falwell, who, when the World Trade Center was attacked, blamed it on the immoral people of our country. It’s the world of Pat Robertson, when Haiti suffered a great earthquake, said it was a judgment for their practice of voodoo. But this is not how God works. “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3) It seems that is how he works, from these words of Leviticus, but look at the bigger picture. If calamity is the direct response to unbelief and wicked behavior, what about the godless who are enjoying plenty of earthly prosperity? Where is their disaster for spurning the Word of the Lord? So much for the neat, tidy world we can understand. The wrong situation of this world can drive us to say with the psalmist, “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.” (Psalm 73:12-13) So what is the answer for us? The promises made to Israel are only realized through Christ. They are neither literal promises that our daily lives will be free from trouble, nor that diseases are direct punishments for unfaithfulness. It’s clear that Israel as God’s nation fell far short of the faithfulness which God promised to bless. Even when they were rebuked by curses, at best only a remnant repented. What it takes is God’s Son, the Christ, to stand in the place of His people. He was the truly obedient one, who “[walked] in my statutes and observed my commandments and [did] them.” And yet, what Christ got in His passion was the curses our disobedience deserves. This is the only way for sinners to receive God’s favor. That is also how He has broken the bars of your yoke to make you walk upright. It’s not our good behavior that needs to turn God’s heart toward us. While we were still sinners, Christ did this for us. We walk upright before God through faith in His Son.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We implore You, O Lord, in Your kindness to show us Your great mercy that we may be set free from our sins and rescued from the punishments that we rightfully deserve; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.  - Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/12/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Thursday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 11, 2023 Today's Reading: Luke 12:54 - 13:9Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 24:1-23; Luke 12:54-13:17 “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Perhaps you will be blessed to never have to cross the court system, but most of us will in some way. The courts exist to deal with our faults—from the parking ticket you got, to the taxes you thought you wouldn’t have to pay, to more serious crimes that involve sentencing.  What’s our first reaction when we see that ticket on our windshield, the summons, or the police show up? It wasn’t my fault! They were being unfair! Look over there at how bad they are! Rarely is it, “I deserved that.” Why is it? Why can’t we be objective about our faults? It’s sin in us that resists and denies the truth. It reared its ugly head the minute God’s first accusation came, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you shall not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). If we can deny the truth of the guilt, then perhaps we can also get out of the deserved punishment.  What Jesus is teaching in the Gospel reading today is both the sternness of the Law, and the comforting grace of what He has done for us. Interpreting the signs of the times is not an invitation to the next prophecy workshop, nor is the call to settle with your accuser practical legal advice. Both of these are declaring what St. Paul also says: “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God…Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians. 5:20, 6:2) Today is the day to turn from your lame excuses and finger pointing. Repent of comparing yourself to others, and prepare for your own day before the judgment seat of Christ. The time our God has given us in this life is for continually hearing His Word and receiving His saving work. Though judgment is what you and I deserve, our Great High Priest intercedes for us. In effect, He is like that vinedresser who says, “Sir, let it alone this year also” that even when we should be misled for a time, He might bring us back to repentance and bring forth its fruits. So, next time you smell manure, it can remind you of this Gospel. That’s what His sacrifice has done for us, that we might live.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Ash Wednesday)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/11/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Wednesday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 10, 2023 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism Ten Commandments: The Seventh CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44; Luke 12:35-38We do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. (Seventh Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  The age of information provides so many new opportunities. Never in history have so many people had access to vast amounts of information. If you want to know it, it’s probably available at your fingertips—without pay, instantly, privately. The 2017 Catechism explanation wisely adds the question, “What else is considered to be our neighbor’s possessions or property today?” It points out things like ideas and writings, music, software, movies, and personal information. Our sin needs a curb when it comes to that much power. When I was a young man, it was just being realized how easy it was to access intellectual property. At this time, before I knew the Lord, I had thousands of MP3’s and several pieces of software that I had not paid for. (After all, how could a college student afford such things?) To avoid getting in trouble, people became increasingly clever about how they shared the data. Peer-to-peer networks and servers in Sweden were among the most popular. The question for a Christian to ask is not, “Can I do this?” but rather, “How does this impact my neighbor?” even if that neighbor seems distant on the other side of the screen. They put long, hard hours into this work. Content creators make a career out of the videos they post to support their families. Game developers are worked to the bone to meet their deadlines. Everyone listed in the movie credits needs to be compensated. Even website ad revenue, as obnoxious as it can be, is important because it pays for hosting costs. Our very life is a testimony of the value God placed on us: “You were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body,” St. Paul writes (1 Corinthians 6:20). He did not consider it too costly to spend the precious blood of His Son to redeem us, even though we are filled with greedy desires. Baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, we now “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Rather than looking out for our advantage, we desire to help our neighbor support his or her family, give a boost to those who are just getting started, and witness an honesty not found in vast swaths of the Internet. Where God gives us opportunity, we may even stand up for the good of our neighbor and encourage our friends not to pirate, or plagiarize, or obtain someone’s private information—all because we see the things of this life as gifts from God’s hand.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!  Morning by morning new mercies I see;All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;  Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! (Great is Thy Faithfulness, LSB 809: refrain)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/10/20235 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 9, 2023 Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:1-22; Luke 12:13-34 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  The hope of many is to see the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem, a “Third Temple,” they call it. There is even a movement among some orthodox Jews to dress the stones for the future temple they hope to build. Even more puzzling, there are also many Christians who are encouraged to support the Jews in this rebuilding fantasy. Those who hold to a so-called “literal” interpretation of the Bible believe that rebuilding the Temple is a major part in the fulfillment of Jesus' return. How wrong we can be in our sinful blindness! The reading from St. Peter’s epistle teaches us to rightly understand the prophets when they speak of God establishing a house, of making His people holy priests, of building a place for His name to dwell. “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” The prophet Isaiah was not speaking about a building, but Jesus Christ Himself! As for us who believe in Him (not in a building), we are made like Him by the Holy Spirit: “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This is how to look at the communion of saints we confess in the Creed: God is at work building His church, stone by stone.  Each stone—each believer—is dressed by God working by His Word and Holy Spirit. Living daily in our Baptism, we are fitted anew into the temple of God’s design, according to Christ, the Cornerstone. We are also called a holy priesthood, who offer spiritual sacrifices within this Temple of the Christian Church. It’s not that we have anything worthy enough to offer God. But out of what flows from the Lamb of God, we are made alive to give our lives: for building up our fellow stones, for offering prayer for them and for the world, for service within the temple and in our various vocations. In all of it, proclaiming “the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness and into His marvelous light.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are God’s house of living stones,  Built for His own habitation. He through baptismal grace us owns  Heirs of His wondrous salvation. Were we but two His Name to tell,  Yet He would deign with us to dwell  With all His grace and His favor. (Built on the Rock, LSB 645:3)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/9/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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Monday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 8, 2023 Today's Reading: Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 21:1-24; Luke 12:1-12And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Today is the 78th anniversary of V-E Day, when victory was celebrated in Europe after over 6 hard years of fighting during World War II. Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party, and the German army, had been a nearly unstoppable force. Over the previous 12 years, they had not only transformed the landscape of Europe through bombings and invasions, but they had convinced thousands that Hitler was a messiah figure who had come to establish a millennial kingdom. Under that deception, millions of Jews lost their lives by the claim that he was purifying the human race. No wonder V-E Day was such an occasion for celebration! From the moment in time which we occupy, it can often seem like the evil powers are winning the day. Cultural Marxism is sweeping the country. The transgender political beast rages. Millions have left the church they grew up in, only to be catechized by social media. In the time after Jesus’ Crucifixion, Death, and burial, it sure seemed like evil had won the day. After all, the murderous Sanhedrin had gotten their way. Jesus’ followers would eventually disperse, and Jewish life would get back to waiting for the “true” Messiah. But we know that is not the case. That first day of the week, Jesus rose and appeared to His disciples. The truth spread over against the lies: Jesus is the Christ, who has conquered sin, death, and the devil! After forty days with His disciples, Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. He sent the Holy Spirit who equipped the apostles and grew the Church by the Word they proclaimed. The Holy Spirit gave boldness and words to Stephen to preach to these Jews—not simply to diminish their earthly influence—but to save their souls. As the powerful and unbelieving were stoning Stephen, he was given a vision of the truth: Jesus is risen, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence, He will come to judge the living and the dead. Even though the mighty prevailed that day, the living Lord has won the battle for eternity. That victory belongs to every believer, delivered to you in your Baptism. Even though we see the wicked raging for now, the Holy Spirit keeps you in the truth: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. But short was their triumph; the Savior arose,  And death, hell, and Satan, He vanquished His foes. The conquering Lord lifts His banner on high;  He lives, yes, He lives, and will nevermore die. (He’s Risen, He’s Risen, LSB 480:3)- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/8/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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Sunday the Fifth Week of Easter

May 7, 2023 Today's Reading:  John 14:1-14Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16; Luke 11:37-54Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Have you ever been on the line with customer service or tech support? It’s already been forty-five minutes, when they tell you, “I can’t help you with that. I’m going to have to transfer you to someone who can help you.” Crestfallen, you realize you must have taken a wrong turn in the phone menu and you’ll have to start from scratch with someone new. Although there was none of that in the upper room, the disciples had the impression that Jesus was something less than He is. Despite being with Him for so long, they think there’s some higher tier that actually rules the universe. Even though He is sitting with His disciples in the flesh, He is the same one who goes to prepare a place for them. Jesus Himself is the Lord, the “I Am” who appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:14). He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” by whom no man can come to the Father except through Him. The Lord Jesus is both true God, ruling over the universe, and true Man, sitting right there talking with them. He isn’t an intermediary like Moses. He himself has divine power and authority. And what will He do with such power and authority? Prepare a place for you and I to dwell in the Father’s house. He will hear and answer what we ask Him. He will put His Name upon us so that by His authority, we are called children of God (John 1:12-13). We often think the promise, “I will come again and will take you to myself” is merely for the end of our life. He says, “Where I am you may be also.” Where is He now?  He has passed through the grave, never to die again. He is risen. He has ascended into heaven, to intercede for us and to sit at the right hand of the Father Almighty. That is to say, He has “all authority in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18). So why wouldn’t we come to Jesus with our prayers? He has come to us with His most-worthy name and by His merit we will be brought into eternal life. Today, in Him, we can be confident that we are not being pawned off to someone else who can “really” help us. Jesus is Lord, and He is here for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/7/20235 minutes, 25 seconds
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Saturday the Fourth Week of Easter

May 6, 2023Today's Reading:  Psalm 30:1-5; antiphon: Psalm 149:1Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 19:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:2–3 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen.  Whether you know it or not, you are in a relationship with death, but it might not be the relationship that you think. In the Old Testament, Sheol was the place of the dead. It was a place that no one wanted to find themselves, yet everyone ended up in.  It was thought to be a place of darkness, a place with an unending appetite for consuming the living.  Whatever existence there was  in Sheol, it could not compare with being alive. The food had no taste, nothing had any substance, and God himself was not praised.  In Sheol there was no thought, no knowledge, and no wisdom.  There was also no coming back.  Once you were there that was it.  It was a one way trip.  It was the Old Testament version of Hotel California; you could check out, but you could never leave.  Any possible rescue could only come from God Himself.  God could do it, but would He?The rest of the ancient world was even more hopeless in its relationship with death. There was no coming back from it at all. Once you died that was it.  Eumenides (an ancient play) even has the line “Once a man has died, and the dust has soaked up his blood, there is no Resurrection.”  Death could be postponed, put off, avoided for a time even, but once it came that was it. There may be some kind of life after death, but it was not an embodied life.  In their thought the relationship with death was entirely on death’s terms. That all changes with Jesus.  In the death of Jesus is the death of death itself.  What Jesus did on the cross forever changed your relationship with death.  No longer is Sheol waiting to devour you.  Death has been tamed and even if you should die Sheol is no longer your place.  You have been rescued from the pit.  You have been redeemed.  Here is the great truth of Easter:In the Resurrection of Jesus is the promise of your resurrection. You will return to an embodied life.  Death could not hold Jesus and it will not hold you.  Death no longer dictates the terms of the relationship.  You are part of the new covenant and its new song is your song.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.New songs of celebration render To Him who has great wonders; Love sits enthroned in ageless splendor; Come and adore the mighty One. He has made known His great salvation Which all His friends with joy confess. He has revealed to every nation His everlasting righteousness. (New Songs of Celebration Render, LSB 792:1) - Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/6/20235 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday the Fourth Week of Easter

May 5, 2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7; Luke 11:1-13“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Ever since His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, there have been those in the church that think that there is some magic secret to prayer that will guarantee that God hears and responds in the desired manner.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Prayer is not magic and God cannot be manipulated by the right posture, hand motions, or combinations of words. To put it bluntly, praying is not like casting a spell and no amount of Harry Potter style swish and flick will make any difference. The secret to prayer does not lie in methodology.  This is where a lot of teaching on prayer goes off the rails. It treats prayer as something that we do, that has its genesis within us. This is not the case in any way, shape, or form.  Prayer does not have its beginnings with us.  Another way to put it would be to say that God does not hear our prayers because of who we are or what we do.  God hears our prayers because of who He is.This is the meaning of the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. It shows that God hears our prayers because that is part of HIs nature. He hears us because He has promised that he would.  He hears us because he has integrity and honor.  Even more than that He has given us the very prayer that He never tires of hearing.  On top of all this our prayers are a response to God working in us.  Our very ability to pray is a gift from God.  We do not have to go in search of methodologies or worry about proper posture, hand motions, or even words. He has given us all that we need to pray to Him in full assurance that we will be heard.  He hears us because He is our Father and He has made us HIs children through Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe That what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word We say, ‘Amen. O hear us, Lord!  (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:9) - Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/5/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Thursday the Fourth Week of Easter

May 4, 2023Today's Reading:  1 Peter 2:19-25Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 17:1-16; Luke 10:23-42For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:19–21 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our reading for today really needs to be read in context to be properly understood. It comes in the midst of what is known as a “household code” where Peter uses the normal structure of society to talk about Jesus. Grecco/Roman culture was all about structure and order. Everyone had their ordained part to play and if they did not play it then society did not function.  In our case he is specifically addressing household servants who may continue to suffer unjustly simply because  they are Christians. Christianity itself was seen as a challenge to the social order because it was thought to encourage people to act outside of their established roles. What Peter is getting at is that their faith did not change their status in society.  Becoming a Christian did not mean that they were free to walk away from a bad situation. They were to continue to live out their roles even if that meant serving an unbelieving or even an evil master. Their faith did not merit them special treatment.  If they suffered because of their faith it was because of the paradigm that was set by Jesus.  His suffering was the model for theirs.  Another way to put it would be to say that their suffering was not an accurate reflection of their status before God. The evil that they had to endure was not a reflection of their eternal destiny.  This may be an especially hard passage to read in our time and place where unjust suffering seems to be un-American.  The focus of our society is on individual rights and equity and yet Christians continue to suffer just because they are Christian.  Peter’s message to the Christians of his time is the same message that he has for you. Your faith has not changed your place in society. but it has changed your place in eternity.  No matter what happens here you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Let us suffer here with Jesus, And with patience bear our cross. Joy will follow all our sadness; Where he is, there is no loss. Though today we snow no laughter, We shall reap celestial joy; All discomforts that annoy Shall give way to mirth hereafter. Jesus, here I share Your woe; Help me there your joy to know. (Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus, LSB 685:2)- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/4/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Wednesday the Fourth Week of Easter

May 3, 2023Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism Table of Duties: Sixth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22The Sixth Commandment:  You shall not commit adultery.  What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. In the Name + of Jesus. After reading this commandment as well as some of the other things that the church has said about sex over the centuries, you might reach the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to avoid sex altogether. Celibacy, it would seem, might be the better choice for the Christian. This is certainly where the medieval church came down on things. Before and even during the time of Luther celibacy was considered superior to marriage. The celibate were better believers and were more capable of pleasing God than those that were married. In other words, it was more Christian to abstain from sex entirely and even sex within marriage carried the taint of sin. For Luther the sixth commandment is more about giving sex its proper place in marriage  than it is about banning sex in general. Sex is not a prohibited activity, it is a gift from God that is meant to be enjoyed by husband and wife. Sex can and should take place, but only within the context of marriage. It is the one flesh relationship that is part of God’s intentions for His creation. Marriage, rather than being an inferior status, should be considered the default for the vast majority of Christians. Celibacy is also a gift of God, but it is a rare gift and does not make someone a superior Christian. Sexually pure does not mean free from sex from birth to death, it means that sex ought only take place within marriage. It was designed by God for husband and wife, for the procreation of children, and as an expression of their love for one another.  In fact, Luther links marriage to the promise to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. (LW Vol 4 pg. 233) In that promise, the marriage bed is regarded as undefiled and marriage is honorable because of their connection to the Seed which is Christ.  Ultimately this means that you are pure because Christ was pure on your behalf, on behalf of your future spouse, and on behalf of any children you may have.  Amen.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Savior, grant Your blessing To this husband and this wife, That in peace they live together In Your love throughout their life. Christ, defend them from the tempter And from all that would destroy Love’s foundation You have laid here, And its threshold paved with joy. (Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing, LSB 860:1)- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/3/20235 minutes, 23 seconds
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Tuesday the Fourth Week of Easter

May 2, 2023Today's Reading:  Acts 2:42-47 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 10:1-20; Luke 9:37-62And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46–47 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  I had a roommate in college that thought a romantic relationship only lasted until someone better came along. A girlfriend could be (and often was) replaced at any time. I bring this up because this is how some in the ancient world thought about the Christian God. They would question His commitment to His people. If one of their friends became a Christian they would ask them how they could follow such a fickle God. “He changed His mind about the Jews,”they would say, “How long until He changes his mind about you?”Their thought was that God had chosen the Gentiles over the Jews and that He had not kept His promises to the descendants of Abraham. Such a God who changed His mind was not to be trusted,  He was not to be followed, and He was inferior to the other Gods available. These critiques were meant to sow the seeds of doubt among the non-Jewish converts to the new faith. Part of the apologetic task of the early church was to counter such criticisms and show that God had kept his promises to the Jews, that He was, is, and always would be faithful to His people whether they were Jew or Gentile. Our reading today shows that God was faithful to the Jews and that He did keep his promises to them. Everything that Luke mentions in this summary statement took place in Jerusalem among believers who were ethnic Jews. They were devoted to the apostles’ teaching and the breaking of the bread. They were proof that God was faithful to the Jews, that God kept the promises He had made to Abraham. God continues to be faithful to His promises. The same teachings that they were devoted to are the same teachings that continue to this day in the church. The bread they broke is the same bread we break in the Sacrament of the Altar. The God who was faithful to them is the God who is faithful to you. God did not change His mind about them and He will not change His mind about you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Through the intervening ages Round the world the Gospel spread: Faithful heralds took the message , Guided where the Spirit led; So the body grew in stature, Serving Christ, the living head. (We Are Called to Stand Together, LSB 828:3)- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/2/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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St Philip & St. James the Apostles

May 1, 2023Today's Reading:  John 14:1-14Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24; Luke 9:37-62Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8–9 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If our reading was a reality television show I can imagine Thomas being pretty upset with Philip while James is giving both of them the stink eye.  Neither Thomas nor Philip come across as especially apostolic in our reading, but only Thomas gets the lasting legacy of the ‘doubting’ nickname attached to him. James, on the other hand, only gets his name mentioned in the Gospels and has to share his day on the liturgical calendar with Philip. In all seriousness, it is easy to give the apostles a hard time. They don’t come across as especially smart in the Gospels. They question Jesus, they don’t understand Jesus when he speaks in figurative language,  and they don’t believe him when he speaks plainly.  They spend a lot of their time with Jesus not really understanding what is going on. At no point in their doubts and questions did Jesus ever disown them. Despite their flaws they remained His. In other words, they are a lot like you.They did not bring anything special to the table. They were not recruited for their athletic prowess or sought out for their intellectual achievements.  They were not the best and brightest of their generation. They just happened to be the guys that God picked. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus changes everything for them. Prior to the first Easter they question and doubt, after the Resurrection they are completely different.  Everything they needed to follow Jesus was given to them by God. It is the same for you. You bring nothing to your relationship with God. You may doubt and you may question, but you still belong to Jesus.  The Crucifixion and Resurrection that changed them has changed you as well. The same Holy Spirit that was given to them has been given to you. What they witnessed with their eyes, you participated in with your Baptism. Philip and James have rooms in the Father’s house and so do you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We praise You, Lord, for Philip, Blest guide to Greek and Jew, And for young James the faithful, Who heard and followed You. O grant us grace to know You, The way, the truth, the life, To wrestle with temptation, To triumph in the strife. (By All Your Saints in Warfare, LSB 518:18)- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
5/1/20235 minutes, 34 seconds
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Sunday The Fourth Week of Easter

April 30, 2023Today's Reading:  John 10:1-10Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13,30-36, Luke 9:1-17“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  All this language of shepherds and sheep has led to some interesting places in the history of the church.  This is especially true in the theology of missions and biblical translation. Sheep are some of the most helpless animals on earth. They are cute and fuzzy for sure, but they are not really bright. In cultures where sheep are unknown this passage becomes a challenge to talk about and translate. In Papua New Guinea they had to substitute ‘pig’ for sheep, but the most interesting debate took place when Star Trek fans wanted to translate the Bible into Klingon and were stumped on how to translate ‘sheep’ into a culture where helplessness wasn’t even a category. In a sense this is also true of our own culture. Americans don’t like to think of themselves as sheep either. Maybe the problem is not with the language, but with people.  Maybe we just don’t want to be sheep.  We call people who go along with the crowd sheep, and we do not mean it as a compliment.  Gordon Gekko put it best in the movie Wall Street when dismissing certain people who could not find success in the business world.  He said, ‘they are sheep, and sheep get slaughtered.’  The thing to remember is that all people, Christian or not, are sheep. The difference is not in what we are, the difference is in the voice  we follow. The voice we follow is that of the Good Shepherd.  All other voices are those of the stranger and they are not to be followed because they do save and do not lead to pasture. As sheep of the good shepherd, you are saved and can go in and out and find pasture.  This talk of coming and going sounds awkward to us. We use the same language in our baptismal liturgy. We say to the newly baptized “the Lord preserve your coming in and going out from this time forth and even forever more”  Coming in and going out was a phrase that dealt with the course of human life. The Good Shepherd is there for you in all times and in all circumstances you have nothing to fear from the voices of thieves and robbers.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/30/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Saturday The Third Week of Easter

April 29, 2023Today's Reading:  Psalm 95:1-3, 6-7a; antiphon: John 10:14, 15bDaily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38, Luke 8:40-56“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15b ESV)In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen. In our time and our place, we have become so used to the language of Jesus as the Good Shepherd that we don’t even really think about when we hear it. We have tamed the language and made it into something as inoffensive as a Hallmark greeting card.  There is nothing safe or tame in Jesus stating that he is the good shepherd.  In fact, in saying this Jesus is making the claim “I AM the Good shepherd” Jesus is stating that he is subject of Psalm 95, that he is the Lord, in other words that he is God. He is the one whom before we worship, bow down, and kneel. Even more significantly,  He is the one that defines His own goodness by laying down His life for the sheep. He lays down his life for you.  What does it mean to be one of Jesus' little lambs? I ask this question because I think that the church has gotten a little too sentimental about all of this sheep and shepherd imagery and that we have made it too nice and neat.  When we think about shepherds and sheep, we tend to think of it as a nice peaceful guy leading his flock through pristine fields of the greenest grass towards the clean cold waters of a stream.  There are no rocky trails, no barren wilderness to cover and most certainly no wolves to be afraid of.  I am here to tell you that being a shepherd was not easy work and being a sheep was no fun either.  There were dangers to the left and dangers to the right. The only thing that kept a sheep safe was following the one voice that they recognized, the voice of their shepherd.In saying that we are the sheep of his hand, we are confessing that we are helpless and unable to save ourselves. We are confessing that our lives as sheep are only found in the Death and Resurrection of the Shepherd. If Easter truly is to be a season of reflecting on the Resurrection, then there is no better way of doing that than remembering that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep only to take it up again. His voice calls to you from Word and Sacrament ministry of the church which tells you that you have been brought into the flock and are under the care of the Good Shepherd. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“O ever be our guide, Our shepherd, and our pride, Our staff and song. Jesus, O Christ of God, By Your enduring Word Lead us where You have trod; Make our faith strong.”Shepherd of Tender Youth LSB 864, st 4.-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/29/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Friday The Third Week of Easter

April 28, 2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16, Luke 8:22-39“He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”” (Luke 8:25 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The identity of Jesus can be a confusing thing.  In our reading for today the demons are the only ones that seem certain about who Jesus is. They call him “Son of the Most High God”.  Jesus’ own disciples who have heard His teaching and witnessed His calming of the storm are left with the question, “Who then is this, that the commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” The Geneserates, when they hear how Jesus freed the man from the demons, respond in fear and ask him to depart. They fear that the demons will come back in force and don’t believe that Jesus is up to that kind of challenge. You can almost see the public relations team telling Jesus that he needs to work on his brand if he wants to be successful.   This confusion continues even today in the ivory towers of some academic biblical scholars. They will tell you that the Jesus we meet in Luke’s Gospel is presented to us with a low Christology, which is a way of saying that Jesus, as Luke presents him, is fully human and not divine. The divine part of Jesus’ identity, they will tell you, comes later and is not part of the faith of the earliest believers. These guys not only get Jesus wrong, they also get Luke wrong. There is nothing ‘low’ about the Christology of Luke’s Gospel. He presents to his readers a Jesus who is fully human and fully divine. He presents to his readers a Jesus that is truly both God and man. Look again at how our reading ends. Jesus tells the man who had been freed from the demons to declare how much God had done for him and he goes away proclaiming all that Jesus has done for him. Who is this that the wind and water obey? Who is it that has authority over demons? There is only one answer. In other words, Jesus is God. The one who can tame creation is the Creator. The God who created the world became flesh and entered into His own creation to save it.  He comes to you in water and Word to recreate you. He feeds you with His own flesh and blood in communion.  His death is your death and His life is your life. What Jesus has done for you is what God has done for you.  Knowing the true identity of Jesus means that you know your own identity.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He who the sea And wind obey Doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. Thou, God’s own Son, With us art one, Dost join us and our children in our weakness. “O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is” LSB 372, st 2-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/28/20235 minutes, 48 seconds
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Thursday The Third Week of Easter

April 27, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-25Daily Lectio nary: Exodus 38:21-39:8, 22-23, 27-31, Luke 8:1-21“for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24–25 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You live in exile. You live as an outsider in the world. Sometimes it would just be easier to be an unbeliever. You wouldn’t catch quite so much grief from the political and celebrity elites that dismiss Christians as being dumber than the average bear. You also would not have to worry about being targeted as an extremist by federal law enforcement officers. In addition, Sunday mornings could be reserved for sleeping in. It wouldn’t solve all of life’s problems; you would still have to do homework and fulfill all your other commitments and responsibilities. Life would not be perfect, but it sure would be easier. At the very least, you would no longer be living in exile. This is exactly the kind of temptation that presented itself to the people that Peter writes to in our reading for today. He calls them exiles, not so much because they had been removed from their homeland, but because their faith had made them outsiders. The people they lived among had no respect for the faith or the faithful. Good citizenship and Christianity were considered incompatible. It would have been easier for them if they had just given into the things their culture was expecting from them and renounced their beliefs and blended in.  In the face of cultural persecution Peter reminds his readers who they are. His words to them are also his words to you. You have been ransomed by the very blood of Christ. You have been washed in the eternal Word and fed with the very body and blood of that Word made flesh. You have an eternal status as a child of God. Nothing in this present world can compare to that. Nothing that our culture offers you has any lasting value. That which is  tempting you away from the faith is fleeting and transitory. It, like the grass and flowers, withers and fails. The Word of the Lord, the good news that was preached to you, the very new creation that you are will remain forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, Your words are waters living When my thirsting spirit pleads. Lord, Your words are bread life giving; On Your words my spirit feeds.  Lord, Your words will be my light Through death’s cold and dreary night; Yes they are sword prevailing And my cup of joy unfailing. “Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens” LSB 589, st 3. -Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/27/20235 minutes, 38 seconds
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Wednesday The Third Week of Easter

April 26, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, Table of Duties: Fifth CommandmentDaily Lectionary:Exodus 34:29-35:21, Luke 7:36-50The Fifth Commandment.:  You shall not murder.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At first glance this commandment would seem pretty easy to obey. It is not difficult to live your day to day life without having to resort to the act of murder.  Many of the other commandments, particularly the eighth, are much more difficult to keep.  Luther’s teaching on this commandment shows that its meaning goes far beyond the simple prohibition to not murder. In fact, this commandment is not so much about avoiding the act of murder as it is about acting to protect your neighbor from harm and danger. In helping to care for your neighbor you become part of the wall that God has erected around them to protect their bodily life.  Much of what we would call acts of mercy are actually fulfillments of the command not to murder. The command not to murder cannot be obeyed passively; it carries with it the expectation that you will act on behalf of your neighbors needs.  For Luther these actions are the product of meekness. Not the meekness that we might practice before our friends and family but the meekness that is shown to our enemies. The meekness that does not seek revenge. The meekness that prays for those who do evil to us. This kind of meekness can only be the product of faith. The keeping of this commandment does not earn or create faith–it is the product of faith. You can only act on behalf of others because someone has already acted on behalf of you. You can only protect another's life because you have been given life. You can only act with this kind of meekness because Jesus became meek for you. While you were still His enemy he acted on your behalf and gave His life on the cross. He did all that was necessary to protect your bodily life. He moved you from death to life and has made you an agent of life not a bringer of death. Your care of  the life of your neighbor has its genesis in the Gospel because that is the source of your life with Christ. It is because He is with you that you can act to protect the life of your neighbor.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.You shall not murder, hurt, nor hate; Your anger dare not dominate. Be kind and patient; help, defend, And treat your foe as your friend. Have mercy, Lord. “These Are the Holy Ten Commands” LSB 581, st 6.-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/26/20235 minutes, 22 seconds
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Saint Mark, Evangelist

April 25, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28, Luke 17:18-35“Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mark would have been a terrible televangelist. Those guys for the most part promise you a successful stress free middle class life with an attractive spouse, well behaved children, and a three car garage. Mark, on the other hand, makes it clear in his Gospel that suffering comes before glory in the Christian life.  If, as one strain of church tradition tells us, Mark was one of the seventy-two, then he heard it straight from Jesus, “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. This is the truth of your baptismal identity. You came up out of the waters of the font marked as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified and that mark functions as a target for Satan and his minions.  Belief in Jesus is not a shortcut to a life of  private jets, and yachts where the world bows to your every whim. Instead your life as a Christian is lived in a world that is hostile to your very existence. The world that rejected him also rejects His followers. This is part and parcel of the mystery of theology of the cross. Your very life with Christ is tied up in the mystery of his suffering on the cross. Mark’s entire Gospel points to the cross and he does not want Jesus to be understood apart from the cross. Jesus is not to be understood as a worker of miracles, or as a great teacher. He is to be understood as the one who suffered and died to give his people victory over sin and death. Many times in this life that victory is hard to see. If the cross is a mystery, then so is the life of faith. This means that you can suffer and still be a Christian. You can live as lambs in the midst of wolves because Jesus the Crucified One is with you. Your life as a Christian will be full of peaks and valleys. The here and now will always be full of wolves seeking to separate you from Christ, but His victory is your victory, and His Resurrection points to your own resurrection. Your present may contain darkness, but your future contains only light. In Jesus the kingdom of God has come near to you and remains near to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For Mark, O Lord, we praise you, The weak by grace made strong, Whose labors and whose Gospel Enrich our triumph song. May we, in all our weakness, Reflect your servant life And follow in Your footsteps, Enduring cross and strife. “By All Your Saints in Warfare” LSB 518, st 15.-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/25/20235 minutes, 46 seconds
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Monday The Third Week of Easter

April 24, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23. Luke 7:1-17“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”” (Acts 2:38–40)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's amazing what a little water can do, especially when it is combined with the Word and promise of God. In our reading for today the law has had its way with the people Peter is preaching to. They have come face to face with the reality of their sin. They have rejected the promised Messiah. They have crucified the Son of God. How can you possibly atone for a sin like that? How can you pay back God for the life of HIs Son? Nothing in the law of Moses, nothing in the traditions of the Pharisees gave them any recourse. They are left only with the question, “What shall we do?” In the face of the accusations of the law and the reality of their sin Peter gives them the Gospel. The solution is Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. What they could not do, God will do for them. The atonement they could not make has been made for them. The law they could not fulfill, has been fulfilled for them. In the waters of Baptism they will find release from their sins and be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the waters of Baptism they will be given faith in the one that they rejected. In the promise of the Gospel they will be saved from their crooked generation. The promise that was for them was not limited to them. It is a promise that was for their children, and all who are far off. It was a promise that covered all sins for all people for all time. In other words, it is a promise that is for you. In the waters of your Baptism you received the forgiveness of sins and God called you to himself.  No accusation of the law even if brought by Satan himself can take away what God has done for you. In the promise of the Gospel you have been saved from this crooked generation. You are a child of the promise and have nothing to fear from the accusations of the Law.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Satan, hear this proclamation:  I am baptized into Christ!  Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!  “God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” LSB 594, st 3. -Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/24/20235 minutes, 32 seconds
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The Third Sunday of Easter

April 23, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 24:13-35Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35, Luke 6:39-49“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are any number of Christians that will tell you that the Bible is the Word of God. They take what it says seriously and want to apply it to their lives. The problem is that despite having the best of intentions, these people don’t know how to read the Bible. They treat it like a Magic 8 Ball. They ask a question and then open the Bible to a random passage, place their finger on the page, and what they read becomes the answer to their question. That is not how it works, that is not how any of this works.This is the same issue that Cleopas and his friend in our reading had. Well, maybe not the Magic 8 Ball thing, but they still did not know how to read the scriptures. Look at what Jesus says to them, he calls them foolish and slow of heart because they did not believe all that the prophets have spoken. In other words, he castigates them for not understanding how to properly read the Scriptures.  Jesus then gives them the key to understanding the Bible. He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Jesus showed them that He is the key to reading the Bible. He showed them that the Bible is primarily about Him. This is not something that they could have known prior to this. This way of reading the Bible only comes in the light of the Resurrection. Prior to Easter many of the things that Jesus said and did remained a mystery even to his closest followers. After His Resurrection, His actions and words became more clear and the Scriptures became a new book. The Bible did not change, but their ability to read and understand  the Word of God was changed. The ‘do this’ of the law was changed into the ‘for you’ of the Gospel. This is the way that Lutherans still read the Bible today. We read the Scriptures with what is known as a Christologica Hermeneutic, which is just a fancy way of saying that we believe that Jesus is the key to understanding the Bible. We believe that the writings of the prophets and apostles are about Him and from start to finish point to His life, Death, and Resurrection as the key to understanding God’s Word. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. -Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/23/20235 minutes, 28 seconds
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Saturday The Second Week of Easter

April 22, 2023Today's Reading:Psalm 84:1-4; antiphon: Psalm 84:5Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:1-14, Luke 6:20-38Blessed are those who dwell in your house,ever singing your praise!  Psalm 84:4In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were very familiar with where God was located.   Psalm 84 celebrates the temple of God in Jerusalem. It begins, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies” (Ps. 84:1). This is a reference to the temple, as is made clear in the following verse: “I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD” (Ps. 84:2). Moreover, the psalm-writer adds, “What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises” (Psalm 84:4).  Later in this Psalm we hear of the sheer joy of being in the temple versus anything in this world “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else” (Psalm 84:10).As we read this psalm today, we might pause and say, this is nice, but is there anything here for us? Where are God’s courts today? Where is the temple for us today?Many Christians today will emphasize that God’s temple is now your heart. Ask Jesus into your heart, and He and His father will make it your temple. This leads to Christianity solely focusing on the individual and their prayers and devotions. Because God has made himself known to us in Christ, and because the Spirit of God.Yet, Psalm 84 shows us that God’s presence is not just for the individual but for the entire Body of Christ to participate together. This happens in the Divine Service, where Jesus meets us with His gifts of forgiveness, life, salvation, and heavenly presence.  Jesus says, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it in three days.”  The temple for us today is the flesh of Jesus, that flesh that was crucified, resurrected, ascended, and given each Lord’s day in the holy eucharist. Because Jesus is our living temple, He makes His home with us. In fact, according to the New Testament, the local church is the new temple of God: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Thus, Psalm 84 encourages us to celebrate the presence of the Lord Jesus as we gather with God’s people.  Jesus Christ, with His Word and Sacraments, is the ultimate dwelling place of God on earth, the Word made flesh. Through Christ, we dwell in the house of the Lord forever and sing His praises.  Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In His temple now behold Him; See the long-expected Lord! Ancient prophets had foretold him; God has  now fulfilled His word. Now to praise Him, His redeemèd Shall break forth with one accord.  LSB 519 vs. 1- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/22/20236 minutes
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Friday The Second Week of Easter

April 21, 2023Today's Reading: John 14:18-24Daily Lectionary: Exodus 31:1-18, Luke 6:1-19 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”Christ is Risen“John 14:18  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Amid a world of death and decay, it is straightforward to feel alone, lost and abandoned. The world doesn’t have an answer for death, so many want to celebrate the life lived in the valley of the shadow of death. The world’s inability to have an answer to the end, the devil prowling around you like a roaring lion, and our over-confidence in ourselves leads us to despair and feel alone.  Yet Jesus reminds us today, “I will not leave you as orphans.”  Jesus did not say that He will never leave us, but that He will not leave us... as orphans. To leave behind an orphan is to abandon a child, to give it up, and give up caring and loving for it. It used to be that the church took in orphans in communities. The church was not only told to pray for orphans but also to foster these children and care for them. A lower birth rate and an increase in the killing of unwanted children have led to fewer and fewer orphans around us. Yet there are still unwanted children, for whatever reason, and it’s unsuitable for the children or the parents.It is easy to feel that we have been left behind and forgotten, orphaned by the Lord. Has He forgotten us? Are we orphaned? He has left us for a time, but not as orphans. That is where the Resurrection of Jesus comes into full force—the world. It cannot give you an answer for death; it leaves you to your own devices and the temptations of the devil. We spend seven weeks during Easter to be reminded that because Christ is risen, we too shall rise. We will enter into that place our heavenly Father has prepared for us.  This is why he tells his followers after Jesus’ Resurrection, "​Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father!​“ Now that He has ascended, and sent the Spirit, the Helper, we see Him in His fullness, not with mere eyes, but with great faith and love, enthroned as God and Man.He has left us, not as orphans, but baptized, adopted children, given up, and abandoned by death! We live and shall live because He lives. Your heavenly Father has sent Christ as your Savior, Redeemer, and brother, and the Spirit reminds us that wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, there He is, all so that where He is, we may be found.  Not found as orphans but beloved children.  Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now I will cling forever To Christ, my Savior true; My Lord will leave me never, Whate'er He passes through. He rends death's iron chain; He breaks through sin and pain; He shatters hell's dark thrall;  I follow Him through all.   LSB 467 vs. 6- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/21/20235 minutes, 56 seconds
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Thursday The Second Week of Easter

April 20, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 5:17-39Daily Lectionary: Exodus 25:1-22, Luke 5:17-39Quotation for the Reflection (citation)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! The church, at all times, has longed to have new members joining the Body of Christ.  Who doesn’t love to see the church grow?  It used to be that the church would evangelize through works of mercy and care for anyone in need.  Today it seems as if we look for church members who won’t cause problems, messy people, people who will volunteer more or even give more money.  Jesus tells His disciples to “let down your nets for a catch” today. This image of Jesus is a familiar one to us.  The disciples have tried fishing all night with no results. Jesus tells them to drop the nets in the heat of the day, and there is the miraculous fish catch. This imagery is given to us about the disciples who would become “fishers of men” for the church.  However, Jesus doesn’t fish for specific fish.  He is not going over largemouth bass or walleye. He’s not going for catfish; He wants them all. Jesus doesn’t use a pole with line and bait; He uses a net.  A net is something that brings everything together at once.  Big fish, little fish, dying fish and newborn fish, predator fish, and prey fish, the list goes on and on.  Watch a YouTube video of fishermen using nets in the sea.  When the net comes up from the water, there is a massive variety of fish and creatures. The fishermen begin to sort out the fishing. Keep only what is good and throw out what is bad.What we hear of in the miraculous fish catch today is the perfect picture of Jesus’ church. Jesus does not mention what kind of fish He is looking for; none are to be cast aside. This seems crazy to us in the church.  It might even seem irresponsible, uncomfortable, or even inconvenient for whom we want to see in the church. This is the initial call of the church. To seek and welcome the lost, the last, and the losers of life so that they might be redeemed and restored by Jesus just like us.  But it's not enough to dump the net on the floor. Jesus also calls us to show mercy and love to all who enter His church's doors.  This might seem daunting; it might seem uncomfortable or awkward, but remember that He has also sought you out. His blood has redeemed you.  Blood that washes away your sins and pulses through your veins as you receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. Blood that strengthens you to welcome anyone caught up in the net of Jesus placed before HIs church. Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Grant, then, O God, Your will be done, That, when the church bells are ringing, Many in saving faith may come  Where Christ His message is brining: “I know My own, My own know Me. You, not the world, My face shall see. My peace I leave with you.  Amen.”  LSB 645 vs. 5- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/20/20236 minutes, 3 seconds
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Wednesday The Second Week of Easter

April 19, 2023Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism Table of Duties: The Fourth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18, Luke 5:1-16“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first com­mandment with a promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3.”  Luther’s Table of Duties - the Fourth CommandmentIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! I was blessed to have Christian parents who raised me in the church.  However, I still rebelled against them as most kids do.  The older I got, the dumber they seemed to me.  It was always hard to hear my parents or pastor say, “do you remember the fourth commandment?”  My response was usually an eye roll. You have heard it before, and you may have the same reactions.  However, the Lord takes this commandment very seriously.  It is no small thing that this commandment sits atop the second table of the ten commandments, which speak about loving our neighbor.  Honoring and obeying God is always first, but the parents and all authorities always come second.We are not only to love our parents but also we are to honor them.  Honor is greater than love; this command still stands despite what we think of our parents or even their faults and sins.  We are to honor and love our parents despite their failings and inadequacies. God commands that we obey our fathers as He is our Father. Fathers, likewise, are expected to be like our heavenly Father. After all, He is the origin of what it truly means to be a father.  Fathers have a high calling from God to be in His stead in the family.  St. Paul writes directly to fathers when he says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4Your parents are God’s instruments, not to raise you as children but as adults. They are the masks of God in your life, and the only way they can fulfill this duty is by the grace of God given to them as well. Jesus forgives you for failing to love and honor them, and He also forgives your parents for failing to love and raise you according to His commands; in the end, that is what it means to live out your life with your parents and family. Living in the love Christ has first shown to us and living in His gifts he continually gives us in our parents. But always remember you as well are a tremendous gift to your parents. Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Our works cannot salvation gain;  They merit only endless pain. Forgive us, Lord! To Christ we flee, Who pleads for us endlessly, Have mercy Lord!”    LSB 581 vs 12- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/19/20235 minutes, 31 seconds
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Tuesday The Second Week of Easter

April 18, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33, Luke 4:31-441Peter 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Christ is risen! I love birthdays, especially when it's the birthday of one of my kids.  I love the joy they get to see and celebrate and the memories and emotions I have of recalling the day they were born. We all have birthdays, but none of us can remember what that particular day was like.  Not only that, none of us chose to be born (thanks be to God your parents went through with it!). Yet your birthday is not just a one-time-a-year event.  When you think about it, every day you live, you get to live out your birthday!  Peter said that God caused us to be born again today. We didn’t do it. God did. It wasn’t you “making your decision for Jesus,” as though you could cause yourself to be born again. No, God caused us to be born again, and he did it through his life-giving Word. Later Peter writes in chapter 3, “Baptism now saves you.” Jesus does the work for us as we are born again.  And each day, you live out your Baptism as Jesus forgives you in the name of the triune God that gives Baptism its saving power! This Baptism is also connected to Jesus’s Resurrection, where Scripture talks about him being the “firstborn” of the new creation.  Your Baptism connects you to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter says just that. He says God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Christ was dead, and now he is risen. And therein lies the decisive act in all of history. Christ’s Resurrection from the dead gives substance to the excellent news, connects us to Christ in Holy Baptism, and forms the basis for the hope of our resurrection.Just like our birthday, there will also be our death day.  We do not die without hope the day we leave this earthly life.  Peter tells us about this future in our text. He says we have been born again to a living hope, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” “Inheritance”–that is what you receive. God gives you the gift of an “imperishable” inheritance–it doesn’t have an expiration date. An “undefiled” inheritance–nobody can mess with it. An “unfading” estate–that won’t get weaker or watered down. And this inheritance is being “kept in heaven for you,” where it will remain safe and secure.  You have been born again to a living hope.  Christ is risen!Gracious Lord, we give you thanks that in Holy Baptism we receive forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation.  On our baptismal anniversary continue to bless us by your Word and Spirit that we faithfully keep the covenant into which we have been called, boldly confess our Savior and finally share with all your saints the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Prayer for Anniversary of a Baptism - modified - LSB page 310- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/18/20236 minutes, 18 seconds
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Monday The Second Week of Easter

April 17, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 5:29-42Daily Lectionary: Exodus 22:20-23:13, Luke 4:16-30 “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” - Acts 5:29In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! We hear quite a bit during the season from the book of Acts. On the second Sunday of Easter, Acts 5 speaks to us about the cost of confessing Christ. Peter and the apostles were rejected and even suffered for the confession of Christ.  We might not have been imprisoned or beaten for confessing Christ, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen. The extraordinary comfort we find in this reading is that the Church is an unstoppable force.  Starting with Acts, people hear the Gospel and come to faith in Christ.  People are being told of the freedom from sin; they receive Christ's fulfillment of the Law.  The world hates this and is opposed to this, but Jesus says very clearly that the gates of hell will not overcome the church.  However, that doesn’t mean that the church won’t be brought to the doorsteps of hell itself while here on earth. This is where we pick up Peter’s response… “We must obey God rather than man.”  It is essential to see how bold of a statement this truly is.  They just killed Jesus for doing the same thing; what’s to stop them from doing the same to the apostles?Here is where it gets exciting and compelling for the Christian faith.  An opponent to the faith, Gamaliel, stands up and gives a speech about all the messiahs who had a following in recent years and that when they died, so did their following. These religious leaders knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, so some were trying to do whatever they could to stop the spreading of this message.  But others did not want to be found on the side fighting against God.  Gamaliel’s words are profound“So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,”  The church today might seem like it is in an uphill battle, and reality, it is.  However, we can take heart that our forefathers in the faith, including the disciples, endured so much for the sake of the Gospel.  As they lived and breathed out the life of Jesus, they were also taking up the cross of Jesus and living out His life in them.  A life of opposition, a life of suffering, but also a life of rejoicing and endurance. He overcame death, and now all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him!  His church will never fail!  Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.As true as God’s own Word is true, Not earth nor hell’s satanic crew Against us shall prevail. Their might? A joke, a mere facade! God is with us and we with God — Our vict’ry cannot fail. (LSB 666:3)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/17/20236 minutes, 4 seconds
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The Second Sunday of Easter

April 16, 2023Today's Reading: John 20:19-31Daily Lectionary: Exodus 20:1-24 Luke 4:1-15“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”  John 20:21-23In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! I don’t like to call Thomas ``doubting Thomas.”  We are no better than Thomas; he was just blatantly honest about the whole Resurrection of Jesus thing.  Yet, despite the questions, fears, and doubts about the Resurrection, Jesus is still giving peace, forgiveness, and strength.  Jesus doesn’t sit down and re-catechize his disciples. He breathes the Holy Spirit and establishes the pastoral office through the disciples.  Why did Jesus institute the office of the holy ministry here? Why did He send out the apostles? Why did He send out pastors? Every ordained pastor hears these words from John 20, “As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.’” Jesus knows that no one is going to listen to anyone but Him. So how does He speak? Pastors speak in the stead and by the command of Jesus. Whoever receives the forgiveness of the pastor receives the forgiveness of Christ. Any pastor will tell you that we’ve had people object to this... ​who do you think you are... forgiving sins.​ This is why pastors do this.Not because we are better than others or more pious, but because Jesus sends them out to do this, and His spirit goes with them and is given. It is wild that from that upper room, with ten and eleven hiding disciples behind locked doors, this word of forgiveness has been breathed and spoken throughout the world. It could have died there (and by any earthly amount of reason, it should have!), but the apostles went out without fear. Thomas apparently went all the way to India. They were changed by the Spirit, given them through the Words and breath of Christ.Christ speaks today as well. Not by merely telling stories and information about Him but by proclaiming to all what He has done for us.  Who would make up a religion where a risen lord could even be doubted? Better yet, this risen Lord is patient. Thomas says that he will never believe, and how long does Jesus wait? Eight days. Why didn’t Jesus run to Thomas immediately and beg him to believe? Because He is not worried. He is patient. He is calm. He will do what is right and good. And so it will go for you. Take heart. Do not fear. The Peace of the risen Lord Jesus Christ is with you. Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant that we, who have celebrated the Lord's Resurrection, may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  Collect for Easter 2- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/16/20236 minutes, 20 seconds
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Saturday The First Week of Easter

April 15, 2023Today's Reading: Ps. 105:4-7; antiphon: Ps. 105:8Daily Lectionary: Ex 19:1-25, Heb 13:1-21Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,  Psalm 105:5.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! An old saying says, “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.”  This statement is typically used to remind us of our past failures and faults and that we hopefully learned from them and didn’t repeat them.  But what about the joyous parts of our history?  My dad passed away almost 20 years ago, and I have a long account of memories, joys, and sorrows I shared with him.  I often recall those things with my children and even try to imitate what I learned from my father. As Christians, we have a shared history recounted in the Holy Scriptures.Psalm 105 recounts and celebrates God’s history with Israel, closely connected to the psalm before and after. These three psalms follow Israel’s history from Creation and the Fall (Psalm 104) to God’s call of Abraham to the conquest of the land (Psalm 105), ending in Israel’s exile (Psalm 106). Today’s reading shares family stories of God’s faithfulness.The Psalmist calls people to “remember the wonders he has done” (v. 5). Later in the Psalm; we are reminded of the promise God made to Abraham to give his descendants the land of Canaan (vv. 8–11).   One theme runs through this psalm: God keeps His promises!   Even today, we are reminded of the history of the salvation that Jesus continues to give for the world's life.  In Divine Service One, during the Eucharistic Liturgy, we hear after the Words of Institution the proclamation of our history in Christ “As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your Resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment.   As Jesus first gave the Eucharist to His disciples, this blessed meal has been passed down to us today to eat and drink.  We remember and recall Jesus’ passion, Death, and Resurrection in this meal.  We repeat and celebrate our history over and over each Sunday.  We recognize the Lord’s faithfulness and the works He has done. By this history, we are never doomed but redeemed and saved.  Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, God of grace, govern our hearts that we may never forget Your blessings but steadfastly thank and praise You for all Your goodness in this life until with all Your saints, we praise You eternally in Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Collect for Thanksgiving to God - LSB page 310)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/15/20235 minutes, 45 seconds
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Friday The First Week of Easter

April 14, 2023Today's Reading: Acts 10:34-43Daily Lectionary: Ex 18:5-27, Heb 12:1-24 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality”  Acts 10:34In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! Inclusion is a trendy word today and is constantly shoved in front of our faces.  There is nothing wrong with inclusivity, but the world’s views often seem one-sided.  If one group wants the freedom to live their own life, even if it's against God’s law, then we, as Christians, rarely are included in confessing what we believe.  We’ve gotten wrapped up in this for sure.  We have all worried about our words, actions, and social media posts and if they fit the need for inclusivity. Acts 10 today speaks volumes about our Christian call to love others without discrimination; too often, we make distinctions between them and us or classify some people as worthier than others before God.  God certainly shows no partiality concerning His Law and Gospel, and these gifts are not only for us but also for the life of the whole world.  Today Peter begins his discourse with the profound declaration: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” By saying this, he affirms that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile – God looks at everyone equally. He then recounts how a vision he received showed him three times that foods once deemed “unclean” according to Jewish tradition were acceptable offerings to God. As the body of Christ today, we can recognize all people as part of God’s creation and the people for whom Jesus died. As one confesses their sins against God’s all-inclusive Law, there is all-inclusive forgiveness for everyone, no matter their sins.   “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Salvation is available to all people – because Christ died for the sins of the whole world, every last one of them, committed by everyone.  So, yes, be inclusive, but be inclusive of what our Lord teaches us.  “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Pray for your enemies….” Each person was made by our loving Creator and deserved respect regardless of whether they know Him. Yet we also pray that many more may be turned to repentance to receive the all-inclusive savior who died for all and rose for all so that we might have life to the fullest.  Christ is risen!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All are redeemed, both far and wide,  Since Thou, O Lord, for all hast died.  Grant us the will and grace provide  To love them all in thee!   LSB 852 vs. 4- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/14/20235 minutes, 46 seconds
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Thursday The First Week of Easter

April 13, 2023Today's Reading: Jeremiah 31:1-6Daily Lectionary: Ex 17:1-16, Heb 11:1-29At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:1In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen!  We live and die by time. Whether getting up in time for school or getting to work on time, we have a clock on our wrists, phones, or computers.  Watching time consumes so much of our day. Today Jeremiah says, “At that time…” Jer. 31:1.  But what time is he talking about?  Is it something in the past, today, or in the future?  The answer is “Yes, but only through Jesus’ Resurrection!”  During the time of Easter, we tend to focus on Jesus’ victory over death and how that impacts us now and in the future. But what about the past?  Jesus’ Resurrection isn’t bound by time or space; it is for all people of all times, for He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.  In our reading today, the people of Israel are told that they will be freed from the yoke of their captives, freed from slavery, and restored to the Promised Land. Jeremiah is speaking to the people as they are in exile in the land of Babylon. They have all been separated from the Land, the Holy City, and the Temple. They certainly are wondering what God thinks of them if He is even with them. Jeremiah’s words would have brought them comfort. But Jeremiah’s words are not just for those who lived in the past; they are for us today and in the future. Jesus speaks about this in Luke 24 with His disciples “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets; He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.”  Luke 24:7Jeremiah speaks of Israel’s restoration today, but this is not just for those of the past; it is for all time!  This restoration is understood as a resurrection brought back into the heavenly Jerusalem.  But when will this be completed? What is the timeframe of the Messiah?  Scripture tells us, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).   Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, for all time and into eternity.   We do not need to worry about the times of today, yesterday, or in the future.  By His Resurrection, Jesus “…has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Christ is Risen!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Take heart, have hope, my spirit,  And do not be dismayed;  God helps in ev’ry trial  And makes you unafraid. Await His time with patience  Through darkest hours of night Until the sun you hoped for     Delights your eager sight.  LSB 754 vs. 3- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/13/20235 minutes, 47 seconds
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Thursday The First Week of Easter

April 13, 2023Today's Reading: Jeremiah 31:1-6Daily Lectionary: Exodus 17:1-16, Hebrews 11:1-29At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:1In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen!  We live and die by time. Whether getting up in time for school or getting to work on time, we have a clock on our wrists, phones, or computers.  Watching time consumes so much of our day. Today Jeremiah says, “At that time…” Jeremiah 31:1.  But what time is he talking about?  Is it something in the past, today, or in the future?  The answer is “Yes, but only through Jesus’ Resurrection!”  During the time of Easter, we tend to focus on Jesus’ victory over death and how that impacts us now and in the future. But what about the past?  Jesus’ Resurrection isn’t bound by time or space; it is for all people of all times, for He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.  In our reading today, the people of Israel are told that they will be freed from the yoke of their captives, freed from slavery, and restored to the Promised Land. Jeremiah is speaking to the people as they are in exile in the land of Babylon. They have all been separated from the Land, the Holy City, and the Temple. They certainly are wondering what God thinks of them if He is even with them. Jeremiah’s words would have brought them comfort. But Jeremiah’s words are not just for those who lived in the past; they are for us today and in the future. Jesus speaks about this in Luke 24 with His disciples “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets; He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.”  Luke 24:7Jeremiah speaks of Israel’s restoration today, but this is not just for those of the past; it is for all time!  This restoration is understood as a resurrection brought back into the heavenly Jerusalem.  But when will this be completed? What is the timeframe of the Messiah?  Scripture tells us, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).   Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, for all time and into eternity.   We do not need to worry about the times of today, yesterday, or in the future.  By His Resurrection, Jesus “…has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Christ is Risen!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Take heart, have hope, my spirit,  And do not be dismayed;  God helps in ev’ry trial  And makes you unafraid. Await His time with patience  Through darkest hours of night Until the sun you hoped for     Delights your eager sight.  LSB 754 vs. 3- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR. Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/13/20235 minutes, 47 seconds
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Wednesday The First Week of Easter

April 12, 2023Today's Reading: John 21:1-14Daily Lectionary: Ex 16:13-35, Heb 10:19-393 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is Risen! Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.How much proof do you need to believe something? If someone proves something to you, do you believe it or return to your old thoughts, beliefs, and ways?  In the Gospels, Jesus’ disciples were with Him for three and a half years.  They heard Him teach, saw and participated in the miraculous, and heard Him speak plainly about His Death and Resurrection.  Now in the whole course of the Resurrection of Jesus, we see Jesus over and over revealing Himself to His disciples once again. Just before today’s reading, Jesus reveals Himself to Thomas and the twelve and shows His hands and side.  He even tells them, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27).  At the very beginning of John 21, the disciples have returned to their old life of being fishermen before Jesus ever called them.  How much proof do they need to believe that Jesus is true God and true Man and the King of Kings? There is confusion, chaos, and indecision in their minds regarding what this all means. Yet, notice that Jesus doesn’t try any new tricks to convince them. He goes back to Luke chapter 5 with the disciples.  Just at the beginning, the disciples catch many fish John 21.  They have come full circle to where it all began with them.  Instead of bashing these disciples for ignorance, take comfort from this passage.  Faith in Jesus is always a challenging road.  The Holy Spirit is willing, but our sinful flesh is always weak. We are constantly battling to return to the old ways of our Old Adam.  When we find life burdensome and question who Jesus is and has He truly loved us, we find ourselves like the disciples.  Yet, Jesus does not have any new tricks. He reminds us of our Baptism, where we were crucified and resurrected with Him and called to walk in the “newness of life” (Romans 6).  Your Baptism points you back to the waters where Christ gave you new birth from above. The baptismal font reminds you of who you are in Jesus despite your questions, doubts, or uncertainty.  Jesus also prepares a meal for you.  Just as the feeding of the 5,000 and the preparation of breakfast on the seashore (notice the bread and fish again!) Jesus feeds us as well.  Even after seeing the resurrected Lord Jesus and being invited to breakfast, one disciple dares to ask, “Who are you” - John 21:13.  Likewise, Jesus bids us to the feast even with our fears, doubts, questions, and uncertainty. In the Eucharist, He forgives you of all your sins and strengthens your faith in Him. Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believe. Christ is Risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For today among His own  Christ appeared, bestowing  His deep peace, which evermore  Passes human knowing. Neither could the gates of death  Nor the tomb's dark portal  Nor the watchers nor the seal Hold Him as a mortal.  - LSB 487 vs. 4 - Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/12/20236 minutes, 24 seconds
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Tuesday The First Week of Easter

April 11, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-49Daily Lectionary: Ex 15:19-16:12, Heb 10:1-18“Have you anything here to eat?” Luke 24:40In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Christ is risen! If you ever attend a funeral at a church and the pastor doesn’t preach on the physical Resurrection of Jesus and the promise of the same resurrection of the deceased, you’ve been cheated.  Jesus points to this important promise of the bodily resurrection.  He points to it with a question with six simple words. “Have you anything here to eat?”  What an odd question Jesus asks at the height of all the commotion and craziness of His Resurrection.  He rises from the dead, He appears to them, He shows His hands and feet, they still can’t believe it and then He asks for grub?  Believe it or not, this is an incredibly important question Jesus asks. So many in the early Christian church twisted and rearranged the Resurrection of Jesus.  They said His body was stolen or the disciples were seeing things, they were delusional in the middle of their fears.  Others have said that Jesus only rose spiritually but not physically.  However, if Jesus only rose spiritually then our faith is in vain. This is why Jesus asks for something to eat. Despite what the movie Ghostbusters portrays, spirits or ghosts cannot eat physical food.  You have to have a physical body to eat physical food. This is why Jesus asks the question, He shows them by eating, that He has physically risen from the dead!  Why is this important for you and me?It means that our resurrection will also be physical. You and I will one day be physically raised from the dead. Think of that: in your Baptism, you are promised that you not only have been crucified with Jesus but also risen with Jesus. (Cf Romans 6).  We say in the Creed “I believe in the resurrection of the body…” The promise of heaven is not the end but the beginning.  There always must be a resurrection.  Jesus eating fish means that our bodies after the resurrection will be changed, just like Jesus’ body was changed. Rather than me going on and on about this, let St. Paul remind you.  “Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” 1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-54. We will be raised from the dead, physically, and in the end, Jesus will call us out of our graves to rise physically in the new heavens and new earth forever.  Christ is risen!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your name we bless, O risen Lord,  And sing today with one accord  The life laid down, the life restored: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!  LSB 475 vs. 4- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/11/20236 minutes, 12 seconds
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Monday The First Week of Easter

April 10, 2023Today's Reading: Luke 24:13-35Daily Lectionary: Ex 15:1-18, Heb 9:1-28When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. Luke 24:30-31In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Christ is risen! Saint Luke recounts that on the Sunday of the Resurrection, two disciples of Jesus were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were overwhelmed with all the news of hearing about the angel’s announcement that Jesus was alive (v. 22ff) but still had doubts about the Resurrection. They were so immersed in their sadness and confusion that they could not recognize the risen Jesus in the person walking alongside them.Do you notice how Jesus deals with these disciples?  There, without any fuss, Jesus appeared to them and walked with them, his conversation helping to alleviate their fears.  But then He speaks plainly with them “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”  Luke 24:26-27, Jesus joins them as they go along their way, but He also speaks to them plainly about how the Scripture points to Him.  Soon He will be ascending to His Father and removed from their sight.  Later as He sits with His disciples, He takes bread, blesses it, and breaks it.  It isn’t until Jesus breaks the bread and vanishes that they realize they have seen the risen Lord Jesus.  But why does Jesus speak and break bread and then disappear?  There were so many more questions, so many answers needed, and so many fears to be calmed.  Jesus speaks, breaks bread, and then disappears from their sight to show them how He will be with us always to the very end of the age.  The Word and Sacraments are how He will work with HIs church after the Ascension.  Later Luke tells us in Acts chapter 2 that the early disciples followed this pattern of Jesus revealing Himself to all the world.  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Acts 2:42You may find yourself like these disciples, full of questions and doubts.  Is this Jesus real?  Did He rise from the dead?  Or you may have more significant fears concerning yourself, your family and friends, this world, and our daily darkness and decay.  But take heart; Jesus meets you in this life every time you gather around His gifts that are given to you. Just like those first disciples that Easter Sunday, Jesus He reveals Himself to us every Sunday as Scriptures and the Eucharist are spoken and distributed by Jesus through your pastor.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here would I feed upon the bread of God, Here drink with Thee the royal wine of heav'n;  Here would I lay aside each earthly load,  Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiv'n.  LSB 631 vs. 2- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/10/20236 minutes, 15 seconds
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Easter Sunday

April 9, 2023Today's Reading: Matthew 28:1-10Daily Lectionary: Ex. 14:10-31, Heb 9:1-28“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”  Matthew 28:6In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Christ is Risen!! Heard any good jokes lately? Believe it or not there were some Church Fathers who said that at Easter God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead. They called it the ‘Risus paschalis — the Easter laugh,'”.  As Lutherans being serious and liturgical types, this might seem disrespectful and distasteful. But maybe there is something to this. The world needs a serious laugh, because everyone has become so serious.As church people we can take ourselves much too seriously. Life can be hard. Life can give us fears. Life is painful. But Easter means that life is God’s, and God has the last word. So today why not smile, relax, and laugh. He is risen!Because this is the one thing that actually matters, and if it’s not true, then everything else is pointless, and your life is just waddling towards the grave. But no, in fact, Christ is risen!They killed Him! Crucified Him! The world, we all, turned our back on Him! The best friend we’ve ever had, and we betrayed Him! God Who has become our dear Brother! And yet our efforts  are a colossal failure. Jesus is right. Forgive them for they know not what they do.  We don’t know what we are doing, and we never really have. The world survives on grace and that is absolutely amazing.  Amazing enough to cause us to laugh a little or a lot.  Jesus told them pretty explicitly that He would be raised on the third day. And they run to the tomb, and see the Angel of the Lord sitting on the rock that was sealed shut. God sends his messenger to show and declare He sits on death and laughs.  “Death, where is your victory?”This really is the most remarkable thing that has ever happened. Christ is risen! The women  run to the other disciples! ​I have seen the Lord!  Mary’s words are enough. ​ And ever since, the church has said these words, on this day, early on the first day of the week. ​I have seen the Lord!​ What joy! If a crucified Jesus is raised from the dead, death is overthrown! There will be more Resurrections. You will be raised, for death cannot grip you, for all you who have been baptized into His death have also been baptized into His Resurrection! He is not worried. He is not angry. He is alive! Truly alive! Be of good cheer and do not lose heart! Let out a little laughter and joy today.   Christ is risen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious Resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Collect for Easter Sunday- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/9/20236 minutes, 38 seconds
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Holy Saturday

April 8,  2023Today's Reading: Matt 27:57-66Daily Lectionary: Ex 13:17-14:9, Heb 7:1-22Matthew 27:59–60: “And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Bible isn’t much on the in-between.  We have Christmas, then nothing until Jesus’ Ministry. No teenage Jesus. We get the cross and resurrection. Then some stuff about the last day.  But not much in the middle, where we spend every day. So people write books to try and fill in the gap. We’re stuck in between Easter and the Last Day. And the in-between is where all my problems and sins and trials live. I think Easter vigil is for this.  Christ is dead and buried. He will rise tomorrow. But how do we feel today? Diet sad? Lowkey happy? What do we do in between? The Creed defines it for us in four words. He descended into hell. This was the in-between of the cross and resurrection. And even then, Jesus proclaimed the victory to the spirits in prison. Jesus kicked down the doors to hell. The cross was a real victory over the power of Satan, over the power of death. The reality was then, even before the triumph of Easter.  We live in the in-between, waiting, but the victory is already won. The devil still exists. But he lost. You still have sins, but they’re forgiven. You still have trials, but you’re a saint, a member of the host of heaven, waiting for the resurrection. You’re tied to it today. Because Jesus who died is risen. Our Life is in between the already and the not yet, but we have the victory even now. Just as we know what’s coming tomorrow, we know for ourselves too. Christ is risen. We will rise. The in-between is already answered. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands For our offenses given; But now at God’s right hand He stands And brings us life from heaven. Therefore let us joyful be And sing to God right thankfully Loud songs of alleluia! Alleluia! (Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands (LSB 458:1)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/8/20235 minutes, 20 seconds
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Good Friday

April 7,  2023Today's Reading: John 18:1-19:42Daily Lectionary: Ex 12:29-32, 13:1-16, Lam 5:1-22, Heb 6:1-20, Psalm 22In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everybody’s made the joke about “Good” Friday.  Good for us. Bad for Him. It’s not just of boomers, but of the devil. Satan can never undo what was finished when Jesus died to save you. So he tries to twist it, whispering that this sacrifice might not be good in Jesus’ eyes. That you should feel guilt when you look at the cross.  Look at the suffering our Lord endured because you sinned.  Could you really meet His eye there? Satan tries to work guilt from the cross Jesus willingly bore to bring you comfort. He didn’t die on the cross so you would feel bad about it. He died to forgive you.  Yes. He hurt for you. He hurt because of you. Why’s that bad? Not just good for us, but for Him too. He was willing to drink of this cup to the dregs for you. He rejoiced to see this hour where you were saved. If you want to feel guilt, look to the Law, look to the Word of God whom you say you love and then disregard so quickly, look to the people you hurt, look to the damage you do to yourself even though God calls you precious. See the damage your sin has done, the things you’ve broken. Sin is bad. It breaks stuff. Feel bad about that, but when you feel guilty that Jesus suffered and died for you, it's really only guilt that someone would dare to love you that much. That’s a value question that you don't get to decide. God shows your value. More than silver or gold. Holy precious blood. Innocent suffering and death. This is what you are worth. This is how priceless you are. You are worth that much. It was Love that put Him there for you, and yes it hurt, yes it’s graphic, but He said it Himself, if this is how to save His beloved, He will go, not just against His will, but even gladly.  Good Friday wasn't just good for you and bad for Jesus. It was good for Him too, because He got to do for His beloved that which He was given to do. He got to love you, because love looks like something. Not just a feeling. An expression.  A sacrifice. Love looks like this. And Jesus loves you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Here we have a firm foundation, Here the refuge of the lost: Christ, the Rock of our salvation, Is the name of which we boast; Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, Sacrifice to cancel guilt! None shall ever be confounded Who on Him their hope have built. (Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted, LSB 451:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/7/20235 minutes, 44 seconds
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Maundy Thursday

April 6,  2023Today's Reading:  Matt 26:17-30Daily Lectionary: Ex 12:1-28, Lam 4:1-22, Heb 5:1-14, Psalm 31Matthew 26:26–28: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Communion is actually the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and drink.  Like...really. Jesus' blood. Same blood that flowed down from His hands and side on the cross. For you. Drink it. Seriously. We have to admit that's off putting. When the funny looking pastor in funny clothes holds it up and says "the peace of the Lord be with you always" he's showing you where peace comes from. It’s not in the air. It’s not in each other. It’s in the bread that is His body.  These words "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins" show us that in this Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. If you eat Jesus' Body and drink His Blood your sins will be forgiven and you will have life and salvation. Not symbolically. The cardboard-tasting thing called bread and bottom shelf wine are the most precious gifts in all of creation. Eat and drink them and you'll have everything God has to give you. It's so hard to believe that the Holy Spirit has to do it for you. It still leads people to recoil. It's ridiculous. Invite someone to church, and see how quickly the Communion talk feels like more of a burden than a gift. But Communion is not an excuse. It's not a burden. It's not something we need to reason away or struggle to justify. It's an answer. A gift. A hope given for us to cling to in the darkest of days for the worst parts of us. This is for sinners. This is for you, full of jealousy, guilt, shame, rage, and sin. We don’t get fixed by ignoring reality, cramming in a room for a meal and pretending everything is OK when it isn't. We’re saved by the God who feeds us with His body and blood. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be Thou my consolation, My shield, when I must die; Remind me of Thy passion When my last hour draws nigh. Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, Upon Thy cross shall dwell, My heart by faith enfold Thee. Who dieth thus dies well. (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, LSB 449:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/6/20235 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday Holy Week

April 5,  2023Today's Reading: Luke 22:1-23:56Daily Lectionary: Ex 10:21-11:10, Lam 3:1-66, Heb 4:1-16Luke 22:46: “and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Garden of Gethsemane is where I brought every idea of what my life should be like, then stared dumbfounded as they were dashed to pieces in front of me.The Garden of Gethsemane is where I came to the painful realization that my life was not turning out according to plan.I think that’s what it’s there for. It forces us to be honest about our weaknesses. Peter wandered into Gethsemane with hopes of steadfastness, promising to never abandon, let alone deny his Lord. He came with a sword, ready to cut ears off for Jesus. Before the rooster crowed, that all fell apart. Judas came with schemes to profit. By the end of the weekend, he died broke and alone. Mark showed up just not wanting to do anything stupid to embarrass himself. He accidently ran away naked. All of the disciples entered Gethsemane with zeal and daydreams of God’s wonderful plan for their lives. They were ready to seize every great thing they were sure He had planned. Then they all fell asleep. Twice.The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.The Garden of Gethsemane is where we find that out. But none of them came to the garden alone. Jesus was there all along, praying through sweat and tears of blood. “Thy will be done.” God’s will is done in Gethsemane. It always is.God’s will is done among us also. The Garden of Gethsemane isn’t where God walks me from where I am to where I want to be. It’s where my quest for power like Peter, love of money like Judas, sheer stupidity in the face of reality like Mark, and laziness like all the sleeping disciples are called exactly what they really are. Sin.Yet, Jesus abides in the Garden of Gethsemane for sinners. For me, for you. For when everything falls apart, and for us who broke it. Christ willingly walked down the only path left to Him. He died for the sake of the people. For us. To forgive our selfish sins that condemn us. To bear God’s wrath Himself in order to save us. He will drag us out of our sins, through Gethsemane to the cross, and all the way to the Resurrection on Easter morning. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest Friend, For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee. (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, LSB 449:3)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/5/20235 minutes, 58 seconds
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Tuesday Holy Week

April 4,  2023Today's Reading:  Mark 14:1-15:47Daily Lectionary: Ex 9:29-10:20, Lam 2:1-22, Heb 3:1-19Mark 14:30–31: “And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I don’t know why, but we love the idea that God would test our faithfulness. Peter doesn’t hear this as a sad statement of reality, a warning he’s going to need some help. It’s a challenge. A test. Peter would never do that. He responds. “Nuh uh.” If I must die with you, I’ll never deny you. Everyone else might fall away but I won’t. I’ll prove I’m better than them. I’ll prove I deserve your blessingFirst, He’s God, He would know…but rather than learn from it, for some reason we have this desire to say, “if I were there I’d have never denied Him” sort of like arguments won later in the shower. We take our surroundings, and imagine ways we can prove to be steadfast. Heroes of the faith. We imagine the awfulness of the present day is a challenge to us. Society. Sin. Suffering. We’ll prove we’re faithful in the face of them. Is this some sort of test? Do you think God just wants to make sure we’re good enough? First, He’s God, He would know….but second, you prove what you are all the time. It’s called sin.You can measure it. Look to the Ten Commandments. How are you really doing?  Hear the sad statement of reality from our Lord. Before all this is over, you’ll make idols out of power and popularity. You’ll be afraid. You’ll doubt. You’ll despair. It’s a warning you’re going to need some help that we insist is some kind of challenge.  We respond. “Nuh uh.”  Why do you want this to be on you? It’s on Jesus, who bore the cross for Peter who denied, for you who were afraid. And He has not left you alone in your struggles. Breathe. Look to the cross. See Jesus there for you. Know who you are, not based on what you’ve earned, but based on what He’s given. You are baptized. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners’ gain; Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place; Look on me with Thy favor, And grant to me Thy grace. (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, LSB 449:2)-Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/4/20235 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monday Holy Week

April 3,  2023Today's Reading:  Matt. 26:1-27:66Daily Lectionary: Ex 9:1-28, Lam. 2:1-22, Heb 3:1-19Matthew 26:11: “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s easy to question the LORD when He encourages expensive perfume being poured on his feet rather than sold to care for the poor. This is the thing that drove Judas to the chief priests for silver to betray Him. Jesus responds, “The poor you will always have with you”.  There will always be sinners who don’t care for them. And it’s unjust. It’s not ok.  We sinners have learned to speak in polarity. Black or white. Full or empty. So on one side, Judas is just wanting to care for the poor. On the other, social justice has become a topic reserved for the ungodly.  What we should see is the importance of God. And somehow we’ve found ourselves in a position where we turn our backs on either the least of these, which will end poorly on the last day according to Jesus, or Jesus, which…also will end poorly on the last day. Either we seek justice in the world or joy in our Lord, but both times come up wanting.  Instead of contrasting helping the poor with time in church, justice and joy, let them both be found in Christ. He is our justice and our justification. He is our joy. Judas assumes he loves the poor more than the God who took flesh to die for them. Jesus refuses to let poverty imposed by other sinners divorce someone from the kingdom of heaven. There will be days when it is hard to find Jesus. There will be days when the poverty of this world is overpowering. On those days, the cross matters more, not less. Christ bore the cross for the oppressors and the oppressed. For the sinners and sinned against. We gather around His gifts because no matter what we build otherwise, justice will always be out of reach. No matter how hard we try, how much we give, there will always be more pain, but there is always enough Jesus.  That doesn’t mean don’t try to care for the poor. It means make sure that above all else, the Gospel is the measurement of justice, because in Christ we are justified now. There, joy can endure all things.  n the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O sacred Head, now wounded, With grief and shame weighed down, Now scornfully surrounded With thorns, Thine only crown. O sacred Head, what glory, What bliss, till now was Thine! Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine. (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, LSB 449:1)- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/3/20235 minutes, 57 seconds
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Sunday of the Passion

April 2,  2023Today's Reading: Matt. 27:11-66 Daily Lectionary: Ex 8:1-32, Heb. 1:1-14Matthew 27:54: “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Palm branches are for victory. Jesus rode into town to the palm leaves thrown down by the crowd who today yells hosanna, save us, but will yell crucify in a week. The first to lay them down were the apostles who couldn’t be prouder to find him a donkey to ride only to deny Him three times like Peter.  Marching in the parade are the ones who fought each other over who the greatest is and wrote books with subtle snubs against their neighbor like John, or as he insists on calling himself, the apostle whom Jesus loved for the whole book just to annoy Peter. Like brothers and sisters in Christ who nurture petty grudges claiming superiority is more important than reconciliation in Christ. I can’t help but wonder if the insurrectionist Barabbas would have been there, prison notwithstanding, because the idea of a religion that addresses politics before souls is all too appealing in a world where you don’t get your way, even if it does completely miss the point. The traitor Judas was there, and since he was introduced as “the one who would betray Him”, we can save ourselves the trouble of having to be concerned for his fall. After all, there are sinners, and then there are sinners, and it’s easier to just write those kinds of souls off as object lessons to the rest of us. In case it escaped your notice, we’re the same kind of sinners that populated Jerusalem years ago. This is the heavenly band for whom He rode into Jerusalem. His disciples did not understand these things at first.  We still struggle with them too. So we’re shown Jesus glorified on the cross. It was for them. He died for Peter and Judas. He died so the criminal Barabbas could escape death. He died for the Pharisees.  For all. For you. We lay down palms of victory. Palms are for winners. It doesn’t look like much until you see them waved in heaven. Behold the glorious band. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/2/20235 minutes, 56 seconds
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Saturday the Fifth Week of Lent

April 1,  2023Today's Reading:  Introit for Holy Week Ps. 24:7-10; antiphon: Ps. 118:26Daily Lectionary: Ex 7:1-25, Mark 16:1-20Psalm 24:8: “Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I can see why the crowds who gathered to cry Hosanna missed it.  Hosanna.. Save us. And He does. But we measure might differently than God does. The crowds went looking for war horses. Rebellion. Jesus rode a donkey into town to die. We know the schtick about strength being made perfect in weakness. But a little might now and then still sounds…not terrible. These devotions are always the same.  I love the forgiveness of sins, but it’s still in the back of my mind.  Why can’t the LORD go do battle with Alzheimers and ALS and cancer and everything else wrong? He does. We just don’t see it until the Resurrection. In Christ, cancer has claimed 0 lives.  In the cross, God remembers us even where we forget. We are engraved on the palms of His hands. On the last day, we’ll leap out of wheelchairs and tear out the oxygen tubes and run and not be weary. But today, the crowds cry Hosanna and still mean more than God intends to give. And it’s heartbreaking to hear the words “not yet” in the face of the things that are killing us.  So Jesus rides into Jerusalem and doesn’t address the crowds. There aren’t words or explanations that will make the reasons behind our desperate prayers hurt less. Which is sort of why He rides into town, in might to die on a cross. Hurting is harder than not hurting. Jesus doesn’t ride into town to not hurt. Instead, He is mighty enough to suffer for you. For your desperate prayers that defy “not yet”, Jesus promises it is finished. He dares us to imagine the same.  You are mighty because in Him you are now strong enough to suffer. You are already bound to the victory, so you don’t need a path around the pain to get there. He makes you mighty. Might like the Lord’s doesn’t kneel to afflictions of today. It kneels to the God who drags us through them with all the same unstoppable force that drove Him through the crowds who cried Hosanna. Save us. He did. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O’er captive death and conquered sin. (Ride On, Ride On in Majesty, LSB 441:2) Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
4/1/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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Joseph, Patriarch

March 31,  2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Ex. 5:1-6:1, Mark 15:33-47Mark 15:34: “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s the commemoration of St. Joseph, but the Bible story is Jesus. It’s the wrong story, except it’s not. Joseph is a story about descent and then resurrection to save his people. It’s Jesus.  It’s Jesus when He is turned on by His brothers and left for dead. It’s Jesus when God works this for good. It’s Jesus when Joseph points to a savior in dreams, because the dreams are about the real Savior, the Christ. It’s Jesus when Joseph becomes a prisoner unrighteously. It’s Jesus when he becomes a servant. It’s Jesus when all this sin committed against an innocent man is somehow worked to save the same sinners. It’s Jesus when he is at last restored.  The crucifixion is the story of all of scripture. It points to the redemption of sinners in so many ways. We remember Joseph, the Patriarch, because he was a forerunner of his Savior, our Savior, the Savior of all the world who was betrayed and mocked, condemned to bear the cross for you.  Where it looked as if God had forsaken Joseph, as years passed by, God was at work. Where it looks like God has forsaken you, remember. We are not the Christ anymore than Joseph was. Joseph was not forsaken. Jesus was. He is the fulfillment of the things Joseph’s life only pointed to. When you feel far from God, abused, and cast aside, understand this is the image of your Savior, but God is not far off. He is very near, because it is here that He fulfilled all of these things and did them for you.  We have a God who not only works good out of evil, as He did in the life of Joseph, and chiefly in the suffering and death of His Son, but we have a God who promises not to be far off when evil is at hand.  That’s where He draws closest so that He can save. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Down through the realm of darkness He strode in victory, And at the hour appointed He rose triumphantly. And now, to heav’n ascended, He sits upon the throne Whence He had ne’er departed, His Father’s and His own. (Christ is the World’s Redeemer, LSB 539:3) Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/31/20235 minutes, 56 seconds
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Thursday the Fifth Week of Lent

March 30,  2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Ex 4:19-31, Mark 15:16-32Exodus 4:21–23: “And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is somehow more uncomfortable than the next verses where Moses’ wife throws a child’s foreskin on his feet.  God told Moses he was going to harden Pharaoh’s heart and kill firstborn kids. It leaves us struggling to find goodness in God. It seems to lend the attacks of internet atheists that much more credibility. God kills people.  A lot of the problem is that we start the same way Pharaoh does. With ourselves. We see ourselves in this world in terms of what’s ours. We see the world in terms of our rights.  Rights are a government word rooted in the Law. God doesn’t give rights. He gives gifts. He promises to Moses, a sinner, not only forgiveness of sins, but freedom. It’s not that He chooses some and condemns others. It’s that He chooses and refuses to let anyone lay claim to His redeemed. The LORD takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but He will not let the life of the wicked rob you of His promises.  Right and wrong seem to have different flavors depending on what side of the argument you’re on. Not just here. Always. So instead, look to the nature of God. He simply IS good. The gifts that He gives are good too, because they’re of Him. Even in the midst of terrible and painful realities, God does not turn back, but bears it Himself for us. He gave His own Son to fulfill even this demand. God gives good gifts to sinners. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, but everything He does is a gift. Even when these gifts are abused. Even when they eventually break. But even your life is a gift from God. And when He takes you in death, that’s a gift too, because He gave His Son upon the cross to grant you resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What God ordains is always good: He never will deceive me; He leads me in His righteous way, And never will He leave me. I take content What He has sent; His hand that sends me sadness Will turn my tears to gladness. (What God Ordains Is Always Good, LSB 760:2) - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/30/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday the Fifth Week of Lent

March 29,  2023Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism – Ten Commandments - Third CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Ex 4:1-18, Mark 15:1-15Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God wasn’t tired after making everything. The Sabbath isn’t a chance to parrot God catching His breath. The focus on abstaining from work on the Sabbath day misses the point.  The point of the Commandment is in the word holy.  You will not be holier by sitting on the couch eating junk food.  Jesus insists the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath because this day was not given as a measuring stick for you to prove yourself to God by…doing nothing.  It only serves to prove how sinful we are that we somehow fail at even doing nothing to the point that the Pharisees would pick at each other and even our Lord.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  So instead of looking to your works, look to something actually holy.  Look to Jesus. The Sabbath day won’t become holy to you who are unholy in your sins.  There’s nothing you can do to make the day holy.  It’s like trying to clean a table with a dirty rag.  The Sabbath day becomes holy for you when you’re exposed to something holy.  The Sabbath day becomes holy to you when you do not despise preaching or God’s Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.  Go to church.  Receive God’s gifts.  He insists a day be set aside to make you holy.  The reason God set aside the seventh day wasn’t because He was tired. It was so God could spend time with you. Our rest is found in receiving the Word and Sacraments that take away our sins and leave us holy.  It's also why we celebrate the Sabbath on the first day, not the seventh.  This is the day Jesus rose from the grave.  This is the day a holy God conquered unholy sin and death.  It isn’t about the day.  It’s about the gifts.  He gives you His Body and Blood to eat and drink.  He gives you His Word, promising peace, forgiveness, and joy.  He sets aside time and insists you join Him so that you would not remain in your unholiness and sin, but that He would dwell with you to cleanse you and bring you with Him to the last great day when the sabbath rest will be unending.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“You shall observe the worship day That peace may fill your home, and pray, And put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you.” Have mercy, Lord! (“These are the Holy Ten Commands” LSB 581:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/29/20234 minutes, 39 seconds
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Tuesday the Fifth Week of Lent

March 28,  2023Today's Reading:  Hebrews 9:11-15Daily Lectionary: Ex 2:23-3:22, Mark 14:53-72Hebrews 9:15: “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.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A covenant is a promise God makes with us.  Is the first covenant made in the garden with two trees? Eat from one, not the other? Is it made with Abraham, who believed and it was counted to him as righteousness? Moses, who gave the instructions for the shedding of the blood of goats and calves for the forgiveness of sins? The text talks about dead bulls so I can take a guess, but the last verse leaves options. There just hasn’t been a promise God has made to a people who haven’t turned around and sinned. And for what it reveals to us about Him, I’m grateful.  It isn’t just that all the dead bulls pointed to a dead Jesus. It’s that Jesus died for us. The ones who have been given the promise who turned around and transgressed against the Lord. Like Adam. And Abraham. And Moses. And Peter. And every other saint until the last great day when sins are left behind as we enter the resurrection.  Ours is the God who makes promises to sinners, then fulfills what we are unable to do. A covenant isn’t a two party deal when it comes to God. He keeps both ends. So when we find a church full of sinners, a generation of Christians who look like they tear down more than they build, a label that fits all too well on the Christians that leave you frustrated, understand that Jesus makes them promises too. He shed His blood for them, and for you too. For forgiveness for every place we transgressed in the first place. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. (Not All the Blood of Beasts, LSB 431:3)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/28/20234 minutes, 19 seconds
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Monday the Fifth Week of Lent

March 27,  2023Today's Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14Daily Lectionary: Ex 2:1-22, Mark 14:32-52Ezekiel 37:4: “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This story isn’t just Ezekiel. It’s every pastor of every church, called out into a valley full of sinners cut off from one another. Addicts with secrets and not-so-secrets. Monsters.  Victims. Bones. You see it in the gossip that runs rampant in churches, in anxiety and anger, depression and fear, suffering and death. We are the valley of dry bones. And someone told us that Christian soldiers are supposed to march. The hymn might be lying. So your pastor preaches sermons. A few of us are actually good enough to make you feel better for an hour or two after church. But does it really get better? Can these bones live? O Lord, You know. I don’t.  I can tell you what His word says, but can’t make you believe it. I can tell you a sin is wrong, but can’t break your addiction to it. I can give names to every sin in Ten Commandments, but it won’t make them hurt less. But God tells the prophet, unsure of what to do or say that it’s really pretty simple. Preach the Word.  Know who your God is. He is Jesus, who opens your grave and makes you live. That’s a promise given to dry bones whether or not they’re afraid, whether or not they’re sinners, whether or not they even draw breath. God’s Word still preaches and the dying still live. Because it’s measured in Him, not the Valley.  Peace isn’t a lack of problems or a perfect church. Peace isn’t a handle on your life and a morality that doesn’t look at the Ten Commandments and find only hypocrisy.  Peace is a present God, speaking life to the dying, speaking hope to you.  The church doesn’t call us simply to strive to climb out of the valley where the bones are. It promises Jesus joins us and makes us, even us, live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Like a mighty army Moves the Church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod. We are not divided, All one body we, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity.  Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. (Onward Christian Soldiers, LSB 662:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/27/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
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Sunday the Fifth Week of Lent

March 26,  2023Today's Reading: John 11:1-45Daily Lectionary: Ex. 1:1-22, Mark 14:12-31John 11:21: “Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think John made sure to get this in the story not to leave us with a bad impression of Martha marked on one of the hardest days of her life. I think it’s to give us the words to speak on our own. Its bitterness and genuine anger rolled up in a confession of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. It isn’t just an accusation. It’s a recognition. It doesn’t ignore the problem because of Jesus. But it doesn’t dismiss it either. Something wrong happened. God could have stopped it. There will be a resurrection someday. But today, hope feels far off. Because we tend to root hope in the answer to prayers, not the God answering them.  Hope is a Lazarus who didn’t die. Hope is a Lazarus who will rise on the last day. But that leaves hope very far away when he’s four days in the tomb and rotting. It might be worth noting that throughout this entire story, every time the followers of Jesus presume to know His plans, they’re wrong. Every time they put their hope in something He can control, but not in Him, it falls apart. Because hope is not found in God answering prayers. Hope is found in God. Where God is, there is hope. And Jesus draws near to dead Lazarus.  He could have stopped it. He could have chosen not to go into Jerusalem to die. He could have chosen to punish sinners for insolence and impoliteness…and you know…sin. Instead, His will is done as absolutely done, confounding the imaginations of everyone. So maybe hope in Jesus, not what you think He’ll do. Hope is not measured in anything other than the presence of Jesus. Everything else is turned upside down. The body should never have died. The dead body should stink. And in all of it, hope is measured in something else. Jesus is near.  Which may be why He gives us His Body and Blood in church. So that hope can be measured in more than “Did I get what I wanted?” or “Did I die and go to heaven and on the last day rise?”. It’s measured in “Is Jesus here for me?” and the answer is Yes. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/26/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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The Annunciation of Our Lord

March 25,  2023Today's Reading:  Luke 1:26-38Daily Lectionary: Gen 49:29-50:7, 14-26, Mark 14:1-11Luke 1:28–29: “And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Two angels visited young women. One was evil. The other good. Both made promises of greatness. One promised a life of freedom, hidden knowledge, and independence.  The other promised a cross. One pointed to something that would be so easy to take. The other spoke of something all but impossible. One offered options. The other never gave the young woman a choice.  If you were to ask the world which was good and which was evil, the answer would be near unanimous, but it was the evil angel Satan who spoke lies to Eve promising independence from God, knowledge of good and evil, and whispered of “free will” right within her grasp. Gabriel told the truth. You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus – He shall save His people from their sins. As crazy as it sounds, nothing will be impossible with God. There is no choice. No free will. This is your blessing. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy. The Son of God.The Annunciation marks just one pregnancy until Christmas, almost always in the middle of lent. They’re as joined together in the grand narrative as the two angels. The tree of the garden revealed sin. It was always meant to be answered by the tree of the cross that reveals salvation. The cross lets us call evil, evil and good, good. It lets us acknowledge our sin, and in repentance, be not afraid. Nothing is impossible with God. That’s not for you to do. It’s for Christ to do for you. Even the part where we acknowledge our sin, and in repentance, be not afraid. He will descend from heaven to become a fetus, born of a virgin and walk the road to the cross to undo death itself and then rise again just to save you. This isn’t just an arbitrary connection. It’s the presence of hope among so much that seems strange, terrifying, and upside down. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection;through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/25/20235 minutes, 6 seconds
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Friday the Fourth Week of Lent

March 24,  2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Gen 47:1-31, Mark 13:24-37Mark 13:37: “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stay awake. It’s ominous. It reads like a threat that isn’t even all that veiled. It leaves us looking to the Lord returning on the last day to catch us, not to save us. It’s actually not because of how it’s written. It’s because of us.  It’s because when we hear the Lord is near, it brings to the surface everything we don’t want Him to be around to confront. We expect the Lord to show up to judge the living and the dead in great power. But there’s a missing word there. But He promises to come in great glory too. So remember the hour in which the Son of Man was glorified.  It was the cross. Jesus bore it for you to forgive you all your sins. The Lord returns on the last day with the same glory. It’s mercy in action, applied to save you. He shows up with great power, the ability to rescue you from all that is in decay down here, even yourself, and glory as of the Son of God who loves to save sinners. So stay awake. It’s not a call to avoid being caught off-guard, but to remain faithful. Hopeful. And even that He does for you. In Word and Sacrament, God calls you out of sleep. Awake o sleeper. Rise from death, and Christ will shine on you. The last day is not a trap, but a blessed hope of all Christians, because here we join our Lord, at last, to fully see our freedom from sin and death. He has already delivered us in our Baptism. He has promised to keep us to that last great day. To remain awake is to cling to these promises. To pray, come Lord Jesus, with all the Church, and to know our future, and count it as a joy. Why would we flee that to hide from the pains of this world in vice and sin and darkness? We are called to stand firm against them knowing we don’t need to hide. We don’t need to self-medicate. We are given, every week, the medicine of life in the Body and Blood of Jesus. Stay awake. Gather around the gifts. It’s a call God makes to all. Let more sinners join us in the mercies of Christ made new every day. Let more find peace that endures to the last. Stay awake, because even now you have Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For us Christ lived, for us He died, And conquered in the strife; Awake, arise, go forth in faith, And Christ shall give you life (Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death (LSB 697:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/24/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Thursday the Fourth Week of Lent

March 23,  2023Today's Reading:  Ephesians 5:8-14Daily Lectionary: Gen 45:1-20, 24-28, Mark 13:1-23Ephesians 5:14: “for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Shine light on everything. If it’s of the light, it will reflect. If it’s of darkness, it will flee. It’s a simple approach to life that will guide so many decisions. If you feel like you have to hide what you’re doing, you probably shouldn’t do it. If you feel like it needs to be a secret, what are you afraid of? If it is good and of the light, it will be known for what it is. It sounds so simple. It gets so messy.  Because the world hides their sins. Honestly, we do too. We hide so much in the words, “I a poor miserable sinner” we want nobody to know.  We bury so much in our pasts. In our secrets. In our hearts.  I understand why.  But Paul promises that the thing that becomes visible in light isn’t just our misdeeds. It’s Christ.  He calls the sleeper to wake. He promises to shine, even on those who sleep under death, which only comes from sin.  Shine light on everything. Because Jesus forgives your sins. All of them. The hidden ones are not yours to keep secret. They’re Christ’s to leave buried under the cross.  For every burden we shelter in our hearts that should belong to the light, Paul implores us, not simply to behave and not drink too much.  He calls us to let the Light of the World confront our sins because He does so in order to call us out of the burdens they bring. It doesn’t mean shouting your secrets from the rooftops. But it means we have a place to bring the darkness in us. Expose it to the light and watch it flee. Our sins are brought to the Light of the World and forgiven where the Light of the World conquers death even as the sun is blotted from the sky. Light shall dwell in darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it.  Let the light shine even where we hide our sins. Let them be forgiven. Not hidden. Not excused. Atoned for. Walk as children of light.  That means take your sins to Jesus. It is pleasing to the Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness, Dark as night and deep as death, Broke the light of Thy salvation, Breathed Thine own life-breathing breath. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (Thy Strong Word, LSB 578:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/23/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Wednesday the Fourth Week of Lent

March 22,  2023Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism – Ten Commandments: Second CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Gen 44:1-18, 32-34, Mark 12:28-44You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ask ten strangers what they think about Christianity. They’ll tell you. You’ll hear some heartbreaking stuff. You’ll hear about a hateful God who despises the sinners who don’t sin like the rest of us. You’ll hear about a deadbeat God who abandoned His kids to a world of suffering.  Worse, you might just hear about a perfect God, who reserves Himself for the ones who earn His love.  The Almighty who answers the prayers of the popular kids who get strangers to pray for them or the rich kids who give money to church.  This is what happens when we break the Second Commandment.  The Second Commandment isn’t chiefly about what bad words you say when you stub your toe. Those are still bad, but worse still is when we teach falsely about who our God is.  When we attach lies to His name. It’s called false doctrine. It matters. Millions of people know the name Jesus. They just think He’s a liar.  When we attach God’s favor to our works, it’s a sin. When we teach about a far away God, it’s a great evil. Every single time, the cross is diminished. The mercy won there for you and for all the world there is hidden behind lies. God calls us not to misuse His name.  God doesn’t give you His name only to tell you not to use it. Don’t misuse it. He wants you to have it.  Pray. Praise. Give thanks. Remember who your God is. Remember what He’s done for you. For all. Pray as if it were true. Praise Him for never being far off, but always being in the midst of suffering to bear it Himself upon the cross. Give thanks that He would not save only the wealthy or the popular, but the least of these, the sinners. Us. The Second Commandment matters because it’s actually worth knowing you have a God who loves you. You have a God who won’t stand back from your misery or from your sin. He wants you to use that name. Call upon me in your day of trouble, and I will rescue you”, says your God.  “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  That’s worth remembering rightly. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Do not My holy name disgrace, Do not My Word of truth debase. Praise only that as good and true Which I Myself say and do.” Have mercy, Lord! (These are the Holy Ten Commands, LSB 581:3)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/22/20235 minutes, 3 seconds
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Tuesday the Fourth Week of Lent

March 21,  2023Today's Reading:  Isaiah 42:14-21Daily Lectionary: Gen 43:1-28, Mark 12:13-27Isaiah 42:21: “The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everyone always talks about God’s patience like it has no end.  We want things now. He’s content to wait until the right time. Isaiah disagrees. He paints a picture of the LORD so eager to act that, like a pregnant woman, He can hold back no longer so He screams, gasps, and pants.  It isn’t just a picture of God’s eagerness to punish the wicked. It’s an image of His need to forgive you.  Each day of creation that passed by before the Lord bore the cross for the world was not time spent reading a book or whatever patient people do. It’s time. It’s now. The LORD is so ready to forgive He angry screams.  Because He sees what it looks like down here. He’s not content with the suffering, the dying, or the sin and the evil that brings it.  He’s not content to see a few carve out relatively comfortable lives in a world this dark. He’s not content to see the faithful strive with morality only to fall ill and die. It’s because our best isn’t good enough. It isn’t good enough to fix what’s wrong down here. The law doesn’t show us how to behave. It shows us how things are supposed to be. And they’re not.  So the LORD magnifies the law. Shows us what things are supposed to look like. Jesus. Because anything less than Jesus’ perfection isn’t enough. The law upheld outwardly by the most moral isn’t enough. He magnifies the law on His servant, Jesus. The law is shown, finally, in its fulfillment.  Jesus is glorified.  He dies on the cross undoing sin’s wages. Forgiving you. The Father sees the cross and becomes deaf and blind to your sin. It’s on Jesus now.  It has to be, because the LORD can’t stand to see it on you. So, with a cry of pain mingled with joy and relief, even as a pregnant woman screams.  It is finished. Darkness is turned to light. Your sin is forgiven. The death of the faithful is undone.  And we can look at how things are supposed to be as a promise of God to restore them, not a standard to live up to.  We can look to Jesus and find hope. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The Gospel shows the Father’s grace, Who sent His Son to save our race, Proclaims how Jesus lived and died That we might thus be justified. (The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace, LSB 580:1)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/21/20235 minutes, 11 seconds
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Monday the Fourth Week of Lent

March 20,  2023Today's Reading:  John 9:1-41Daily Lectionary: Gen 42:1-34, 38, Mark 12:1-12John 9:2: “And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The disciples find a man born blind. They ask a reasonable question.   Whose fault is it?  There has to be someone to blame. Sometimes you can find fault.  The Ten Commandments paint a picture of how things are supposed to be. All of us fall short of this standard.  Sin breaks stuff. Sometimes that’s my fault. Sometimes it’s yours. Sometimes the sin that breaks stuff is just so ground into the dust that there’s no way to figure out who to blame, short of Adam. He brought sin into the world. He passed it through DNA to the blind man and his parents, to you and me. If you want to assign blame for misery, there’s no shortage of it. But there’s no help there either.  So when the disciples ask Jesus who to blame, He doesn’t answer the way they want. He answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus wants more for us than wandering around in darkness finding blame to sling on each other like mud.  There’s no help in that pit. There’s no comfort. There’s nothing but darkness, dust, and death. There’s wisdom here. The law shows us our sin. Sometimes we can learn from that and aim for better, but when we can’t find a commandment being broken, stop. If you can’t find a place to learn, leave. Don’t play in that pit. You only get covered in the same darkness.  He points to Himself. He doesn’t explain this man’s blindness in a way that makes us feel better about it.  There is no feeling better about it. Even knowing who to blame doesn’t fix anything.  He points to Himself, and in doing so He addresses the real problem the disciples have. They called him Rabbi. Teacher. That’s what folks call Jesus in the Bible when they want to make clear they don’t think He’s the God He claims to be.  Where is God visible in all this?  They wanted a teacher to explain away what’s wrong and learned nothing. Rather, Jesus heals the man and shows where God really makes Himself known. In the darkness, working mercy. It’s ugly, but God reveals Himself in the darkness, in the spit and the mud. In the suffering and death. On the cross.  For the sinners and the ones marked by it. For you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord God, let us ever find you working in darkness to bring us light, mercy, and healing, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/20/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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St. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus

March 19,  2023Today's Reading:  Matt. 2:13-15, 19-23Daily Lectionary: Gen 41:28-57, Mark 11:20-33Matthew 2:13: “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Joseph’s fiancé was pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his child. People talked about it. Legend puts him a lot older than Mary. Old enough people talked about that, too. I wonder what he dreamed about before God-given warnings took over his nights.  “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  “Rise, flee to Egypt.  Remain there until I tell you. Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.”  I’m guessing “abandon everything and flee to Egypt to protect the kid someone else fathered with your wife” might not have been on the 5 year plan. Joseph disappears before Jesus begins His ministry.  It would be easy to remember him for his patience, selflessness, and sacrificial care for Mary and Jesus.  It would even be possible to mark him as one taken advantage of by those looking for a patron saint to represent their own feelings of insecurity and insufficiency. It might be best, though, to remember him only so far as the Scriptures do. He was the guardian of Jesus. The Husband of Mary. Faithful. In worry, he was near Jesus. In trial, near Jesus. Until death, near Jesus. Immanuel means God with us. Joseph is marked as one who was near to Jesus because Jesus was near to him. There are plenty of fathers and husbands marked for doing the right thing, and plenty more for feeling bitter about not getting enough attention. Joseph is simply the one near Jesus, and being near Jesus is enough. We remember Joseph as we can now see each other. Near to Jesus, hearing His promises and believing them, that even if we disappear from the story, we will ever be near Jesus in eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Joseph to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother, Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman in heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/19/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday the Third Week of Lent

March 18,  2023Today's Reading:  Introit for Lent 4 Ps. 27:4-6; antiphon: Ps. 25:15Daily Lectionary: Gen 41:1-27, Mark 11:1-19Psalm 25:15: “My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As a pastor, when the Lord promises rescue, I secretly get scared. I’ve been around cancer that isn’t healed.  Paralytics that still can’t walk. Addicts who relapse. I’ve heard poor sinners' desperate words and joined them in their litanies. God still said no. And I’m afraid He’ll do it again. I’m embarrassed. Of my lack of faith. But also, a little bit of Him. It’s easier to preach about a God who’s miracles work more like a vending machine. The 27th Psalm is for my fear and shame. David shows us where to look in days of trouble. We look for rescue in the things of this world. God promises it in His house. The shelter is in the House of the Lord.  The victory is given where the sacrifices are. It isn’t just a “look on the bright side, one day you’ll go to heaven” platitude.  It’s a question of which is stronger. The prayers I’ve wanted to be answered were rooted in a fear God wouldn’t help. He already has.  The temple is where He gives the victory. Forgiveness that relapse can’t undo. Salvation that isn’t measured in remission. Resurrection that accident and age can’t cripple.  The things we’re so afraid of can’t actually hurt us here. We are gathered in a fortress that stands as a shield against everything else. It’s a question of where God works. Of how He answers prayers. The desperate litanies are met by a Jesus already risen from the grave, promising us the same. Look at where Jesus is, not where you’re afraid He won’t be. He’s in your church, giving good gifts of victory over all you’re so afraid of.  In a world where everything falls down, David pleads to be found in the house of the Lord.  Because it will be left standing afterwards, even as Christ is risen. Sometimes I’m afraid God will say no. Joy isn’t found in the fear and the shame of it. So God lifts me up out of it and sets me on the rock, that is Christ. In Him, in His death and resurrection, I have a yes already given for me, and for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Why spend the day in blank despair, In restless thought the night? On your Creator cast your care; He makes your burdens light. (Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing, LSB 737:3) - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/18/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Patrick, Missionary to Ireland

March 17,  2023Today's Reading:  Mark 10:32-52Daily Lectionary: Gen 40:1-23Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Patrick tends to get belittled. Faithful teaching about the Holy Trinity is truncated to a 3 leaf clover or maybe a satirical youtube video in select circles. His time in Ireland is reduced to fables and jokes about snakes being driven into the sea.  In reality, Patrick was kidnapped when he was 16 and enslaved for 6 years before escaping the country of Ireland where he was brought only to return to preach the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus to the very nation that took Him from His family and made him a slave. He was a fierce defender of the Triune God to a culture set against the idea. Somehow, it’s easier to imagine a God who helps the faithful drown snakes than a God who is glorified in suffering. James and John want to sit at either side of Jesus in the hour of triumph. They don’t know what they’re asking for. That hour is the cross. Those seats are reserved for two thieves.  Sinners go looking for power. Jesus reveals Himself in mercy. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. Patrick not only confessed the Triune God, but preached to the sinners Christ died for, assuming the role of servant even to those who held him captive. There’s a reason. Stories of glory only help the powerful, and I guess the ones who hate snakes.  There’s no help for the sinners or the ones without a great escape story. When we go looking for power, only the devout end up glorified, never the sinners.  When Jesus works mercy, even thieves can be saved, and all of us join Christ in the humility of the cross  that we would be raised with Him in glory. This is a Christianity with room for sinners, with room for the lowly, with room for you. Your faith is not measured in the great works you accomplish but in the sins Christ forgives. All of them. The snake's head was crushed at the foot of the cross where your salvation was won, whether or not you chased the rest out of a country. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I bind unto myself today The pow’r of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need, The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, The Word of God to give me speech, His heav’nly host to be my guard. (I Bind unto Myself Today, LSB 604:3)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/17/20235 minutes, 22 seconds
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Thursday the Third Week of Lent

March 16,  2023Today's Reading:  Daily Lectionary: Gen 39:1-23Genesis 39:23: “The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it succeed. Joseph, of course, being the guy wrongfully imprisoned. But, like, really successfully. I wonder if Moses smirked as he wrote this stuff. If it wasn’t for this verse, we could have an inspiring “when life gives you lemons” peptalk. Roll with the punches. Make the best of it. But this happened because the LORD was with Joseph. This is the Lord’s definition of success, too. I’d rather be a normal guy lots of people ignore than the second most important person in prison.  It might be something to consider before quoting an out-of-context Bible verse about God having a plan for your life. I’m not saying He doesn’t. I’m saying you might not like it. The Lord doesn’t measure success by power over this world, but by salvation within it. The Lord measures success by the cross.  Joseph isn’t a story of rolling with the punches, but of a son being cast down and raised up to save His people.  Joseph’s story begins with a robe, a pit, and jealous betrayal and ends with a meal that sustains a people dying in a world of not enough. Success isn’t measured in power, but in the Lord moving among sinful people to work mercy and salvation where there should be none. It looks like Christ coming down from heaven to walk the road to the cross to bear your sins and die, only to rise and send forth the Holy Spirit to deliver this salvation to you in a meal of Holy Communion. Jesus being in control of the nation of Israel without bearing the cross for her is no success at all.  And for you, the Lord doesn’t mark success in wealth or power or the things of this world that pass away, but by keeping you in faith now, through death, and unto the same resurrection. Look to the Word for that. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, Thou incarnate Word, Gird on Thy mighty sword; Our prayer attend. Come and Thy people bless, And give Thy Word success, And let Thy righteousness On us descend. (Come, Thou Almighty King,, LSB 905:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/16/20234 minutes, 55 seconds
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Wednesday the Third Week of Lent

March 15,  2023Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism – Ten Commandments: First CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Gen 37:1-36, Mark 10:1-12We should fear, love, and trust in God above all thingsIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Idols are good things. The money you love more than God isn’t evil. The love of it is. The people we value more than God are the neighbors He gave you. The power you trust more than God isn’t sinful to have. It’s sinful to use it selfishly. It’s foolish to think it will save you eternally.  That’s the point. An idol is a part of creation we worship instead of the creator. That stuff isn’t God. It can’t save you.  Not even when you put the name Jesus on it. That’s my favorite trick. I name all my idols Jesus. Jesus wants me to be successful. Happy. Rich.  At least that’s what I tell myself. You can see it go wrong in two ways. First, the Scriptures never promise Jesus wants you to have those things. Second, if Jesus is only a means to an end, the end is your real god. Not Jesus. Idolatry is like getting a Christmas present and saying thank you to the present instead of the person who gave it to you. It’s not just rude. It misses the greatest thing about presents. Someone loves you enough to give you something. That’s the real gift. Idolatry takes for granted the love of the Savior and trades it in for things that moth and rust destroy. None of the things we fear, love, and trust in will be around for eternity. None of them can get you to eternity either. But Jesus already has.  It's the other side of the First Commandment coin. If God says, “You shall have no other gods”, what He also means is that He insists on being God to you. For you. He insists on being the one you trust in above all because He is trustworthy. He insists on being the thing you fear above all because His wrath consumes in a way nothing in this world can express. He insists on being what you love above all things because to see God is to see the source of all good things, and know He insists on giving them to you.  Idols aren’t bad things. They’re good gifts from God that blind us to the giver. He insists you have good things so fiercely that He gives them even to idolaters like you, then forgives you, saves you from your idols, and even from yourself by the cross that becomes our treasure.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“I am alone your God, the Lord; No other gods shall be adored. But you shall fully trust in Me And love Me wholeheartedly.” Have mercy, Lord!  (These are the Holy Ten Commands, LSB 581:2)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/15/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Tuesday the Third Week of Lent

March 14,  2023Today's Reading:  Romans 5:1-18Daily Lectionary: Gen 35:1-29, Mark 9:33-50Romans 5:8: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Spiritual warfare is easier when it’s us against the devil, but I am a sinner.  The problem is me. It’s the devil who would have you think the only enemies are outside of yourself and outside of our walls. In true spiritual warfare, there is no us against them. There is only Jesus for sinners. WE were the enemies of God. Not the world. Not the devil. Us. So Jesus died for you. Your sins are forgiven. So are your enemies’. The devil lost.  Now, the battleground is your conscience. It’s more than “this isn’t how it’s supposed to be”. It’s “I’m not how I’m supposed to be.”  I haven’t done enough. I haven’t trusted enough.  Spiritual warfare is the devil pointing away from the cross where Christ already won the victory for you. Christ was crucified. Christ is risen. But I’m still scared. I’m still struggling. I’m still sinning. Even if all the problems in the world went away, I’d still be stuck with me. This is where the devil fights.  So Jesus wages war for your conscience and your soul both. He fights back against the accusations of the evil one. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” For you. The free gift is not like the trespass. The free gift is not found in the Law that accuses and shows what’s wrong.  It’s in the Gospel that reconciles enemies. “Now you are reconciled to God through the death of His Son.”  I am a sinner Jesus died for. No, I haven't done enough. I haven't trusted enough. I haven’t fought hard enough. But Jesus has. Now there is grace given to sinners that reconciles us to God and so reconciles us to each other. If you can’t see past the picture the law would paint of your enemies and of yourself, your spiritual warfare is simply to receive the Gospel. Receive pardon and mercy. Receive forgiveness, life, and salvation that unite us to the victory already won when Christ burst from the tomb. That unites us even to each other. We are the enemies that were reconciled to God together. We are the sinners Jesus died for. We are the baptized. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Preserve Your Word and preaching, The truth that makes us whole, The mirror of Your glory, The pow’r that saves the soul. Oh, may this living water, This dew of heav’nly grace, Sustain us while here living Until we see Your face. (Preserve Your Word, O Savior LSB 658:4)- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/14/20235 minutes, 23 seconds
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Monday the Third Week of Lent

March 13,  2023Today's Reading:  Ex. 17:1-7Daily Lectionary: Gen. 29:1-30, Mark 9:14-32Exodus 17:7: “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses is tired of the people complaining and fighting.  So the Lord tells him to hit a rock with a stick to shut them up.  The Bible is full of uncomfortable things about Jesus. He rose from the dead.  It’s easier to paper over the miracles and teachings that don’t jive with common morals today.  But when you take Jesus out of the book, it gets even weirder.  Nobody tells the story of water from a rock to prove a political point or win an argument online.  This doesn’t demonstrate kindness unless you squint.  It's easier to complain about the world that’s falling apart than recognize they’re only asking the same questions Israel did of old.  Is the LORD among us or not? Because it doesn’t really look like He is.  They asked that to the guy who ripped the sea in half and marched them through on dry ground while a pillar of fire watched.  They saw.  Society asks it surrounded by death and tragedy.  And we ask because people won’t stop being sinners.  It’s funny how we want their miracles, and they want our comforts, but we both manage to ask the same questions about God. It’s almost like the real problem isn’t how the world looks, but the sinful state of our hearts. So Jesus answers. Not in temper tantrums but in promises. The Bible makes more sense if Jesus is always in the center of it.  There is a rock, from whose side comes living water, struck to put an end to the sinful rebellion of God’s people, and that rock was Christ. He was struck. He was beaten. He was crucified and pierced for you, and from His side comes life giving water. The Lord was among His sinners to save them. It hasn’t changed. It’s been fulfilled. It answers the worry of the people not by setting them apart from the things they’re afraid of, but by forgiving their sins, our sins, so that life can be more than just an escape from the thing that isn’t the real problem. There can be hope in Him who has already saved. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Yet, O Lord, not thus alone Make me see Your passion, But its cause to me make known And its termination. Ah! I also and my sin Wrought Your deep affliction; This indeed the cause has been Of Your crucifixion (Jesus, I Will Ponder Now LSB 440:3) - Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/13/20235 minutes, 23 seconds
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Sunday the Third Week of Lent

March 12,  2023Today's Reading:  John 4:5-26Daily Lectionary: Gen 27:30-45, 28:10-22, Mark 9:1-13John 4:10: “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.””In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This lady’s a sinner.  She has to work herself up every time she goes out in public.  She hears what she is whenever she goes out.  She’s not Jewish enough. Not married enough. She would rather not go out to that well anymore.  How can I not come back here anymore?  She actually confesses it.  Give me the water so I don’t have to get more.  I don’t want to have to come here anymore.  I don’t want to be what they stare at.  I don’t want to be what they talk about. I don’t want to be the object lesson to nice little boys and girls anymore.  Jesus asked for water and never got any.  He asked after her husband and never got an answer either.  Jesus asks after everything she needs and never gets it.  She can’t give it.  Sin is still sin.  It breaks stuff.  Salvation did come from the temple of the Jews, but Jesus is there to do more than correct her about her church-going habits and get her married.  He’s there to give.  He doesn’t wait until she feels appropriately sorry.  Her biting answers toward Jesus say plenty about how she really saw herself.  He just starts promising living water to bitter sinners.  He’s so blunt that the rest of us get uncomfortable too.  There’s no condition. It’s here. It’s free. We’d like to imagine it’s because Jesus isn’t being as polite as we imagine, but really it’s deeper.  The whole conversation points out a truth we’d rather not see.  Nobody’s saved by measuring their shortcomings, whether they be the sins acceptable by the public or not.  We’re saved by Jesus, the rock.  We’re saved by the living water that comes from His pierced side.  He shows up. He dies. He saves.  And it’s for you too.  There are no conditions. It’s free. For the sins you hide away, for the statistics you’ve become on purpose or on accident, for your guilt, for you, peace. Jesus died for you. Your sins are forgiven. You are baptized. You have the living water promised. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast to the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/12/20235 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saturday the Second Week of Lent

March 11, 2023 Today's Reading: Introit for Lent 3 Ps. 84:1-4; antiphon: Ps. 84:5 Daily Lectionary: Gen 27:1-29, Mark 8:22-38 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday in Lent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Churches come in all shapes and sizes. The massive and beautiful cathedrals of Europe, The climate-controlled and cushioned-pew buildings many of us know, and the rickety lean-tos often seen in disadvantaged nations. But all of these buildings have something in common: the altar. The place upon which the elements of the Sacrament are placed for the assembled saints to receive in Holy Communion. It might be a massive and ornate slab of marble, it may be a card table, but that altar is the place where the Lord God sits in glory when we gather in worship. The presence of God is what truly makes his dwelling place lovely. Reality gets very thin around altars. Eternity begins to bleed through into our world around those places where God sits. You see it happen to Isaiah in the temple (Isaiah 6). Zechariah has a close call, too (Luke 1). No, there is no Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies at your church, or any church on earth. But the altar functions in the same way. It is the Mercy Seat, the place where our Eternal God sits to bestow his gifts upon us. And when the Lord God is present among us, He doesn’t come alone. We proclaim it every time we celebrate the Sacrament: “therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name.” The indescribable beauty that is the eternal throne room of God shines into our world in a mystical way as Jesus is physically present in the Sacrament. You can joyfully sing in a cavernous building, in the room of a nursing home, around a kitchen table, or in your own pew because God himself is present there, for you. Tomorrow, when you walk into your church, look closely at the altar and take note of what makes it special. The wood or stone, the fabrics or candlesticks that adorn it, the flowers that bring it color, the Bible resting upon it. All of those things are there to remind us of God’s presence, but the biggest and most glorious clue is the communion ware set there ready for you to receive from the ever-present God of salvation Jesus, given for you. It is lovely, indeed! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God Himself is present: Let us now adore Him And with awe appear before Him. God is in His temple; all within keep silence; Humbly kneel in deepest reverence. He alone On His throne Is our God and Savior; Praise His name forever! (God Himself Is Present LSB 907:1)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/11/20235 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday the Second Week of Lent

March 10, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary:Gen 24:32-52, 61-67, Mark 8:1-21 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (St. Mark 8:16–18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s easy to give the disciples grief. Today we have the benefit of hindsight and we are absolutely positive, 100% certain, without a doubt in our minds, that we would have been better and more perceptive disciples. Except not. We’d be just as bad, if not worse. Jesus had just fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. He and His disciples crisscrossed the Sea of Galilee dodging inquisitive Pharisees and their sign-seeking. Jesus is trying to make a point (as usual), and all the Twelve can think about is dinner. They’re arguing about who forgot to pack the ice chest, and Jesus has to be the parent and calm them down and try to focus their attention. They are so worried about the right now, that they have completely forgotten that the sun will rise tomorrow, whether or not they have enough to eat today. Do you see yourself in the Twelve now? It’s easy to get wrapped up in the despair and disaster of everyday troubles. Admit it, your mind has wandered during church more times than you can remember, other things have suddenly become more important than the Word of God. And that’s what Jesus is trying to get the disciples to understand; that he fed the 4,000 and had seven baskets of food left over, that he fed the 5,000 before that and had twelve baskets of food left over, that wherever He goes, abundance and healing abound. The Pharisees and Herodians were only thinking about the now, living day-to-day on the hope that they had just enough power and authority to stay in charge of things, and the disciples are getting dangerously close to that attitude. He wants them to remember that when He is with them, they will always have plenty. And that’s true today as well. Jesus is with us, providing what we need most in abundance: His Word and gifts. Along the way, He provides for our earthly needs, too, through our families and occupations. Even when we think about and focus on the wrong things, Jesus is with us to bring us back to reality; to the certainty of his presence with us to sustain, guard, and keep us always in the one true faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way; Direct, protect, and feed me From day to day. Without Your grace and favor I go astray; So take my hand, O Savior, And lead the way. (Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me, LSB 722:1) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/10/20235 minutes, 20 seconds
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Thursday the Second Week of Lent

March 9, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Gen 24:1-31, Mark 7:24-37 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. (St. Mark 7:33–36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever seen an old-time Bible movie about Jesus? They really bother me, because Jesus is always so clean and well groomed, wearing white and floating through the movie as if he was almost not even really there. We see a different Jesus in the gospels, especially today. This is the Jesus we really need to keep in our minds. This is the Jesus who lives among His people, bearing their burdens, sharing their pain, and healing their infirmities. This is the Jesus who laughs and cries, because He knows exactly what it is like to live on earth, with sin and evil around every corner; and with family and friends by your side. Jesus pulls the deaf man aside so he knows Jesus is focused on him and his needs. Sure, this isn’t very hygienic by today’s standards (what, no hand sanitizer?!?), but this is the Son of God we’re watching. Fingers in ears that don’t hear; fingers on a tongue that can’t speak. Looking to the heavens from which our help comes, and a deep sigh. All of these actions show the deaf man that Jesus is here for him. Specifically to help him and to show His might and power to those nearby. Touching, sighing, and speaking, Jesus restores what was broken. He heals what caused pain. You might not be deaf or mute, but you are afflicted by sin and death every single day. Jesus breaks into your world on a regular basis and restores you, ever so briefly in this world, but for all of eternity in the Divine Service. There, He puts his Word into your ears, and He touches your tongue with His Body and Blood to restore you. To forgive you. To grant you everlasting life and eternal salvation. You may not always understand what is happening, but Jesus sees you in your struggles, and He speaks directly to you, touches you, and assures you of His mercy, now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and most merciful God, in this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and to continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and of the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Times of Affliction and Distress) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/9/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Wednesday the Second Week of Lent

March 8, 2023 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties: To Everyone Daily Lectionary: Gen 22:1-19, Mark 7:1-23 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Back at the beginning of catechism class, and maybe even well before then, most kids don’t love the Ten Commandments. In fact, it’s usually the opposite, isn’t it? Between memorizing them and their meanings, many catechumens develop a hostile relationship with the Ten Commandments. Rather than looking at the Commandments as a list to be wrestled into submission though, see them instead as a guide for loving your neighbor. I always ask my catechumens “who is your neighbor?” and they eventually learn the right answer: “anyone who isn’t me!” Realizing who your neighbor is and how your relationship with all of your neighbors is affected by how you live out your faith and life is essential. It’s pretty easy to say that you’ve never murdered anyone or robbed a bank. It isn’t so easy to say you haven’t wished someone harm or pocketed something that wasn’t yours to take. The key in all of this is remembering the First Table: Commandments 1-3, which deal with our relationship with God our Father. When we get that straight, when we love the Lord our God and gather together for worship and the study of his Word, that sets us on the path of loving our neighbor. It gets us in the right frame of mind. Then, knowing how to love our God informs our love for our neighbors. The Golden Rule (which isn’t in the Bible, by the way) does help: treat others the way you want to be treated. In theory, this makes the Christian life easy—all the rules are there. All the possible ways to treat everyone are laid out in the open. In reality, though, sin makes it a lot more difficult to love our neighbors as ourselves. Their sin against us, and our sin against them complicates things. Thanks be to God that our Lord Jesus has already kept these Commandments perfectly for us, that His Death and Resurrection forgives our failures, and His Holy Spirit guides us in the way to go. How do you love Jesus? By loving your neighbors. And when you fail to love them as you should, Jesus loves you through them; especially parents and pastors who remind you that we love because Jesus first loved us. Thanks be to God that His love never fails! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and ever-living God, You make us both to will and to do those things that are good and acceptable in Your sight. Let Your fatherly hand ever guide us and Your Holy Spirit ever be with us to direct us in the knowledge and obedience of Your Word that we may obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Collect For Divine Guidance) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/8/20235 minutes, 24 seconds
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Tuesday the Second Week of Lent

March 7, 2023 Today's Reading: Romans 4:1-8, 13-17 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 21:1-21, Mark 6:35-56 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 4:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday, we looked at how Abraham was blessed by God through a promise that he would father a great nation, that all the faithful would be able to trace their lineage back to him.It is important to remember how that happened, and who was in charge. As I always like to ask, “Who’s running the verbs here?” Who was doing the blessing and promising? It was God the Father, of course, the Great I Am, who would later promise to Moses that He would guide God’s people back to the ancestral lands promised to Abraham. All of those things happened through the work of God on behalf of his people. Sure, along the way, He gave Moses the Law, the Ten Commandments, the moral and ceremonial rules for life as God’s people until the Messiah’s coming. But none of those promises came based on Abraham’s behavior or gumption. That is important to remember in our day, as well. God blesses His people. He makes promises to His children. And none of these things are based on us. God never says, “If you behave well enough, then I’ll save you.” No, He says instead: “This is my promise to you: Jesus is for you!” That’s the thing about the power of the creative and performative Word of God. It does what it says, even without your input! The living Word of God bounces off your eardrum and travels into your brain where the Holy Spirit creates faith in a mysterious way. God declares you righteous by the work of his Son, Jesus, speaks that righteousness upon you while wetting you with the water of Baptism, and when your pastor proclaims your absolution, and when that Word is tied to bread and wine made Body and Blood. In none of these things are you driving the narrative; it is all God, all the time. He declares you His child. He makes you righteous. He instills faith in you. All of it by His power and might, for you, so that you (like Abraham) would trust that He has you in His hands, safe for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. All depends on our possessing God’s abundant grace and blessing, Though all earthly wealth depart. They who trust with faith unshaken By their God are not forsaken And will keep a dauntless heart…If my days on earth He lengthen, God my weary soul will strengthen; All my trust in Him I place. Earthly wealth is not abiding, like a stream away is gliding; Safe I anchor in His grace. (All Depends on Our Possessing, LSB 732:1-6) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/7/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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Monday the Second Week of Lent

March 6, 2023 Today's Reading: Gen. 12:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 18:1-15, Mark 6:14-34 Now the LORD said to Abram…“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God always blesses His children, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Abram messes up. A LOT. Yet God is faithful to His promise and watches over and guides him so that He may fulfill the promise He made. Abram leaves Ur and goes on this journey to what will become the Promised Land, within which the Messiah will eventually be born. Along the way, Abram’s journey takes him through trouble in Egypt, God renames him Abraham (because of the promise), he prays for his nephew Lot’s safety in Sodom, he is faced with the unbelievable decision to sacrifice Isaac, his only son… The challenges he faces are incredible. Yet, through all of them, and even in the times when Abraham and Sarah wrest the decisions away from their gracious God and go their own way (always into deeper trouble than if they’d followed God’s direction!). The Lord is faithful to His promise. Remember that, dear baptized child of God. Your Lord and God is the same God of Abraham, the same God who guided and directed His people down through the ages until the time had fully come, and His Son was born of woman, in the same flesh as Abraham, and lived for you, and for Abraham, and for all the faithful. One of Abraham’s blessings is that billions and billions of people on earth still know his name and hold him in esteem as a great hero of the faith. No, he wasn’t perfect, and I’m sure he’d be the first to call you out for making him more than he is, but he was faithful, and that is enough. Your life might not take the same number of twists, turns, surprises, or tragedies; but I’m sure this world will cause you enough grief to wonder some days if the Lord still remembers His promises to you. Be assured that He does; He remembers you and His promise because His one and only Son, your risen Lord Jesus, intercedes for you before the Father. He does it always, because you’ve been washed in His blood, marked with his holy cross, and named in his Book of Life, just like Abraham. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Gracious God, You send great blessings New each morning all our days. For Your mercies never ending, For Your love we offer praise. Lord, we pray that we, Your people Who Your gifts unnumbered claim, Through the sharing of Your blessings May bring glory to Your name. (Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings LSB 782:1) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/6/20234 minutes, 41 seconds
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The Second Sunday of Lent

March 5, 2023 Today's Reading: John 3:1-7 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 16:1-9, 15:17-22, Mark 6:1-13 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (St. John 3:1–2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Remember the last time the power went out? Unless you had a flashlight or your cell phone handy, you likely stumbled around for a bit trying to find your way without tripping or banging your shins into the furniture. Being lost in the darkness can be a big deal, especially when you have no idea where you are going. Nicodemus was in the dark, both literally and metaphorically. St. John says he came to Jesus “by night,” which makes sense. After all, he doesn’t want the other Pharisees to find out he’s hanging out with this guy they’ve spent so much time trying to cancel. But Nicodemus is in the dark in another way. St. John uses darkness again and again in his gospel to show us how people come to understand who Jesus is by moving from darkness into light. From not believing that Jesus is God, to understanding and believing His divinity. From the darkness of sin and death into the light of Christ, the certainty that Jesus has come for you and your salvation. Nicodemus admits that both he and his fellow Pharisees know that Jesus is a teacher from God, but they just can’t connect the last of the dots, they can’t get the cord plugged in to turn the light on. Actually, they refuse to plug it in, because they prefer the darkness. And so they stumble, they trip, they bash their shins against the cornerstone, the “stumbling block,” the scandal, that is God in the flesh. Thankfully, it isn’t up to us to plug in the cord, or to come to an understanding about Jesus on our own. This is the power and the might of the Word of God. He does it all for us. He plugs in the light, turns it on, focuses its power and brightness upon us, warms us with its glow, and makes sure it never goes out again. Jesus is able to do these things not because God is with Him, but because He himself is God. God in the flesh, for you, working to do what you cannot to bring you to faith and salvation in His mighty works. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/5/20234 minutes, 36 seconds
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Saturday the First Week of Lent

March 4, 2023 Today's Reading: Introit for Lent 2, Ps. 105:4-7; antiphon: Ps. 105:8 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 15:1-21, Mark 5:21-43He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday in Lent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God always remembers, even when we forget. That can seem terrifying, can’t it? God our Father will never forget. He will always remember. And if you’re stuck on thinking that he will always remember everything wrong you’ve done, every time you’ve messed up, every instance of back-talking and “massaging” the truth for your own purposes, you’ll be terrified of him. But here’s the thing. God forgets because he remembers. It seems to not make sense, but look at what He says in His own words. In Psalm 103 the Holy Spirit inspires King David to write, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” God remembers his covenant, and his covenant says that He forgives those who repent, and that repentance is made sure in the shed blood of Jesus. That sin that has been bugging you for weeks, maybe months? Have you confessed it to God? Then He’s forgiven it! He forgives and forgets it, because He remembers that Jesus bore that sin to His cross on Golgotha. You should treat your sins the same way. Once you’ve confessed them, forget them. If God can’t remember them, then why should you? Oh, I know. It was such a terrible sin. You hurt people so badly when you committed it. And for the longest time, you didn’t really care. Then it started to bother you, so you still carry it around now as some sort of reminder about how bad a person you are. But that is not how God remembers it, or you. When God looks at you, He has to look through Jesus to see you. And when He sees Jesus, he remembers that He has forgiven all of your sins, because Jesus took them all from you and died for them, left them in His grave, and rose without them. Jesus doesn’t carry those sins anymore, so God can’t remember them. What God does remember is His promise that He forgives you, He has made you His child, and life everlasting is yours, because He has washed you in Jesus’s blood and taken all that sin away to the point that not even God remembers them. God remembers that you are His child, washed white in the blood of the Lamb. He remembers that He’s made a place for you with Him forever. Thanks be to God that He remembers, even when we forget. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and bodies in the ways of Your laws and in the works of Your commandments that through Your mighty protection we may ever be preserved in both body and soul; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Collect for Divine Guidance)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/4/20234 minutes, 51 seconds
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Friday the First Week of Lent

March 3, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary:Gen. 13:1-18, Mark 5:1-20 As (Jesus) was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (St. Mark 5:18–20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes people think that the best way to serve Jesus is to go overseas on a mission trip. Certainly, foreign missions are an integral part of spreading the Gospel, but they aren’t for everyone. Our long-term missionaries make a tremendous commitment when they move to a foreign land to preach the Gospel. Thanks be to God for them! Jesus stays local today. He heals the man possessed with demons and tells him to stay home and tell his friends and neighbors what Jesus had done for him. Sometimes, that’s the hardest thing to do. You see these people all the time. They see you all the time. They know you inside and out. Maybe you think they won’t listen to what you have to say because they know your failures. Maybe you think they’ll stop being your friends because of what you say. Not all of us have such a spectacular story to tell as this man: he went from living in a cave and wailing and breaking chains and cutting himself to ribbons with rocks to being a gentle, mild-mannered citizen once again. He probably thought, much like we do, that the same thing would happen to him. That no one would listen, that no one would appreciate what Jesus had done for him, so it would be easier to run away to a far country with Jesus to where life had to be better. But that’s not what he was given to do. The strength of our faith is its mundane and plain nature. That so much of it is…normal and boring. The day-to-day experience of our faith doesn’t have all the flash and magnificence that we often think it needs, and that’s okay. Because what you do have is Jesus. And he has done marvelous things in your life, even if you can’t see them. You were rescued from sin, death, and demons in your Baptism. Jesus feeds you his very self in Holy Communion, even if it looks rather bland. He speaks salvation into your ears every week. These are all magnificent and wonderful works, done for you. And you’ve been placed in exactly the right place to share that good news with others as Jesus has gifted you to do. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Come, celebrate, your banners unfurling, Your songs and prayers against the darkness hurling. To all the world go out and tell the story Of Jesus’ glory. (Rise, Shine, You People, LSB 825:3)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/3/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
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Thursday the First Week of Lent

March 2, 2023 Today's Reading: Daily Lectionary: Gen. 11:27-12:20, Mark 4:1-20 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path…Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil…Other seed fell among thorns…And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain…” (St. Mark 4:3-8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This Gospel text tends to cause a lot of navel-gazing. It makes us look at ourselves too much; and sometimes, we use this text to judge others, too. We try too hard to figure out which kind of soil we (and the people around us) are. We look too much at ourselves and others and forget the whole point of what is happening here at the very heart of the text. So, let’s focus on the sower. Today’s farmers are very meticulous. Soil analysis, moisture content, drainage, nutrient levels—these all contribute to a successful harvest. The sower seems a bit foolish when you look at things that way. We are all about harvesting the most produce with the least amount of input. But the sower is just foolish. He throws the seed all over the place, flinging it all over the ground with not the least bit of care as to where it lands. Sure, he ultimately gets a good crop that produces thirty, sixty, and a hundred times more than he planted, but what about the wasted seed? What about it, indeed? Later, Jesus says this seed is the Word of God, and the types of soil reflect the types of people who hear it. Yes, it is imperative to be the soil in which the Word grows, but you didn’t make yourself that good soil, did you? The Sower has already plowed and prepared that soil to receive the Word. Isaiah proclaims that God’s Word never returns to him empty; it always accomplishes what He sets out to do. So also with you. God’s Word has been landing in the soil of your ears for years. The Holy Spirit has been at work, creating and sustaining your faith. Plowing and turning the ‘soil’ within you so that you might reflect that faith to those around you. The Word of God will continue to be scattered upon the earth, and there will be places and times when it lands on the road, between rocks, or among thorns. Thanks be to God that he, by the power of that same Word, can change even those hostile places into fertile ground to produce saving faith in the most unlikely places! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Collect for the Word) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/2/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Wednesday the First Week of Lent

March 1, 2023 Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties To: WidowsDaily Lectionary: Gen. 8:13-9:17, Mark 3:20-35 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. (1 Timothy 5:5-6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For the last few centuries, the human lifespan has grown longer and longer. Even so, women still tend to live longer than men, as has been the case for most of history. Whether it was because of war or other more dangerous occupations, wives have outlived their husbands, regardless of nationality. This leaves a pretty consistent group of widows in our world, many of whom need care and assistance as time passes and they age. St. Paul’s words to the young pastor Timothy might seem to be a bit harsh, especially if we think about how we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. But these words are both words of love and warning from St. Paul. Sometimes, widows will remarry after the death of their husbands; often, they will not. Losing that life-partner, that one to whom they were tied in the bonds of marriage, can be a very difficult and unsettling experience. Sometimes they aren’t sure of their place in the world once the “other half” of their lives has died. How should we love these women, then? And how should they see their lives moving forward in this world? According to St. Paul, should these women find themselves all alone, with no one else to care for them, they should set their hope and focus on their Lord and God, who will sustain them. Should they forget that the Lord cares for them—even in their grief—and they go forth trying to live a life that fills a void that only their Loving Father can fill, this rejection of His mercy and grace is a terrible thing; rendering them dead inside, even though they may seem vibrant and alive. These are the times when we can extend a hand of love to them, being that one who loves them even when they might feel alone. Jesus’s Life, Death, and Resurrection was for them, just as it was for us, and they might need the reminder that their loving God has not forgotten them. As you can, be Jesus for those around you, even the widows of your church. They need to hear that Jesus loves them just as much as you do, and your love for them might be the perfect antidote in this season of penitence and remembrance that helps them rejoice that Jesus is for them, as he is for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Visit, O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep all harm and danger far from them. Grant that we may dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels, sharing eternally in Your blessings; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Home and Family) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
3/1/20235 minutes, 8 seconds
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Tuesday the First Week of Lent

February 28, 2023 Today's Reading: Romans 5:12-19 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 7:11-8:12, Mark 3:20-35 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18–19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we talked about the wrath of God falling upon Adam and Eve because of their sin of listening to the serpent instead of God in the Garden of Eden. And that God’s wrath falls upon us because of our own sin, too. But we also talked about how that wrath doesn’t end us. It doesn’t cast us away from our God and Father, our Savior and Redeemer. He doesn’t leave us alone to try and find our way back to Him in this world of darkness and despair on our own. Because there is no way we can manage that; we can’t claw our way back to Him by ourselves. The gap is too wide. One man (Adam) brought all of God’s wrath down upon creation, but one man (Jesus) also repaired what was destroyed. Actually, He didn’t repair it, he made it new, and He promised that newness to us, too. We won’t see it until the Last Day, but your Lord and God, made flesh in Jesus, took the rebellion and disobedience of every human being that ever lived (and ever will live) and soaked it up into himself to carry it to his cross on Golgotha. He wrestled that sin and death and disobedience and rebellion and back-talking and cheating into His grave and left it there when He rose again on Easter Sunday. Just one sin from one man set all of humanity on this path of death and destruction. And all it took was for Almighty God to look at one man’s perfect obedience to restore everything. And not just any man, but the God-Man; Jesus, the Christ. The Messiah, God made flesh. His only-begotten Son. In our everyday struggles and sins, it’s easy to forget the mercy and grace of God for you. But He always remembers. He always gives. He always blesses His children because of Jesus, who took all your sin from you, so that you could live forever with all the faithful. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Adam we have all been one, One huge rebellious man; We all have fled that evening voice That sought us as we ran. But Thy strong love, it sought us still And sent Thine only Son That we might hear His Shepherd’s voice And, hearing Him, be one. (In Adam We Have All Been One LSB 569:1, 3) -Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/28/20235 minutes, 1 second
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Monday the First Week of Lent

February 27, 2023 Today's Reading: Gen. 3:1-21 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 6:1-7:5, Mark 3:1-19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last Wednesday was a stark reminder of our future, wasn’t it? “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Those are words no one likes to hear, especially if there has been a recent tragedy. It’s hard to hear those words when they are so close to a raw, open wound. Yet that’s what Adam and Eve hear from their loving and eternal God and Father right after the Fall into sin. God doesn’t give them time to process their grief, he doesn’t wait for them to find a safe space or a Comfort Dog; He just unloads on them with all His might and fury. Of all people, they had it all right before them. They knew life in Paradise. They knew what it was like to behold God face-to-face. They knew a peace we will never know in this life. And even so, they were led astray. In an act we will never understand this side of eternity, Adam and Eve turned from God to listen to the sweet, deceptive voice of Satan. It is something that we do all the time, too. Abandon or ignore God’s Word to go our own way, because we somehow know better.  Sometimes, it earns the wrath of our parents, our school authorities, or even law enforcement! This is not what God wants from his children. Yet, sin and Satan lead us astray over and over again. But God the Father doesn’t leave us there in that pain and wrath. He fixes it the only way he can; by sending his Son into our flesh to right what has gone so wrong. To fix what is so broken. Even though Adam and Eve were cast from the Garden, God was with them every day of their lives and He had spoken a promise into their ears that echoed down the centuries until the time had fully come and God’s only Son was born of woman to redeem, to buy back, to make right, to save everyone who suffered because of Adam and Eve’s sin. You can’t out-sin God. He always has more forgiveness than you have sin. Even when you think there’s no hope, his promise still stands. Jesus is still for you, and his love will never fail. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Now from that three of Jesus’ shame Flows life eternal in His name; For all who trust and will believe, Salvation’s living fruit receive. And of their fruit so pure and sweet, the Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood The tree of life with ev’ry good. (The Tree of Life, LSB 561:4)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/27/20235 minutes, 7 seconds
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The First Sunday of Lent

February 26, 2023 Today's Reading: Matt. 4:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Gen. 4:1-26, Mark 2:18-28 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (St. Matthew 4:3-4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The meaning of the First Commandment says that “we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” This can be hard to do. Especially when we think we know better. Isn’t that how it works? The Lord God speaks and we say, “Well, yeah God, BUT…” And away we go into sin and selfishness. It never ends well, does it? There are so many times we want God to do things our way. Or we try to tell God to do things our way so that we can triumph over some challenge all by ourselves, just like a grown-up! The root of Satan’s first temptation of Jesus is the desire to supplant God the Father for another authority. It isn’t just about food and hunger, but who provides what you need to live. Satan wants Jesus to assert His power and authority as the Son of God over the power and authority of the Father. After all, how does God the Father, who is spirit, know what it is like to be hungry? How can the perfect and Almighty Lord of all creation understand what life is really like here on earth? In Jesus, of course! Jesus lives your life and suffers your pains and eventually dies your death so that he can sympathize with you and know exactly how rough your life can be. Because Jesus knows how difficult life can be, God the Father also knows. They understand your struggles and challenges more than you know, and can indeed hear your prayers with full knowledge of their implications. When you aren’t sure if God hears your prayers, or knows how rough you have it, remember Jesus in the wilderness—that He set aside His power and glory to walk in your shoes, to live your life for you, and to die your death so that you won’t have to suffer without him for all eternity. Jesus lived and was tempted for you so that all of these challenges you face might be washed away in his blood, buried in his death, and left behind in his resurrection. All of it is for you, that you may be at peace in him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Lent 1)-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/26/20237 minutes, 18 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 25, 2023 Today's Reading: Introit for Lent 1, Ps. 91:9-13; antiphon: Ps. 91:15-16Daily Lectionary: Job 20:1-23, 29, John 8:21-38 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. (Ps. 91:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If I were to ask you to list five words that come to mind when you hear “Lent,” I doubt that ‘victory’ would be one of them. Usually we look forward to the victory of the resurrection, and sing, “This is the feast of victory for our God!” Yet, even without the alleluias, this psalm tells us that the resurrection isn’t the only place we have victory. There is victory even in the middle of bearing the cross. It doesn’t look or feel like victory! It seems like the devil wins so often when he keeps unbelievers in blindness and steals away our weaker brothers. It doesn’t look like victory when we’re told we have to “celebrate” people’s carnal lusts or we’ll be canceled. It doesn’t feel like victory when we struggle against persistent weakness in our flesh, giving into temptation yet again. Yet, we do have victory over sin, over death, and over the devil, because God has won it. We aren’t going to see it in this evil world or in the sinful human heart. Remember Jesus tomorrow in the Gospel, who calmly rebukes each accusation and temptation of the devil with His Word. His Word is what we cling to when we bear that enmity from the ancient serpent, who is the devil. In His good timing, God will show His victory to be true. Unbelievers will be turned to fervent faith. The world and its desires will pass away. As you abide in His Word and prayer, you will grow in holy living. Finally your fallen flesh will return to the dust, but you will have eternal rest and resurrection. God gives His Word to strengthen us in this victory. James encourages, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8) John brings us back to our baptismal identity saying, “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4) It’s not foolish optimism to say we have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And with such faith, we cling to the rich promises at the end of Psalm 91: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.    Lord, be our light when worldly darkness veils us; Lord, be our shield when earthly armor fails us;   And in the day when hell itself assails us,  Grant us Your peace, Lord. (LSB 659:3)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/25/20235 minutes, 22 seconds
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The Feast of St. Matthias

February 24, 2023 Today's Reading: Matt. 11:25-30Daily Lectionary:Job 19:1-12, 21-27, John 8:1-20 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes older congregations will compile a history book, which will include the unique contributions of each of their pastors. Maybe one started a school outreach. Another oversaw a building project. Still another had a radio ministry. What did Matthias do for the Church?  We have absolutely no record of it. He was the first man to receive a divine call which the Church extended after the Ascension of Jesus. But that is the very last we hear about him, or any sermons he preached, or unique things he did. And after all, that’s better for the Church, because the Church doesn’t belong to any particular pastor. She belongs to Jesus. The Church lives by the gifts Jesus gives: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In Jesus our souls have rest, a true Sabbath that refreshes our innermost being. In Him we are built up and grow as disciples. Whenever the Church falls in love with an individual, she forgets her true love, her true source of rest and life. Rest is replaced by excitement about what’s happening next. A charismatic leader can lay his yoke on the congregation and get them to do a lot of things and seem very active in their faith. Meanwhile, sadly, the souls of those who labor and are heavy laden go unhealed. The commemoration of St. Matthias puts a silhouette of a pastor before us, which any faithful shepherd of the Lord can stand in. The Lord puts him there to proclaim His living Word, to effect the Father’s mysterious election, to bind up the broken hearted and crush the proud. Will each man have unique gifts, and accomplish different things during his time with a congregation? Certainly, and we thank God for His wisdom in arranging for that! But each faithful pastor is simply a servant of the Lord Jesus. It is the Lord’s ministry, the Lord’s compassion, the Lord’s absolution, and the Lord’s resurrection that give His Church reason to rejoice. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.    God of the prophets, bless the prophets’ sons;  Elijah’s mantle o’er Elisha cast.    Each age its solemn task may claim but once; Make each one nobler, stronger than the last.   Make them apostles, heralds of Your cross;  Forth let them go to tell the world of grace.   Inspired by You, may they count all but loss  And stand at last with joy before Your face. Amen. (LSB 682:1, 5)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/24/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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Thursday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 23, 2023 Today's Reading: Joel 2:12-19Daily Lectionary: Job 18:1-21, John 7:32-53 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? (Joel 2:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When do you go to the doctor? Of course, it’s when you’re sick. Nobody in their right mind goes through the trouble of scheduling an appointment, answering a bunch of diagnostic questions, and maybe even ordering labs just for the fun of it. You want to feel better. It’s similar to confession and absolution. In today’s reading, the Lord calls His people to return to Him. Returning is not pleasant, especially because it brings up all the ways that we have been distant from him. Confessing our sins is painful.The rite of Individual Confession guides us through it: “I have lived as if God did not matter and as if I mattered most. My Lord’s name I have not honored as I should; my worship and prayers have faltered. I have not let His love have its way with me, and so my love for others has failed. There are those whom I have heart, and those whom I have failed to help. My thoughts and desires have been soiled with sin.” (LSB 292) But we don’t just go to confession to feel bad about ourselves. We’re not about self-flagellation and perpetual frustration at our failure to act better. The purpose of confession is the holy Absolution: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?” (v. 13, 14) The blessing of having peace with God is what our penitent hearts look forward to. And here is the picture of how the Lord makes that peace even more tangible! His Body and His Blood (grain and wine) are given to us after confession to strengthen and preserve us. Sin is ugly. But God would not have that sickness crush us. He lifts the burden and places it on His Son. The crucifix is ugly because of your sin and that of the whole world. Once sin is on the cross of Jesus, however, it has been removed from you and it becomes beautiful. Your sins are forgiven. Take eat; take drink. This is the very Body and Blood of Christ given and shed for you. Go in peace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/23/20235 minutes, 19 seconds
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Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2023 Today's Reading: Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21Daily Lectionary: Job 16:1-22, John 7:1-13 And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matt. 6:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” [Genesis 3:19] This is a spiritual truth, which we need as Christians living out of our faith. Without this reminder, our “practice” of Christianity can become like so many other world religions. It can become a matter of what we’re doing or not doing. I’m a Christian, so I pray. I’m a Christian, so I don’t watch lewd movies. But our life before God is not simply a matter of what we do. Charity, prayer, and fasting are spiritual disciplines. No matter how they may seem like sanctified works, we can never bring ourselves closer to God by them. The Lord comes first to us, as He has from the beginning. He breathes into our dust the breath of life so that we live (Genesis 2:7) The Holy Spirit breathes eternal life into us by the Gospel (John 20:22-23). If it were not for this, we would not exist and not have faith. It’s only with these gifts to us that we can even think about everything that belongs to the daily walk of a Christian. In Psalm 103, we’re taught, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (vv. 13-14). Even though you are of the dust, you have a God who is your heavenly Father. Charity, prayer, and fasting are all the lived experiences of such children. You put your offering in the plate at church for the ministry of the Gospel, and you are generous toward people in need because you know your Father’s generosity. You pray because the Ruler of All has opened His door and promised to answer. You fast because it reminds you of your dust, especially at times when your Father is chastising you with hard times. Your life as a child of God is so much more than what you do. It’s who you are in your Baptism. According to your natural birth, you are dust bound to return to the earth. But in Jesus Christ, you are bound to be raised on the Last Day (see 1 Corinthians 15:49). So take heart this Ash Wednesday, and gladly receive the ashen cross on your forehead. Even though you are dust, your Father has shown compassion to you, and when everything else has passed away, He has made you His forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lament our sins and acknowledge our wretchedness that we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. -Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/22/20235 minutes, 16 seconds
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Tuesday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 21, 2023 Today's Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21Daily Lectionary: Job 16:1-22, John 7:1-13 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20 NKJV) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the major tenets of the Reformation is Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone. But what does that look like in practice? Originally, it was said against the papacy, who claimed that popes and councils had the authority to add doctrines over and above Scripture. What happened in practice is that many people became their own “pope” in a sense, and offered their own interpretation from isolated Bible verses, and then claimed, “Scripture alone!” This still plagues the Church, especially in the age of YouTube prophets and dispensationalism. The Bible for these is simply sacred source material to mine, in order to shore up their own ideas. We still desperately need to hold to the tenet of Scripture alone. If we let go of it, we will “turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:4) and we’re liable to listen to visions of an angel who proclaims a different Christ and a different gospel [Galatians 1:8-10]. We believe ‘Scripture Alone’ because of what it is: God’s Word. God’s Word that does what it says, from making creation to working faith in the souls who hear it. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).  God’s Word is that lamp in the darkness which shines against the darkness of this world and that of our own hearts. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). God’s Word is our source of life. Mary models this for us: When the angel announced her conception and said, “For nothing will be impossible with God,” she replies, “Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:37-38). The Bible is not a matter of private interpretation, and it doesn’t need someone’s clever explanation to have it stick. God sends His Word with the Holy Spirit who interprets. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit also protects us against false interpretations. John writes, “I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him” (1 John 2:26-27).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/21/20235 minutes, 32 seconds
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Monday of the Week of Transfiguration

February 20, 2023 Today's Reading: Ex. 24:8-18Daily Lectionary:Job 15:1-23, 30-35, John 6:60-71 “Moses went up into the mountain of God.” (Exodus 24:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When God gave the Law to the people at Mount Sinai, there were three distinctions for how close one got to the Lord: The blood-sprinkled people; Moses, with the priests and the 70 elders; Moses in the mountain of God. The people worshiped from afar; the elders ate and drank in the Lord’s presence; and only Moses entered the cloud. The closer you got to God, the closer you were to the holiness, and the more risk to sinful humans. This was all meant to prepare us for what God would ultimately do. When the fulfillment of all of this came, it was not about man ascending to God, but holy God descending to sinners. He did not come in bright glory which made people tremble, but the fulness of deity was veiled in mortal human flesh (Colossians 2:9). An Infant weak and suckling grew into a Man seized by Moses’ disciples, the elders, and crucified as a criminal. On the mount of Calvary, Jesus Christ did what the Law could not do—bring sinners to God. Now all of those divisions have been removed in Jesus Christ: His is the blood which sprinkles you (Hebrews 12:22-24). He is the great High Priest who intercedes for you (Heb. 6:19-20). He is the holy and true Son who can ascend the hill of the Lord (Psalm 24:3-5) The Lord has come down to you in order to raise you up into His presence. With a holiness which surpasses that of Moses, you are covered in Christ. You are a beloved child through God’s Son. You have been given boldness and access that surpasses even the Levite high priest standing in the Holy of Holies (Ephesians 3:12). So what can we do with such access to God? We come to Him as Father, bringing the needs of the world and those of the people we know. We live as pilgrims in this world in the confidence which our Baptism gives, that we have an advocate whose blood speaks on our account and who has put His authoritative forgiveness on human lips (Matthew 18, John 20). We have peace when this world is raging and trembling in Him “who makes wars cease to the end of the earth” (Ps. 46:9). And when everything in creation has been shaken and crumbles away, He has promised us a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.    Hope of the world, God’s gift from highest heaven,  Bringing to hungry souls the bread of life,   Still let Thy Spirit unto us be given  To heal earth’s wounds and end our bitter strife. Amen. (LSB 690:2)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/20/20235 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Transfiguration of Our Lord

February 19, 2023 Today's Reading: Matt. 17:1-9Daily Lectionary: Job 14:1-22, John 6:41-59 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s important for us to ponder the eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ transfiguration before we ponder His suffering. There is plenty of human suffering around us. We wake up with it. We see it in the lives of those around us—our family and friends, the ambulance rushing by, the people sleeping in makeshift shelters. We hear about it in the news. But Jesus is not merely one more victim of the injustice and cruelty of this world. Peter, James, and John were given front-row seats so that they would know the whole of Jesus—truly God and truly man. This is who Jesus is. Unlike Moses, whose glow would fade after he left the mountain, in Jesus, “the fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The fully-divine, fully-human Jesus goes down from the mountain with His disciples. This is who He is, whether we can see it in Him or not. This is true, even as He is betrayed, condemned, carrying His cross, dying, and breathing His last. Hold this image in your faith as you behold Jesus. Hold onto this during the Lenten journey to the tomb. He is not just another suffering victim under the cruel reign of human wrath, the devil’s oppression, and the prison of death. He came to conquer them! Today, we hear one of those eyewitnesses, Peter, tell us, “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” (2 Peter 1:19). We don’t see this victory with our eyes very much, if at all. So like the disciples watching Jesus being condemned, carried away, and crucified, we have to believe the Word that is spoken of Him. “This is Jesus, King of the Jews” is what hung above His cross. This is Jesus, Savior of the World, King of Kings, and final Judge. In this Transfiguration vision, we also see (by faith) our future. Who is with Him? Moses and Elijah in glory. Can you see your future life with the Lord? Not with your eyes. But it will be there. This Jesus will also command your lowly body—even if it’s decayed in the ground—to be transformed to be like His glorious body (Phil. 3:21). Behold Him by faith, and even now hear His voice! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your beloved Son You confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of Moses and Elijah. In the voice that came from the bright cloud You wonderfully foreshowed our adoption by grace. Mercifully make us co-heirs with the King in His glory and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/19/20235 minutes, 15 seconds
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Saturday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

February 18, 2023 Today's Reading: Introit for Transfiguration, Ps. 99:1-5; antiphon: Ps. 99:9Daily Lectionary:Job 13:13-28, John 6:22-40 “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!” (Psalm 99:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Scripture tells us, “The Lord is great in Zion.” Christopher Hitchens, renowned atheist, tells us, “god is Not Great.” His book is a #1 New York Bestseller, so many people have been listening to him. Many of your friends and people you meet have been listening to him, also. In his book, Hitchens makes several supposedly rational cases against world religions, but it quickly becomes clear that he does not know the Lord. He knows sinful people, and offers atheism as a substitute religion which claims “Man is great.” But the claim that man is great instead of the Lord only brings more problems. History and our own experience shows that human beings are tragically flawed. Or, as St. Paul put it, “If righteousness were through the Law, then Christ died to no purpose” (Gal. 2:21). Man is not great; man needs a great Savior, who is the Lord! “The Lord is great in Zion; He is exalted over all the peoples.” He alone does what no man could do. He alone is holy, set apart from fallen mankind. He alone is to be adored by all the sinful race. Yet, though the Lord is holy, and He could stay far away from mankind and all our failings, He doesn’t. Holy as He is, He embraced our miserable condition and was born of the Virgin Mary. Even as man, He was still holy because He was “made like His brothers in every respect…yet without sin” (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15). The Holy Lord in human flesh did for all what we could never achieve ourselves: perfect righteousness, just retribution for all sins, and rescue from death itself. Atheism and all man-made religions cannot offer what the Lord Himself gives as a gift to the fallen world. No tower of Babel project can unite all people the way God can (Genesis 11). No earthly utopia of Karl Marx which promises to eliminate class divisions can remove the poison of sin in our hearts; only our Lord can. Therefore, we exalt the Lord alone, for He is holy. May the Lord increase our joy at worshiping at His footstool, and bring those without such hope eternal peace and hope through Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.    Thou camest to our hall of death,  O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air, To drink for us the dark despair   That strangled our reluctant breath. How beautiful the feet that trod, The road that leads us back to God!   How beautiful the feet that ran To bring the great good news to man! Amen. (LSB 834:3)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/18/20234 minutes, 45 seconds
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Friday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

February 17, 2023 Today's Reading: Job 13:1-12Daily Lectionary: Job 13:1-12 “But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.” (Job 13:3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Martin Luther said, “Oh, faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing” But can faith be active even in arguing with God? It would seem so. Job is ready to speak and argue with the Almighty, but he’s not the only one. Remember the patriarch Jacob? He wrestled with God (Genesis 32:22-32) and insisted that God bless him. How could he be so presumptuous? It’s because God had already promised him, “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea” (v. 12).  Jacob was on his way to meet his bloodthirsty brother, and insisted that God’s blessing was essential for that trip.Arguing with God is a proper exercise of faith, when that argumentation is built on the foundation of confidence in what God has promised. Job’s friends were arguing for a god who is incredibly shallow: obey and I will do good for you; disobey and I will make your life miserable. This sounds a lot more like the Muslim Allah than the true God in whom we believe. The true God speaks and, by the Holy Spirit, faith works in us and clings to that Word. So, when it looks like that Word is being trampled, or that God isn’t living up to His revealed character, it’s time to argue with Him (think also of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15).The Psalms give us wonderful examples of arguing your case with God (see Psalm 56 and 79 for example). Not that we ourselves have a leg to stand on (and that’s where Job began to err), but we hold fast to the covenant God made with us in Baptism, and that He made with His Church by the shedding of His blood. On the ground of His promises, we hold Him to it. We know Him as He has revealed His heart to us. This is a true exercise of faith because it holds to God, even when our eyes and experience seem to show the opposite.This faith-filled arguing is more than complaining, “What’s happening to me isn’t fair.” Taking an honest look at our situation and the state of God’s people in this shattered world, we go where God tells us. You, Lord, promise to come to our aid—“Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15). We rest in the assurance, that such prayer—such argumentation—is pleasing in His sight, “because He has commanded us to pray and promised to hear us.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.  O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my     mouth. (Psalm 54:1-2)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/17/20234 minutes, 43 seconds
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Thursday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

February 16, 2023Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9Daily Lectionary: Job 12:1-6, 12-25, John 5:30-47“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You might really like your pastor. You might think your pastor is out to lunch. Maybe your church has more than one pastor, but there’s one you’d rather go to.What Paul is warning us of here is “behaving only in a human way.” (v. 3) when it comes to pastors. The Church at Corinth was having a big problem with this. Earlier in chapter 1:12, it was reported that people drew lines between following Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), or Christ. Imagine that! Pitting the servants of Christ against the Lord Himself! The “human way” places the worthiness and power on the individual.I’ve been told, “Pastor, you’ve done so much for us” and “I want you to preach my funeral.”  It’s high praise, to be sure. But, the “human way” wants to say there’s something indispensable about me. You can probably imagine what praise Peter or Paul had gotten because of their personal history with the Lord. It’s only natural (not in a good way) to want to put all your eggs in your chosen basket.It’s really kind of funny that we do this, because when Jesus came to His hometown to preach, the congregation was so enraged by His preaching that they were set to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). To be honest, some congregations have done that to their pastors, too.We need to repent of our “human way” of looking at pastors, and be on guard against this kind of jealousy and strife. While every pastor has individual strengths and weaknesses, that’s not where our faith should be. What are we pastors? “Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.” Pastors are fellow sinners who have a special place in the church, but their labors are only ever in service to the Lord.Pastoral vacancies can put this to the test. Although it hurts to lose a beloved pastor, it also chastises us for how we make too much of the man. In the vacancy, the congregation asks, “What are we looking for in a pastor?” blind to who that man may be. That’s because for a servant of Christ, the essential thing will be the same no matter who it is. He will be the man through whom the Good Shepherd ministers to His flock. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Gracious Father, You led Your holy apostles to ordain ministers for the proclamation of Your Word and the faithful administration of the Sacraments of Christ. Grant to each congregation the guidance of the Holy Spirit to choose a suitable pastor according to Your will for the blessing of Your Church in every place; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/16/20234 minutes, 33 seconds
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Wednesday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

February 15, 2023Today's Reading:Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties To: Youth (1 Peter 5:5-6)Daily Lectionary: Job 11:1-20, John 5:19-29 “‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s hard being a teenager.  You’ve come so far, and yet there’s still so much you aren’t allowed to do. Don’t you sometimes feel like it isn’t right? If you could be honest, you might say, “I can handle it! Leave me alone so I can shine!”  It’s true that experience has shown we do grow from having greater responsibility, even if it means we fail sometimes. But what we need at every age is for God to keep our hearts humble.  We have a bent in our hearts toward thinking too much of ourselves.  Our self-appraisal is often more flawless than reality. Yes, even if you suffer from depression and sometimes tell yourself that you’re a worthless failure, that’s your broken mind thinking too much of your personal problems, magnifying your flaws and problems so they seem mightier than God. When God humbles us, He teaches us once again to be receptive to learning. Most of all, we learn from Him through His Word, where He teaches us that, “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Ps. 147:10-11) He also places His humbled children in the communion of saints, the Church. In this community, it is good for the young to learn from those more experienced. “Listen to your elders!” isn’t just something your grandma says because she’s cranky; it’s godly wisdom. In Titus 2, St. Paul shows how it is good for older men to be mentors, older women to be examples to the young. Even pastors learn from those more seasoned in the ministry. With God’s gift of being humbled, we see that it’s not a bad thing to be a youth or inexperienced. It can be frustrating at times, and not everyone is automatically a good example. Yet, God does bless His children at every stage to receive His Word and grow in grace and holy lives in His Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.    Make ye straight what long was crooked;  Make the rougher places plain.  Let your hearts be true and humble,   As befits His holy reign,  For the glory of the Lord,  Now o’er earth is shed abroad, And all flesh shall see the token   That His Word is never broken. Amen. (LSB 347:4)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/15/20234 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: John 5:1-18 (Valentine, Martyr)Daily Lectionary: Job 10:1-22, John 5:1-18 “Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” (John 5:8-9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Valentine has been remembered as a martyr since the early centuries of the Church. A priest and physician from Rome, he and his family ministered to those being persecuted by Emperor Claudius II. Soon Valentine also was arrested and martyred on February 14, 270. He was soon remembered for his acts of mercy, in spite of the bodily danger it would bring him. The association with romance actually comes from an observation in England in the Middle Ages that birds began choosing mates around St. Valentine’s Day. People took that as a cue to do the same by choosing eligible suitors for their children. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the Roman god, Cupid, came on the scene, and we know what the people of today do “in the name of love.” Today, we’re told, “Love is love.”  Yet, what they mean is a strong feeling. Love is actually much more than butterflies in our stomach or devotion to another person.  “God is love,” St. John tells us, and he follows that up by saying, “the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him…Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (see 1 John 4:7-12) This is the purest expression of love, called in Greek, agape. Jesus exhibited that love to the lame man in John 5 by calling him to faith and healing his body.  Valentine reflected that love by ministering to his brothers and sisters in Christ as they were martyred by the authorities, eventually suffering the same cruelty. Agape love is what we have from God. All other kinds of love grow out of it: Philos, friendly affection; storge, a natural, familial love; and eros, desirous love. Too often, we are told that love is merely the eros kind of birds and other creatures “pairing up.” But today, when the unbelievers tell you, “Love is love,” show them how God is love, and what that love did: God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love divine, all loves excelling,  Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!  Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,All Thy faithful mercies crown.  Jesus, Thou art all compassion,  Pure, unbounded love Thou art;Visit us with Thy salvation,  Enter ev’ry trembling heart. Amen. (LSB 700:1)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/14/20234 minutes, 46 seconds
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Monday, The Sixth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Deut. 30:15-20Daily Lectionary: Job 9:1-35, John 4:46-54“Obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days” (Deuteronomy 30:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If there were ever a passage that seems to support decision theology, it’s this one. “I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…therefore choose life!”  Martin Luther strongly debated a popular scholar of his day, Erasmus of Rotterdam, on this very passage. Erasmus that since God gave the command, “Choose,” it must mean we’re able to do it. Luther countered that just because God commanded it, doesn’t mean we have the power to do it. Rather, this is how the Law humbles us and drives us to Christ.is giving a description of faith versus unbelief, manifested in how one reacts to God and His Word. Loving the Lord, walking in His ways, keeping His Word—only faith is able to do this. A heart turned away, refusing to hear, being drawn to other gods—this is our default because of sin.You can think of it like a magnet. Unbelief reacts to God’s Word the way that same poles on a magnet repel. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) Our sinful flesh pushes away the Word of God.  On the other hand, faith is attracted to and clings to the Word of God. It says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day…I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.” (Psalm 119:97, 101)But how did we come to believe and gladly be reading a Higher Things Reflection? This is the work of the Lord your God. The One who called Israel out of Egypt and brought them with a mighty hand, has also come to you with His life-giving Spirit. the Word of God reached you—in the waters of your Baptism, shared by your family, perhaps later in life by a Christian friend—and He powerfully raised you from spiritual death.God has created this faith in you, achieving the polar opposite of sin. As His Spirit works in you, you do love the Lord, delight to walk in His ways, and keeping His Word sacred with a glad heart. It’s far from perfect or constant this side of the resurrection. Nevertheless, God promises to be continually at work in you, His child. He will bring you at last to Himself, victorious over sin, the devil, and death itself! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Oh, what blessing to be near You  And to listen to Your voice;  Let me ever love and hear You,Let Your Word be now my choice!  Many hardened sinners, Lord,  Flee in terror at Your Word;But to all who feel sin’s burden  You give words of peace and pardon. Amen. (LSB 589:2)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/13/20235 minutes, 1 second
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The Sixth Sunday of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matt. 5:21-37Daily Lectionary: Job 8:1-22, John 4:27-45 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is the Gospel of the Lord? Praise to you, O Christ! Today’s Gospel gets us coming and going. If we came to church thinking we had it together, these words of our Lord are set to humble us deeply. Anger, lust, divorce, and taking the Lord’s Name in vain. It’s a good thing we have a week to recover before we hear him talk about retaliation, loving our enemies, and being perfect even as our Father in heaven is!But there’s a reason Jesus pulls out the hammer of the Law. Each section begins, “You have heard that it was said to those of old…” What had been taught among His audience was that being faithful to God was just a matter of following the rules. The stricter the better. The more self-denial you can muster, the more righteous you are. This is what the Old Adam thinks the Law and the Prophets teach. And this is what the people were hearing from the Pharisees. It’s what people still hear from the Mennonites, the Wesleyans, and other holiness groups.Yet, these words are on the lips of Christ, and that is the difference between being damned eternally and being saved by the forgiveness of our sins. Do you remember the three uses of the Law? This is the second use of the Law big time: the mirror that shows us how we have sinned against God. It leaves no stone unturned. Our hatred toward others means we deserve to be hated by God. Our lusts that look for pleasure with someone not our spouse have us dangling over the hell of fire. Our lips are quick to aggrandize our cause and drag God into it, but this has the hiss of the Evil One.For every one of these, your sins, Christ has been sacrificed. His blood has answered the righteous wrath of God. He was forsaken, cut off, and conquered the Tempter—all for you. This is what makes you a Christian—not that you’ve kept God’s standard of perfection, but that Christ has kept it in your place so that He could give you peace with God and eternal life. And only that can bring us to the third use of the Law: the guide which steers us away from sin and toward living as God’s true children. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/12/20235 minutes, 13 seconds
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Saturday, The Fifth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 6, Ps. 98:7-9; antiphon: Ps. 98:2Daily Lectionary: Job 7:1-21, John 4:7-27“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!” (Ps. 98:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do these two things have in common? A child tugging at his mother’s sweater, each time saying louder, “Mama!” and the prophets of Baal limping around their altar and cutting themselves (1 Ki. 18:26)?Both are examples of times when our sinful flesh assumes that the authority—ultimately God—must not hear them.  They make a noise; they heap up empty phrases [Matt. 6:7] in an effort to get God to listen to them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?But Psalm 98 says we have it all wrong, if that’s how we’ve thought about God the Lord.  Worship is not about trying to get God’s attention. That is actually a feature of pagan, man made gods. Rather, the True God acts first upon us, and we respond in loud shouts of praise!  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us [Rom. 5:8].  He’s told us that His righteousness and our salvation have been since the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:4-5).So, if God accomplished His work of saving us before any of us were even born, what should make us think that we need to shout into His ears to get His attention now?  To put it another way, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) He comes to deliver His salvation in Christ and His fatherly care. That means for us that His hearing our prayers, accepting our worship, and blessing our days is based on something more sure than our heart-felt effort. It’s anchored in His promises spoken to us and His Holy Spirit, who gives and sustains our faith.Since God is the One who has done such great things, then our response of praise is that much sweeter.  Together, we sing the new song of the psalms in the Introit and Gradual. We are freed to sing hymns which proclaim His mighty works: “This is the feast of victory for our God.” We joyfully sing spiritual songs which meditate on what our God has done. With the aftertaste of Christ’s true Body and Blood on our tongues, our hearts ring out, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.”Our own religious ideas can never bring such peace, but Christ can and does. As you prepare to go to the Divine Service, take a cue from creation: He has not only formed you in your mother’s womb, but He has also redeemed and promised you eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!  Let men their songs employ,  While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy,  Repeat the sounding joy,  Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. Amen. (LSB 387:2)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/11/20235 minutes, 25 seconds
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Thursday, The Fifth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Job 6:1-13Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13, John 3:1-21 “Have I any help in me, when resource is driven from me?” (Job 6:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Human suffering: It’s universal. It’s agonizing to bear, and heartbreaking to witness. It’s caused by wickedness in the world. It’s caused by our own foolishness. It’s sent by God.Wait! What did you just say? Surely God wants us to be happy! Surely, I haven’t deserved to have my parents divorce, to lose my friend to lymphoma, to be laid off from my job that I worked hard at.  What you’re facing is the problem of suffering, and you’re hardly the first person to be there.Not that you can think away suffering, but consider these three truths which we know: God is good. God is omnipotent. There is profound evil in the world.When we suffer, we venture into the land of theodicy, which means “to justify God.”  There, we wrestle with these three truths. We know God is good and He can do all things. So, what does it mean that so much evil is in the world and on our doorstep? If we dwell in theodicy too long, our sinful reason starts with doubts: Maybe God isn’t really good. Maybe He’s not really omnipotent. Maybe His Baptismal promise to never leave or forsake me isn’t so powerful after all.  Suffering is a dark place to be. Theodicy is even darker.Our refuge in suffering is not our own minds. It’s not in being crushed, like Job prayed for. God’s answer to our suffering is found in Jesus Christ alone. Listen to how St. Peter explains it, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pet. 4:12-13) This is not theodicy; it is theology of the cross.Your Baptism is not an immunity potion against worldly trouble. It is a promise that you are joined to Jesus Christ—in His suffering now and in His exaltation at the last.  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)  So to answer Job’s complaints, “What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?”  It is to look to your crucified and risen Savior, who ascended into heaven and rules all things for your good…even the suffering which He wisely sends to you. You do not bear it on your own, but as His own. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. Amen. (Psalm 9:13-14)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/9/20235 minutes, 40 seconds
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Wednesday, The Fifth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties: To Employers and SupervisorsDaily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27, John 2:13-25“Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.” (Eph. 6:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “My boss is such a jerk!”  This is a judgment we’re quick to pronounce. It’s socially acceptable.  And what did he or she do to earn that label?  Make you work Saturday when you’d rather sleep in?  Deny your vacation request?  Too often, we berate those in authority over us because they’re calling the shots and not us.But when’s the last time you prayed for your supervisor?  I mean, think about the tasks and responsibility God has given to them.  Maybe they’re a business owner. They might have their manager breathing down their neck.  They are responsible for the schedules, productivity, and welfare of their staff.  But above even their manager, is a Master who is in heaven.  He is your Master, too, and there is no favoritism with Him.When we remember who is the Master of us all, we realize how much trouble we all cause Him.  If you don’t believe me, just read the accounts of Israel in the wilderness!  Yet, look at how our Master in heaven treats us!  Worse than the gross-factor cleaning the public restroom, worse than the tedium of sorting the file room, harder than bearing a piano down five flights of stairs—is what the Son of God has done for us.  He became sin for us, wearing our filth and shame on the cross.  He agonized in Gethsemane and submitted to the Father’s will to save humanity. He bore in His own body the sins which merited the eternal wrath of God.  If this is how your Master in heaven acts, then maybe we can learn a thing or two from His example.  St. Peter teaches, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” (1 Pet. 2:18)Those in the seat of responsibility can also learn that they, too, are servants of God.  They are given their management for the good of someone’s business, for the good of those under them, and for how we all together are used by God to provide and maintain order in His world.  Remembering our heavenly Master who manages all for our good, we “commend ourselves, our body, soul, and all things” to Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, help us walk Your servant way, Wherever love may lead, And, bending low, forgetting self, Each serve the other’s need. You bid us bend our human pridem Nor count ourselves above, The lowest place, the meanest task, That waits the gift of love. Amen. (LSB 857:1, 4)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/8/20235 minutes, 14 seconds
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Tuesday, The Fifth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: 1 Cor. 2:1-16Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21, John 2:1-12Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. (1 Cor. 2:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Would you like to level up your Christianity?  What would you say if I told you there was some “secret and hidden wisdom from God”?  All you have to do is buy my book and I’ll show you how to unlock this hidden potential!  Maybe Simon Magus, who thought he could buy the Holy Spirit from the Apostles (Acts 8:18-24) had thoughts of writing a book like this.  But the fact that books like this sell should tell us something.We crave to have power over our lives.  Anxieties and manic behavior plague us, especially in our age which promises ultimate knowledge, ultimate mastery over disease and the body.  This desire for some control also seeps into the spiritual realm, driving some to dabble in astrology or numerology, and perhaps even witchcraft. That is not the message which the servants of God, like St. Paul, preach.  Contrast Paul to a peddler of spiritual ’truth’: “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom.”  So much for Paul selling them on his winning smile and charisma!  No, the wisdom and power are of God.The wisdom from God is given as a gift, not unlocked by the wise of this world. “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”  There is real, ultimate power there! The power to know the mind of God!  But what is God thinking about?  How He condescends to us, lowly and sinful though we are.  “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:4)God the Holy Spirit reveals what we could never find ourselves—what we would never even think to ask!  That God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would redeem His fallen creation through self-giving, suffering and that He would powerfully call people back to Himself by lowly-appearing means: words, water, bread and wine.  This truly is the “foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God [which] is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Creator Spirit, by whose aid, The world’s foundations first were laid, Come, visit every humble mind;Come, pour Your joys on humankind; From sin and sorrow set us free; May we Your living temples be. Amen. (LSB 500:1)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/7/20235 minutes, 10 seconds
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Monday, The Fifth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Isaiah 58:3-9aDaily Lectionary: Job 3:11, John 1:35-51 “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” (Isaiah 58:8-9a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes a person a “good Christian”?  Is it because they don’t swear?  Is it because they don’t listen to explicit songs and don’t drink alcohol?  Is it because they wear a purity ring and refuse even to kiss before marriage?  Is it because they volunteer twice a week at the local food pantry?For many people, it’s a moral life that defines a “good Christian.” But this is really all upside-down.  It’s not good morals that make a person a good Christian. The whole idea of a “good” Christian needs to be rethought.  Isaiah was speaking to “good” Israelites, who pouted that God wasn’t pleased with their dedication and obedience.What’s missing was the more important thing: Faith in the God who redeems poor, miserable sinners.  As soon as we look for any good in us, we will be deceived into thinking we’re really something.  Jesus told us yesterday in Matthew 5, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”  You and I need a righteousness that is nowhere found among the children of Adam and Eve.Except One. There is One who perfectly kept the Law.  His fasting was sincere. His humility was of one who is gentle and lowly in heart.  By His affliction, He loosed the bonds of wickedness that held you, and let you who are harassed and helpless go free. With His pure garments of righteousness, He covers your shame and nakedness.  And now that He has so served you, you are called righteous on His account, holy and acceptable, blameless before God.  You have been given such wonderful promises as His healing, His righteousness, His glory to guard you, and His ear for your every prayer.And from this faith come the new desires.  Going to church isn’t a chore, but something you long for because your Savior is there.  You’re respectful when you talk with others. You turn away from lewdness and discipline your body to not give into its lusts. You see someone in need and would gladly give them the shirt off your back.  All this, not to assure yourself how “good” you are, but because God alone is good, and by that goodness, He has made you His child. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone, And rests in Him unceasing; And by its fruits true faith is known,   With love and hope increasing. For faith alone can justify; Works serve our neighbor and supply   The proof that faith is living. Amen. (LSB 555:9)-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/6/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:13-20Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1, John 1:19-34 “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Anchovies. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they give us a clue into what Jesus is saying: Salt is a preservative. It keeps meat from decaying into stench and worms.  So, Jesus compares us to salt for the earth—a preservative against the stench that comes from the lawlessness that happens on earth. In the Cold War, they had air raid drills. During them, everyone would either have to turn out their lights because, if they didn’t, the enemy could see where to attack.  Our Lord says we are the light of the world, a city set on a hill. That sure makes us stand out in the darkness of this world. St. Paul writes that the children of God “shine as lights in the world…in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” (Phil. 2:15)  Christians have a unique calling from God toward the decaying stench and deep darkness of this world.  It is why He makes us hang around.  He doesn’t want the world to be left to its own “flavor” or overrun by the darkness of the sinful heart.  It is our task to pray for the world, as Abraham interceded for the wretched cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  We’re placed where we are in 2023 in order to shine light upon those who dwell in darkness.  Sometimes, we selfishly ask God to just give us some shelter from the world and rest from having uncomfortable conversations with trans friends. Our own salt loses its saltiness and it’s easier to cover up our light.Jesus came not only to expose the rot and blindness of humanity, but to save and shine the pure light of God upon us.  His coming is not a divine “Just Kidding” about the wrath and death of sinners in the Old Testament.  His birth and life, His suffering and death, and His glorious resurrection show both God’s just wrath and His mercy toward our sinful race. His mercy toward you, and extending to every single human being.  If we were to relax His Commandments, it may make things selfishly easier, but it’s not the loving thing to do. The loving thing is what God has done, to send His Son to rescue us from the mire and bring us into His marvelous light.  In God’s Son, we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.  He makes our lives testify that God’s righteousness and salvation is found nowhere else than in Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/5/20235 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday, The Fourth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading:  Luke 2:22-32Daily Lectionary: Zech. 14:1-21, Titus 2:7-3:15“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word… (Luke 2:29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday the Church celebrated the Presentation of Jesus (Luke 2:22-32). We heard about Simeon who  came to  the temple  to see Jesus. The Holy Spirit had promised Simeon he would see the Messiah before he died, and Simeon had waited a long time for this day. He held baby Jesus in his arms and praised God. Simeon sang “Lord, now are letting your servant depart in peace, your word has been fulfilled.” That should sound familiar. We regularly sing Simeon’s words in the Nunc Dimittis (Latin for “Now let your servant leave”) after Holy Communion.We see the Holy Trinity working in this reading. All Christians confess faith in the Holy Trinity. There is only one God, but there are three distinct persons in God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is God, but they are not separate gods. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God (The Athanasian Creed (LSB p. 319) and the Small Catechism section on the Apostle’s Creed are good places to learn more about the Trinity.)At Jesus’ Presentation, the Holy Spirit sent Simeon to see the Messiah. The Son, Jesus, is present in the flesh. And the Father lovingly sent His Son to do this gracious work. Simeon is led by the Holy Spirit to take up the Son in his arms and speak praise to the Father for what Christ will do to save.When we go to Holy Communion, we know that the Holy Trinity is active. The Spirit draws us to faith through the Word and Sacraments. He gives us faith that Jesus died and rose to forgive our sins. The Son, Jesus, is truly present in the Supper. We partake of His body and blood under the bread and wine, and He gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation.  We thank and praise the Father for sending His Son to us, and together we pray to Him in the Lord’s Prayer.At the Supper, you’re blessed in a similar way as Simeon was. You don’t see Christ with your eyes or lift Him in your arms, but you truly have Him. The Holy Spirit gives you faith, Jesus gives you Himself, and the Father gives you His Son.  So let us sing praise to God with the beautiful words Simeon spoke and remember the work of our triune God to save us. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, I thank and praise You for feeding me the life-giving body and blood of Your beloved son, Jesus Christ. Send Your Holy Spirit that, having with my mouth received the holy Sacrament, I may by faith obtain and eternally enjoy Your divine grace, the forgiveness of sins, unity with Christ and life eternal; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/3/20235 minutes, 38 seconds
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The Purification of Mary and The Presentation of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our LordLuke 2:22-32Daily Lectionary: Zech. 12:1-13:9, Titus 1:1-2:6…as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On this day, 40 days after Christmas, Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus from Bethlehem to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him before the LORD. There is a beautiful meaning behind this day. We can understand it better when we think of 5 sons.The First son is Israel. Israel had been cruelly enslaved by the Egyptians. They cried to God for help and God sent Moses to deliver them. God’s message to Pharaoh was that Israel was God’s son, so Egypt should let Israel go. If not, Egypt would lose their firstborn son. (Exodus 4:22,23)The Second son is the firstborn of Egypt. God sent 10 plagues against Egypt to convince them to let Israel go. The 10th plague happened in conjunction with the Passover (Exodus 13). On that night, God provided the blood of the Passover lamb so that death passed over the children of Israel. Where there was no blood on the doorposts, the angel of death took the firstborn son of the household. After this, Egypt let Israel go. Israel rejoiced to be free, but the grief in Egypt was unmeasurable.The Third son is all the firstborn sons of Israel. Because God delivered Israel from Egypt at the cost of the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt, now all firstborn sons among the Israelites belonged to God. They would not be sacrificed but would be redeemed by an offering. Each firstborn son was a living reminder that one day God would send the Messiah to deliver the world from sin.The Fourth Son is Jesus. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God from eternity. He is also the firstborn son of Mary, the son who opened her womb. As the firstborn, He was consecrated to the LORD. (Gal 4:4-5).  God would redeem the world from slavery to sin, death, and hell. He gave His own Son to die on the cross as the sacrifice that gives peace. What incredible love that He would do that for us!The Fifth son is all the baptized. You are washed in the blood of Christ in Baptism and God adopts you as His child in Christ (1 John 3:1).  The victory Jesus won is given to you by grace through faith. You live in this world as one who is set free, as one who is walking with Jesus to the Promised Land of heaven. All the baptized are set apart to belong to God by the grace of Jesus the Holy Son of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/2/20235 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wednesday, The Fourth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - To Workers of All KindsDaily Lectionary: Zech. 11:4-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-18Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ… (Ephesians 6:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate that the light of Christ shines forth into darkness. God uses our work, including our jobs, to let that light shine forth and bless others. Do you have a job? Then Ephesians 6 speaks to you. Paul tells us that when we are at work, we don’t just work to please our earthly boss, but we are working for Jesus Himself.In Ephesians 6, Paul is speaking to people who were bondservants. They couldn’t quit or leave their jobs until they fulfilled the terms of the bond. Paul was comforting them with the promise that Jesus was with them. Even in their bonds, they were free in Christ because of the salvation won for them on the cross. When they did their work, Christ went with them. They could work for Him, not just for their master on earth.  If God could be with bondservants in their work even though they had no freedom, how much more can he be with you in your work when you are blessed with more rights today!Serving God isn’t limited to churchwork. Every job contributes something good for your neighbor, and you can do it with a sincere desire to serve Jesus. He’s right there with you, sustaining you and blessing you. (There are some jobs that are sinful. They harm your neighbor and require breaking the 10 Commandments. A Christian should avoid these jobs. If a person who has a job like this converts and comes to Christ, they should figure out how to change jobs.)When you work for Christ, you’re reminded that your daily bread comes from God, not just a paycheck—so you have more peace about how you’ll survive hard times. Working for Christ, and not just an earthly boss or company, also adds dignity to any job you have.  Even jobs that seem unimportant have meaning when you frame it with “How does my work serve my neighbor?” These blessings help you find joy in your work as you go through life, which is no small thing.Students should be dedicated to their studies as if learning from Christ. What you learn can help you serve your neighbor, now and in the future.  Pray for wisdom to work well, for protection from danger, and for strength to grow in your abilities. If you want to learn more about this, read the Table of Duties in the Small Catechism. Luther has a lot to say on this topic in just a couple of pages. Jesus loves you. He is with you each day as your Savior and Shepherd—as you rest and as you work. Thanks be to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, grant Your mercy and grace to Your people in their many and various callings. Give them patience, and strengthen them in their Christian vocation of witness to the world and of service to their neighbor in Christ’s name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
2/1/20235 minutes, 27 seconds
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Tuesday, The Fourth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31Daily Lectionary: Zech. 10:1-11:3, 2 Timothy 3:1-17For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.   (1 Corinthians 1:22-24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate that the light of Christ shines forth into darkness. His light shines through the preaching of Christ crucified.To preach Christ crucified, the pastor proclaims the Law; the Law shows us that we have sinned and deserve death and damnation. But the pastor doesn’t leave us there. He proclaims the Gospel of Christ—that Jesus’s death on the cross washes away our sin so we are free from death and damnation. Christ sacrificed himself for us. Finally, the pastor proclaims Christ’s resurrection—Jesus rose from the dead to show that He paid for all sins, that death has no power over Him, and all who believe in Him will rise again and have eternal life. There is no other to salvation other than the cross of Christ. Christ alone can save. He saves us by grace through faith alone.This is such a beautiful message, who could possibly find fault with it? Sadly, many reject it. Some hate it vehemently. (Lord, have mercy and draw them all to You!)St. Paul tells us that some reject the gospel because they want sure proof of these mighty claims. They demand that God perform powerful acts to remove their doubt that Christ is the way to salvation. Others insist that God convince them into salvation with eloquent reason and human philosophy. They demand a salvation that the wisdom of man can discover, understand, and deserve. When Christ crucified is preached, there are none of these false proofs. Jesus is known to be the Christ because He fulfilled the ancient prophecies, died on the cross in perfect obedience to the Father, and rose from the dead as no one else ever has. We know Christ through the testimony of the apostles and prophets in the Holy Scriptures. No human wisdom can save anyone. We bring nothing to God but our sin and death. Jesus alone saves. He saves the infant and the infirmed in the same way as He saves eminent doctors and philosophers – by grace through faith.  This faith is worked by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments, so we cannot even claim that as our work. God saves us. He alone does it. And He does it through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thanks be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer,Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer.All sins Thou borest for us, else had despair reigned over us:Have mercy on us, O Jesus! O Jesus!(LSB 434 vs 1)-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/31/20235 minutes, 48 seconds
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Monday, The Fourth Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Micah 6:1-8Daily Lectionary: Zech. 9:1-17, 2 Timothy 2:1-26“Hear what the LORD says: … “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!”  (Micah 1a, 3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Epiphany, we celebrate that the light of Christ shines forth into the world, proclaiming the truth of His word —that people are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We celebrate that God has raised up people to serve in His church through the ages, from prophets and apostles, to pastors, teachers, parents, and every vocation.God chose Micah to call Israel to repentance—to speak the truth in power to Israel (3:8). The princes in the government took bribes and oppressed the people with their injustice. The priests refused to perform sacrifices unless they were paid, and they practiced divination for money. The false-prophets proclaimed that the LORD would never bring trouble upon Israel in spite of their sins (See Micah 3:9-12).Micah called Israel to repent (6:8) and to come to God for the forgiveness they desperately needed (7:18-20). But most importantly, Micah prophesied that one day the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and would rule faithfully over the people.We learn from Micah how important it is for everyone to repent—in every station and vocation in life. We all need to remember that God loves justice, kindness, and humility. His Law defines righteousness and makes it clear how we are to live. Repentance teaches us to take God’s Law seriously. The Law shows how we are to live in love with all people. Repentance takes God’s command seriously that we are to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). But when we hear the Law, we learn that we have sinned against God and deserve punishment. So we run to Jesus for the forgiveness He won for us on the cross. He bestows his grace upon us in our Baptism, in the Supper, and in His Holy Word (That’s why we call them the Means of Grace). We are saved by His grace through faith. And having been forgiven, we strive to walk in love. The love we show does not earn forgiveness from God. We are forgiven freely by grace. But having been forgiven each day we strive for the justice, kindness and humility which God desires and our neighbor needs.False messages about God permeated Israel in Micah’s day. False messages about God bombard us in our day, too. Micah preached the truth to the people so they would be saved. We thank God that His truth is still available to us. He has never abandoned His Church. So let us gather faithfully around the right preaching of the Gospel and serve one another in Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“My faithful God, You fail me never; Your promise surely will endure. O cast me not away forever if words and deeds become impure. Have mercy when I come defiled; Forgive, lift up, restore Your child.” (LSB 590 vs 3 Baptized into Your Name Most Holy)-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/30/20235 minutes, 30 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12Daily Lectionary: Zech. 8:1-23, 2 Timothy 1:1-18“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. During Epiphany we celebrate that the light of Christ shines forth to people in need of His grace and mercy. In our reading today, crowds of people were following Jesus to hear Him speak, so He led them to a mountainside and began to teach them. He starts by listing who is “blessed” in God’s eyes: The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.Those who have been wronged, who are grieving, and those who work for peace and righteousness often don’t feel blessed. But God sees them, and He pulls them near. He blesses them and shines the light of the Gospel upon their hearts. He did on that mountainside 2000 years ago—and He blesses you today, as well.Jesus blesses those who are in desperate need. The gifts He gives cannot be earned by any kind of good works. We’re not worthy of receiving them—they are too great. Our Savior offers forgiveness for sins, eternal life, the blessings of salvation in this world and in heaven. Only the Holy Spirit can cause you to know how profound your poverty is before God, and only the Spirit can bring you to know and believe that the blessings of Christ are truly yours. The Spirit brings you into those blessings in your Baptism. The Spirit comforts you in those blessings through the Word. The Spirit strengthens you in those blessings in the Lord’s Supper. Through these gifts you find the blessings of Christ to help you through the hardships of this world.So, when you go through life and mourn, face troubles that need peace, hunger for God’s righteousness in these dark times, or must bear with meekness the vanity of the world—you face all these things in Christ. Even when you are persecuted for your faith in Him, He is with you and blesses you. He endured all these things for you on the cross.  When you suffer, He knows how to comfort you with blessings rich and free. He gives you those blessings He proclaimed from the mountain, the blessings He won for you on the cross. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/29/20235 minutes, 23 seconds
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Saturday, The Third Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 4, Ps. 22:27-31; antiphon: Ps. 22:22Daily Lectionary:Zech. 6:1-7:14, Romans 16:17-27I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you… (Psalm 22:22)Today, our reading is the last section of Psalm 22. It speaks of the power and glory of Christ Jesus. We glorify Him who conquered sin and death by His crucifixion and resurrection. We rejoice that the light of His Gospel shines forth to all nations and will continue to be proclaimed from generation to generation until He returns in glory. Amen.The main part of this psalm has a very different feel however. It describes His crucifixion in graphic ways. It’s a vivid description of how Jesus suffered when He was nailed to the cross.  It’s such an important prophecy of the crucifixion that Jesus Himself quoted the beginning of the psalm while He was on the cross: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)Read the rest of Psalm 22. Behold Christ on the cross. Think for a moment about what he endured. Realize that He suffered this for your sake. He died like this to bear your punishment. He shed His blood to wash you from your sins. The agony He endured was great, but He obeyed His Father and suffered it for you to save you from sin, death, and hell. He did this to rescue you because He loves you with an everlasting love.Toward the end of the psalm the message shifts from describing the crucifixion to celebrating the resurrection. Verse 24 says, “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.” The Father raised Jesus from the dead. Christ did not stay in the tomb but rose again in glory! Alleluia, Christ is risen!The Gospel of salvation —that Jesus died and rose to save people by grace —has been preached from generation to generation until it came to us today. In Baptism you were joined to the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6). This is such a wonderful thing that we cannot keep it inside! We praise God for rescuing us. And we join with our family at church, and with believers around the world speak of the glory of Jesus who triumphed to save us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Jesus, light of all below, the fount of life and fire,surpassing all the joys we know, all that we can desire:May every heart confess Your name, forever You adore,and, seeking You, itself inflame to seek You more and more! (LSB 554 vs. 3,4)-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/28/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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Friday, The Third Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties: To Children  Daily Lectionary: Zech. 4:1-5:11, Romans 15:14-33Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we hear from the Table of Duties in the Small Catechism about what God expects of children. St. Paul quotes the 4th Commandment teaching children that they should honor their parents. (BTW, one of the best places to read about what the 4th Commandment means for children and parents is in Luther’s Large Catechism.  It’s only a few pages long, and if you have parents or children, it will help you.)God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and rise again to be the propitiation for the sins of the world. He is the sacrifice that pays for our sins, so that by grace through faith in Christ, we are forgiven and declared just. From the moment people fell into sin, through to when Christ died and rose, and onward to the end of the world —God wants people to hear the Gospel and be saved. The 4th commandment is so important because in each generation, God has given parents the responsibility to bring their children to Christ and to teach His word to them (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).Parents start by bringing their children to church to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Parents then are to bring their children to church to hear the Word, learn about Christ and His work, sing His praises in the liturgy and hymns, and partake of Holy Communion when they are ready.Since God has given this role to parents, He also commands children to honor their parents. When children honor their parents, they are ready to receive the good teaching and wisdom that God wants parents to give them. So, children are to respect their parents, speak well to them, help them, learn from them, and regard them as those whom God Himself has sent to bless them.Many children struggle to give the honor which parents deserve. Many parents struggle to raise their children to walk with God. But when parents and children repent of their sins, are forgiven in Christ, and walk with Him as He intends, the blessings that follow are rich. They are blessings that last all through life in this world and in Heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, heavenly Father, You have blessed us with the joy and care of children. Give us calm strength and patient wisdom that, as they grow in years, we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/27/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Feast of St. Titus

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Zech. 2:1-3:10, Romans 15:1-13Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Through these last three days, the Church gives thanks to God for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve already praised God for the work He did through St. Timothy. We praised God for bringing St. Paul to faith and sending him out as an apostle. Today we praise God for the work He accomplished through St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor.Titus was a friend and co-worker with St. Paul, traveling with him on his third missionary journey. Paul had Titus remain on the island of Crete to serve as pastor. He was tasked with establishing good order in the congregations and to identify and train other men who could be faithful pastors. Paul wrote a letter to Titus, describing  what qualifications and duties pastors should possess. This letter still instructs the church to this day.Serving in Crete was not easy for Titus. Some people were teaching false things about Christ and how we are saved. Paul encouraged Titus to teach the truth of the Word against these adversaries. The new pastors who were being trained also had to be equipped to stand against these false teachings.  Pastors still need to protect the church against false teaching today. Satan and the world always bring new lies against the Gospel to try to deceive people away from Christ.  Jesus and the Apostles specifically warned the church that these attacks would keep coming (see Luke 10:3 and Acts 20:28-31). So pastors not only proclaim the Gospel in love. They also need to recognize false teaching and counter it with the truth to protect Jesus’ sheep in their care.  Always pray that God would raise up faithful pastors and equip them for the work. We thank God for our faithful seminaries at Ft. Wayne and St. Louis and all the programs that prepare the next generation of pastors to serve.But God also calls each believer to learn the Word so they can be mature in faith, strong in love, and avoid false teaching. You grow in the Word by attending worship and Bible Study, reading your Bible, and faithfully studying Luther’s Small Catechism. The Catechism contains simple explanations of the key teachings of Scripture. If you know it well, you will be well protected against those who lie about Christ.As we thank God for St Titus, we also thank God for all who train new generations of pastors. May God equip them for faithful service to the Church. We also praise God for all faithful Christians serving in all the vocations that God has given them. May we all be mature in Christ, faithful to the Word, and ready to serve in love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/26/20235 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Conversion of St. Paul

Today's Reading: Acts 9:1-22Daily Lectionary: Zech. 1:1-21, Romans 14:1-23Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.  And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”  (Acts 9:3,4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. During Epiphany we celebrate that the light of Christ shines to people who are in darkness. Saul was immersed in that darkness. Blind to the truth, Saul “ravaged the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women and putting them in prison (Acts 8:3).” Looking back at his behavior at this time, Paul told Timothy that he was “the chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). But Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome.  He could’ve struck Saul down to stop him —yet instead  Jesus confronted Saul on the road to Damascus so that He could bring Saul into His light. He condemned Saul’s actions with the simple words “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul realized he’d been fighting against God’s Messiah. Christ’s light had literally struck him blind.Saul deserved punishment and damnation. But Jesus came to save sinners, including Saul. Jesus had died on the cross to take the punishment Saul had earned. When Saul regained his sight after 3 days, Ananias baptized him into Jesus. Instead of darkness, he now knew the light of the truth that Jesus is the Christ —he knew God forgave him of his crimes, and he had eternal life in Christ.Such grace could not be held in silence. Saul went forth as Paul and preached Christ Jesus to Jews and Gentiles. He journeyed tirelessly to bring the light of Christ to those in darkness. He was a shining example of the grace of God: If God could save even him, the chief of sinners, God could save anyone -- no matter what they had done. Christ comes to you, just as he came to Saul. He calls you to repent, He washes away your sins in Holy Baptism, and He gives you eternal life completely by His grace. He stays with you throughout this life until He takes you home to heaven. May the peace of Christ that comforted Paul also be with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following in the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/25/20235 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Feast of St. Timothy

Today's Reading: Matthew 24:42-47Daily Lectionary: Joel 3:1-21, Romans 12:14-13:14“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?   Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” (Matthew 24:45,46)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. After Jesus rose from the dead, the apostles went out into the world — faithfully preaching, teaching, baptizing, and witnessing to His resurrection. But because they would not be here on earth forever, they wrote down their witness about Christ, which we have in the New Testament. They also took up the work of training pastors so they could continue to preach Christ, baptize, and teach the Scriptures to those in their care.It’s likely that all the apostles participated in training up pastors in whatever places Christ sent them, but they didn’t write about how they did it – except for St. Paul. His letters to Timothy and Titus are known as the Pastoral Epistles because he writes to them about how they should serve as pastors and how they should train up new pastors. These letters continue to shape how new pastors are trained to this day.On January 24, 25, and 26 the Church celebrates how Christ established and sustains the office of the Holy Ministry by remembering St Timothy, St Paul and then St Titus. The day for St Paul stands between those of the two early pastors to remind us how Paul faithfully trained them to serve.  These three days remind us that it is dear to Jesus Himself that new generations of pastors and servants in the Church are trained to bring the Gospel and Sacraments to all nations until the Last Day.Jesus calls you to help with this work too: Consider whether you have the gifts to train to serve as a pastor, teacher, or deaconess. Encourage your friends or family members who might have these gifts to pray about faithfully serving. Support the work of our Concordia universities and seminaries with your prayers and offerings. Share encouragement and pray for those who are already serving as pastors, teachers, deaconesses, and lay leaders in your congregation.We give thanks to God that He sent Timothy to serve as a faithful pastor and confessor of Christ and that He has continued to provide shepherds to serve His flock through the ages. Pray God to raise up more men to serve as pastors and for dedicated men and women to serve as teachers and deaconesses and lay leaders in the Church, here and around the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“God of the prophets, bless the prophets’ sons; Elijah’s mantle o’er Elisha cast. Each age its solemn task may claim but once; Make each one nobler, stronger than the last.” (LSB 682 vs 1)-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/24/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Monday, The Third Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4Daily Lectionary:Joel 2:18-32, Romans 11:25-12:13The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Isaiah wrote this, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been invaded. God punished Israel for their sin and rebellion against Him by raising up the mighty armies of Assyria against them. The Assyrians were extremely cruel and violent — so much so that God later punished them for their cruelty.The first attacks took place in the lands of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. The suffering these people endured was legendary — when Isaiah mentioned these territories, everyone remembered and shuddered.Isaiah speaks a prophecy of hope to the people of these burned and shattered communities. These regions which had endured such darkness and desolation would be a place where the greatest light that has ever shined would beam forth -- God would send the Messiah, Jesus, who is the Light of the world. (You can read about this in Matthew 4:12-25, the reading for yesterday’s devotion.)Jesus lived and ministered in Galilee, in Naphtali. He journeyed around this region preaching, teaching, healing, and calling people to repent and find forgiveness of sins in Him. People who had been lost in the darkness of sin and death saw the light of eternal salvation when they heard Jesus and believed in Him.The darkness the people had suffered under the Assyrians was terrible. But the light that they were comforted with by Jesus was so pure and true that it still shines today and will shine forever. The light of Christ shines for you.Jesus did not just come to save the people of Israel. He lived to show all people in every place and time the love and mercy of God. He died on the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world. He rose from the dead to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.Jesus brings light that shines forever. He brings light that shines into all darkness, even the darkness which you endure in your life. Fear not the darkness of sin, death, and suffering. Jesus has brought you light, forgiveness and peace.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant us a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, a cheerful hope in Your mercy, and a sincere love for You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/23/20235 minutes
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The Third Sunday of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matthew 4:12-25Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17, Romans 11:1-24“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. During the season of Epiphany, we rejoice that the light of Christ shines to people who are in darkness. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He went about Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing. The people who heard Him were called to repent of their sins and they found forgiveness and life from Jesus, the King who had come to save.As Jesus did this work, He was not alone. He first found Peter and Andrew, James and John, and He called them to follow Him. Each time Jesus entered a village, they were with Him. They heard each sermon, listened to people ask questions, and learned from Jesus’ answers. They watched Him have compassion on the sick and oppressed and saw His power to save. And each sermon, each answer, each miracle strengthened their faith in Jesus.After Jesus ascended, the light of Christ continued to shine through the ministry of the apostles as they witnessed the resurrection of Christ to all the people they encountered. They preached what Jesus preached, taught as He taught, and had mercy like He did. They brought Jesus to people. But the light of Christ needed to continue to shine even after the Apostles died — so the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles and evangelists to write down what Jesus had done and how they had carried His light wherever they preached.The light of Christ continues to shine forth in the Gospels and Epistles in the New Testament to all who hear them preached and to all who read them. As you read how Jesus called the people of Galilee to repent of their sins and believe in Him, you know that Jesus is also calling you to repent and believe. When Jesus teaches in the synagogues of that region, you know He is in your church on Sunday, teaching you through the preaching of the Word of God and blessing you in the sacraments. When Jesus has compassion on people in need, you know He invites you to come to Him in prayer with your needs.Jesus is not far away. He came near to the people of His day in His daily work and life. He stays near to you today through the blessings of life and forgiveness that He gives you in the Word and Sacraments. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jeffrey Horn is Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido, CA,Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/22/20235 minutes, 13 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday after the EpiphanyDaily Lectionary:Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. (Psalm 22:22, 27-31 – The Introit for the Third Sunday after Epiphany)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Text of the Reflection. Who’s in charge here?  That’s a question a parent or a teacher might ask when things are getting out of hand.  Psalm 22 sees a world where things seem to be getting out of hand. The Messiah cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  He is surrounded by those who mock Him and shake their heads at him.  It certainly looks like things have gotten out of hand.  Yet, near the end of Psalm 22, it becomes clear that things are not out of hand at all.  All the earth will remember the work of the Lord because kingship belongs to the Lord.No matter how it was intended, Jesus hanging on the cross under a sign that declared Him “The King of the Jews” seems out of control.  But the work of God is never out of control.  Instead, the Lord rules over the nations and over all creation from the cross.  How out of control and backwards looking is that?  But no matter what it looks like, the reality of the Lord ruling over all things in death and in resurrected life is exactly the way things are.  The Lord’s righteousness for you is seen in His death and resurrection.  From His cross flows mercy and grace for you.  You don’t have all things under control.  You might feel like you don’t have anything in control.  Kingship belongs to the Lord who loves you, and that is the best news for you.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands,  For our offenses given,  But now at God’s right hand He stands,  And brings us life from heaven.Therefore let us joyful be, And sing to God right thankfully, Loud songs of alleluia! Alleluia! (Lutheran Service Book 458, stanza 1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/21/20235 minutes, 17 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23; Romans 9:19-33As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.  And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.  And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:7-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The prophet Ezekiel had a vision, but many things in Ezekiel’s visions can be difficult for us.  A river flowing from the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem downhill into a lake seems a little odd, but not too difficult to understand.  Around that lake there are trees and animals and fish.  In fact, where the river goes, everything will live.  The wrinkle is that the lake where the river flows is called “the Arabah” – what we know as “The Dead Sea.”  The Dead Sea is so salty that nothing can live there.  There aren’t any trees alongside it, there aren’t fish in it, and nothing really lives there.  Common sense says that if fresh water flows into saltwater, the fresh water becomes salty.  But Ezekiel’s vision stands everything on its head.  This fresh water flows from the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem and it transforms the salty Dead Sea into the Sea of Life.  That’s backwards!  There will be trees and fish and life around the sea because what comes from the temple transforms everything.  So it is with the work of Jesus.  When Jesus takes on flesh, His divinity is not corrupted by humanity.  Instead, when He takes on flesh, His divinity transforms His humanity.  The Athanasian Creed confesses, “Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ: one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God.”  In other words, Jesus being God in the flesh pulls His humanity into righteous perfection.  The fact that humanity is pulled into the Godhead is good news for you.  The same Jesus who is God and man also calls you His brother.  He has formed you in His own image because of His great love for you.  This isn’t like human relationships, where people can be criticized for their friends.  Instead, He transforms you because of His loving and gracious relationship with you.  The Lord who led Ezekiel to see a salt sea transformed to a place of life sees poor, miserable sinners transformed into forgiven, righteous children of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He lives and grants me daily breath;  He lives, and I shall conquer death; He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there. (Lutheran Service Book 461, stanza 7)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/20/20235 minutes, 56 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Table of Duties:To ParentsDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29; Romans 9:1-18Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Holy Scripture addresses parents, this is not just parenting advice.  If you want a book to make you a better parent, there are whole shelves of parenting books at the local bookstore, and blogs and podcasts all over the place online.  Scripture’s goal isn’t to make you a better parent, but Scripture is concerned about making you a better Christian.  For those who are called to be parents, that includes making them Christian parents.  Therefore, this command isn’t about consequences or discipline or routines or consistency.  This is about parents providing their children discipline and instruction in the Lord.  Parents are called to teach their children faith in Jesus.  This is important, even for people that haven’t been called to be parents now.  Whatever callings you have are callings to do what you do as a Christian.  You are called not only to be a high school student, but to be a Christian high school student.  You aren’t only an employee, but a Christian employee.  You aren’t just a friend, but a Christian friend.  You aren’t only a son or a daughter, but a Christian son or daughter.  In all things, Jesus is the focus.  This isn’t merely to say that you are called to make other people Christian by any means necessary, but to live out your faith in Jesus Christ in a way that bears witness to the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  As your parents serve you in Christ, providing instruction and discipline in the Lord, listen to them.  Receive their discipline and encouragement as from the Lord, since He is the One who commanded it.  Where you have opportunities to serve others in Christ, do that.  Life as a Christian student and friend, son or daughter, employee and everything else you do is service to Jesus.  Apart from Jesus, you would be just like everyone else.  By His precious blood, Jesus has made you in His image and covered you with His blood.  That makes all the difference. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In what You give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone, In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You,  The cross You hung upon—  All You endeavored done. (Lutheran Service Book 853, stanza 4)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/19/20235 minutes, 15 seconds
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The Confession of St. Peter

Today's Reading: Mark 8:27-9:1Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Romans 8:18-39And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Text of the Reflection.  “Who is Jesus?” is the question that runs through all the readings this week, starting with John the Baptist’s identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and continuing with Isaiah identifying Jesus as the Lord’s Servant and Paul mentioning that we have fellowship with our Lord Jesus.  Today, as we celebrate the Confession of St. Peter, Jesus bluntly asks the question.  He starts by asking “Who do people say that I am?”  That’s a question that you would hesitate to ask even of a friend, in case they would tell you something that people are saying behind your back about you that you don’t want to know.  But after the disciples answer that question, Jesus asks them who they, the disciples, say He is.  Peter answers that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.  You would expect a recognition that Peter was right or some kind words from Jesus.  Instead, Jesus tells the disciples not to talk about His identity as the Christ.Then, He goes on to say that it’s necessary for Him to suffer and die and after three days, rise from the dead.  That doesn’t seem very Messiah-like, does it?  Messiahs don’t die, Christs don’t suffer, and the Lord’s servant shouldn’t go through these things that Jesus said He would go through.  This seems absurd to the point that the Christ-confessing Peter pulls Jesus aside to ask, “Are you sure?”  What a difference between “You are the Christ” and “I’m not sure you’ve thought this through.”  How often do we look at the actions of God and think, “It doesn’t seem like God is doing what He should.”  You struggle with God’s actions seeming ridiculous to you, or to anyone else.  That’s why it’s so important that Jesus is the Christ.  What you think of God’s actions isn’t nearly as important as who Jesus is.  He is the Messiah, the Christ who has come to save you from your sin, even your sin of thinking that Jesus is being God wrong.  Your Lord is the Christ who saves you with His great love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ. Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no one else; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/18/20235 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 39:1-10, 17-29; Romans 7:21-8:17God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. During His earthly ministry, Jesus called disciples including Simon and Andrew.  John tells us how Jesus called himself and his brother James from fishing with their Father to follow Jesus.  Matthew tells us how Jesus called him from his tax booth to follow Jesus.  But the calling of those disciples is not an exception.  Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth that God called even them into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  The call to follow Jesus isn’t something that was reserved for special Christians or Christians a long time ago.  In Luther’s Small Catechism about the Third Article of the Creed, we confess, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”  Notice that we confess the Holy Spirit has called me.  This isn’t a call to someone else or people who are disconnected from you.  No, this is personal!The call to follow Jesus is personal.  The water of Baptism and the word of God for you in your Baptism is personal.  The certain words of the Absolution declaring your forgiveness are personal.  The body and blood of Jesus given and shed for you are personal.  These aren’t given only for the salvation of the world, but for the salvation of you, a sinner in need of God’s grace.  The devil, the world, and your sinful flesh all try to convince you that you are alone and isolated.  “See,” they tell you, “you’re like a lost lamb that nobody cares about.  No one else is like you, and nobody understands the problems you have.”  That is what the voices of temptation say.  But Jesus, along with the Holy Spirit, shout in response, “That’s not true!”  Your God has taken on flesh for you.  The Holy Spirit has called you.  You are not alone.  Jesus has promised to be with you always, even to the very end of the age.  (Matthew 28:20)  In all things, you are not alone.  You are not lacking in any gift.  The Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you to the day of His return.  (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)  These are personal promises for forgiven sinners that Jesus dearly loves.  You aren’t missing anything because you have the grace of Jesus, and that grace will last forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. AmenLet us also live with Jesus. He has risen from the dead,  That to life we may awaken.  Jesus, You are now our head.  We are Your own living members;  Where You live, there we shall beIn Your presence constantly,  Living there with You forever. Jesus, let me faithful be, Life eternal grant to me. (Lutheran Service Book 685, stanza 4)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/17/20236 minutes
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Monday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 38:1-23; Romans 7:1-20he says:“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant    to raise up the tribes of Jacob    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;I will make you as a light for the nations,    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the second “servant song” in Isaiah, the Lord speaks about His servant to come.  In verse 3, the Lord says, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” It is impressive to be the Lord’s servant, and it is a big deal that God will be glorified in this servant.  But this servant isn't just a run of the mill hero or world leader.  The servant is ultimately fulfilled not in any human governor nor in the people of Israel but in Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t just lift up the tribes of Jacob and the people of Israel.  Jesus, God in the flesh, brings salvation not only for the people of Israel but for all people.  He is the light of the nations and brings salvation to the end of the earth.  This is the same Jesus who declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)  It is Jesus who was called forth from His mother and worshiped by Gentile Magi because He is their Savior, too.  Jesus has come so all people, Jewish and Gentile alike, know the salvation of God.  God isn’t the Creator of only some, nor is He the Redeemer of only a few.  The Lord loves all people, just as Jesus died for all people.  He calls all people to repent and confess the holy name of Jesus.  Those who repent and believe are those who will be saved. When in Luke 13, someone asked Jesus if those who would be saved were few.  Instead of answering with a simple, “No,” Jesus calls His disciples to focus on their own faith and on His work for them.  Jesus is the Savior of all, yes, but He is your Savior.  Not only is He the glory of Israel and the Light of the Gentiles, but He is your Lord as well.  He came to shed His precious blood for you and to rescue you from sin, death, and the devil. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.This is the Savior of the world,  The Gentiles’ promised light,  God’s glory dwelling in our midst,   The joy of Israel.  (Lutheran Service Book 937, stanza 2)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/16/20235 minutes, 20 seconds
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The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: John 1:29-42aDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who is Jesus?  The answer to this question changes everything.  In the reading today, it changes everything for Simon and Andrew, just like it changes everything for John the Baptist.  If Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, He is worth following and worth believing.  That means that He is not just another teacher, or just someone with wisdom and insights.  If Jesus is the Son of God, like John the Baptist declares, then everything is different.  Jesus has come to change everything.  The One who was baptized by John when John saw the Holy Spirit descend on Him is the same One who calls Simon and Andrew to follow Him.  Why should Simon and Andrew follow Jesus?  Because He is the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world!  If He was anything less than that, following Jesus might lead to a better life or a path of wisdom.  But that’s not worth following Jesus completely and totally.  Jesus doesn’t call you to a project or a side-project.  Jesus calls you to a life of devotion, because Jesus has devoted Himself to you.  He is the One who unites Himself with you in the waters of baptism.  You have a death like His, and you have a resurrection like His because you are baptized into Him.  Jesus is certainly the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world, but never, ever lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away your sins.  Jesus isn’t a Savior “in general” but He is a Savior for you. Jesus is the Messiah who invites you to “come and see” all His goodness.  Is He your Savior?  Come and see!  Does He forgive your sins?  Come and see!  Does He love you?  Come and see!  He came for real people with real names, like Simon and Andrew and you.  He has called you His own when He claimed you in the waters of Holy Baptism.  There, He placed you in His name, and He will never give up on you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/15/20235 minutes, 2 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday after the EpiphanyDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:33-37:14; Romans 5:1-21Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun.Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.  (The Introit for the Second Sunday of Epiphany, Psalm 19:1-4, 14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Text of the Reflection. In Psalm 19, David and the Church pray that God would let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of God.  That’s in Psalm 19:14, but earlier in the same psalm, all the talking isn’t done by you or by David.  The heavens declare God’s glory.  In the daytime, speech pours out.  All creation does the talking, from the sky and the sun.  After that comes God’s law and testimony and precepts.  There is nothing in all creation that isn’t made by God.That includes you.  You have been made in the image of God, not merely because God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils, but because the crucified and risen Jesus breathed the breath of the new life of forgiveness into His disciples and into you.  The words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart are acceptable to God, not because you’re alive but because you have been recreated and restored from sinfulness. The image of God was lost when Adam and Eve fell, but you are in the image of God because Jesus has restored the image of God for you.  When you were an enemy of God, Christ Jesus died for you.  Jesus’ act of righteousness in death and resurrection rescues you from death and condemnation and makes you alive again.  Now, your mouth opens and your lips declare the praises of God who has called you from darkness into His marvelous light.  You join all creation, not because you want to, but because Jesus has died and risen for you and you have eternal life in Christ Jesus your Lord.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.From all that dwell below the skies  Let the Creator’s praise arise;  Alleluia, alleluia  Let the Redeemer’s name be sung Through ev’ry land by ev’ry tongue.  Alleluia, alleluia!  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! (Lutheran Service Book 816, stanza 1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/14/20235 minutes, 44 seconds
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Friday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:13-28; Romans 4:1-25No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,  fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.  That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”  (Romans 4:20-22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Abraham was a man of faith.  God gave Abraham a promise, and Abraham believed God.  God counted that faith as righteousness.  But sometimes, reading the New Testament (like Romans) about people who lived in the days of the Old Testament (like Abraham in Genesis) makes us think, “There was a lot of time between Abraham and Paul.  How does Paul know that Abraham didn’t waver?”  After all, today we face all manner of challenges to our faith.  The world condemns us as outdated, the devil tells us that we misunderstand God, and our own sin-fallen flesh and mind says that we’re irrational.  That makes us sound very different from Abraham who didn’t waver concerning the promise of God.  Is Abraham our Father?  Do we have the same faith that Abraham did?Stop!  Thinking like that takes your eyes off Jesus.  Abraham isn’t saved because he was so good at believing.  Abraham is saved because Jesus died and rose for him.  When you worry that your faith is weak or that you might waver or that you might not be able to withstand the devil who prowls around you like a roaring lion, your concerns are all about yourself – are you strong enough, good enough, faithful enough?  You’re not.  If you hope to be righteous because you are good enough, you have no chance.  You aren’t saved by the quality of your faith, but by Jesus whom your faith rests in.  The Holy Spirit calls you to believe the promises of Jesus.  Your faith might waver.  You might doubt.  Certainly, you will not be able to commit to perfect faith.  Your Lord, the Holy One, makes you holy.Abraham isn’t saved because He was so good at believing.  Abraham is saved because God took on flesh to die and rise for him.  You aren’t saved because your faith is so good, or because you have done such a good job of being faithful, or anything like that.  You are saved because Jesus died and rose for you and because the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with the light of Christ, gathered you with the Church, and sanctified you in God’s holiness.  Your faith isn’t about you, but in Jesus who is the resurrection and the life for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The God of Abr’ham praise, Whose all-sufficient grace  Shall guide me all my pilgrim day,  In all my ways. He deigns to call me friend; He calls Himself my God. And He shall save me to the end  Through Jesus’ blood. (Lutheran Service Book 798, stanza 3)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/13/20235 minutes, 53 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 34:1-24; Romans 3:19-31For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22b-24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.  That’s a stark word of judgment.  God’s Law tells you this.  You haven’t kept the Ten Commandments.  You haven’t loved the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.  You haven’t loved your neighbor as yourself.  But that’s not the end of this passage, or even the end of the sentence.  The same “all” that have sinned is also the “all” that are justified by God’s grace as a gift.  Jesus died for all sinners.  Everyone is covered by Jesus’ shed blood.  Not everyone believes, but Jesus has come in the flesh to die and to rise for all sinners.That matters to you because you can never say, “I’m such a terrible sinner that Jesus shouldn’t care about me.”  It isn’t true to think, “My sin is so great that Jesus won’t forgive me.”  Certainly, the devil, the world, and your sinful nature might try to convince you that Jesus doesn’t forgive you, but consider the source!  Christ declares that He has shed His blood for you.  Your guilt is covered over by Christ.  You are justified by the One who is just.  God brings justice, not on your terms but on His terms.  Is God’s grace fair?  You might not think so.  You might not think it's fair for someone who has hurt you or who has lived a certain way to be forgiven.  But God acts in His justice and mercy, not just for you, but for everyone.  He brings His justice through faith and by faith to all people.  There is no distinction, and that means that you aren’t beyond God’s desire or ability to forgive.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, I believe Thy precious blood, Which at the mercy seat of God Pleads for the captives’ liberty, Was also shed in love for me.  (Lutheran Service Book 563, stanza 3) Text: Public domain-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/12/20234 minutes, 58 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To WivesDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 33:1-20; Romans 3:1-18“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’  Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:10-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord hates sin.  Scripture is clear about this.  The Lord judges sin, and the unrepentant, unbelieving souls are judged too.  But the Lord isn’t like a schoolyard bully, sneaking around waiting to beat up sinners with judgment.  He Himself warns sinners to watch out, to turn, to repent.  Sometimes, when people are warned about a terrible thing that might happen, they get hopeless.  If you’ve heard about that algebra test, you might just think, “Well, what’s the point of studying, since I can study for days and I’ll still fail?”  That’s what the people that Ezekiel was prophesying to said.  “How can we live?”  The Lord spoke through Ezekiel to call them to repentance.  God wanted them to leave behind their wicked ways and live.  1 Peter 3:1-6 speaks in a similar way.  Go check it out, then come back.  Peter writes to wives that even if they are married to a nonbeliever, they prophesied in their actions to the truth of God’s mercy.  Peter writes to women who were married and then became Christians.  They weren’t to divorce their husbands, but to continue being married to them, submitting to them in love even though the men weren’t Christians.  These faithful wives, adorned with a gentle and quiet spirit, might win their husbands to the Christian faith.  But these words apply to you if you’re not married, and even if you’re not a woman.  The quiet and gentle spirit of faith testifies as a watchman, giving the hope of Jesus Christ to believers and unbelievers alike.You are full of hope because Jesus Christ has died and risen for you.  He submitted in quietness and gentleness to death so that you won’t die.  Because He lives, you also will live.  He has won you to faith in Him.  You are part of the Church, the bride of Christ.  There is no hopelessness for you.  The Lord has turned you from the wickedness of unbelief so that you have everlasting life with Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, join in Cana’s feast,  Where Christ is honored guest. He welcomes all who come to taste,The wine His hands have blessed. (Lutheran Service Book 408, stanza 1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/11/20235 minutes, 38 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Romans 6:1-11Daily Lectionary:Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32; Romans 2:17-29For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems pretty normal to think about your baptism in the past tense, like it’s something from which you’ve moved on. But no Christian ever moves past their baptism.  Baptism into Christ Jesus isn’t something that you move on from.  It’s not something that you grow out of, like a set of clothes you wore when you were younger.  Your baptism into Jesus is something that you grow into.  It is the very truth of eternal life, and you will live forever in your baptismal grace.  Jesus says so!  Since you are connected with Him, you will live with Him forever.  The eternal life that you have with Jesus makes you free from sin.  Now, you are a holy saint of God, not suffering from the curses of sin or death or your sinful nature anymore.  Those problems have been answered through the baptismal waters that Jesus has washed you into.  But it wasn’t the water that did such great things, it’s the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for you that did it.  Jesus delivers His shed blood and His own death and His glorious resurrection for you in that baptism.  While it didn’t look like much other than some splashes of water from a font of water, it is there that Jesus made you His own.  That’s what makes the gift of baptism so great – it is the work of Jesus for you.  Just like His death on the cross and just like His resurrection from the dead, He did it for you and delivers you from all your sins, now and forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, Gave my full redemption price. Do I need earth’s treasures many? I have one worth more than anyThat brought me salvation free.  Lasting to eternity! (Lutheran Service Book 594, Stanza 1)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/10/20234 minutes, 48 seconds
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Monday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 3:12-27; Romans 2:1-16“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;    I will take you by the hand and keep you;I will give you as a covenant for the people,    a light for the nations,7     to open the eyes that are blind,to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,    from the prison those who sit in darkness.8 I am the Lord; that is my name;    my glory I give to no other,    nor my praise to carved idols.9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,    and new things I now declare;before they spring forth    I tell you of them.”  (Isaiah 42:6-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke about the One that He would send into the flesh to save humanity, to save you.  The Lord said that He called His Son in righteousness, to make the blind see and to free the prisoners.  He would fulfill everything that He had promised.  The Lord’s word never refers to Him empty or void.  The Lord keeps His promises, so we shouldn’t be surprised that the words of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah and the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism are so similar, even though about 600 years separate the two sets of words.  The fact that the words are similar isn’t enough to change your life, though.  What is enough to change your life is what the words say.  These words that describe Jesus are life-givingly important to you.  The Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, has come to free the captives and to make the blind see.  The old things have passed away and new things are coming.  He is the Lord enfleshed.  That changes everything for you, because it is you that He forgives.  It is you that He loves.  It is you that receives the promise of eternal life.  You don’t need to hope or wish that Jesus likes you.  Instead, He makes you confident that you are someone He has forgiven.  You are someone that He has baptized.  You are someone that He calls by His own name.  It’s certainly not fair, but it is gracious, and your Lord is nothing if He is not gracious to you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Go, My children, sins forgiven,  At peace and pure. Here you learned how much I love you, What I can cure. Here you heard My dear Son’s story; Here you touched Him, saw His glory.  Go, My children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.  (Lutheran Service Book 922, Stanza 2)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/9/20235 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Baptism of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Matthew 3:13-17Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 2:1-3:11; Romans 1:18-3213 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:13-17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist was right.  According to human reason and understanding, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized.  He was perfect, being that He is God in the flesh.  On the other hand, John the Baptist, as a sinner, did need the waters of baptism and the grace that it gives.  The reality is that sinners need baptism.  According to what sinners know and understand, God’s Law condemns them as breaking the words and commandments of God.  Or, more specifically, God’s Word of Law convicts YOU of breaking His commands.  You are a poor, miserable sinner.  When you look at Jesus, it is right for sinners like John the Baptist and you to recognize that you have nothing to offer Jesus but that He has everything to offer you.According to human logic, that might be true that Jesus doesn’t need to be baptized.  Thanks be to God that He doesn’t let you do His thinking for Him!  According to His divine wisdom, He does need to be baptized.  It is there, in those baptismal waters, that your Lord Jesus is united with you in those muddy waters.  Better yet, it is in the waters of baptism that He is washed into and that you are washed into that you and Jesus, God in the flesh, are united.  In your baptismal unification, you receive the unification with His cross and with His empty tomb.  When you are united with Jesus, His perfection and His righteousness and His peace become true of you as well.  From your perspective, He doesn’t need those baptismal waters.  On the other hand, you need those baptismal waters, and from His abundant grace, your Savior gives them to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/8/20235 minutes, 44 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Baptism of Our LordDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 1:1-14, 22-28; Romans 1:1-17I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling,for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessèd are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:7-11, 12c)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Reading these words probably makes you ask, “Who are these words about?”  Are these words about you?  Are you the Lord’s son?  Will the nations be your heritage and will you possess the ends of the earth?  Will you use an iron staff to break the nations like clay pots?  Will kings and rulers listen to you?  If you’ve ever thought, “If I were the king of the world, I would do this!” These words are hopeful!  But sadly, taking these words from Psalm 2 and applying them directly to yourself isn’t how we read this Scripture.  It’s not all about you.Instead, these words are about Jesus.  He is the only begotten Son of the Father who has not come to condemn the world but to save it.  (John 3:16-17)  He has all authority in heaven and on earth, and at His name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  (Matthew 28:19, Philippians 2:10-11)  No king or ruler or government official has more power or authority than Jesus.  No nation can claim that Jesus doesn’t triumph over whatever they think is best.  Every nation is like a fragile clay pot, and every ruler and all people should be warned that God’s wrath is coming.  Everyone should take refuge in Jesus Christ, the all powerful one.  This all powerful One was revealed to the Magi and submitted Himself to baptism in the Jordan river.  There, the words of Psalm 2 were echoed by the heavenly voice that declared that Jesus is God’s Son to whom all people must listen.  When you listen to the words of Jesus, that’s when the words of Psalm 2 start to apply to you.  Because you are baptized into the baptism of Jesus, you are also God’s son.  You possess the heavenly inheritance of God.  You triumph over all things. That’s not because you are just awesome, but because Jesus the all-powerful One to whom you listen has died and risen for you, and He gives you every good and perfect gift from above.  Are these words about you?  Because of Jesus' grace for you, they are indeed! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.This the baptism that our Savior, Greatly longed to undergo; This the crimson cleansing needed So the world God’s love might know; This the mission of Messiah,  As He stepped from Jordan’s stream,He, the chosen and anointed, Son of God, sent to redeem.  (Lutheran Service Book 404, stanza 3)-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/7/20236 minutes
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The Epiphany of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:1-12Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 66:1-20; Luke 3:21-38When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:10-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you’ve ever been on a long trip, you’ve asked the question, “Are we there yet?”  The anticipation of finishing the trip and stretching your legs makes you really excited when you realize that you are almost to the destination.  When you see the final highway exit sign or when you hear the pilot lowering the landing gear, you get excited.  The Magi on their way to see the Messiah were excited when the star they had been following stopped.  They rejoiced!  But they hadn’t even gotten to their destination yet. They still had to finish the last little bit of their journey and meet the Christ-Child.The journey of God’s people through the Old Testament was also drawing nearer and nearer to its fulfillment.  There is a reason for joy as that star stopped.  All the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament were about to meet their fulfillment.  The Magi aren’t the only ones who should have excitement.  You should be filled with joy too because Jesus is about to be seen by people that He has come to save.It’s striking that Jesus comes to save these star-gazing Gentiles.  Their very livelihood centered on telling the future by reading the stars, a breaking of God’s second commandment.  No matter their sin, Jesus came for them.  Not only was He born, not only was a star set in the sky so they would come see Him, but He also took up His cross to suffer and die for these non-Jewish sinners.  For you, a sinner, it is right for you to be filled with joy.  Christ the Lord has been born for you, and He reveals Himself to you.  You don’t see Him in a house or cradled in Mary’s arms, but you see Him in the words of Scripture and in sermons preached to your ears, you see Him in the waters of Holy Baptism, and you see His body and blood given for you at Holy Communion.  Rejoice with the Magi as you see the same Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.-Pastor Peter W. Ill is Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois..Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/6/20235 minutes, 30 seconds
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The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 65:8-25; Luke 3:1-20So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. (Luke 3:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the Saints of God!  John the Baptist is making ready the people of God for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  We have journeyed with the Christ child through this season of Christmas.  The angels have sung, the shepherds have shared, Jesus is named and circumcised, the Magi are arriving, and we are getting ready for the Baptism of Jesus.  John is proclaiming the law and Gospel to the people of Israel.  The kingdom of God is at hand and John is preparing the people as the last of the prophets.  John is that final prophet that ushers in the era of the Kingdom of God in our presence.  Christ will come to the waters of the Jordan, the Heavens will be open, the dove will descend and the voice from Heaven will proclaim the arrival of God's Son.  John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah.The final day of Christmas connects us to the ministry and work of Christ as our redeemer.  John not only proclaims the Law, but he also proclaims the “good news.”  He proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He proclaims that the Messiah is here to deliver the people of God.  The Law will be fulfilled, and the final sacrifice will be given for the forgiveness of sins.  John’s words of the Gospel are for us too!  We have journeyed through Christmas and are on the eve of Epiphany.  The way for our salvation is prepared.  We have heard the message of repentance and forgiveness.  We are washed in the waters of Baptism.  We are brought into His family.  We are declared the first-born son and are given the inheritance of life everlasting. The world works on hearts and minds to deceive us that we are not ready or nor worthy of this free gift but through our Baptism we are made ready and prepared for eternal life and the glorious return of our Savior Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Grant us, O God, the strength and courage, To live the faith our lips declare; Bless us in our baptismal calling; Christ’s royal priesthood help us share. Turn us from every false allegiance,That we may trust in Christ alone; Raise up in us a chosen people, Transformed by love to be Your own.(LSB 600-Mark How the Lamb of God’s Self-Offering stz 3)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/5/20236 minutes, 10 seconds
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The Eleventh Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To HusbandsDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 64:15-65:2; Luke 2:41-52Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Colossians 3:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The gift of marriage between a man and a woman is a paradigm of the relationship Christ has with His holy bride.  As we begin to close out the season of Christmas we are drawn once again to the manger where our savior is laid.  In the manger is the church’s groom who has come to redeem her and bring to her everlasting life.  The world around us delivers to us a perverse understanding of marriage.  Sin has corrupted the beautiful gift of husband and wife living as God intended.  Marriage is no longer held in high esteem rather it is seen as a cumbersome relationship where contracts are entered into before any vows are made to one another.  Marriage is for convenience and the gratification of one’s desires and not for the mutual love towards a man and woman.  In many parts of the world marriage is no longer considered a part of the lives of the people.  The gift of marriage that God instituted has become a trinket of glamor and selfish adoration focused primarily on the wedding itself.  Paul directs his hearers at the church of Colossi to uphold marriage as God had intended.  It is a relationship between a man and woman that is formed under the order of creation.  God gave Eve to Adam as his wife.  The two are to become one.  The relationship between Adam and Eve is not a relationship of control and demeaning behaviors but one of love and servitude.  Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph 5).  Husbands are not bitter towards their wives but rather protect them, provide for them, and procreate with them.  The husband stands between his wife and the adversary just as Christ does on the cross.  As God exacts His judgment upon His Son for all the sins of the world our Holy Groom stood between us and that wrath.  He took the wrath of God upon himself that we may be given life.  He presents us Holy and blameless without blemish before His Father in Heaven.  His robe of righteousness covers His Holy Bride.  When we fail, He does not become bitter and cast us off, rather He draws us in and washes the stain of sin through Holy Absolution. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Savior, grant Your blessing, To this husband and this wife,That in peace they live together In Your love throughout their life, Christ, defend them from the tempter, And from all that would destroyLove’s foundation You have laid here,And its threshold paved with joy. (LSB 860-Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing stz 1)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/4/20235 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Tenth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:23-29Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:1-14; Luke 2:21-40“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God!  Paul gives to the church at Galatia a reminder of who they are and whose they are through the waters of Baptism.  Their identity had been stripped from them as the Judaizers had infiltrated the church and imposed the law upon the people of God.  Their identity was no longer about Christ but about what they had fulfilled in their attempts to live perfectly under the law. They had lost their identity.Our world works diligently to take away our identity.  Various social media platforms use different criteria to identify who we are as individuals.  We fill out forms that ask where we were born, where we currently live, what is our ethnicity, what religion we practice, what grade we are in, what we want to do after high school.  All these factors make up our identity.  As Paul writes, he reminds his hearers that there is only one identity necessary and that is our Baptism.  Our Baptism identifies us as the oldest son in God’s family.  The oldest son is the one who receives the inheritance.  When the people of Galatia heard these words of Paul they were reminded of the customs and traditions that the oldest son was the recipient of the family’s estate by nature of the birth order.  Even if the eldest son didn’t deserve it, he still got it because he was the oldest.  We are certainly not worthy of the inheritance that is promised to us through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. In Baptism we are baptized into the name of Christ.  We have His name on us and we receive all the blessings and benefits of being the first-born son of God.  The world uses a plethora of ways to identify us but in Christ there is only one marker and that is our Baptism. In the Name + of Jesus. AmenGod’s own child, I gladly say it; I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, Gave my full redemption price. Do I need earth’s treasures many?  I have one worth more than any, That brought me salvation free, Lasting to eternity! (LSB 594-God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It stz 1)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/3/20235 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Ninth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Numbers 6:22-27Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 62:1-12; Luke 2:1-20“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”(Numbers 6:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God!  We have just been given the name of Jesus as He was circumcised eight days after His birth and now we again hear about the name of God’s people and that His name will be upon them.  His name will be their name.  In the history of God’s people, names are very important.  We have names of individuals, names of families, names of tribes and names of nations.  In all the names that are given, the only name of the Lord God is the one that will bring salvation.  When the people of God have His name on them His blessings accompany that name.  The people of God didn’t always want His name upon them.  They liked the names of the other gods around them.  The names that would appear on the statues and monoliths of the pagan nations.  The names of the false gods were appealing to the people as those names were associated with the desires of the flesh.  The names of the other gods had earthly freedoms connected to them and with those freedoms came earthly wealth and power.The world around us wants to give us other names.  The world wants us to indulge in the philosophies derived from sin and Satan.  The world wants to draw us away from the name given to us in Baptism and immerse us in the names of deceit, selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and all the vices of the world.  In our Baptism, the name of Jesus is placed upon us.  We are baptized into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The waters of baptism are poured over us as the name of the one true God is spoken marking us in His name.  All the benefits and blessings of His name are given to us free of charge.  The name of God the Father is upon us, the name of Jesus the Son of God is upon us, the name of God the Holy Spirit is upon us.  In our Baptism we stand firm in the name of God and hold fast to His blessings and promises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What is the world to me, With all its vaunted pleasure. When You and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure! You only, dearest Lord, My soul’s delight shall be; You are my peace, my rest. What is the world to me! (LSB 730-What Is the World to Me stz 1)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/2/20235 minutes, 5 seconds
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Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Today's Reading: Luke 2:21Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 61:1-11; Luke 1:57-80And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It takes eight days before the baby Jesus is finally given His official name of Jesus.  Up until that point in time everyone knew what His name was to be, but it wasn’t official until the eighth day when the priest circumcised Him.  The priest would perform the duties of the law as the foreskin was removed.  It is the event in which Jesus’ entire family had been waiting for, in eager expectation.  No longer was He referred to as Joseph and Mary’s baby boy but rather Jesus.  The name that was given to them by the angel nine months ago.In the Christmas hymn Away in the Manger, it states that Jesus did not cry as He lay in the manger.  On this day as He is brought before the priest, there is a different set of circumstances compared to when Jesus was lying in a manger.  The earthly parents of Jesus give Him to the priest and the priest goes through the rite of circumcision.  Now blood is shed from the baby Jesus.  A foretaste of what is to come.  As a baby in the arms of the priest, He is no longer silent as the knife is laid to the child and skin is removed.  The mark is placed upon Him as the law is fulfilled.  The mark of circumcision is only the beginning for Jesus as He will fulfill all aspects of the law for the redemption of His people.  The fulfillment will culminate in the shedding of blood.  It won’t be just a mere removal of the foreskin but rather a vicious and brutal beating delivered by the hands of the Roman guards.  It will be nails in the hands and feet and spear thrust into His side.  Blood, lots of blood, will be poured out as the Messiah is sacrificed upon the cross.Today circumcision is no longer the mark that is placed upon us to identify us as God’s people.  Instead, Christ has given to us the sacrament of Holy Baptism.  In our Baptism we are baptized into His circumcision.  No more blood is to be shed as Christ has all the blood necessary for our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, You made Your beloved Son, our Savior, subject to the Law and caused Him to shed His blood on our behalf.  Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit that our hearts may be made pure from all sins; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit; one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
1/1/20234 minutes, 57 seconds
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Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Today's Reading: Luke 12:35-40Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 60:1-22; Luke 1:39-56You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tonight, many will be celebrating the ringing in of the New Year.  Tomorrow families will gather around the dinner table again as the celebration of a New Year begins.  Unfortunately for many in our midst the true significance of these two days will be overlooked.  The Circumcision of our Savior Jesus Christ.  As Luke leads his reader to the faithful witness of Jesus Christ and delivers the certainty of the events he witnessed, he delivers the words of Christ regarding being ready for the return of the Son of Man.  Christ did not come to just die and resurrect but the rest of the narrative is His glorious return.  The world around us does not want to be a part of that message.  Main line Christianity focuses only on our death and life in Heaven but forgets the rest of the story, “The return of Christ.”  Christ reminds His hearers to be ready for His return.  He likens it to the thief in the night.  We do not know when he is coming, only that he is coming.  We do not know the day or the hour when He will return but we do know for certain that He is going to return.  He merely says, “Be ready.”  We have been made ready for the return of Christ in our Baptism.  We have been marked in the waters of reconciliation and carry the name of Christ both upon our hearts and upon our heads.  We have been given faith that holds fast to the promises of Christ that His works are sufficient for our salvation.  We are made ready!On the eve of Jesus’ Circumcision, He was made ready for the next day.  He would be presented before the Priest and part of His body would be removed.  The night before He was prepared for that significant day in His life.  The day that He received the mark of Circumcision.  In the same manner we are made ready for the Day of Christ’s return.  We wait as if each day were the eve of His return.  We are anxious for His return.  We do not know the exact day or hour, but we do know that He is coming again, and we are ready. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Prayer:Eternal God, we commit to Your mercy and forgiveness the year now ending and commend to Your blessing and love the times yet to come.  In the new year, abide among us with Your holy Spirit that we may always trust in the saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (ToDP 1075)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/31/20225 minutes, 14 seconds
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The Sixth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Hebrews 1:1-12Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 58:1-59:3, 14-21; Luke 1:26-38He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the Saints of God!  The glory of God is in the manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.  He is the perfection of God in the flesh.  The baby in the manger is the creator of all things and in Him all things came into existence.  Our God has come to us in the flesh to redeem flesh by flesh.  The author of Hebrews delivers to us the message of satisfaction.  Jesus is the satisfaction for the sins of the world.  He is the Holy, unblemished, first-born sacrifice for all the sins of the world.Christ Jesus will make purification for our sins. Sin which we have inherited from Adam brought death and condemnation into the world.  No longer is the world deemed “good” as God declared it in the first two chapters of Genesis.  In sin, death was brought into the world.  The desires of Adam and Even were to be like God.  They bought into the lie of Satan and ate the forbidden fruit.  The consequences of their selfishness were that mankind would be condemned to eternal damnation.  Nothing that we could ever do would make it right.  We could not and can not make satisfaction for our sin.  We are no longer pure.  We are no longer Holy as God created us.  We needed to be restored from outside of ourselves.It was at just the right time that Jesus came into this world to make satisfaction for our sins.  Jesus’ fulfillment of all the requirements of the law brought our purification.  He lived the perfect life that we can not live.  He died the perfect sacrificial death that was the purification of our sins.  He conquered the grave so that we may have life eternal.  He restores the dead creation to life by His life.  Now we wait.  Just as the first Christmas came in long expectation we wait for the return of Christ.  Christmas is more than just about looking back but it is also about looking forward to the return of Christ on the last day when He will raise our lowly immortal bodies to immortality. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The infant Priest was holy born  For us unholy and forlorn; From fleshly temple forth came He, Anointed from eternity. (LSB 624-The Infant Priest was Holy Born stz 1)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/30/20225 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Fifth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-13; Luke 1:1-25Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem,for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. (Isaiah 52:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God our Father!  The hymns’ of Christmas are still coming from the lips of His saints.  We sing without ceasing the praise of our eternal Father and the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.  Our God and creator have brought comfort upon His people through Christ our Savior.  We break forth into singing!The singing is not coming from the high places or where the Lord resides according to the prophet Isaiah.  The singing is coming from the waste place of Jerusalem.  The city of Jerusalem has been besieged and its walls have been laid low in captivity.  The city is in ruins and yet it proclaims its rebuilding.  The coming of the King is at hand.  The birth of Christ is a restoration of Israel.  Israel reduced to one.  The child in the manger is the fulfillment of the promises of God that Israel is restored.  No longer do we wait for the salvation of the Lord because the salvation of the Lord is manifest in Jesus Christ.  Restoration is in the manger.  As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we look back while looking forward.  We know that as Christ came into this world on Christmas, He will return to restore this world to its original glory.  The world may seem like the waste places described by Isaiah with all the chaos that surrounds us.  The world wants to pursue the desires of the heart and selfish living.  Sin kills and destroys the perfect creation of God. Satan tempts and jeers at us relentlessly in all facets of our lives.  Amid all the waste places around us, God delivers us through His one and only Son Jesus Christ.  He brings to us comfort in the promises of His restoration in the forgiveness of sins.  We will be taken from the waste places of this present world and delivered to the New Jerusalem, a restored creation, at the resurrection.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All idols then shall perish, And Satan’s lying cease, And Christ shall raise His scepter, Decreeing endless peace. Proclaim the Savior’s birth; “To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth.” (LSB 383-A Great and Mighty Wonder stz. 4)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/29/20225 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-18Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 52:13-54:10; Matthew 2:13-23Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God as we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!  As we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Christ there seems to be a lot of death lurking in the background.  Hymns are being sung, families are still gathering, and the tide of Christmas is still on the increase.  On Holy Innocents we mark the darkest day of Christmas.  The day that we remember the rage and anger of King Herod and the death of the innocent males under the age of two in Bethlehem.  The Magi have arrived, gifts have been delivered and the true King is worshiped.  Herod, on the other hand, is furious.  The Magi arrived to worship the king and it is not him!  Herod wanted the glory and honor of being the only true king.  In Herod’s mind there is only one king, and it is himself.  The child the Magi speak of must be destroyed.  Yet it was not the right time for Christ to die.  The Son of God has come into this world to die but not as an infant but as a grown man.  The fulfillment of the entire law needs to take place.  A circumcision, a baptism, all the requirements of the law completed and then the final sacrifice and shedding of blood.  The deliverance of God’s people in His Son Jesus Christ will come at just the right time.  On Holy Innocents we remember the babies of Bethlehem who were killed because of Herod’s pride, arrogance, and selfishness.  We see ourselves in Herod as we tolerate the plethora of cultural behaviors that normalize the killing of innocent children before they are born under the guise of choice and freedom when it is really a choice of convenience and selfishness.  It is in Christ that we find our hope in the forgiveness of sins and life through His life and death.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not by speaking but by dying.  Put to death in us all that is in conflict with Your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen (TODP 1065).-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/28/20225 minutes, 12 seconds
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St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

Today's Reading: John 21:19-24Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 51:17-52:12; Matthew 2:1-12This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  “Just give me the truth!”  It is a common thought that resonates to many people today.  We all want to know the truth.  We all want to hear the truth.  We do not want to be lied to or have the truth embellished, just give us the truth.  As John writes his Gospel, he has one thing in mind, “To bear witness to the truth.”  He wants to be a reliable witness about the events that have taken place before his very eyes.  He wants the world to know that Jesus is the Son of God and that by believing in the works of Christ as sufficient for our salvation, salvation is delivered.  John is a reliable witness.Our world around us seeks to deconstruct the truth.  We live in an era where words like misinformation and disinformation are common in our daily vocabulary.  We can’t make it through one round of surfing channels or scrolling through our social media feeds without being reminded that certain information contains inaccuracies or only partial truths.  Notifications on various feeds will indicate that information is missing or that appropriate verification has not taken place.  Doubt and uncertainty surround us.  John the Apostle wanted nothing more than to deliver the truth and remove all doubt about Jesus Christ.  It is just two days after Christmas, and we recognize St. John, Apostle and Evangelist.  His primary purpose was to deliver the message that God the creator of all things is revealed to us in the flesh in Jesus Christ.  He begins his Gospel with creation and closes it with a testimony to the accuracy of what is written.  John’s Gospel takes the reader around the cross and delivers the message that our God has come down to us in the flesh.  He died and rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.  The truth of the historical narrative of Jesus gives to us the assurance of the promise that He is returning in all His Glory to raise the dead.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Lord, cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church that we, being instructed in the doctrine of Your blessed apostle and evangelist John, may come to the light of everlasting life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen (TODP-pg 1061)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/27/20225 minutes, 13 seconds
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St. Stephen, Martyr

Today's Reading: Acts 6:8-7:2, 51-60Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:22-26; 50:4-51:8, 12-16; Matthew 1:18-25 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to everyone!  The 26th of December gives us a little reprieve during all the Christmas celebrations.  The day after Christmas brings us to the first martyr in the Scriptures, Stephen.  He is called out for speaking the truth about Jesus Christ and the local church leaders do not like the message he is proclaiming.  He is delivering a faithful law and Gospel sermon and the hearers want nothing to do with the message of Jesus Christ.  The result?  Let’s bring him before the authorities and drum up some bogus charges so that this man will just be quiet about all this nonsense regarding Jesus Christ!  Stephen does not back down.  He keeps pressing forward with the message of salvation through Christ.  The local leaders have heard enough!  Kill him!  Even during his stoning, he begs God to not hold this sin against them.  In his life and death, he lives in the forgiveness of sins through Christ alone.  Each rock pummeling him is yet another opportunity for him to ask God to exact His judgment upon them, but he doesn’t.  Instead of vengeance and wrath he seeks God’s forgiveness for them.In our lives today, we are confronted with the chaos of sin.  The same sin that consumed the church leaders of Stephen’s time consumes us too.  We want to silence the Gospel.  We want to appeal to our own flesh.  We want the credit for our achievements, and we certainly desire to participate in our own salvation.  God’s law confronts us and exposes our sinfulness.  His holy law reveals our unholiness and shows us the need for a savior.  The day after Christmas death confronts us in the remembrance of St. Stephen.  We are given that example in Stephen that even in the most difficult times of lives the forgiveness of sins prevails. We no longer must carry the burden of our own sin.  Our savior Jesus Christ has come into this world to redeem the world.  He has come into this world to die for all our sins.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, in the midst of our sufferings for the sake of Christ grant us grace to follow the example of the first martyr, Stephen, that we also may look to the One who suffered and was crucified on our behalf and pray for those who do us wrong; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen (Treasury of Daily Prayer, pg 1057)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/26/20225 minutes, 18 seconds
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The Nativity of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 2:1-20Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-18; Matthew 1:1-17And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At just the right time, Jesus was born.  At just the right time, God sent His son to be born of a woman.  At just the right time God sent His son to be born under the law.  Our savior Jesus Christ came into this world at just the right time.  God chose the time and the place where His son would be born.  On Christmas Day we rejoice and celebrate the gift of salvation that came into this world.  The day that the Word made His dwelling amongst us.  As we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, we engage in numerous activities that help reinforce the magnificent gift of salvation through Jesus.  We go to church and sing the familiar hymns of Christmas.  We receive His body and blood for the strengthening of faith and the forgiveness of sins.  We hear the message of the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.  We sit around the family dinner table and reminisce of years gone by and reflect on loved ones who are no longer with us.  We open gifts and extend gratitude towards family and friends who have taken time to remember us in their Christmas giving.  All these activities give us the remembrance that our savior Jesus Christ came into this world for the salvation of the world; certainly, some activities more than others.  When it comes to Jesus, He is the gift.  Christ brings to us exactly what we need.  In the manger is the Son of God that has come to redeem the world.  In the manger is forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.  In the manger is the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king for the people of God.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant that the birth of Your only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free from the bondage of sin; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/25/20224 minutes, 55 seconds
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Christmas Eve

Today's Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 44:21-45:13, 20-25; Revelation 12:1-17 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Advent is over. The preparation for the coming of our Messiah is complete.  In the Divine Service we shift our hymnody from Advent to Christmas.  We celebrate the birth of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us!  The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in the baby lying in a manger.  Our creator gives us exactly what we need.  We need a savior.  As King Ahaz dialogues with Isaiah, he thinks he needs an army to stave off the encroaching army from the north.  Isaiah reminds King Ahaz that the Lord God of this universe will guard the kingdom from the enemy.  Ahaz wants nothing to do with the Lord. (Is 7:12) Ahaz wants to lead the people on his own terms with the help of men not God.  He desires the credit of being the one who overthrew the enemy.  His pride has consumed him, and he no longer trusts in God.Isaiah’s prophecy of the virgin giving birth to a son reminds King Ahaz that it is God’s plan not his that matters.  Today it is God’s plan that brings to us salvation through the forgiveness of sins in Christ.  The Old Adam in us wants Christmas to be about us and what we want.  “What’s in it for me?” is what the sinful self asks.  The world constantly reminds us of what we need for peace and comfort. His Holy Word reminds us that the birth of our savior Jesus Christ is the only gift we need.  In Christ the word became flesh.  The fulfillment of the prophets is at hand. Salvation has come into this world.  The kingdom of God is before us.  We take comfort daily knowing that our sins have been paid for with the one gift of God’s only son Jesus, Immanuel-God with us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You make us glad with the yearly remembrance of the birth of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Grant that as we joyfully receive Him as our Redeemer, we may with sure confidence behold Him when He comes to be our Judge; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen (Collect for Christmas Eve-LSB)-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House. 
12/24/20224 minutes, 59 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:25-44:20; Revelation 11:1-19I, I am he, the one blotting out your rebellions for mine own sake, and your sins I will not remember.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blotting out rebellions?  What?  It’s almost Christmas Eve. That little Advent calendar almost has Jesus nestled in the manger. Blotting out rebellions?  We know how the game works this close to Christmas, why don’t we just keep it simple?  If you’re naughty, you get nothing. If you're nice, well then today, tomorrow and the next day look pretty good for you.  But Isaiah the Prophet writes that naughty and nice aren’t going to figure at all into “I AMs” becoming Emmanuel. Isaiah says; Jesus comes regardless. In fact, Isaiah says this Jesus is coming for the rebellious ones, the sick ones, the dead ones, and He’s not just come to blot out rebellions but literally to wipe out/ annihilate sins.  Like an old-fashioned floppy computer disk that’s had a magnet run over it (ask your parents or google it),  Jesus comes to annihilate sin and even the memory of YOUR sin.  Then Isaiah says why Jesus is going to do it “for Mine own sake.”  Jesus is true to His promise but also we see that this text infers that Jesus does it for us. He comes for rebels (and He’s not talking about whether you’ve dyed your hair or some other crazy cool thing). Jesus comes for those who have spoken and acted against Him. He’s come for the sick ones that can’t heal themselves, the ones who’ve spoken out against Him, called Him names, tweeted, snap chatted and tik-tocked all sorts of slanderous, nasty things about Him. He’s even come for you as you hold yourself in higher regard than your neighbors, classmates, and so on. He’s come to annihilate, wipe out your sins of chastisement, gossip and self-righteousness and He’s come as a lowly, meek, and humble child.It’s not about naughty or nice. Jesus the Savior came not to remember your sins, but to annihilate them.  It is His coming to us that reminds us that it is Christ alone who Has, IS, and will sustain us. He will willingly take that which causes our death, make it His own, put it to death (annihilate it) by His death all in order to save us; to provide the most blessed exchange, our sin for His Redemption and forgiveness; our rebelliousness exchanged for His perfect obedience; our death exchanged for His life given freely to us.    You and I have a future, not because we’ve been nice, not even because we’ve only been a little naughty. Ours is a future pinned on the certainty that not even our sins could defeat our Lord and God. No amount of guilt, shame, or remorse is a match for Our Savior, as Isaiah says “He does for His own sake.”  Jesus your God, came as your Servant to willingly bear the burden. He’s borne the burden to remove even the slightest spot of rebellion and transgression away by becoming a man like us, to forgive (blot out) sins by His innocent suffering and death, by His blood shed that covers us in His righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The One Whom angels tended comes near, a child, to serve; Thus God, the judge offended, bears all our sins deserve.  The guilty need not cower, for God has reconciled through His redemptive power all those who trust this Child.  (LSB 337 “The Night will soon be ending” St. 2-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/23/20226 minutes, 4 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To SubjectsDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:1-24; Revelation 9:13-10:11“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for any honest work” (Tit. 3:1).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the explanation of the 4th Commandment, we’ve learned what it means to honor.  To honor is to hold them in high esteem, to show dignity that God has rightly given to them as those who are given by God to look after us, and take care of us.  The Small Catechism explains what honor looks like by also telling us what we are not to do.  Do not despise or anger our parents or other authorities.  This section of the Table of Duties teaches us that citizens are to honor the civil government and to show dignity to those given to rule over us; this is important but it is not the whole story.  God also places us in positions to participate in the activities, governance, and care of our society.  We are to care as Christ cared, to honor as our Lord honored the authorities. How was that? He suffered under Pontus Pilate; Jesus willingly subjected himself to Pilate and the office that Pilate had been given by God. To say that Christ suffered under Pontus Pilate is simply to say that Jesus suffered unto God the Father who placed Pilate in his governorship.  As the children of God then we are governed by the Word of God. Not only are we encouraged to participate in civil discourse, and conversations with our classmates, teachers, and public officials. We may also be afforded the opportunity to run for public office at the school or public level, and opportunities for service in the military or to volunteer in the community are other options too.  This duty: of citizens reminds us first and foremost, that acts of charity and mercy for the temporal support of their neighbors in need are founded in Christ Jesus who first subjected Himself to the temporal authorities for our sake.  Thankfully this article isn’t just about paying taxes and obeying the laws of the land, although that is included.  We are given to pray for our rulers, participate in the general welfare of the nation, and “be ready to do whatever is good.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Father, grant us faith to pray for the civil authorities and to trust that You will accomplish Your good and gracious will through them.  Teach us to live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness and to be ready to do whatever is good in service to others in our community and nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/22/20225 minutes, 8 seconds
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St. Thomas, Apostle

Today's Reading: John 20:24-29Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 42:1-25; Revelation 9:1-12“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The title of the reflection says it all: St. Thomas, Apostle.  That’s how we should remember Thomas.  But we’ve loved to give him another nickname, haven’t we?  But Thomas isn’t a doubter at all, at least not any more than anyone else.  When Jesus announced to his disciples that He was going to Judea, some of his disciples tried to stop him (John 11:8). Thomas was not dissuaded; instead He boldly proclaimed: “Let us also go, that we may die with him”Thomas is an Apostle; one sent out by Jesus Himself to teach and to preach, to heal wounds, perform miracles and proclaim the mysteries of the Gospel.  That’s precisely what Thomas did on that first Easter Sunday and eight days later.  I know, it sounds like Thomas is balking at the idea that someone could be raised from the dead. It’s more profound than that. He disbelieved the Resurrection, but let’s face facts, all of us balk at the Resurrection too.  So Thomas demands to see the One with holes in hands and side, meaning that if this resurrection thing is true, then I only wish to see Jesus; the One who said He’d be crucified. And if you guys aren’t going to show me that One, well then, I’ll never believe.  Show me Christ Crucified. That IS a good confession!!! Indeed, it’s the greatest and only Confession; that Christ Crucified is the One who came to earth as the Son of David, the Son of God, bore our sinful flesh to death, and died with nails in His hands and feet and a pierced side, for Thomas and for you.St. Thomas Apostle; the sent-out guy.  That’s the good and right way to see Thomas and to commemorate the day that marks his death in the year 72 AD.  Thomas, the Apostle, the one who refused to believe in anything but the Crucified Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, You strengthened Your Apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in the resurrection of Your Son.  Grant us such faith in Jesus Christ the Crucified One that we may never be found wanting in Your sight; through the same Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/21/20225 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Romans 1:1-7Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:18-41:10; Revelation 8:1-13Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3b).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  God became a man, meaning that all that was common to fallen men was what Jesus understood, knew, lived, and bore with.  Jesus cried, felt pain, knew ridicule and being made fun of. He knew sorrow and sadness, watched people He loved go through pain, scarcity, and worry. Jesus Christ, fully God (that’s 100%); fully man (that’s 100%) bore all the sin, weight, guilt, sorrow, and so on, and all this without sin. To say this doesn’t make sense is perhaps the understatement of the year. 100% plus 100%; that’s 200%.  Isn’t it wonderful then that to our world, to our feeble and simple minds Jesus simply came, not to make everything in this world of law make sense? He came because in the fallen world very little, if anything, has made sense; people get sick and die, tragedies and misunderstandings plague each and every day. Since the Fall, although we like to think that we’re logical, reasonable and that most things make sense. in reality very little actually makes sense at all.  He came to a people, to us, in the depths of the ocean who've only known darkness, depths, and weight and has come to believe that that’s the only normal way.To a world of darkness came The Light, and the world hated the light.  He came bringing peace and the world hated it because they’d grown used to strife, darkness, pain, misery, and the like.  He came into a world that we said made sense, a world in which we said He’d have to assimilate. Jesus takes sin, darkness, death, destruction, and depravity and hangs them with Him and dies; God-Man. THE God-Man dies and with Him our guilt, shame and heaviness. Jesus was long spoken about by God in the Garden “I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15.)  That seed is Jesus. Hear St. John: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a seed fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (John 12:24). The seed of David?  Jesus is THE MAN, the seed that Crushes the serpent's head?  That’s Jesus too!  The seed that dies and bears much fruit?  You guessed it–Jesus; The God-Man come for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. AmenThe everlasting Son, Incarnate deigns to be, Himself a servants form puts on to set His servants free. (LSB 331 “The Advent of our King” St. 2)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/20/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 7:10-17Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 40:1-17; Revelation 7:1-17Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. (Isaiah 7:10-12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Throughout the Holy Scriptures, with few exceptions, there are two voices.  The consistent, compassionate, merciful, correcting, loving voice of Almighty God who’s always reminding His people of His great love, grace, mercy, and peace.  But there are also the voices of God’s creatures who seem to always be fighting and arguing against God, not necessarily in violent or offensive ways, at least as we’d determine violence and offense. But like ole Ahaz “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the Test”;  St. Peter’s another, whether it’s saying to Jesus “Far be it from you, Lord, this shall never come to You'' (in response to Jesus saying HE MUST go to the cross) or later in Acts chapter 10:13-16 when Peter sees the vision of all the wonderful animals descending to earth. God says “Get up Peter, kill and eat.”  And Peter says no Lord, I’ve never eaten anything impure or unclean, to which God says,  “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”  Peter recalls that this happened three times.  That, brothers and Sisters ought to show you just a little about the long-suffering of God for us.We’d think then that long-suffering and patience might only be extended to nice people, like Peter. But what about the nasty people like King Ahaz the 12th King of Judah, you know, a king whose governance was considered to be disastrous to the political and religious state of Israel, never mind his offering of His own son to the false god Molech (2 Kings 16:18)?But there’s Yahweh, speaking to, loving, and teaching Ahaz, the earthly King of the people of God. Yahweh says “Ask for a sign” and then goes on to say the equivalent of “it can be as hair-brained as you could imagine.”  But Ahaz who loved the law, not wanting or desiring to blaspheme the Name of God (1st Commandment) says, like Peter, no, I won’t do it.What consternation we’d expect from Yahweh?  But there is none to be found. Sure there will be all sorts of terrible things that come to Judah and Israel because of the unbelief of the people, which Yahweh will send. But through it all Yahweh will send the one who will, like Jonah, be three days in the belly of the earth after being crucified for the sins of Judah, Ahaz, Peter, you, and me.There’s a lot of voices in the Holy Scriptures; a lot of arguing, a lot of nu-uhs and no-ways from the people of God. But our Lord and God who’s been speaking from the beginning, speaks to Ahaz, to Peter, and to us that we might be comforted and consoled by the only message that’s ever mattered: “Christ Jesus, crucified for the forgiveness of your sins.” (1 Corinthians 1:23). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Yet nights will bring their sadness and rob our hearts of peace, and sin in all its madness around us may increase.  But now one Star is beaming Whose rays have pierced the night: God comes for our redeeming from sins oppressive might. (LSB 337 The Night will soon be ending St. 4)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/19/20225 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday in AdventThe Fourth Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Matthew 1:18-2Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10; Revelation 6:1-17She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Mt. 1:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Names mean a whole lot. Your mother and father chose yours for a reason. Maybe it was a relative's name, maybe your name was found on an internet search for neat, contemporary names; regardless of how you were given your name, your name is how you’re known, remembered and the means by which you’re addressed.God became a Man and was given a name too; Gabriel the Archangel as he comforts worrying Joseph says that the name of the Child in Mary’s womb, the Child that is to come into the world was conceived by the Spirit and was going to do some extraordinary stuff.  What though?  He’d have a name, and He’d save His people from their sin.  The name Jesus, is derived from the name Joshua. Joshua in the Old Testament is pronounced Yeshua and Yeshua who was and is and will be Jesus (remember how we talked about this on Friday?) Yeshua is Jesus, Jesus was in the OT, you probably remember Him there by another Name (Yahweh: the pre-incarnate Christ). So Yeshua was the Promise that God gave to His people through the prophets and all History.  Yeshua/Jesus is the one long promised Who was bringing salvation. Salvation by His blood, His death and His atonement for our sin.To help this make a little more sense, understand that the word salvation, in Hebrew, literally means “Yeshua”. Psalm 14:7 for example: "Oh, that the salvation (Yeshua) of Israel would come out of Zion! Or Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation (Yeshua) and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Gabriel says the same to Joseph and us: Jesus comes to save us; from sin, from death and the power of the Devil.  But don’t forget one of the other Names this Yeshua has: Emmanuel. This Savior Who is true man like us, is God with us.There’s a whole lot in a Name and now you know a little more about Jesus. But lastly know this, Yeshua, Jesus, Emmanuel has come to give you a name, a family, a life, peace, joy and forgiveness.  The day when the old Adam was drowned in your Baptism you were given another Name. The very name of your Lord and Savior, Christ-ian.  He names you!  He claims you and says that all this is rightly His has been bestowed to you.  In the Name of Jesus + Amen.Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/18/20225 minutes, 26 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading  Introit: Psalm 130:5–8; antiphon: Isaiah 64:1Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 33:1-24; Revelation 5:1-14Shower O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout. I, Yahweh, am creating it. (Isaiah 45:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  There was a day, a long time ago, when your pastor and I, the writer of this reflection, learned Hebrew.  Your pastor and I also learned Church history. Both are very important for preaching, teaching, and writing devotions; but what about you?  All this talk about the heavens raining and righteousness coming down?  Salvation and righteousness bearing fruit and so on and so forth?  What does it mean?Jerome, one of the church fathers, wrote a long time ago that the Introit for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 45:8) was better translated as: “let the earth open up and bring forth a Savior.”  Jerome wrote that this Introit was “a prayer to the Holy Spirit to come down like dew upon the Virgin Mary so that she would conceive and bear the Savior of the Nations”; the Righteous One; Jesus Christ our Lord.  What’s even better though is that all this righteousness, which needs to be showered down on us because we were conceived and born in sin, because we are unrighteous, comes to us as the rains come to water the ground.  Just as we can’t cause the clouds to form up, Just as we can’t tell the rain where to fall, the salvation that this Jesus wins, the righteousness He imparts bears fruit. God gives growth, God gives comfort, God sends the abundant rains of His own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to be poured out abundantly here in His creation, for His people, for you and me.  The final part, let the earth cause them to sprout; what a joy this is, because this God of ours takes heed, takes care to come to us, His people, not because we’re righteous or lovely, but to MAKE us righteous and lovely. That's what this Father of yours did; that’s what this Christ Child did for us. He came to us, in this dry and barren land, took on our flesh and our sin to put it to death with Him that new, abundant, and overflowing streams of life-giving water would flow over you in baptism “I, Yahweh, am creating it” He’s done it FOR YOU. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to Thee O Israel.  (LSB 357 O Come, O Come Emmanuel St. 1)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/17/20224 minutes, 16 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20; Revelation 4:1-11“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. So which is it?  Was, Is, or Is to come?  It’s the 16th of December 2022, a Friday, one more day of School before the weekend, perhaps you have a date tonight, or tomorrow?  Perhaps there are preparations you’re making for the upcoming Christmas break. We’re a NOW kind of people, TikTok and YouTube keep us up to speed about what’s happening NOW and that’s about all that really matters; you’re teenagers, youth; in the prime of your lives. Just what is St. John up to citing the old-timey Prophet Isaiah with words about what was, is, and is to come?  This citation St. John uses from the book of Revelation covers two parts of the was, is, and is to come Phrase.  Isaiah the prophet spoke and wrote in a time that he’d have called contemporary If TikTok had existed He’d have written the same thing. Isaiah wrote about what was to be, Immanuel, the King, the Savior, the one born of a virgin would be born and die. Isaiah wasn’t a future teller, he was just a guy that the Almighty chose to write down what was going to happen. St. John then, somewhere in around the year 90 AD, wrote that the one Isaiah wrote about was now enthroned in heaven, glorified and reigning as the Lord of the heavens and the earth, reigning as the one who said definitively before He died “It is finished.”  St. John sees a day that not even we have seen yet.  So that covers the Was and Will be part, so what about the Is part?  That’s today, Friday the 16th of December. The Holy One that Isaiah was told would come; has come; It’s finished; salvation is accomplished, delivered to you and me by water and the Word. The Holy One who John saw enthroned is surrounded by the saints, the elders, and so on; not angels, but real people. John saw Jesus but He also saw you, you who’ll head out for school and work today, who’ll head into this weekend guarded and protected by the Holy One who goes before you, who fights for you, who’ll feed you with His own word and body and blood in the Divine Service soon, very soon.  He who was with His people, He who’s sitting enthroned already in the heavens is the Holy One who’s with you today, tomorrow, and forever.  Jesus who was, Is here now and will be forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Make ye straight what long was crooked; make the rougher places plain.  Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits His Holy reign.  For the glory of the Lord now o’er earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token that His word is never broken. (LSB 347: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People: St. 4)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/16/20224 minutes, 30 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 30:27-31:9; Revelation 3:1-22Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19)Advent is about wrath and mercy, repentance, and faith so St. John reveals in the book of Revelation… sort of puts things into perspective as we make preparation for the nativity of our Lord.  Advent prepares us and makes us ready; not in the sense of getting our bags packed or checking off the shopping lists for friends and family. In Advent, God reproves and saves, disciplines, and loves us.  Advent reveals both the Alien work of God and His Proper work.So what’s the alien work of God?  Alien doesn’t have anything to do with little green men. Hear in Revelation 3, “I reprove and discipline”. In some translations of the Bible, the word chastise is used.   Reprove, discipline, and chastise… Yikes!  But chastisement isn’t God making fun of us, far from it; Our Triune God loves us in that, He points out where we have faltered, failed, and fallen short; He allows and even sends natural punishments to reprove (turn us/ He repents us). This is the alien work of God, the reproving, the chastisement that causes us to cry out in our sin and desperation for Emmanuel, the Savior of sinners from sin and death.  He’s Emmanuel in a very alien (strange or peculiar) way to reprove us, to turn us, to repent us. That’s right. God turns us, opens our eyes, unbinds our shackled tongues, and opens our stopped-up deaf ears in order that we would see the great need for His proper work for us. His proper work?  Becoming sin for us, bleeding and dying to save us, fulfilling all the law for us, facing down the fulness of the Father’s wrath for us. We’d see none of this, see no need at all of His love, mercy made known in His bloody death unless we were first reproved and chastised to see that of ourselves we are lost and condemned.  Having seen that we are lost and condemned, Christ comes to bleed and die in order to make us alive in Him. What this Lord and God of ours does, He does for those He loves. He loves you. Sometimes it seems a bit strange, a little alien, but rest assured that even the pointing out of your sins, your shortcomings, and the many and varying places that you’ve come up short over the last week or year are for reproof; to put the old Adam in each and every one of us to death. Reproof hurts, chastisement and discipline are unpleasant; it’s alien, a foreign concept, but fully part of how God loves you, wholly part of His work for you; to turn you to see Who Jesus is and how He properly comes to you. Your Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us), God as a Man, and a baby man at that!  Meek, lowly and humble to save, to buy us back, and to mark us as ones purchased and won from sin, death, and the devil.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. He comes the broken heart to bind, The bleeding soul to cure, and with the treasures of his grace to enrich the humble poor. (LSB 349 Hark the Glad Sound St. 3)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/15/20224 minutes, 53 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: Civil GovernmentDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:15-26; Revelation 2:1-29Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (Rom. 13:1-4).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the great comforts of Jesus becoming Incarnate man is that Jesus knows about life here in this fallen world.  You’re not the only ones who have lived under the rule of earthly kings and princes; Your Lord Jesus did too.  Our Table of Duties from the Small Catechism teaches what our life looks like in this fallen world.  We, the baptized, are instructed about Civil Governance not just so we can live, breathe and have our being when they do their job well. We’re to be subject to governing authorities even and especially when the people who bear the sword of the Law of God aren’t Christian, even when they act in ways that are contrary to the very word of God. God cares so much about order, safety and care for all people that He appoints servants to bear the sword of wrath, the sword of Justice and civil punishment for varying violations of the 10 commands; it’s good to have order, it’s good that the wicked are punished for crimes and we are given the promise that God ordains this sword for order, for good and not in vain.  Out of Chaos, darkness and nothingness God said “Let there be light…” and there was; evening and morning the first day.  There God appointed Adam as steward, caretaker of the creation, Adam named animals, called them by the names that have stuck since then.  But the reading gets sorta strange when we see that God the Father appoints ministers, that is, avengers to execute wrath on those who practice evil.  This passage in the table of duties isn’t talking about your pastor, or even a vigilante Christian who seeks to impose morals and virtues across the land. No, the table of duties reminds us that God has appointed authorities, by His good and gracious will, to maintain order here in the land we sojourn through.  Ministers, persons given authority by God to punish criminals, law breakers and the like.  This ought to be.  But what do we owe to those men and women God has appointed for our good; yes, even when they act out of line… gulp!Why do we owe them honor?  Simply put, Our Gracious God has placed them over us to execute their charges for our good. Yes, there will be tyrants and despots and we pray the Lord will be merciful to them when they abdicate their calling. We should pray for our President, Congress, Governors and Mayors, Police and School Boards that their ears would be opened to hear the gracious care of our Lord. We pray that they be given strength and integrity to govern us in a way that is good and right in the sight of God; we owe them honor not because THEY are good, but because our Lord and God is good and He has graciously given them to us as a defense, for our safety and good.  In the Name of Jesus, amen. Lord, keep this nation under Your care.  Bless the leaders of our land that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth.  Grant that we may choose trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the general welfare and serve You faithfully in our generation; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico..Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/14/20225 minutes, 19 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: James 5:7-11Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:15-30:14; Revelation 1:1-20… behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (James 5:9b)In the name of Jesus, amen. Yikes!!!  This text sounds a little too scary for Advent; but here we are 12 days from Christmas; maybe we “aughta” temper the strong judgey language… Nah…. Instead, let's dig in a little deeper as to who the judge is and at which door He stands.  What else is Advent than the 1st coming of our Lord, the breaking in, the deluge, and the life-giving flood of Jesus' blood that covers the sins of all the world?  The Judge is standing at the door, 12 days now away from breaking down the door, the curtain, the wall, and the chasm that had separated us from God.  Here’s where you’re saying “Wait just a minute, you’re telling me a precious little baby is the Judge!?  This precious little child is standing at the door looking to bust it all to pieces and break into the prison of this fallen world, to breathe our poisoned air and dwell with us in our sin, death and filth?  C’mon…. That’s precisely what St. James writes: He writes about farmers waiting for the precious fruits of the earth, he writes about waiting for early and late rains, and behold, here in the dark doldrums of winter, the stark bitter coldness, the ever darker days of December we prepare again to celebrate the birth of the Judge, the birth of the Just One, the Justifier. The wait is over, the fields are ripe, into the darkness and dwindling light comes the light of the world, Jesus the Judge.  But notice dear saints of God how He comes to you; lowly, a baby, not pounding down the door but instead breaking into a Silent Night; barely a whisper, a murmur or even one in Bethlehem who will notice that the Judge is on earth, past the door, dwelling with us as OUR SAVIOR, come to judge us not by what we have done or failed to do; but to judge us according to what He has done FOR US!This is His first Advent; the Savior comes meek and mild, lowly, our Judge, our Savior comes as a child. Surely we can see how He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love?  But this Judge Jesus is steadfast in His meekness; this Savior comes willingly to bear your sin, to suffer and die, to bleed His own blood to save you.  Yes, the Judge is at the door, but this Judge has come to willingly be judged for you. The Innocent One became your sin, died as the guilty one in your place, and has bestowed to you by simple water and word His own righteousness, innocence and blessedness; yes He’s at the door to tell you today, tomorrow and forever; you’ve been judged already; judged innocent, forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Savior, rend the heavens wide; come down, come down with mighty stride; unlock the gates, the doors break down; unbar the way to heaven's crown. (LSB 355 O Savior, Rend the Heavens wide. St. 1)-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/13/20224 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 29:1-14; Jude 1-25And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah the prophet writes of the desert; a wasteland, dry and barren with burning sand.  But a vivid and accurate picture of the desert isn’t the only thing Isaiah writes about; He writes about the people who are weak, with feeble knees, anxious hearts, and blind eyes; Isaiah writes of bodies that are lame and tongues that are mute.  Isaiah gets it, and knows what life is like, not just in the real desert of his homeland, but writes of the world we live in and the desert that IT really is.  More than that; Isaiah writes that here in this wilderness of sin we are prisoners.Many of us don’t know much about having to scavenge for food or about having to walk for miles to find water but we Christians, in our day, certainly do know something about the arid, hot, and angry winds that still blow in this land that we sojourn through.  Friends who backbite, gossip, hatred online, bullies and the strain that goes with confessing Christ Crucified. The weakness, feeble knees, anxious hearts, blind eyes, bodies that are lame, and tongues that are mute are not just a thing of the past. They’re real today; really real for you and for me.Our text from Isaiah 35:10 is a definitive conclusion; a promise for you and me of gladness and joy.  Before that conclusion though Isaiah reminds us that there is comfort, strengthening, and compassion even in the midst of the wilderness wandering.  He… that is, Jesus comes to you just as He did for Isaiah and all those who know the sting of the wilderness.  He comes to abide with you, comfort you, and still your anxious hearts. Jesus comes to save you from sin, death, and the Devil, but also to save you from despair, anxiousness and fear today; to save you from hunger and thirst and to save you from, and comfort you in, your wilderness wandering.  What about this saving that Jesus does?  Isaiah says Jesus pays a ransom, that is, Jesus buys you back (the fancy theological word is redeems) at a great price, both because of Who Jesus is and because of how much He loves to love you; your life ransomed (bought back) by Jesus blood. Jesus comes smack dab into the middle of this desert wilderness of ours to give you joy, for today. But even better than that; Isaiah says this joy Jesus gives is everlasting, never-ending, forever and ever joy that will replace sorrow and sighing.  The whole desert will rejoice with joy and singing; like water breaking forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert, the burning sands become a pool; it’s all around us, as close as the Divine Service, the waters of baptism, the body and blood that He still gives and the word He puts right into your ears.   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Yea her sins our God will pardon, blotting out each dark misdeed; all that well deserved His anger He no more will see or heed.  She hath suffered many a day now her griefs have passed away; God will change her pining sadness into ever-springing gladness. LSB 347 Comfort, Comfort Ye my people (St. 2)Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico..
12/12/20225 minutes, 15 seconds
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The Third Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Matthew 11:2-15Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 28:14-29; 1 John 5:1-21Go and tell John what you hear and see… (Matthew 11:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptizer was done for, imprisoned for rightly calling out Herod Antipas for His marriage to Herodias. John the Baptizer had a good run… I guess that’s one way to look at it.Yet Jesus, true God and fully man, knew both the tormenting agony John the Baptizer was going through and what would soon become of John. Jesus, God with us, sent comfort to John in Prison, not in the form of a file baked into a cake or a kind card. Jesus, the Word in flesh, sent Himself… Go and tell John of me… tell Him what you hear and see.  But this seems like such small consolation, doesn’t it?Jesus sends comfort in the midst of imprisonment, peace in the midst of impending death, and a gentle reminder that all that John himself had spoken and done in the Name of Jesus was not in vain… Tell Him what you hear and see… meaning; Tell Him that the One John jumped in the womb of his mother over, and sends peace that passes through prison walls.  Tell John that the repentance he preached on the banks of the Jordan River and to Herod Antipas was not in vain… tell Him that though He will lose his head and die at the request of Herodias; tell Him that nothing in all creation will be able to separate Him from the love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness that Christ Jesus freely gives; tell Him that the sins of the whole world, washed onto Jesus in the Jordan River are going with Jesus to be put to death on the cross, tell John that though He dies, yet He will live as His Jesus will live as the firstborn from the dead.Those blinded by fear will be soothed, comforted, and protected by Christ the light Who overcomes all darkness.  The lame, the deaf, lepers, the blind, and even the beheaded, will live again, forever.  Lepers, yes, sinners are cleansed, those who are deaf will hear the word that gives life and the poor.  Yes, even poor imprisoned John, even in the face of death, has the good news Jesus put into them.  Blessed are you John, blessed are you dear saints of God who have the Good news preached to you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Advent 3)--Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico..Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/11/20224 minutes, 26 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Introit: Psalm 71:14–18; antiphon: Philippians 4:4Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:20-27:13; 1 John 4:1-21“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (Introit for Advent 3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Back in my seminary days, there was a sainted professor who, upon entering the classroom, would ask, “Are we rejoicing in the Lord, brothers?” We see in the antiphon words of St. Paul to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4) He then would tell us that if we were not rejoicing in the Lord, then we didn’t need to be there, for there is never a time where we should not be rejoicing in the Lord.Because of God what God has done for us in Jesus, we should constantly be rejoicing. By His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has won for us everlasting life. We should want to shout that from the rooftops, that Christ has forgiven me and given me eternal life, just as it says in the Introit: “My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge” (Psalm 71:15). This is something that Jesus has done, not only for me but all of creation. We should always be in a state of rejoicing for what God has done for us, but our sinfulness doesn’t always want to rejoice. I didn’t get the promotion I was seeking. I didn’t pass the chemistry test. My loved one just died; how could God do that to me? There are many things that happen in our lives that are not worth rejoicing about, but there are even more things that are worth rejoicing. Even if I didn’t get the promotion, I still have forgiveness by Jesus’ death on the cross. Even if I didn’t pass my chemistry test, I still have God’s name on me, marking me as His beloved child. Even though my loved one has died, they are now resting in the loving arms of their Savior, Jesus Christ.There is much for us to rejoice in this life, but nothing more important than the life we have received in Christ Jesus, for Jesus is the cause of our rejoicing, both in this life and the life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Rejoice, O pilgrim throng! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing; Your festal banner wave on high, The cross of Christ your king. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing! (Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng, LSB 813:1)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/10/20225 minutes, 7 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:1-19; 1 John 3:1-24“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What’s in a name? It identifies you. It tells you where you came from and to whom you belong. My last name harkens back to my Italian heritage. But my last name doesn’t define who I am, though I do have a name that does just that: child of God.Above all other names, all other titles I might have, none is greater than being called a child of God. With that title, it declares that I belong to God, that I have God’s name placed upon me. In Holy Baptism, God places His name upon you, forever marking you as one who belongs to Him. It means that I am God’s. Because I am God’s, I can’t help but sing, “God’s own child, I gladly say it, I am baptized in Christ!” (LSB 594:1)It is not only one thing to be called a child of God but we should also live our lives as children of God. It means live like you are baptized because you are baptized. It means live as one who is forgiven for Christ’s sake because you are forgiven. It means to live as one for whom Christ has died. But know this: not only are you a child of God but so are others. It means that they are also the ones for whom Christ has died. This is as John writes: “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). Great love has been shown to you by God through Jesus. Jesus comes and lays down His life so that you may have eternal life. Just as Christ has laid down His life for us, so we should be willing to lay down our lives for our neighbor: “By this, we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16) It is as Luther says, that we “help and support him in every physical need” (5th Commandment).While God could condemn us and rightly should, He shows His great mercy in Jesus. Though we are not deserving, God sees fit to forgive us our sins out of love, so that we may be united to God once again. This is done for us by Jesus as He lays down His life so that we may take up eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, heavenly Father, out of great love for Your creation, You have sent Jesus into creation to restore and unite man to You once again. Help us to show love to our neighbor, that we may help and support them in every need. In Jesus’ name, amen.- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/9/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Romans 15:4-13Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14-25:12; 1 John 2:15-29“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul wrote 13 letters in the New Testament, directed mainly to churches. One such letter was to the Church at Rome. This church was in a rather unique situation. Rome was a great city of commerce. This brought with it a large amount of foot traffic. While this could be an advantage to the Church, this also proved to be a disadvantage as well, for this brought with it an influx of pagan non-believers. With this pagan influence, it was very easy for the Romans to forget who they were, blood-bought and redeemed children of God. They needed a gentle reminder of who they were, much like we need the same reminder today. And so Paul reminds them to return to their roots, that is, return to God’s Word and what it means for them. There in God’s Word, they would be reminded of the promise God made to them and what it meant for their daily life, for there they would find their hope.What was written in former days was God’s promise of salvation, not just for His people in the Old Testament, not just for the Church at Rome, but for all people everywhere. God’s instruction was for them to remain faithful to Him, just as He promised He would remain faithful to them. Ultimately, what was written in former days was the promise of the Messiah. This is what God intended for His people, then and now. He intended to be with them forever. Due to sin, that was no longer a possibility. That is why He made the promise of a Savior so that the relationship between God and man would be restored to what it should be. It is through that Word of God, the promise He made so long ago and recorded in Holy Scripture, that we find our hope. Our hope isn’t found in ourselves or in the things of this world but in Jesus. At times, the Romans forgot where their hope was to be found. We too can forget that as well. That is why this season of Advent is so important for us, to help us prepare to receive Jesus as our salvation, for it is in Jesus do we have our hope, both now and forevermore. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Word)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/8/20225 minutes, 29 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To HearersDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:1-13; 1 John 1:1-2:14“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” - Hebrews 13:17 Table of Duties: What the Hearers Owe Their PastorsYou know the Third Commandment, right? You keep it every time you enter the sanctuary, right? Sadly, we do not. We do not always hold God’s Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it, do we? That is what Luther says we should do. We should want to hear God’s Word of salvation for us. That is what your pastor is there for, to proclaim to you God’s salvation won for you by Jesus Christ. Stop and listen to the words that he speaks: “...in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ…” The words that he is about to speak are not his words but God’s words. In fact, everything that your pastor speaks comes from God. They tell you what God has already said and declared about you. Your pastor has your best interests at heart, that is, you hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and be saved. How should we listen to our pastors? We obey them because they are our God-sent pastors who are charged with proclaiming both Law and Gospel to us, absolving us from our sins, and feeding us Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. They do this because God has called them to the Office of Holy Ministry to bring and declare God’s gifts to His people. This task is not taken lightly by them, for they must give an account to God of their actions. We do not want to be a burden on our pastors. We want to make their vocation as easy as possible, even though pastoral ministry is often anything but easy. Just as preaching the Gospel is a good and noble task, so is hearing that Gospel as it is preached to us and placed into our mouths. Bring a smile to your pastor’s face by telling him you’ll be there Sunday and every Sunday after that, receiving the gifts which God delivers through your called and ordained servant of the Word. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O holy and most merciful God, You have taught us the way of Your commandments. We implore You to pour out Your grace into our hearts. Cause it to bear fruit in us that, being ever mindful of Your mercies and Your laws, we may always be directed to Your will and daily increase in love toward You and one another. Enable us to resist all evil and to live a godly life. Help us to follow the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to walk in His steps until we shall possess the kingdom that has been prepared for us in heaven; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Obedience to the Word)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/7/20225 minutes, 36 seconds
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Nicholas of Myra, Pastor

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 14:1-23; 2 Peter 3:1-18In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Lean your ear this way!” What we know as a fun and light Christmas song has some truth behind it. Saint Nicholas was an early Christian bishop in the city of Myra. Nicholas is considered by some traditions the patron saint of numerous types of people, including children. This gave way to a reputation for secretly giving and leaving gifts for children. His actions led to the modern-day model of Santa Claus.Some believe that Christmas is all about Santa Claus and giving, or more importantly, receiving gifts. While leaving gifts for children is great, there are greater gifts. The thought that Christmas is all about gifts is indeed true, but no greater gift has ever been given than that of Jesus. He comes to bring the greatest gift that one could ever want or need, that of forgiveness and eternal life. The gifts that Jesus comes to bring are not gifts that come just once a year as Saint Nicholas gave. No, these gifts are given to us daily as we receive our daily bread. These gifts are given to us in our Baptism where we have been made God’s child. These gifts come in our Lord’s Supper as we feast upon His body and blood in the bread and wine. These are gifts that God desires for you and graciously gives to you. It’s hard to believe that God has wrapped up all He desires to give in a simple gift of a baby born to unsuspecting parents. While the angel had told them what Jesus was destined to do, they would not be able to fully understand it until our Lord began His ministry, and even then, they could not grasp the full weight of His ministry on our behalf.These gifts which God gives, He gives to us freely. He gives them to us for our benefit. He gives them to us that we may be His beloved children. Very soon, God’s gift of Jesus will be laid in the manger, but we do not have to wait until Christmas to receive that gift, for it is yours now in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You bestowed upon Your servant Nicholas of Myra the perpetual gift of charity. Grant Your Church the grace to deal in generosity and love with children and with all who are poor and distressed and to plead the cause of those who have no helper, especially those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief. We ask this for the sake of Him who gave His life for us, Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Nicholas of Myra)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/6/20225 minutes, 25 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 2 Peter 2:1-22“He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” (Isaiah 11:3b-4a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As we prepare for the Nativity of Jesus, as we prepare for the celebration of our Lord coming into creation, we also look ahead to our Lord’s Second Coming. What does that mean for us? What will happen? Isaiah gives us a glimpse as to what that will look like for us.As God looks at creation, what does He see? He sees a people who have sinned, not just once, but over and over again. In fact, we are people who are sinners to our very core. It is because of that sin that God can and should destroy us, and yet He doesn’t do that. By what His eyes see and His ears hear, there should be every reason for God to exact His wrath upon us. Because of Jesus, He judges the poor with righteousness. We are the poor, the poor in spirit, the poor due to sin. God does not choose to exercise His wrath upon us because Jesus intercedes for us. Jesus comes into creation to plead on our behalf. His life, His death, His resurrection do what is expected of us because we cannot do it. He keeps God’s Law in our place. He makes us His holy people by His shed blood which washes over us.When Jesus judges us, He judges us with righteousness and faithfulness, except it’s not our righteousness and faithfulness; it is Jesus’ righteousness and faithfulness. Jesus is righteous because He is without sin. Jesus is faithful to God’s Law in its entirety. By what Jesus does for us, He makes us righteous before God. Instead of God exercising His wrath upon us, He exercises it upon Jesus, the sinless one. Jesus takes our place in this great exchange, where we put on His holiness and righteousness and He puts on our sin. We are judged innocent before God, while Jesus is judged guilty. He takes on everything that would keep us from God and it is purged from us. By Christ’s actions, we are declared righteous. Jesus does this because it is the Father’s will, that all would be saved. God was not content with sin and so He sends Jesus. As Jesus comes into the world, He seems insignificant by others, looked at as a heretic. Despite what people thought of Jesus, He came to save even them. He comes to give His life as a ransom for all people. Even more, Jesus comes to give His life for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel! (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, LSB 357:6)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/5/20225 minutes, 36 seconds
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The Second Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Matthew 3:1-12Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 10:12-27, 33-34; 2 Peter 1:1-21“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On the Second Sunday in Advent, we meet an Old Testament carryover in John the Baptist. John’s purpose is to prepare the way of the Lord as Isaiah records. John, the cousin of Jesus, has a very early encounter with Jesus in the womb where he leapt for joy in the presence of Jesus. Fast forward some 30 years and John sets the stage for Jesus. John’s singular purpose is to prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival; John is to be the opening act for Jesus’ headline performance. To do that, John takes all focus off of himself and places it on the One who is to come. When people confront John about being the Messiah, he makes it abundantly clear that He is not the Messiah, that he is unworthy to fill that role. Instead, his singular job is to point to Jesus as the Messiah, not to be the Messiah.This was not going to be an easy task for John. The people had a preconceived notion of the Messiah. Put some of the pieces together and John was Messiah, except he wasn’t the Messiah. He begins baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins; the Pharisees and Sadducees come, not looking for what John has to offer but to challenge his purpose. John does what is expected of him, he prepares the way of the Lord. As John begins his ministry, Jesus is poised to begin His ministry. His ministry is markedly different from that of John. While both will baptize, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John will preach repentance for all while Jesus will separate the repentant from the unrepentant and will bring them to Himself, that they may be with Him forever.Jesus comes so that He may do the Father’s will, and that will is for you to be saved. John prepares for Jesus to make Himself aware to creation, that He may save it by His death and resurrection. John makes us ready to receive Him, not just at His Nativity but to receive Him on the cross and ultimately when He comes again to take us with Him for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Advent - Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House
12/4/20225 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Introit: Psalm 105:4–8; antiphon: Isaiah 40:3bDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11; 1 Peter 5:1-14“Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered… He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.” (Psalm 105)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I promise. Have you ever said those words before? Did you mean them or did you say them because that was what was expected of you? Our words, our promises, often fall flat. We don’t mean them, we break them, we put all sorts of stipulations on them. Thankfully, God’s words and promises are not carelessly spoken. When God makes a promise, God follows through with His promise. Of all the promises that God has made, they all stem from a singular promise, that of Jesus: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). That promise set the tone for God and His creation. Could God have left creation in its state of sin? Yes, He could, but He wouldn’t, He couldn’t. God had created man so that man would live with Him forever. Satan had made that an impossibility. God would do something to make sure that that would not happen. There, God made a promise, a promise made not only to Satan but a promise made to man as well. That promise was for salvation.God’s promise made is a promise fulfilled.  Psalm 105, gives thanks for God’s faithfulness to the covenant He made with Abraham, a covenant which said that Abraham would be the father of many nations. How does that covenant relate to God’s promise of salvation? In both instances, God makes and God keeps a promise. God’s promise is a promise made to you and for you; but not just for you but for all of creation. This promise is one that will bring the blessings which God desires for all people - blessings that bring life for all who believe, the forgiveness of sins, and life for all believers in Christ.This promise is for a thousand generations. To put that into perspective, there are 76 generations between Adam and Jesus. What does that mean for us? It means that God’s promises, His blessings, His Word extends beyond the generations to all of creation, in every time and every place. His promises are not reserved for a select few but are intended for all. In turn, that means that His salvation is intended for all as well. His promise of salvation is for you, now and forevermore. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Blessing on the Word)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/3/20224 minutes, 56 seconds
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Friday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Romans 13:8-14Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 8:9-9:7; 1 Peter 4:1-19“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul gives a great summary of the Second Table of the Law and how one loves their neighbor. This isn’t the easiest thing for us to do; in fact, it’s impossible for us to do. However, Jesus has come and has kept the Law, all of it, in our place. He has kept the First Table with regard to God and has kept the Second Table with regard to our neighbor. Jesus has shown love, great love, the greatest love to us, His redeemed brothers and sisters.St. Paul tells us that the hour for us to wake up has come. The reason for that is important - salvation is near. As we embark on this Advent journey, we draw ever closer to God’s promise of salvation coming to fruition. We see the great love of God for us in that He sends us Jesus. Because we cannot keep God’s Law, salvation by the Law is not possible. In fact, the Law can do nothing but condemn. Man failed to keep God’s Law in the Garden and sin was the result. From that moment on, keeping the Law was not possible. Because we could not keep the Law, God sends Jesus as the only one who can keep the Law. He keeps the Law perfectly in order to make full satisfaction for our sins. So that you do not have to face God’s all-consuming wrath for sin, Jesus comes into creation and makes the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. He comes into creation and becomes one with creation, one of creation, in order to redeem creation. It’s hard to imagine that an ordinary-looking baby born to average parents could be the fulfillment of God’s promise. What’s even harder to imagine is that this baby will grow to be a man who has a date with the cross. Jesus comes to fulfill the Law in its entirety. What we could not do, Jesus does. As Paul says, “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10).That is what Jesus does, He fulfills the Law. He shows the greatest act of love by standing in our place. Even more, He dies in our place. He dies and you live. There is no greater act of love than that someone lay down his life for his friends, of which you and I are counted (John 15:13). Salvation is near, near to you as the promise comes to you in the manger. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be, Himself a servant’s form puts on To set His servants free.” (The Advent of Our King, LSB 331:2)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison GoodmanStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/2/20224 minutes, 27 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism, Table of Duties: To Bishops, Pastors, PreachersDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 7:10-8:8; 1 Peter 3:1-22“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” - Titus 1:9 (Table of Duties: To Bishops, Pastors, Preachers)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you know why your pastor does what he does? Do you know why he preaches what he preaches? It’s because God has called him to an Office to do one thing (actually, more than this, but especially this): preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what he does, week in and week out. And the best part: he does this for you! That’s right, he preaches that Gospel message for you, that you may hear of the Good News of Jesus, that He has come into creation, to live among creation, to die for creation, and to rise again for creation.It might not seem like that’s a hard thing to do, to preach the Gospel, but rest assured, it’s harder than it seems. The world is very hostile to the Gospel of Jesus. The world doesn’t like what your pastor has to say because he might hurt their feelings or say something that they don’t agree with. But that’s what he said he would do, to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” (2 Timothy 4:2).The reason why this is so important is because it is Jesus who saves. Preaching Jesus is preaching salvation. And so, your pastor buries his nose in the Scriptures in order to proclaim the sweet words of salvation, that your sins have been forgiven for Christ’s sake. He does this because God has called him to do so, to bring Jesus to a people who are hurting, who are dealing with the messiness of life, so that they may be comforted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ for them and their sins.There is no greater joy for a pastor than to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that all who hear it would believe and receive the salvation which Christ has won for us. Remember your pastor, pray for your pastor, that he may faithfully preach the Word of God to you and to all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and gracious God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You have commanded us to pray that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest. Of Your infinite mercy give us true teachers and ministers of Your Word who truly fulfill Your command and preach nothing contrary to Your holy Word. Grant that we, being warned, instructed, nurtured, comforted, and strengthened by Your holy Word, may do those things which are well pleasing to You and profitable for our salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for the Increase of the Holy Ministry)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison GoodmanStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
12/1/20224 minutes, 28 seconds
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St. Andrew, Apostle

Today's Reading: John 1:35-42aDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9; 1 Peter 2:13-25“[Andrew] first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).” (John 1:41)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John has an early encounter with two of his disciples and Jesus. John confesses, not only to the disciples but to all, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” With such a great confession of who Jesus is, how could anyone miss it? Sadly, many missed not only John’s announcement of Jesus but also Jesus Himself! However, one of John’s disciples heard that pronouncement and sought Jesus - the apostle Andrew. The first apostle of Jesus, he found his brother Peter and declared to him, “We have found the Messiah.”Andrew’s declaration to Peter is just as important today as it was then, if not more important. Today, our focus grows ever more increasing on God’s promise of a Savior coming to fruition. It’s not a matter of wanting a Savior (because we don’t due to sin), but needing a Savior. We need Jesus to be who John says He is - the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Our sinfulness keeps us from God. Our sinfulness makes us an enemy of God and being an enemy of God only ends with death. God is not content with death and makes the promise of Jesus. As time passes by, more and more of God’s promise is revealed until John makes the startling revelation that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Andrew takes that revelation and expands on the fact that He is the Messiah.The Messiah has come and we await His glorious return on the Last Day where He will take all believers to be with Him in heaven forever. Until that Day comes, we continue to look forward to the day of our Lord’s Nativity where He comes to us in the most unlikely of ways - a baby born to unsuspecting parents.What Andrew proclaims to Peter continues to resonate with us today, that we have found God’s promised Savior, Jesus, the Messiah. We have found Him in the manger. We have found Him in His Word and in the bread and the wine and the water. We have found Him on the cross and we find Him as He is risen from the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, by Your grace the apostle Andrew obeyed the call of Your Son to be a disciple. Grant us also to follow the same Lord Jesus Christ in heart and life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen, (Collect for St. Andrew)- Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison GoodmanStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/30/20224 minutes, 18 seconds
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Noah

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 5:1-25; 1 Peter 2:1-12“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you know the difference between good and evil? What’s the definition of good? What’s the definition of evil? Who decided what is good and what is evil? Those are important questions in our world today. The difference between good and evil is defined by who is asking the question. We tend to come up with a definition that fits our wants and needs in a particular moment; what is deemed good today may be deemed evil tomorrow and vice versa.That’s the kind of response you would expect from a world vantage point. But what about from a godly vantage point? What does God say is good? What does God say is evil? How do you reconcile the two?In our sinful and fallen world, we have defined good and evil with definitions that are acceptable to us. However, what is acceptable to us does not always mean it is acceptable to God. That’s where we differ from God. God has a clear definition of what good and evil are and are not. During the time of Noah, man had become so evil that God was sorry that He had created man. Man clearly called evil good and paid the price for it. God destroyed creation for its sinfulness. However, Genesis records, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8)What Noah did exactly to find favor in the eyes of God is not said. Despite all the evil that creation had done, God found favor in Noah. Despite all the evil that creation continues to do to this day, God has found favor in another. God finds favor in Jesus. Jesus keeps the Law. Jesus does not sin. There is no evil to be found in Jesus. In turn, God finds favor in you. God finds favor in you because you are clothed with Christ’s righteousness. God finds favor in you because you have been forgiven all of your sins for Christ’s sake. What was once declared to be good and very good quickly turned to evil and the effects were devastating. Through Jesus, evil has been turned to good once again, and thanks be to God, that applies to us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. Grant that we may be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, so that with all believers in Your promise, we would be declared worthy of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Noah)-Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison GoodmanStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/29/20224 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5 Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 2:1-22; 1 Peter 1:13-25“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s that time of the year, the Church Year, that is. It’s that time to reflect upon the Advent, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Advent is that strange time of the Church Year when it’s a bit somber and joyful and hopeful at the same time.When you go back to the time of Isaiah, the people were not the greatest. Isaiah begins his book by saying, “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.” (Isaiah 1:4) That’s not how anyone should want to be referred to, especially the children of God. But that’s who they were - a sinful nation. These people desperately needed God, but they had forsaken Him. But this goes beyond them, it goes back to Adam and Eve.Adam and Eve had the privilege of being with God, the way that God had intended. Due to the craftiness of the serpent, sin found its way into the Garden and everything fell apart. When everything fell apart, so did the people. They turned to their own ways, sinful ways. They forgot about God. They forsook God. God became irrelevant. Though the people forgot about God, God did not forget about them. Eventually, God’s people saw their need for God and proclaimed their desire to go to the house of the God of Jacob. Their intent: that he may teach them and they would talk in his paths.That’s where our Lord’s Advent comes into play. God comes in human flesh for the forsaken. God comes in human flesh for the sin-corrupt people, His people. God comes in human flesh for you. One has to ask the question of why God would do this if His people had forsaken Him. He does this because He has created them, and has created you. He does this because they have sinned because you have sinned. He does this so they may be “ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)Where God’s people decide to go up to God, God decides to come to them, to keep a promise made long before them. Jesus is coming; He is coming for them and He is coming for you, that you may be His redeemed children. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, as we prepare for Your coming Advent, prepare our hearts to receive You, that You may teach us Your ways and that we may walk in Your paths to life everlasting; who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/28/20224 minutes, 55 seconds
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The First Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Matthew 23:36-4; Introit Psalm 118:25–28; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9bDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 1:1-28; 1 Peter 1:1-12“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s the beginning of Advent, the preparatory season before Christmas. We know that Christmas is all about the keeping of God’s promise to send a Savior to creation. That promise was made to Adam and Eve. That promise was made to the people of the Old Testament. That promise was made to you and to me. But there was one slight problem with God’s promise: He never said when that promise would be fulfilled.People throughout time have tried to predict the coming of Jesus, whether it be His initial coming to creation or His Second Coming. But all of those guesses are wrong. God has the time in mind: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law…” (Galatians 4:4) For whatever reason, God chose not to reveal that to His creation. In the end, it doesn’t matter when God’s promised Savior comes; what matters is that God made the promise!It is for you that God made the promise of a Savior. Sin was not meant to be a part of creation. And so, for creation, God made and God kept the promise. As for the timing of God’s promise, that was known only to God. When God made the promise to Adam and Eve, He never told them when it would be fulfilled. In fact, not even Jesus knew when His coming would occur. In the end, our Lord’s coming was not a surprise. It was an event in which God had foretold His people. As for the timing, why was this not revealed as well? Again, Jesus tells us, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” God’s people, wherever and whenever, are called to be ready to receive Jesus whenever He comes, for when He comes, He comes with that which we need the most: the forgiveness of our sins.As we begin the season of Advent, may our eyes ever be turned to Jesus, ready to welcome Him, as He fulfills God’s promise of salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent) -Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.Audio Reflections Speaker: Harrison Goodman.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/27/20224 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 6:1-28; Revelation 22:1-21“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4–5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The church year ends, and the church year begins anew. One day is in the last week of the church year and the next is in the first week of Advent. In fact, the church year ends the same way that it begins, waiting for the savior. The cry of Maranatha can be a prayer for Jesus to come as well as a declaration that He has come. This is the reality of our lives lived between the comings of Jesus. We declare that He has come in the incarnation, and we await His second coming at the end.This makes the end of the church year different from the end of the calendar year. The end of a calendar year is treated as a time to take stock, to reflect, and to plan. A new calendar year is seen as a chance to start fresh. There is even the temptation to try and become a new you in the new year.       A new church year, on the other hand, is a time to pray for more of the same. We pray for God to keep us in His Word. We pray for Him to keep us in the faith. We pray for Him to continue to guide us in the way that leads to eternal life. While we wait for Him to return, we pray for Him to remain with us and continue to give us His gifts. A church year that was for you has come to an end; a new church year that is for you begins. The Jesus who was born of Mary is the Jesus who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He is the Jesus who was raised on the third day and later ascended into heaven. He is the Jesus who is with you now as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and is the Jesus that you wait for. Amen, Come Lord Jesus.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What joy to know, when life is past, the Lord we love is first and last, the end and the beginning!He will one day, oh, glorious grace, Transport us to that happy place beyond all years and sinning! Amen! Amen!  Come, Lord Jesus! Crown of gladness! We are yearning for the day of Your returning! (O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright, LSB 395 st 6)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/26/20226 minutes, 3 seconds
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Friday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 5:1-30; Revelation 21:9-27“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just when the description of the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven gets really good, you learn that there is a catch. The only people allowed to enter it are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It’s almost as if the city is guarded by a guy with a clipboard who checks to see if your name is on the list before he lets you go past the red velvet rope. What can you do to make sure that your name is on the list? How do you get your name written in the book? Variations on this question have been posed throughout the centuries of church history, but the answers always seem to fall into the same category: there is something that you must do to get your name written in the book. What you have to do has some variation, sometimes the focus is on actions, sometimes the focus is on knowledge, and sometimes the focus is on mystical experience. No matter where the emphasis is, however, it all comes down to something that you have to do to get your name written in the book. You are responsible for putting your name on the list. Ultimately these answers and even the question itself gets you nowhere. Any attempt to get beyond the red velvet rope based on your own efforts is doomed to fail. A place in the Lamb’s book of life is not something that you earn, it’s something that is given. Being on the list is a gift. It is the Lamb’s book of life, and He does all the writing in it. He wrote your name in His book with His own blood. Nothing unclean will enter the city and you have already been made clean by Jesus himself. Your name was written in the book when he said, “it is finished” on the cross. You remain clean every time you remember your baptism, your place in the city is affirmed in every celebration of communion. There is no catch. The city itself and your citizenship in it are the gifts of God for you. Your booking is confirmed.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My Savior paid the debt I owe And for my sins was smitten; Within the Book of Life I know My name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, And Satan cannot threaten me; There is no condemnation! (The Day is Surely Drawing Near, LSB 508 st 5)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/25/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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Thursday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 4:1-37; Revelation 21:1-8“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does where you live have anything to do with who you are? For a lot of people, it does. They are proud citizens of whatever town, city, or state they live in; it is part of their identity. They like to participate in the public life of their community.  Imagine if being a Christian impacted that part of your identity and you could no longer participate in the public life of your community. Imagine a place no longer being part of who you are. Imagine not being able to go out to eat, go to the big game, or even get a job. Imagine being told that you were a nobody simply because you were a Christian. This was the reality for many of the first Christians. The city they lived in was a large part of their identity. Citizenship came with expectations and responsibilities. There was even a religious aspect to everyday activities like shopping, working, or even attending public events that involved the worship of false gods. Those who became Christians no longer did such things, and this meant that they lost part of their identity. They could no longer participate in the public life of their city. Believers were even accused of being bad citizens. They were accused of being enemies of the very cities they lived in. Some even found themselves wondering who they were. This remains true in many parts of the world today where being a Christian comes at a severe social and economic cost. The Book of Revelation offers comfort to Christians facing that kind of identity crisis. It reminds them that they do have a place-based identity, they are citizens of the new Jerusalem come down from heaven. It reminds them that even though they live in a hostile world, they still have a place that is theirs. You too share in this identity. No matter where you find yourself in this world that is passing away, you are a citizen of the new Jerusalem. The city that will someday come down out of heaven is your city. The water of life that washed you in baptism will be yours to drink. No matter where you are from, the City of God is where you are going.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See the holy city! There they enter in, All by Christ made holy, Washed from ev’ry sin: Thirsty ones, desiring All He loves to give, Come for living water, Freely drink and live! (Christ is Surely Coming, LSB 509 st 2)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/24/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Wednesday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 5Daily Lectionary: Daniel 3:1-30; Revelation 20:1-15But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Small Catechism Sacrament of the Altar, part 5) In the Name + of Jesus. Are you cool enough to commune? That seems like a silly question, but sometimes that is what it sounds like is being referred to when we talk about being worthy to receive the body and blood of the Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. Is that what really lies behind the notion of being worthy to commune? Is admittance to the table based on some kind of ecclesiastical coolness factor and if it is, you want to be cool, don’t you?The language about worth makes it sound like there is something that you can do to make yourself worthy to receive communion. If this was the case, then communion would be the reward you got for being properly prepared for it. It would be the recognition that you had made yourself worthy. The Lord’s Supper would become the meal that you earned through your efforts. You did your part, now God is bound to do His. If worthiness to commune was based on your efforts how many times a year could you do the work necessary to commune?Thankfully this is not what the language of worthy to commune is referring to. There is no coolness factor, ecclesiastical or otherwise that you have to worry about or work towards. Communion, like baptism, like the gospel itself, is not a reward, it is a gift. Communion is not something that you earn the right to receive by making yourself worthy. Like all gifts, it is something that is given. You don’t get communion; you receive it as a gift. If communion is a gift, then so too is the status of being worthy to receive it. Belief in the words ‘given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins is what makes you worthy to commune. The belief that the Lord’s Supper is for you is all you need to approach the altar week after week without worry or fear that you are unworthy. The very faith that makes you worthy to receive the gifts of God is in itself a gift of God. He is the one who made you a Christian and He is the one who has made you worthy to commune. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We dare not ask how this can be, But simply hold the mystery And trust this word where life begins: “Given and shed for all your sins.” (The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, LSB 634 st 5)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/23/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:24-49; Revelation 19:1-21“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8)In the Name + of Jesus. ‘No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.’ You’ve probably seen the signs in stores or restaurants but have never thought about the biblical truth behind the saying. Did you know that as Christians you have to be properly dressed for the second coming of Jesus? What does one wear to the eschaton? Luckily, you won’t need a new outfit for the Parousia. The same armor of God that you don for your everyday life as a Christian is all you need to wear for the day of the Lord. The breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation are something that you already have and something that you wear every day, you just know them by another name. They are the robes of righteousness given you in your baptism. In other words, they are your baptismal identity. God has already given you all that you need to be properly clothed for the second coming of His Son. This section of Thessalonians drips with baptismal language as Paul writes to Christians who needed to be reminded who they were. Members of the Thessalonian church were besieged by a hostile culture that caused them to question their very identity as Christians. Some even wondered about the fate of church members who died before Jesus returned. In response Paul reminds them who they are. They are children of the light; they have put on the armor of God. They are not destined for wrath. All this language came from the very liturgy that had been part of their baptisms. They are no longer what they were, they are no longer of the darkness, nor do they practice the pagan worship they used to. Not even death changes the reality of baptismal identity. The dearly departed have the same promise as those who are alive.  What was true for them is also true for you. Your baptism changed you and you were given a new identity and you put on Christ Himself.  Clothed with Christ in baptism, you have nothing to fear from the end. It may come like a thief in the night, but the armor of God will keep you safe until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. AmenOnce in the blest baptismal waters I put on Christ and made Him mine; Now numbered with God’s sons and daughters, I share His peace and love divine (Once in the Blest Baptismal Waters LSB 598, st 1)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/22/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Monday of the Last Week of the Church Year

Today's Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:1-23; Revelation 18:1-24“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Dying and going to heaven is not the ultimate fate of the Christian. We are not promised a disembodied life floating on a cloud while playing a harp. To be sure there is life after death in the presence of Jesus. This is where all the dearly departed are even now as the Church in heaven waits for the full consummation of the kingdom of God. What the dearly departed are now experiencing, however, is only temporary. There is life after death and then there is life after life after death. There is the resurrection and an embodied life in the new heavens and new earth. This is the promise that awaits all of God’s people. This is the promise that awaits you. Your body is not to be escaped or shed; it is to be redeemed. The fix for broken creation, the fix for the fall into sin is a new creation. Before the fall God declared his creation good. God’s work of new creation has already begun. It started with the incarnation. It started with the coming of Jesus. The Creator Himself entered into His creation to make all things new. The healings and miracles of Jesus can all be seen as the response of creation to the presence of the Creator. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for all that was broken in creation. He took the punishment for the fall and changed the nature of death itself. Its rule over creation has been broken.  His resurrection signaled the inauguration of a new age where death has lost its sting. Creation remains fallen, but already the new age has dawned. You are part of God’s work of new creation. In baptism, you were created anew. You were washed clean in the water attached to the Word and made ready to live in the new heavens and new earth that are to come. Now you live as a new creation in a fallen world, you live as someone who is at the same time sinner and saint.  At the coming of the kingdom, you will be resurrected into a new heaven and a new earth, all saint and no sinner where nothing of the fall will come to mind.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O sweet and blessed country, The home of God’s elect! O sweet and blessed country That faithful hearts expect! In mercy, Jesus, bring us To that eternal rest With you and God the Father And Spirit, ever blessed. (Jerusalem the Golden LSB 672, st 4)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/21/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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The Last Sunday of the Church Year

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:1-13,  Introit: Ps. 39:4–5, 7– 8; antiphon: Is. 35:10Daily Lectionary: Daniel 1:1-21; Matthew 28:1-20“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How are you supposed to be prepared for the ending when you have no idea when the ending is coming? The ten virgins in our reading couldn’t even stay awake until midnight when they knew the bridegroom was on his way. Half of them didn’t even bring enough oil for their lamps. The parable comes to an end without letting us know what happened. Did the 5 foolish virgins gain entry to the celebration or not?  The Church has been waiting for Jesus to return for almost two thousand years, that is a lot of lamp oil.  Is that all the Christian life is, living in a constant state of wakeful watching? If your concentration slips for just a second, will you wake to find yourself on the wrong side of the door to the party? How do you make sure you have enough oil when you don’t know how long it will have to last?To make a long story short the oil for your lamp is a renewable resource and God is the one who keeps your supply topped off.  The resurrection of Jesus marked the inauguration of a new age that has not yet come to fulfillment. You are Christians for the long haul. This is a faith that can take you from cradle to grave. It is a faith for a lifetime. At the same time, it is faith that must be taken care of, faith that must be fed and nurtured. It is a faith that comes from hearing the word and receiving the sacraments. In other words, it is faith that needs oil so that its light does not sputter and die. Oil comes from the one baptism for the remission of sins, oil comes from the absolution, oil comes from the communion of the saints. Your lamp remains lit because God Himself tends the flame. The church is not a one and done kind of place. You are not left alone waiting. This is why we gather every week around the word of God and receive the gifts of God. We may not know when Jesus is coming back but because he has made us into his people and continues to be with us even unto the very end of the age, we will be ready when he comes back. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, absolve Your people from their offenses that, from the bonds of our sins which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon ourselves, we may be delivered by Your bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/20/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday of the Second-Last Week

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 38:1-28; Matthew 28:57-66“Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!” (Psalm 39:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “We’re all going to die!” is something you hear a character exclaim in a movie as the plane goes down, the ship sinks, or the building explodes. More often than not, in many movies, these words are used as comic relief as if the notion of death is something to be laughed at. Truth be told, death is no joke. It is the one thing that we all have in common. Someday each of us will die. The end of the church year offers us the perfect opportunity to reflect on all things eschatological including the end of our own lives. At first glance, the words of Psalm 39 that make up the Introit might seem to offer no help. They describe our lives as fleeting, nothing but a few handbreadths. No matter how many years we have, our lifetimes are nothing before God. If our lives are nothing, then do they mean anything? If death is what awaits us all after a life that puts a breath before God what is the point?   As it turns out, death is not the end of the world. Death is not final, death is not the end, and even if our earthly lives are nothing before God, we are something before God. In other words, your death is not the end of you. God has seen to it that you continue after death. Here is the truth of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus for you. You were baptized into the death of Jesus and now He is your hope. Death did not hold Jesus, and death will not hold you. Jesus conquered death on the cross and he will lead you through death to eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth that awaits us all. Your life may be a few handbreadths before God, but it is not the only life that you have.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christ, who shared our mortal life And ended death’s long reign, Who healed the sick and raised the dead And bore our grief and pan: We know our years on earth are few, That death is always near. Come now t us, O Lord of Life; Bring hope that conquers fear. (O Christ, Who Shared Our Mortal Life LSB 552, st 1) -Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/19/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Friday of the Second-Last Week

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 37:1-21; Matthew 27:33-56“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When Jesus speaks these words from the cross, he is doing more than making a cry of lament. The words he speaks would have been recognized by those witnessing his crucifixion as coming from Psalm 22.  This means that He is not just complaining to God. In speaking these words, Jesus is bringing the entire psalm into play. This lament, in the mouth of Jesus, becomes a way to understand the cross itself. With these words, Jesus shows that the psalm is about Him. Even more than being about Him, Psalm 22 is spoken by Him. Psalm 22 starts with a lament, but it does not end there. The psalm quickly moves from the questioning of God to a declaration of confidence in salvation and the future of God’s people. In other words, Jesus does not lament in despair but in faith. His suffering is real, but so is His expectation that the suffering serves a purpose. He is forsaken, but He will not remain forsaken. And because He is forsaken no one else needs ever be forsaken. Because He was forsaken you will not be forsaken. The speaker of Psalm 22 describes His suffering, the mocking of the people, the piercing of His hands and feet, and even the casting of lots for his clothes. He also speaks of the deliverance of God, the comforting of the afflicted, and all the nations of the earth worshiping the Lord. Out of the suffering of the one comes salvation for all. In the midst of his crucifixion, Jesus gives us a way to understand it. He gives us a way to see in the cross victory and not defeat. He gives us a way to see in His cross, His glory.  The forsakenness of Jesus becomes a message to future generations that will be added to the people of God. The psalm that begins with lament ends with a proclamation of hope. “Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.” (Psalm 22: 30-31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Can we fathom such deep mercy? Do we see what God has done? Who can grasp this great reversal: Love that gives His only Son? Christ, the sinless for the sinners, For the many dies the One. (Jesus, Greatest at the Table LSB 446 st 4)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/18/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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Thursday of the Second-Last Week

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 33:1-22; Matthew 27:11-32“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:15–16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. High school might seem like the perfect preparation for the end of the world. After all, each semester is eschatological in nature. At the end of every academic term, you are judged and must prove your worth to move on. You take exams to prove your righteousness, and your worthiness, to advance to the next class or even the next school year. This is especially true in your senior year where you have to prove you’re righteous enough to leave high school while at the same proving that you are righteous enough to be let into whatever is next in your life. Your grades, your extra-curricular activities, and your accomplishments are all judged by those with your future in their hands.Some think that the end of the world seems to be very similar in nature. On the last day you will be judged, and your eternal fate will depend on your righteousness. All of the stuff that you have done will be used to determine what kind of afterlife you move on to. That is a fully frightening thought. Imagine being in the presence of God with nothing but your works, your thoughts, and your sins in your admission packet. This would be like taking the final for a class you never attended, never did the reading, and didn’t even know you were in. Thankfully what is true for high school is not true for the Kingdom of God. The righteousness you have now, the righteousness by which you have already been judged is not yours. You have been given the righteousness of Christ Himself. The Lord is your righteousness and because of that, you have nothing to fear from the end. The righteousness needed to move from this world to the next is not an earned righteousness, it is gifted righteousness. It is a righteousness that God has given to you because of Jesus. You have nothing to fear from the judgment to come because Jesus already experienced that judgment for you on the cross. There he exchanged your sins for His righteousness. The end will come but you are already saved, and you will dwell securely. For you, there will be no final exam.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.May we in faith its message learn Nor thanklessly its blessing spurn; May we in faith its truth confess And praise the Lord, our righteousness. (The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace LSB 580 st 6)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/17/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second-Last Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 31:1-17,23-34; Matthew 27:1-10“Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.” (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does your diet define you? Do you eat to live or live to eat? The answer to those questions probably depends on what you are eating and why. Some meals are celebrations while others are merely fuel stops to keep you going. We eat a variety of things for a variety of reasons often without thinking too much about it. Regular family dinners, holiday meals, burgers from the drive-thru, and even the last stale pop-tart from the back of the pantry can be part of what we eat on any given day. No matter the what or the why this kind of eating is mainly about our bodily life. For better or worse, what we eat has an effect on our physical health. The Sacrament of the Altar, on the other hand, is a completely different kind of eating. Here is a meal that delivers far more than nutrition.  It has even been called the medicine of immortality. This eating is about our spiritual life. Here is a meal that strengthens faith and forgives sins. Here is a meal that is specifically given to and for the Christian. This is the meal of the baptized. This is a meal that is God’s gift to you. This is a meal where God serves you. Communion is not something that you do, it is something that you receive. This is a meal where Jesus himself is present giving Himself to you. Here is a place where what happened on the cross for all is applied to you personally. What makes this eating so special? This is a meal instituted by Christ for his followers. This is a meal that combines the elements with the Word and promise of God. This is a meal where in and under the bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This is a meal that benefits you in the here and now while at the same time serving as a foretaste of the feast to come.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy body, given for me, O Savior, Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed, These are my life and strength forever, By them my hungry soul is fed. Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! (Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior LSB 619 st 1)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/16/20226 minutes, 42 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second-Last Week

Today's Reading: 2 Peter 3:3-14Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 30:1-24; Matthew 26:57-75“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Inigo Montoya put it best in The Princess Bride when he said, “I hate waiting.” Waiting is torture, waiting is terrible. Even worse than waiting are those that make people wait. Dinner is ready, but one guest has yet to show up. Everyone is ready to walk out the door, but someone is still getting dressed. In each of these cases, anger and frustration are directed at those causing us to wait. They are the problem, they are rude, and they are only concerned with themselves. What if God is the one you are waiting for? Jesus promises in the gospels that He is coming back, in Revelation he even says that He is coming soon. Yet here the Church sits two thousand-plus years later still waiting. Peter even warns us that this waiting will cause scoffers to question all the promises of God. Can God really be for you? Is He making you wait like this? Does a God who never shows up even exist? Should the fact that Jesus has not returned yet cause you to question your faith?Is God being rude? Is he punishing you with this seemingly endless waiting or is something else going on? Waiting on God is not like waiting for a guest to arrive or for someone to get ready. What some people think is a delay in the return of Christ is actually part of God’s mercy. God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. In other words, Jesus has not come back in part because He was waiting on you to be part of His people. In addition, He is waiting for all the others who will be part of the uncountable multitude that is the Church. This waiting is not an individual activity, it is a group activity. You don’t wait on God so much as we, the Church, wait on God. While we wait God will continue to serve His gifts and His people will continue to serve their neighbors.At some point, the waiting will be over and we will all dwell in the new heavens and new earth where there will be all righteousness and no waiting.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone, Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. (O God, Our Help in Ages Past LSB 733, st 4)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/15/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Monday of the Second-Last Week

Today's Reading: Daniel 7:9-14Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 29:1-19; Matthew 26:36-56“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At the end of a movie, the credits roll and the screen goes dark, signaling the end of the story. At the end of a book, there is nothing after you get to the back cover, there are no more pages to turn. What about the end of the world? What happens after the end times?  Movies and books now come in multi-part series; will human history get a sequel? Many in the ancient world thought that history was cyclical and without meaning. Times were good and times were bad in a never-ending cycle that wasn’t headed anywhere. In other words, they didn’t ask about the next story because there was no story to begin with. The Bible teaches us that human history has a beginning and an end. Even better than that history has a planned end, a telos, a goal that God is moving it towards. This means that the end does not mean that the story is over. This means that we get more than a sequel, more than a continuation of the narrative. What awaits us is life in the everlasting dominion of the one like a son of man. This will be life as it was meant to be, life without the consequences of the fall. Life in the very presence of the Creator; life that will never end. This is the life that Christ obtained for you through his death on the cross. Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil for you, and even now you are citizens in His everlasting dominion. This life is not all that there is. There is more to come and what is to come includes you. You have a place in God’s kingdom because He sent Jesus to secure it for you. This life and this world will come to its conclusion, but you will continue to the world without end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ sits at God’s right hand, His saving work complete, To reign till ev’ry foe will lie Beneath His feet—All that the Father planned, The Son sought to fulfill, When first He said, “Lord, here am I To do Your will.” (“Christ Sits at God’s Right Hand” LSB 564, st. 1)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/14/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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The Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:31-46, Introit: Ps. 85:1, 7, 9, 11; antiphon: Jeremiah 29:11a, 12Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 26:1-19; Matthew 26:20-35“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’” (Matthew 25:37–39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The end of the church year focuses on the eschatological judgment of God, and where there is judgment language, there is also talk of good works. Good works can be the third rail of Lutheran theology. We say that words like ‘necessary,’ ‘should,’ and ‘must’ can be used when speaking of the relation between Christians and good works. At the same time, we also reject the language that good works are necessary for salvation or that salvation cannot happen without them (FC Ep IV). If that wasn’t confusing enough, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats shows us that good works are also invisible. Neither those on the left nor the right are aware of their works. The sheep wonder when they did them while the goats ask when they didn’t do them. This is because good works, strictly speaking, are not something that we do. Good works are the result of God working in us. In other words, good works arise naturally in the believer because of God’s actions in them. God is both the source and the doer of your good works. Your good works began with God working on you in the waters of Baptism, and your good works continue as you live out your baptismal identity. They continue as you fulfill the various vocations that God has given you.They are largely invisible because you have been freed from having to count them, track them, or keep any kind of record of them. You don’t have to pile up good works like extra-curricular activities for a college application. Good works flow from faith. They do not lead to it.  This is the truth of what Christ did for you on the cross. Without faith in Christ, no work is good. With faith in Christ, even the most mundane action can become a good work that only God can see. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in you, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of the end of all things and the day of Your just judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with Your forever hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/13/20226 minutes, 42 seconds
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Saturday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second-Last Sunday of the Church YearDaily Lectionary: Jeremiah 25:1-18; Matthew 26:1-19“Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky” (Ps. 85:11).In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is a remarkable Scripture passage. Ps. 85 is a cry from God’s people for His blessing. Reminding God of His previous good favor for His undeserving people, the psalmist remembers how God restored the fortunes of Jacob (meaning His people, Israel) at times in their history. When God brought destruction, enemy armies, famines and disease, God’s people were brought to their knees to repent of their sins. But then they trusted in the Word of hope that the prophets brought. This cry of repentance moved God’s heart at times past, and He spared His people and brought them blessings. Even if it didn’t always seem like a blessing at the time.Today, the psalmist also reminds us about the nature of faithfulness. Faithfulness, he says, “springs up from the ground.” This is partly a reminder of Gen. 2. When God made the first man, He fashioned Adam out of the dust and dirt. Then breathing in His Holy Spirit, the man became a living person. In that sense, Adam also “sprang up from the ground.” The fact that Ps. 85 uses this language suggests it has Gen. 2 in mind. Faithfulness is created. It is not something that we can make or help make. We are on the receiving end of coming to faith. God the Holy Spirit is the creator of faith, just as He first brought Adam’s lifeless body to new life that had been made from the dirt.Faithfulness springs up from the ground. That’s because God grows it. He plants the seed of the Word in hearts, and brings the hearers to faith as they grow up in the Word. Faithfulness is created. It is therefore a gift of God. Meanwhile, Ps. 85 also says that “righteousness looks down from the sky.” God’s righteousness means being right with God. This happens by the Gospel that does not charge your sins against you, but counts you as pure and innocent despite them. Now that Jesus is ascended into heaven, God’s righteousness also looks down on you from heaven. For God’s righteousness is found in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit takes this righteousness and presses it to you. He applies it, taking Christ and His righteousness from heaven, and by the means of grace bringing Jesus to you on earth. By this He sustains you even in times of hardship as well as good times. Faithfulness springs up from the ground. Righteousness looks down from the sky. Remarkable. But that’s always how God is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, look upon Your people with favor on account of Christ, and sustain us in faithfulness.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/12/20226 minutes, 46 seconds
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Friday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:31-46Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:21-40; Matthew 25:31-46“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” (Mt. 25:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats can be confusing. This parable is about judgment day, when all people have to stand before Jesus and be judged. But Jesus will not welcome many to eternal life and salvation. Many will go to eternal death and condemnation.Who can be saved? In Mt. 25, it seems like Jesus is saying that salvation comes by doing enough good works. He praises those who fed Him, clothed Him, visited Him, etc. But He condemns many who thought they had done enough good works and tells them He never knew them. If you have to rely on your works to be saved, you will never be certain of your salvation. You will doubt, because there’s always some sin in your history. Further, you won’t be able to be saved. No one has done enough, not you, not your pastor, no one. No one can be saved by doing enough works.  But the parable of the sheep and goats is not about salvation by works. It is about salvation through faith in Christ alone. How so? Jesus tells the sheep that they get to ‘inherit’ salvation. How does one inherit?  Not by works! Rather, one must be chosen by a person before he dies. Then after he dies, his will and testament announce that the heir can now receive the inheritance. For Christians, Jesus has chosen you out of great love to redeem you from your sins. He lived perfectly in your place, and gave His innocent life to die for your sins. But before He died, Jesus set up His will and testament – the new testament in His blood given at the Lord’s Supper. Here He offers you forgiveness, life and salvation. And His death for you makes that inheritance real. You can reject it in unbelief. You can reject this inheritance His death has provided. But, why would you want to? By this inheritance that you did not work for or earn, you receive eternal salvation. The good works Jesus mentions in Mt. 25 are the proof your faith in Christ was real. These works were evidence of faith, but not reasons why you can be saved. God be praised. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“I do not merit favor, Lord, My weight of sin would break me; In all my guilty heart’s discord, O Lord, do not forsake me. In my distress this comforts me That You receive me graciously, O Christ, my Lord of mercy!” (LSB 625:4; public domain)-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/11/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Thursday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-20Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:1-20; Matthew 25:14-30“I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today God teaches you why you have a pastor.  And that is, God gives you a pastor so that you might be spiritually cared for, that you wouldn’t be afraid, that you wouldn’t feel hopeless and that you wouldn’t wander off into grave danger.  Also that you wouldn’t be afraid of death and damnation, let alone fears of a hopeless future.  This is the task and the calling of pastors.  And they carry this task out especially as they teach you Holy Scripture, as they proclaim the Good News of Jesus to you, as they warn you and as they forgive you, as they offer the Body and Blood of Jesus to you in the Lord’s Supper.  These are the tools pastors use to care for God’s sheep, which includes you.In the prophet Jeremiah’s time, however, those who were tasked with the teaching and proclamation of God’s Word were false teachers.  They did not speak God’s Word but their own dreams and ideas.  These shepherds did not care for the people entrusted to them.  Their sermons were full of ideas of God’s peace.  However, they would not warn people away from their sins.  These false prophets made it seem like God loved sins and wanted people to continue in their sins.  Because of that, God’s anger was against the false prophets and the people who supported them.You are a sheep of God.  You are called to be His and to be loved by Him through the mouth of your pastor.  But you have to listen.  Listen to the Word.  Listen carefully.  Something is right and true not because even a pastor says it, but only if it agrees and confesses what God’s Word says.  However, your pastor also might say something that is from God’s Word, and you just weren’t aware of it.  If you hear something off in a sermon, politely ask him if he meant what you heard.  It could be that you just heard it wrong.What if you don’t have a pastor now?  What if your church is “vacant”?  Pray that God fulfills His promise in today’s passage.  Pray that God sends you a shepherd who will care for you, that you may not be afraid or dismayed.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, guard and keep us under the care of faithful pastors who proclaim Your Word purely and protect us even from dangers we don’t know.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/10/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 3Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 22:1-23; Matthew 25:1-13What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," shows us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (Small Catechism VI, Lord’s Supper, 3rd question)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is much benefit to taking the Lord’s Supper at your congregation. It may not seem like it. Don’t go by what it seems like. As with everything in the Lord’s Supper, what it seems like is not what it is. What it is, is what Jesus’ Word says. So close your eyes and open your ears, hearing the Word of the Lord. That Word today says, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’Forgiveness of sins is not a small, trivial matter. Forgiveness of sins is the difference between life and death. Now here one might object and say, ‘But I have forgiveness of sins without the Lord’s Supper!’ That may be, but remember what holds on to the forgiveness of sins – that is, faith. Faith is not an arrogant, stubborn attitude that objects to what God gives. Anyone who objects to what God wants to give should also look carefully at himself and ask himself if he even has faith. Because faith in Christ gladly receives what Jesus wants to give. Faith in Christ can never get enough of what Jesus wants to give, especially where the forgiveness of sins is concerned. Smug unbelief and arrogance, however, object to what Jesus gives. Smug unbelief and arrogance don’t want the forgiveness Jesus gives nor does an unbeliever think he needs that forgiveness. Thus, smug unbelief and arrogance will be condemned on the last day, no matter how many times that person says to Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord.’Jesus knows what you need more than you do. He sees clearly, your vision is distorted. So trust the One who died and rose, who also says His Supper is ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ Trust this Word and find spiritual comfort in it. By taking the Sacrament in faith and the same confession of the faith, you take this precious gift for your forgiveness and sanctification. Despite your sins, Jesus says this Sacrament is given for you. Trust Him then, and gladly receive.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“In these last days of great distress, Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness That we keep pure ‘til life is spent Your holy Word and Sacrament.” (LSB 585:2; text, copyright Concordia Publishing House, 1982)-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/9/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18; Matthew 24:29-51For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  (1 Thes. 4:16-17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ancient Rome had a unique way to celebrate a visit from the emperor. If the emperor was coming to a city for a state visit, watchmen would play trumpets to let the people of the city know the emperor had come. When they heard the trumpet blast, the people went out of the city walls to welcome the emperor.  Then they all processed back into the city, the people going along with the emperor and his men.Something like this is going to happen on the last day. But we have more than an earthly emperor who is coming. We have Jesus. He who died and is risen, who ascended and fills all things, who is the king of kings and lord of lords, He is coming! Like the ancient Romans, so believers also will go to meet the Lord as He is coming, and join with Him as He comes to earth in judgment. What Paul is describing in 1 Thes. 4 is not some kind of ‘holy hovering,’ but a welcoming party of believers for their long-awaited Lord.Why can you anticipate Jesus’ final coming with joy? It’s because He has redeemed you from your sins. Without faith in His Word, a person can only fear Christ’s coming, for He comes to judge the world and the people in it. Only through faith in God’s Word and promise can you have joy and confidence before Christ the judge. Not by your efforts, not by your cheery attitude or your abilities, not by anything that is in you can you have this confidence and boldness on the last day. The only way to welcome Jesus without fear is trusting His Word of absolution. You stand forgiven on account of what He has done. Because of that, you gladly await the heavenly trumpet so that you might welcome Jesus and join Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen“Come, O Christ, and loose the chains that bind us; Lead us forth and cast this world behind us. With You, the Anointed, Finds the soul its joy and rest appointed.! (LSB 679:5).-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/8/20225 minutes, 52 seconds
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Monday of the Third-Last Week

Today's Reading: Exodus 32:1-20Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 11:1-23; Matthew 24:1-28“And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’  (Ex. 32:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A translation issue from the original Hebrew helps unlock this text, and an archaeological discovery helps too.  The translation issue is this – the Hebrew word for “God” is in the plural.  This means the Hebrew translator has to decide if the text is talking about God or false gods when he sees the same word (Elohim).  In Ex. 32:4, it should be, ‘This is your god.’  There was only one golden calf Aaron made, so how could he say that was multiple gods? That makes no linguistic sense at all.  Instead, Aaron built the calf and said this was Israel’s God.  It’s just that he was wrong.An archaeological issue also unlocks Ex. 32.  Carvings have been discovered of ancient idols standing on the backs of animals, usually bulls or lions. Idolaters thought that their (false) gods had power over these creatures if they stood on their backs.  Notice, Aaron does not make a graven image standing on the calf.  There’s nothing but empty air there.  That’s because God commanded that He should not be made into idol form.  Aaron was careful to follow that word.  But Aaron also borrowed pagan religious practices for God’s worship.  Apparently, Aaron thought the substance of the true God’s worship would stay the same, even if the style changed to be more relevant to his day. But this blended worship angered God.God’s worship should never be designed by popular opinion poll, or what we think relates to sinners best.  That’s because we are sinners in need of salvation we cannot come up with.  God alone has won salvation for us in His Son Jesus, by His death for our sins.  And God delivers this salvation by the Word of the Gospel and the sacraments.  Worship practices are to correspond to this. The historic liturgy does correspond to this.  The worship of the historical Lutheran church is based chiefly on what conforms to the Word of God and its doctrine best.  God is the God who justifies sinners freely on account of Jesus’ death.  In worship, we come on holy ground, and leave the infatuations of our pleasure-seeking world at the door.  Lutheran worship is not bound to this time. It is timeless. And that all makes it good.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, guide our worship that we do not anger You by conforming it to what this evil world thinks is best, and grant that we may be Christ-centered and counter-cultural in worship.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/7/20226 minutes, 36 seconds
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The Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year

Today's Reading: Matthew 24_15-28,  Introit:Ps. 130:1–2, 7–8; antiphon: Ps. 130:3–4Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 8:18-9:12; Matthew 23:13-39“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”  (Mt. 24:23-24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This passage from Mt. 24 is often read as if Jesus was meaning it only for those of His time.  In the 1st century, when many Jews were expecting God’s Messiah (or Christ) to appear, some falsely proclaimed themselves as that promised savior.  And Jesus rightly warned His hearers to not follow those other guys, because they were frauds.  So this did apply then.But Jesus also warns us today.  For there are false christs today too.  Today, false christs tend to go by the same name as the true Christ: Jesus.  One church proclaims Jesus as a social radical who now teaches that sin is no longer sinful.  One church preaches a Jesus who will make you financially wealthy if you believe enough.  One church proclaims Jesus as a cheerleader who gets you to do enough good works to enter heaven.  Still another church says that Jesus has done His part to save you, but the rest is up to you now.  All of these are false christs.  So if anyone says, “Look, Christ is here in this church,” but the pastor proclaims these false doctrines?  He is pointing you to a different guy than the savior we know, a false christ.  It’s just that their false savior also happens to have the same name as our true savior.The true Christ is the One who saves sinners as a free gift.  The true Christ is the sacrifice whose gory bloodshed and disturbing death is your peace.  The true Christ is a physician for the afflicted and tormented soul, but He has nothing to give those who think they are already well without Him.  The true Christ is risen from the dead and sits at God’s right hand.  The true Christ washes sins away by the water of Baptism and adopts those baptized into God’s family.  The true Christ gives His body to eat in and under the consecrated bread, and His blood to drink in and under the consecrated wine.  The true Christ is the Shepherd of lost sheep.  God be praised.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/6/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the 20th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third-Last Sunday of the Church YearDaily Lectionary: Jeremiah 7:1-29; Matthew 23:1-12“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Ps. 130:3-4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A guilty conscience cannot hide.  Try as one might, God sees what is done in secret.  He knows the secrets of man’s heart.  He threatens a wrathful judgment against any who is charged with sin.  Adam and Eve in Gen. 3 could not hide from God.  They stood before Him ashamed as God cursed them for listening to the devil’s word.  Likewise, if you try to hide your sins from God, you cannot.  You will have to give an account of your sinful thoughts, words, actions, and the good that you failed to do.But who then can stand before God’s awful throne of judgment?  No one.  Not you.  Not the most moral person you know.  Not even the psalmist who wrote Ps. 130.  While Adam and Eve did technically stand before God when He cursed them, it was more like cowering instead of actual standing.  To stand before God in Ps. 130 means to stand with boldness and confidence.With God there is forgiveness.  For with God is His Son Jesus whom He sent to take your place.  Your iniquities and sins were not marked against you but against Him.  Jesus, God and Man, lived perfectly in your place, and gave His innocent life for your sins.  Whatever is deserving of condemnation in you, Jesus took as His own to give you a righteousness that was His own.  His blood was shed for you.  Jesus suffered God’s wrath so that you might stand before Him on the last day, and with a smile on your face.  Beaming, thankful, radiant because there is forgiveness with God for you on account of His Son.Faith trusts this promise and breathes easier.  For your sins are blotted out, covered over, taken away from you.  You will not have to give an account for those covered sins, because there is nothing needing to account for.  In place of your sin and curse is Jesus’ free righteousness and blessing.  In place of terror is now joy.  In place of sorrow at what you have become is comfort because of what you will become in Christ.  True, Jesus is the only one who can stand before God the Father.  But through faith alone, you stand with Him and your sins are not charged to you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, thank you for Your deep love for me in Your Son, Jesus.  Grant me a strong faith that with all boldness and confidence, I may stand before You on the last day with joy.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/5/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Friday of the 20th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 5:1-19; Matthew 22:23-46“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” (Eph. 5:18b-19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians are encouraged to learn psalms.  More than any other book of the Bible, the Psalms speak to every situation and every emotion a believer may ever face in his life.  The psalms speak both from our perspective to God in prayers, laments, thanksgivings and recounting of what God has done previously in Scripture.  But the Psalms also are God’s Word to us.  They give God’s voice to us addressing our sorrow, hope, trust, guilt, anger and more.  And the very words we say in the Psalms are given by God to us.  Yes, even those destructive and bloody psalms about bashing in heads with rocks or calling on God to break the teeth of enemies!  Even these are God’s Word, holy and sacred above the words of men!The apostle Paul encourages us to address other believers (probably in church, but also in our families) with psalms.  There was a time, long before MP3s and playlists, when people were encouraged to learn psalms by heart.  In the early centuries of Christianity, believers were encouraged to sing psalms while they were working.  At a time when you didn’t have the background music of the radio or a playlist, singing the Psalms was a great way to be grounded in God’s Word.Did you know that Jesus is in the Psalms?  Often, He is even the one speaking the psalms.  These poems point to the Savior of sinners, the Redeemer of man, the fulfiller of creation and the key to life.  Jesus and His death and resurrection for our salvation stand at the heart of the Psalms.  They must be, for the Holy Spirit who fills the hearts of psalm-singers also reveals our Lord and Savior to us.  Even here.  It is no surprise that any Word inspired by the Holy Spirit also proclaims the crucified and risen Jesus who forgives sinners freely. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We sing of mercy and judgment unto You, O Lord, our Savior and Judge; help us with the one, warn us with the other.  Grant us Your humble servants, O Lord, that a stubborn heart may depart from us, and that wicked things before our eyes may not allure us, but that walking in the simplicity of innocence, You may lead us on in Your pity and love, and absolve us as a truthful Judge; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/4/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Thursday of the 20th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 3:6-4:2; Matthew 22:1-22“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isa. 55:6-7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Seek the Lord while He may be found.  For a time will come when people will seek Him, but won’t be able to find Him.  They will call on Him to save them, and He will not.  This will come on the Last Day, when the door is closed and many who were Christian in name only cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” as if that was the same thing as faith in Christ.  Before that day comes, seek the Lord.  Seek Jesus.  Pursue receiving the means of grace.  Prioritize it.  Drop everything else and come hear your pastor preach the Gospel at the times set for this.For at this time, the Lord is near.  Now, the Son of God has come close to us, by taking on our human flesh.  Likewise, He has bridged the gap between fallen sinners and the righteous God by shedding His blood as the innocent Savior who dies in place of sinners.  The Lord is near now, but He won’t always be near.  So seek Him where He may be found, when He may be found, where He wants to be found.  That is, seek Him in the means of grace when they are offered.“Seeking the Lord '' according to Isaiah means that the wicked person must forsake his way, and the unrighteous man must forsake his thoughts.  You cannot truly seek the Lord who rescues you from sin, if you want to remain in your sins.  Yet it is the work of the Holy Spirit alone who creates a clean heart in you.  He applies Jesus’ righteousness to you.  And the Holy Spirit guides you into the path of righteousness by leading you to faith in Christ.  From faith, comes both a converted will that wants to do works, and the strength to do good works that cooperates with the Holy Spirit to bear the fruits of faith.These works do not save you.  Works never do.  Faith in Christ alone is what saves.  Therefore, seeking the Lord means repentance and faith in Christ.  It is by this that you find God’s compassion and abundant forgiveness as the prophet says today.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, guide our hearts to trust in Jesus Your Son for our justification, and guide our steps to forsake our sins and thoughts.  Through Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/3/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wednesday of the 20th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 2Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19; Matthew 21:23-46Where is this written?  The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: "Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me." In the same way also he took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (Small Catechism, 6th Chief part, section 2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s written Word, Holy Scripture, is the only fountain and source of what Christianity teaches, believes, and practices.  We see this especially with the Lord’s Supper.  Scripture alone tells us what the Lord’s Supper is, what it does, and why our communion service is how it is. We dare not rely on Scripture mixed with human reason, or Scripture mixed with sacred tradition, or Scripture mixed with our emotional reactions.  Or anything else for that matter.  God’s Word alone determines what is true, not the mind or emotions of man or even churches.What is the Lord’s Supper?  It is Jesus’ true body and blood, in and under the consecrated bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and drink.  Man’s reason hates this.  Branches of Christianity that rely on Scripture plus reason object to the Biblical Lutheran teaching.  But Scripture plus reason always leads to reason outranking Scripture.  If you deny Jesus’ body and blood in the Supper based on Scripture plus reason, you really don’t have a logical reason to also believe in the resurrection of the dead, the forgiveness of sins, or the existence of God.  Reason denies all this.  And then you’d have no reason for hope, certainty of salvation, or lasting happiness, for that matter.Holy Scripture alone is our foundation and source.  What Scripture teaches about the institution of the Lord’s Supper is clear.  Jesus’ body and blood are given to be eaten and drank.  Sinners who repent and confess the faith the same way eat and drink His body and His blood with their mouths, and they do this for the forgiveness of sins.  Though Jesus ascended into heaven, He is able to join His body and blood into the bread and wine on earth by His Word, that we might have these gifts of forgiveness and strength.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“O Jesus, blessed Lord, to Thee My heartfelt thanks forever be, Who hast so lovingly bestowed On me Thy body and Thy blood.” (LSB 632:1; public domain).-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/2/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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All Saints' Day

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Matthew 21:1-22“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. All Saints’ Day is a day of backwards blessings. Our Lord sets it up this way, as He pronounces blessings upon people who don’t seem like they are blessed at all.  It’s backwards from what natural man’s reason and senses think it should be.  Instead of the popular, the talented, the good-looking or the rich having such blessings, it’s backwards.  Those who mourn, who are poor in spirit, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are pure when purity is mocked, even those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, Jesus says, “You are blessed.”What nonsense is this?  For our fallen reason, this is backwards.  Jesus picks people who seem the least blessed by God, and says they are blessed.  But something very profound is going on here.  Jesus blesses people not because of their current situation.  He instead blesses people because of what their future will be.  He is speaking here to those who trust in Him, His invisible church of all believers.  It is as if Jesus is saying, “Because of what your future will be through faith in Me, you are blessed now.”Because yours is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are the poor in spirit.  This is you if you know your sins, regret them, and want to be clean.  So trust in God, from whom all blessings flow.  Trust His Son, crucified for your sins and risen for your justification.  Trust that His forgiveness is for you.  Because you will be comforted with the blessings of everlasting salvation, blessed are you who mourn now.  In this life, the devil remains our enemy, and grieves us.  But by God’s blessing through faith in Christ, you overcome the devil, even if sometimes tears flow.  While these may seem like backwards blessings, it is actually we who were turned around, and not these blessings.  We could not put them right. Now through faith in Christ and hearing His Word, we are set straight again to receive God’s blessings because of what Jesus will do for those who believe Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. -Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE,Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
11/1/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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Reformation Day

Today's Reading: Romans 3:19-29Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 32:28-52; Matthew 20:17-34 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it” (Rom. 3:21). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A young Martin Luther trembled at the fear that the all-knowing, wrathful Judge was watching his every move and weighing it on the cosmic scale of right and wrong. It was not the first time Luther trembled at the thought of being judged by Jesus. As a boy, the wrathful image of Jesus in the stained glass windows of his church in Mansfield brought him terrors. Every funeral he attended and every death he heard of drove home the fact that one day he would have to give an account of his own life before the all-righteous God.  And Luther knew he couldn’t do it. Frankly, you can’t either. There is blood on your hands and sin on your account. God’s Law makes His perfect righteousness known – the impossible-to-keep Law that yet demands perfection from you in all things. That time you lied to your parents about where you had gone? Or the lustful desires for beautiful flesh? Or the fact that you think your life isn’t fair when you should be content with what God has given you? All of that stands against you, and the righteous God has more than enough to strike you down. But there is a righteousness of God not connected with His Law. There is a being right-with-God aspect that is all a gift for you who cannot do it.  The innocent Son lives perfectly in your place. Jesus the perfect sacrifice on the cross is made a substitute for your faulty works. Now, His perfect righteousness of His life and won by His death is credited to you. Your debt is paid. Your account is clean. Not because of what you have done, but because of what Jesus has done for you. This is the righteousness of the Gospel that Martin Luther rediscovered. This is made known not by judgment against you, but the imparting of Jesus’ righteousness won for you. All Scripture bears witness to this Gospel for you.  Your judge is merciful. You will have to give an account of your life after you die, sure. But for believers in Christ, this is a merciful thing! It’s an accounting where all your sins are covered and nothing stands against you. Believers are judged mercifully, for the death of Jesus is their judgment. Christ for you. This alone comforts your trembling heart, just as it comforted Luther’s. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Lord, help us ever to retain The Catechism’s doctrine plain As Luther taught the Word of truth In simple style to tender youth.” (LSB 865:1; public domain).-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/31/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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The 20th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-14, Introit: Ps. 48:1, 9–11Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27; Matthew 20:1-16“Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” (Mt. 22:4c)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today the Lord bids you to feast at the house of the King!  You know the food will be good. The meals at regular wedding receptions are always tasty - with cake, too! How much better would the meal be at the wedding reception for the King’s Son?But in the parable, the people who were invited won’t come. They make excuses why they’d rather not go. “Sorry, just got married, and we wanted to just watch TV tonight...”  “Sorry, can’t come. Cows matter but you don’t...”  How lame are these excuses!God invites you to a different kind of wedding feast, the wedding feast of the Lamb and His Church. That will happen in heaven, surely.  But it also happens every Sunday where the Gospel is purely proclaimed and the Sacraments rightly administered according to God’s Word, in the liturgy.  The service of the Sacrament is rightly called “a foretaste of the feast to come,” that feast of forgiveness that will come eventually on the last day.  But today, God invites you to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word, and taste His body and drink His blood for the forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper.  But do you make excuses to God why you can’t go?  (If you’re sick or something, that’s an ok time to stay home from church.  Just be in God’s Word if that happens).In the parable, the king destroyed the murderers and everyone in their city, then he invited others who seemed to be less worthy. God’s Law thunders from heaven.  It silences every mouth by holding the whole world guilty.  But it also puts our sins to death as it leads us to repent and actively turn away from our sins. Then, for we who are unworthy guests who repent of our sins, God invites us to trust His love and forgiveness in Christ. This is the Gospel, the invite to this heavenly feast on earth as well as the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers your sins. But are you worthy to go?  Not by your efforts or works. But always because of Christ! Trusting that his invite is for you is what makes you feast-worthy – therefore, come and receive. You are worthy in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/30/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 20th Sunday after TrinityDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:1-29; Matthew 19:16-30Psalm 48:1 The Lord is righteous in all he has done to us, for we have not obeyed his commandments. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord is righteous in all he has done to us, for we have not obeyed his commandments. It’s not reassuring.  You deserve everything that you get.  The blame you sling at others. The excuses you craft for yourself.  It all melts away under the Lord’s justice.  He didn’t just see it. He acts righteously in response.  You deserve this. The sinner recoils.  We think we know what righteousness looks like.  But we can only seem to measure it in “better than us.”  The Lord won’t belittle the word righteousness to mean “didn’t mess up as bad as you.”  Righteousness isn’t a state for Him.  It’s an action.  If you spend every moment flinching away from God out of fear of punishment, you’ll miss it too.  If the Lord was simply “fair” in what He has done to us, we’d be in hell.  All of us are doing way better than we deserve.  The Lord is righteous in all He has done to us.  He has redeemed us.  Righteousness was a verb.  He made you Righteous too. It fills the mouth of the psalmist.  Glorify Your name, O Lord; and deal with us according to Your great mercy.  We have not obeyed the Lord’s commandments, so He has crucified us with Jesus in our baptism. And He has raised us, free, forgiven, and holy.  It’s what righteousness looks like.  Not just better than someone else, but wholly without sin.  Jesus isn’t content being without sin Himself.  He wraps you up in the same.  So that righteousness isn’t an action for you. It’s a state.  You are baptized. You are righteous.  You are the one who has received mercy.  You don’t earn it. You don’t do it. You receive it. You are it.  You are righteous. Mercied. Forgiven.  Loved.  Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.  We can spend our days rejoicing in God’s steadfast love that takes action and shape.  It bears the cross for you, and makes you into one who doesn’t need to hide from God, but can rejoice in His judgments.  He has judged the Son that you would be judged righteous.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.It brings the Savior’s righteousness To robe our souls in royal dress; From all our guilt it brings release And gives the troubled conscience peace. (The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace, LSB 580: 3)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/29/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles

Today's Reading: John 15:12-21Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 30:1-20; Matthew 19:1-15You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Saints Simon and Jude did not choose to be of the Apostles, their Lord Jesus called them. First, to be his Disciples, learning from his teaching, his practice of connecting the Love of His Heavenly Father into the lives of those who needed to hear it, sinners one and all. Sinners received the Gospel of Christ and after believing and being baptized, their lives changed and they started seeing things in a new light, the light of Christ’s Resurrection. Second, to follow the instruction of their Lord Jesus to take what they learned as Disciples, and upon being given the authority from their Lord Jesus, connected it into people’s lives as they spread the Gospel to people in need of knowing hope beyond this world of trial and tribulation.You may say, ‘that’s not me’. Yet it is you. Through your Baptism, you are called to learn God’s Word, it’s connection and application into first your own life, but then second, having learned the power in God’s Word to turn you from your sinful thoughts, words, and actions, to receive Jesus Christ’s forgiveness continually, you are compelled to share this life-changing Word with those you meet day in, day out. Saints Simon and Jude were not of the disciples mentioned regularly like Peter, Matthew, and Luke. Yet, they lived their place within the Disciples of Jesus, learning from him, and when the time came, shared their learnings of God’s Word and its connection into life, as they took the message of the Gospel up to Persia. Though spoken of very little in the accounts of Jesus and the Disciples, Saints Simon and Jude followed the instructions of Jesus and bore the fruit of the Gospel into the lives they came into contact with as they traveled and settled in Persia. Should you find yourself not a Peter, Matthew, or Luke, but rather relate to Simon and Jude, be encouraged that you still have an important part in the kingdom. Jesus chose you and appointed you in your baptism to learn and then go and bear the fruit of the Gospel into the lives of family, friends and all people you meet each and every day. Be strengthened in the promise that though this seems impossible, you can ask your Heavenly Father for help in bearing fruit, and he will give it to you.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.“Lord, here am I:” Your fire impart To this poor cold self-centered soul; Touch but my lips, my hands, my heart, And make a world for Christ my goal.  (LSB 831 v4 of  “How shall they hear,” Who have not heard)-Rev. Carl Thiele is the Parish Pastor in Rosewood, Queensland, AustraliaAudio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/28/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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Thursday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:22-28Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (Ephesians 4:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever told a lie? The thing with telling a lie is that you have to remember who you told it to and what you said. But as a lie is not the truth of what should have been spoken, in order not to be found out you have lied, most likely another lie is going to have to be made up. Is this starting to seem a bit complicated? Would it not have been all the easier to speak the truth in the first place?St. Paul in writing his letter to the Ephesians speaks of what sits behind a lie. Your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). This is talk of what life is like before the renewal of your minds, the renewal that takes place through putting your baptism into practice by confessing your thoughts, words, and actions that are at odds with living a God pleasing life. Having confessed your sins, you are forgiven in Christ’s death on the cross, and through his resurrection, you get to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (v 24). Through practicing your Baptismal life, confessing your sins, and being forgiven, the last thing on your mind is to lie. You prefer to speak the truth, because you do not need to hide your wrongdoing as it has been removed in the waters of baptism, and Christ’s forgiveness saturates you. This gives you the confidence to speak the truth with your neighbor. You will want to serve your neighbor in love, doing what is best for them. Let them not continue to live in falsehood but move towards bringing them to the awareness they are not living a God-pleasing life. Encourage them to put off their old self and put away falsehood and receive forgiveness so they may live in true righteousness and holiness. For they too can live in the forgiveness of Christ and in turn, have something to share with anyone in need. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Let us daily die to sin; Let us daily rise with Him, Walk in the love of Christ our Lord, Live in the peace of God. (“Father Welcomes” LSB 605 st. 3)-Rev. Carl Thiele is the Parish Pastor in Rosewood, Queensland, AustraliaAudio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/27/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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Wednesday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 1Daily Lectionary:Deuteronomy 28:1-22; Matthew 18:1-20What is the Sacrament of the Altar? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. (Luther’s Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, Part 1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you know something is what it is? Is it in the conviction you are told of it? Is it that you have seen or touched it? Is it because the person who told you of it, you already respect and trust? When it comes to the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, you can have full confidence it is what it is. We are told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul recording these words, Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread … “Take eat; this is My body, which is given for you.” And “He took the cup after supper … “this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We trust these words are what they are and do what they say, “forgive”. And to receive the full benefit of this “forgiveness” is to participate. But to participate, you will not find this specific meal at the diner of IKEA, or COSTCO, or your family’s favorite haunt for Sunday brunch. You will only find this specific meal where it has been designed and instituted to be, where the gathered Brothers and Sisters in Christ gather to hear God’s Word and receive His Sacrament, Church. Sadly though, not all churches teach and practice as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ intended this meal to be. Some do not believe it possible for Jesus to be physically present in the bread and wine. Some believe the bread turns into Jesus' body, the wine turns into Jesus’ blood. Unfortunately, their human minds are unable to take Jesus Christ at his Word, and in so doing, miss out on receiving Heaven on earth and all the blessings that come with this. This is why it is so important to trust the words Jesus Christ spoke. In the bread IS Christ’s body. In the cup (wine) IS Christ’s blood. Christ is truly present in both, enabling you who receive this, Heaven on earth. This is a blessing which goes beyond all human understanding. Keeping your hearts and minds fixed on the true hope when you breathe your last in this world, you continue in the one to come beyond death, Heaven itself. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He speaks the Word the bread and wine to bless: “This is My flesh and blood!” He bids us eat and drink with thankfulness This gift of holy food. All Human thought must falter – Our God stoops low to heal, Now present on the altar, For us both host and meal! (“Wide Open Stand the Gates” LSB st. 2) -Rev. Carl Thiele is the Parish Pastor in Rosewood, Queensland, AustraliaAudio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/26/20226 minutes, 45 seconds
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Tuesday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 28:10-17Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 27:1-26; Matthew 17:14-27Gen. 28:12. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jacob goes camping.  Finds a nice spot.  Lays his head on a rock and looks up at the stars.  It sounds kind of nice.  Peaceful.  Put it on Instagram.  It’s the chunk of our lives we want others to see.  Never mind the rest.  Jacob is “camping” because he stole from his brother out of his own father’s hand and his brother is literally trying to kill him.  His father’s heart is broken.  His mother put him up to it.  Dad’s health is failing, so when Jacob left, stealing the blessing, he isn’t sure he’ll ever see him in this world again.  But that picture of him laying there looking up at the stars looks good. Millions of people do the same thing.  We hide the ugly. If we’re so afraid of each other knowing, do you really want a God who looks down on you and sees it all? How is that comforting?  I’m not sure I want to be fully known. But it feels like heaven is a long way from here, and God, I need some help.  So God won’t just look down on us from heaven.  He doesn’t even just drop a ladder down for us to climb out of the pit we dug for ourselves in our sin.  He becomes the ladder. Heaven is not so far away.  Jesus doesn’t just connect heaven and earth.  He’s the location of heaven.  Heaven is wherever Jesus is.  And Jesus descends to this world for you. To pull you out of the pit and take your place. To die for sinners and grant you His life.  You are forgiven.  All your sins are bled for.  All the things you hide. God doesn’t just see. He saves.  Church isn’t a place to pretend things are fine.  It’s a place to take your sins because God will meet you there to forgive them all.  In the Name + of Jesus. AmenIn a wat’ry grave are buried All our sins that Jesus carried; Christ, the Ark of Life, has ferried Us across death’s raging flood. (Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying, LSB 597:2)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/25/20225 minutes, 58 seconds
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Monday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:1-8Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 25:17-26:19; Matthew 17:1-13And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Time and time again, the same story plays itself out.  Disaster. Fear. Despair. Frustration. Christians pray. Things are still a mess.  Never mind the questions of “why did this happen?”  Those questions don’t get asked when you still can’t catch your breath. These days, we ask “What happens now?”  We know God answers prayer, but sometimes the medicine we ask for isn’t the medicine we’re given.  Sometimes God doesn’t seem too concerned with what we want to talk about.  Folks bring a paralyzed man to Jesus for a reason.  He needs help.  Jesus looks upon him with compassion.  Sees his troubles.  He can’t walk. He can’t care for himself. He can’t care for his family.  So He says to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”  But what happens now? He still can’t walk. We google what’s wrong with us and ask for the cure we’re sure will help.  Oddly enough, they still send doctors to medical school.  Your doctor shouldn’t just give you what you want, but what actually addresses what’s wrong with you.  Jesus takes aim at the deadliest disease first.  Sin. It’s a condition. A disease. A cancer that won’t be tamed by eating better or trying harder.  It brings death and all its trappings.  All the sins you commit and all the ones you hide are symptoms of what’s really wrong.  So that gets cured first. Jesus bears the cross for you.  To forgive you all your sins.  He dies.  He rises.  Because death and all its trappings are undone.  The rest follows when the time is right.  Sometimes that’s soon, and answers the question “what happens now?”  Sometimes that’s the last day and we can’t answer “when”.  But we can know that it’s coming.  Your healing was already paid for by the cross. Already shown in the empty tomb.  And that does help with “What happens now?”  Now, we gather around Jesus, the source of strength and healing.  Sometimes we have to carry each other for a while.  But we know where to take what’s wrong.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Ev’ry wound that pains or grieves me By Your wounds, Lord, is made whole; When I’m faint, Your cross revives me, Granting new life to my soul. Yes, Your comfort renders sweet Ev’ry bitter cup I meet; For Your all-atoning passion Has procured my soul’s salvation.  (Jesus, Grant That Balm and Healing, LSB 421:4)-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/24/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr

Today's Reading: Acts 15:12-22, Introit:Ps. 78:1–3, 4b; antiphon: Ps. 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14aDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10; Matthew 16:13-28Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. (Acts 15:19, 20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What wise words are spoken from the mouth of St. James in Acts 15:19,20. On this day each year, we remember the life of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr. He is not mentioned much in Scripture, but these words that he speaks are filled with wisdom and gentleness. Spoken at a time of an important meeting in the life of the early Church. Paul and Barnabas were working amongst the Gentiles in the land of Judah, when preachers came to the area from Jerusalem, teaching falsely with the claim, “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). This was at odds with the Apostle’s teaching of being saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.What were the people of Judah to believe, that of these false preachers or that of the Apostles? Unlike Jewish people who were familiar with what we know as the Old Testament, the Gentiles most likely would not have known of such teaching. Similar things happen in the world we live in today. We have the teaching of the Gospel whereby we are saved through baptism and believing Jesus Christ died and rose for you. Whereas other churches and religions teach of being saved through other means apart from Christ. Should we, or friends, or family, face such teaching that leads to questioning the Gospel in Jesus’ death and resurrection, take the lead from Paul and Barnabas, and take it to the Church Leaders, seeking guidance as to how to respond.We may expect those who are teaching falsely should be reprimanded. But St. James of Jerusalem knows that he has no authority over such preachers as they were not part of the Jerusalem Church. He instead gives the guidance to encourage the Gentiles in Judah who had turned to God and basically practice spiritual circumcision, enacted by them not partaking in activities that are considered sinful according to God’s Word. By not partaking of such activities, they would not be influenced nor at danger of being led astray to believe the false gospel as they heard the false teachers. Pray that God would give us leaders in our Congregations and wider Church, to deal gently with situations where people are affected by false preachers, and guide with wisdom us and our fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ to remain in the true Church where only Jesus is our true Lord and Savior.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the Just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide Your Church. Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect of the Day – LSB Altar Book)-Rev. Carl Thiele is the Parish Pastor in Rosewood, Queensland, AustraliaAudio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/23/20226 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 78:1–3, 4b; antiphon: Psalm 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14a)Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 21:1-23; Matthew 16:1-12Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!” (From the Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalmist says to God, “Speak to my soul and say, ‘I am your salvation.’” And indeed, God does speak these words to our souls! This is what happens every Lord’s Day. The saints draw near to God and the Lord speaks to us. He speaks in the Absolution, in the lessons from Holy Scripture, in the sermon, in the Words of Institution, and in the Benediction. And He always says the same thing: “I am your salvation!”In Matthew 9:2, Jesus spoke to the soul of the paralyzed man. He said, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” In other words, “I am your salvation!” He demonstrated His power to save this man from sin by reversing one effect of the curse—his paralysis. Sin brought death into the world, along with disease and disability. This man lay still like a dead man, but when Jesus told him to rise he got up and walked.Jesus demonstrated the extent of His power when He laid down His life and then took it up again. He stepped into the jaws of death, allowing the grave to swallow Him. Then, the grave was opened up and the body was not there. Death was reversed in this Man. And if the curse of death is reversed, then sin has been dealt with once and for all.Thus, the risen Lord comes to us, saying, “I am your salvation!” He comes proclaiming that He suffered the full effects of the curse, so that we might be spared. Your sin was punished in the body of Jesus. Then, His body was resurrected, proving that the curse has been reversed! Therefore, take heart! Your sins are forgiven! And everyone will know that your sins are forgiven, when your body leaves behind its grave and is granted the very immortality and glory of the risen Lord. The paralytic lay still, until he heard the voice of Jesus. Likewise, your dead body will get up at the Lord’s command. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens, Let Your Word to me come near; Newborn life and spirit give me, Let each promise still my fear. Death’s dread pow’r, its inward strife, Wars against Your Word of life; Fill me, Lord, with love’s strong fervor That I cling to You forever! ("Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens" LSB 589, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/22/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Friday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Matthew 15:21-39“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 20:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land. Moses knew that the Canaanites would raise armies to meet them. He told the Israelites to fear no army, because the almighty Lord would be with them.  The Church faces far greater foes. The whole world hates Jesus, and thus hates the Church (John 15:18-19). Entire governments and institutions seek to destroy the Church. And we have greater enemies still! The devil and his legions of demons oppose the Church (Ephesians 6:12). If that wasn’t bad enough, every Christian has an enemy within himself. The sinful flesh resists the Spirit constantly (Galatians 5:17).Do not be afraid, dear Christians. Do not be afraid of the devil, the world, and the flesh, although they are great. God is greater and He is on your side! “If God is for us,” Paul asks (Romans 8:31), “who can be against us?” Indeed, your Lord is with you at all times.And the devil, the world, and the flesh are scared spitless of your Lord. The world tried to destroy Jesus on a cross, but failed. He was crucified and killed, but then was raised from the dead. The devil wields sin and death against mankind. He tried to wield them against Jesus and found Himself disarmed. Your sinful flesh might be a nuisance, but when Christ was nailed to the Cross your sin found itself pinned to that wood, too. Jesus is an impenetrable fortress. Those of us baptized into Him never need to fear our evil foes. He is our mighty champion, who won the battle that we could never win. So, no matter how much they rage, we can sing the victor’s song. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Cast afar this world’s vain pleasure And boldly strive for heav’nly treasure. Be steadfast in the Savior’s might. Trust the Lord, who stands beside you, For Jesus from all harm will hide you. By faith you conquer in the fight. Take courage, weary soul! Look forward to the goal! Joy awaits you. The race well run, Your long war won, Your crown shines splendid as the sun. ("Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You" LSB 668, st.2)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/21/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Thursday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,… who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:4, 8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think that Paul might have written these words for himself as much as he wrote them for the Christians in Corinth. You see, Paul wrote a series of letters to the Corinthians, in order to correct and rebuke them. They were terribly divided, full of pride, confused about basic Christian teachings, and were committing very gross sins. Paul was probably worried that he had labored over them in vain—that they were forsaking God and returning to the world, and that they would forsake his teachings and lose their salvation.So, as he begins this letter, he reminds them (and perhaps himself) that the grace of God had really been given to them. God actually received these messed-up sinners into His Kingdom. And not only that, but Jesus will sustain them to the end. God won’t begin something, only to give up halfway. God is intent on finishing what He started. God will continue to give them grace; He will continue to forgive their divisions, pride, false doctrine, and vices. Therefore, when the Day of the Lord arrives, they will stand guiltless before their Lord.In our American context, Lutherans frequently address the issue of conversion. We remind our Protestant neighbors that we cannot come to God on our own, but the Holy Spirit must convert us. Paul is talking about the other side of that coin—perseverance. He’s reminding us that the Holy Spirit doesn’t merely give us faith only to leave us alone. No, the Spirit constantly nourishes and defends our faith. He doesn’t give us grace once, but He gives us grace daily, so that we remain in Christ and are found safe in Him on Judgment Day. Perhaps you have friends or family who you are worried about, concerned that they might forsake the Lord in the future. If so, take refuge in these words of Paul, who was a father to the Corinthians. Remember that the crucified and risen Lord is committed to His people. He intends to see them through to the end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in the faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Steadfast Faith, LSB p.311)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/20/20226 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wednesday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Office of the KeysDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 18:1-22; Matthew 14:22-36What is the Office of the Keys? The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent. (Small Catechism: Office of the Keys)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Keys represent power—the ability to go places and to do things. You cannot go into the locked house unless you have the key. You cannot drive the car unless you have the key. The prisoner cannot go free unless he is given the key to his bonds.Jesus came to die on a cross, thereby taking away the sins of the world. He entered our prison, so that we can enter His Father’s home. He went to the gallows, so that we can go free. Jesus died, so that there is now forgiveness—enough to cover every sin!Jesus gave the Keys to His Church and He also gave pastors to use the Keys whenever the Church gathers together. What are the Keys? They are power—the power to distribute or withhold the forgiveness of sins. The first time the Keys are mentioned is in Matthew 16:18-19. First, Jesus blesses Peter and promises that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church. Then, He gives the Keys of the Kingdom to Peter and the other apostles. What do these Keys do?On the one hand, these Keys bind and loose. Sins are like iron chains that bind us and weigh us down. The Law tightens the chains, but the Absolution loosens them, so that they fall off the repentant sinner! On the other hand, we might say that these Keys open doors. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus speaks of the gates of Hades. Then, in verse 19, He mentions the kingdom of heaven. How do sinners get into the kingdom? The gates must be opened with a key. You get into the kingdom by receiving the forgiveness of sins! Jesus speaks similarly about Baptism in John 3:5. He says that you enter the kingdom of God by being born of water and Spirit. Baptism brings you into the kingdom, because Baptism is an Absolution!Are you feeling weighed down by sins and outside the kingdom? It is time to go to your pastor. He’s got the Key! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.When ministers lay on their hands, Absolved by Christ the sinner stands; He who by grace the Word believes The purchase of His blood receives. ("'As Surely as I Live,' God Said" LSB 614, st.6)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/19/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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St. Luke, Evangelist

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20; Matthew 14:1-21“Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Before Luke became a missionary and an evangelist, he was a doctor. He bandaged wounds, set broken bones, and prescribed medicines. He did his best to make bodies whole and to extend temporal lives.When Jesus preached, He also healed the sick, not with bandages and medicine, but with a word or a touch. He gave that power to the Twelve, and then to the 72, and after Pentecost to many other Christians, especially to those who held some office in the Church. Since Luke was a companion of Paul and an evangelist, he probably received that same spiritual gift.And what a gift, especially for a physician! I am sure Luke had dreamed of having such power, so that he could cure any patient that came to him. What fame and what fortune! A doctor who can heal you with a touch would go down in history as the greatest doctor of mankind!Of course, Luke was not given such a gift so that he could continue his practice, nor was he to use it for fame and fortune. The miraculous healings of the New Testament served a specific purpose: They advertised that Jesus possesses and distributes the final cure for death.We see this in Luke 5:30-32, where Jesus compared Himself to a physician: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”) Then, He explains that He is talking about sinners. Jesus comes to heal the soul by taking away our sins. After making us right with God on the Cross, Jesus steps out of the grave to grant us eternal life. “With his wounds we are healed,” (Isaiah 53:5). Ministers are not given the gift of healing today. Your pastor cannot take away your cancer with a touch, but he can take away your sins with a word! Like Luke, he is a physician of the soul, for he carries on his lips the Good News about Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, our Father, Your blessed Son called Luke the physician to be an evangelist and physician of the soul. Grant that the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments may put to flight the diseases of our souls that with willing hearts we may ever love and serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Feast of St. Luke)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/18/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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Monday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22; Matthew 13:44-58“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” (Deuteronomy 10:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God commanded the sons of Abraham to get circumcised. Circumcision was a sign attached to the covenant promise that God would bless the offspring of Abraham and also bless the nations through Abraham’s offspring.The Law told Israel, “If you, the offspring of Abraham, wish to receive God’s blessing and pass it along to the nations, you must obey my statutes.” Of course, genuine obedience is not merely external. Genuine obedience begins in the heart. It includes fearing God and loving Him (Deuteronomy 10:12), as well as loving your neighbor (Deuteronomy 10:19). So, Moses calls the Israelites to deal with their sinful hearts. “Don’t merely cut off your foreskin. Cut off the stubborn attitude that clings to your heart!” Here circumcision is a metaphor for repentance. Cut off the Old Adam and let him die!Moses admits that they won’t circumcise their hearts, and so the Law must curse them (Deuteronomy 28:15-29:29). Then, Moses predicts that God would have compassion on them. He will circumcise the hearts of His people, so that they truly love Him and obey Him gladly (Deuteronomy 30:1-6).In His mercy, God sent Jesus, the true Offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). He obeyed the Law with a pure heart. He had no need to cut away sin from His heart, because there was no sin found there. Nevertheless, He was cut off and left to die on the cross. Why? He suffered the curse of the Law in our place, so that we disobedient sinners can live forever.Then, the risen Christ sent His Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to us through the Gospel and He enters our hearts. He circumcises our hearts. He causes us to repent of our sins and love the One who loved us first. Indeed, Paul says that we were circumcised in Holy Baptism, where the Old Adam was put to death, so that we might rise with Christ (Colossians. 2:11-15). Since you were baptized and have heard the Gospel, the Spirit has circumcised your heart. Therefore, you love the Lord and your neighbor, albeit imperfectly, until the Day of Resurrection when sin is cut away and removed entirely. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You gave Your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Himself. Grant that we, Your adopted children by grace, may daily be renewed by Your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Spiritual Renewal, LSB p.312)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/17/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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The 18th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46, Introit: Ps. 122:1, 6, 8–9Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” (Matthew 22:41-42)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees sent a lawyer—an expert of the Torah—to Jesus. He asks Jesus a Law question: “Which commandment is the greatest?” The Pharisees probably hoped that they could accuse Jesus of elevating some commandments above the others.Jesus answers the question by giving two commandments, which perfectly summarize the entirety of the Law. When Jesus says, “Love God and neighbor,” He is basically saying, “The whole Law is important.” You cannot trap Jesus.The Pharisees thought that understanding the commandments of God is crucial to understanding the Old Testament. Jesus agrees that the commandments are important (Matthew 22:40). Still, there is a more important question, namely, “Who is the Christ?” Jesus believed that the entire Old Testament testified about Him (see Luke 24:44 and John 5:39). Therefore, if you do not understand what God said about the Christ and do not see how various people, events, and ceremonies foreshadowed His work, then you do not truly understand the Old Testament.The Pharisees did not understand the Bible, because they did not understand the Gospel. The Scriptures contain both Law and Gospel. Both are good and important. Nevertheless, the Gospel is the central message of the Bible. In fact, the Law serves to prepare us for the Gospel. By revealing our sin, the Law leads us to Christ. The Bible is not so much about what you should do as it is about what Jesus has done for you.Remember this when you search for a new church, or read a book by a scholar you don’t know, or listen to some Christian radio program. Are they preaching Jesus? Is Christ the main message? If not, beware! They are missing the very heart of the Bible. Like the Pharisees, they know the Bible, and yet don’t know it. Do not follow them. Instead, follow those teachers who will lead you to the crucified and risen Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, because without You we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 18th Sunday after Trinity)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/16/20226 minutes, 29 seconds
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Saturday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 122:1, 6, 8–9; antiphon: Liturgical Text)Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Matthew 13:1-23Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, and let your prophets be proven faithful.” (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our Introit for tomorrow, we ask for two things. First, we ask that the Lord would give peace to His saints, to those who wait for the Lord. Second, we ask that the prophets of the Lord would be proven faithful. These two petitions go hand-in-hand.What is the prophet to do? A prophet speaks the message that God has given Him to speak. False prophets say that they speak for the Lord, but deliver a message of their own invention. Faithful prophets speak the Word of the Lord. Prophets proclaim the accusing Law, of course. They proclaim the Gospel, too, however. Indeed, this is their proper work: to announce the Good News to those sinners who wait for the Lord!And what does that Good News do? It gives peace to the saints. It calms their troubled consciences and gives them hope for the future. They hear that God delights in them now and forgives their sins. And so, they do not dread the coming of the Lord. Instead, they eagerly anticipate it, for they know that he comes to give them eternal life.What a fantastic prayer with which to open the Divine Service! We pray that our modern day prophets—our pastors—would speak the Good News that God has given them to speak. We ask that our pastors would preach about Jesus, who obeyed the Law in our place, and paid our debt in full, and then reversed death on Easter morning. And then, we ask God to use that Good News to give us that peace which surpasses all understanding. Is it any wonder why the saints are glad to go to the house of the Lord? They are glad, because they know what they will hear there. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise You for continuing among us the preaching of Your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send Your blessing upon the Word, which has been spoken to us, and by Your Holy Spirit increase our saving knowledge of You, that day by day we may be strengthened in the divine truth and remain steadfast in Your grace. Give us strength to fight the good fight and by faith to overcome all temptations of Satan, the flesh, and the world, so that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (For Blessing on the Word, LSB p.308)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/15/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Friday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32; Matthew 12:38-50“Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.” (Deuteronomy 12:13-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses warns the Israelites that they cannot offer their sacrifices just anywhere they please, but they must offer their sacrifices to God only in that place that God chooses for Himself. If a Jew wanted to make a sacrifice, he had to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. In this way, God marked Jerusalem as the place of atonement—the place where the Lamb of God would be slain on a cross to take away the sins of the world.In many ways, this text doesn’t apply to us today. We are not required to sacrifice animals, since Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. We no longer have a holy building located in one place. Now, the Church is the Temple and can be found all around the world.Nevertheless, there is some important application to be made here. Moses says that we must worship God in the way that God wants to be worshiped. That’s still true today! Every church must call a pastor. Pastors are not optional, for the Lord instituted the pastoral Office. Likewise, Christians must gather together in person. Jesus wants His followers to live and to worship as a community. The proclamation of the Word is essential. The Lord’s Supper is crucial. The proper response to the grace given in Word and Sacrament is always prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.Whenever we fail to worship the way our Lord told us to worship, we risk missing out on some gift that our Lord would have us receive. Indeed, we risk stirring up His wrath, for one is terribly proud if he thinks that he can decide how best to worship His Creator and Redeemer. However, if we take to heart our Lord’s instructions and draw near to Him in the way that He prescribes, then we are sure to please Him and to receive the Gifts that He desires to give. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.This day, God’s people meeting, His Holy Scripture hear; His living presence greeting, Through bread and wine made near. We journey on, believing, Renewed with heav’nly might, From grace more grace receiving, On this blest day of light. ("O Day of Rest and Gladness" LSB 906, st.3)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/14/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Thursday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12; Matthew 12:22-37“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” (Deuteronomy 11:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Boy, that sounds familiar. Blessing and curse are important words in the book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created man and woman, and then, “God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). Later, we learn about the Tree of Life, which represents what God wants for humanity—eternal life with God.There is another tree, however. In the beginning, God alone determines what is good, such as His creation (Genesis 1:31), and what is not good, such as man's being alone (Genesis 2:18). The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil presents the man and woman with another path. Instead of trusting God to decide what is good for them, they can decide for themselves what is good and then seize it. The man and woman decide to take this path—the foolish way of sin. The result of this decision was a curse.Moses sets before Israel a blessing and a curse. Indeed, the Law set these two words of the Lord before every generation of Israelites. Like Adam and Eve, each generation chooses sin and the curse.This is precisely why we need Jesus, the New Adam. He’s the Man who chose the path of blessing. He loved and trusted God above all things. He loved His neighbors, putting them even before Himself. Jesus rightly possesses the Father’s blessing. Nevertheless, He was cursed—forsaken by His Father on the Cross; suffering the penalty that we deserve.Having exhausted the curse, He reversed it on Easter morning. The New Adam was granted immortality and a seat at God’s right hand—everything that the Tree of Life promised. And Jesus shares that blessing with us—with every sinner who has been given faith in Him.Moses set before the people of Israel a blessing and curse—a blessing for those who obey the Law; a curse for those who disobey. Now, Jesus puts forth a blessing and a curse—a free, undeserved blessing for those who seek mercy in Him; a curse for those who want no intercessor, but would rather get what they deserve. May we all come to the Cross—the new Tree of Life—and find in the crucified Christ the free blessing of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.As by one man all mankind fell And, born in sin, was doomed to hell, So by one Man, who took our place, We all were justified by grace. ("All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall" LSB 562, st.5)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/13/20226 minutes, 41 seconds
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Wednesday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: ConfessionDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21What is Confession? Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. (Small Catechism: Confession)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your pastor has probably been confronted by a visitor once or twice who was deeply offended and disturbed by the public Confession and Absolution. “Who are you to forgive sins? God alone forgives sins!”Funny enough, no one ever protests when I marry people. No one ever says, “Who are you to marry them? Only God can make them one flesh!” Marriage and Absolution are not that different from each other, if you really think about it.God alone joins together a man and a woman. God alone forgives sins. God works through society to marry couples. You aren’t married until you give the state your marriage license. Likewise, God works through the Church to forgive sinners. See John 20:22-23, if you need proof of that. Of course, a particular person—an agent of the state—needs to pronounce a couple married. Likewise, a particular person—an agent of the Church—must pronounce people forgiven. When I say, “I pronounce you man and wife,” I am acting as an agent of the state and speaking for God. Likewise, when I absolve people, I act as the public servant of the Church and speak for God.When you confess your sins to your pastor, he doesn’t give you his forgiveness. He gives you God’s forgiveness! He acts as God’s mouth. He can do that, because Jesus died for the sins of the world, and then the risen Jesus gave the Church the Keys—the authority to forgive sins in His stead—and the Church appointed your pastor to wield the Keys for the Church. If Jesus authorizes pastors to speak for Him, then they can speak for Him, and you should believe what they say. These are not their words. They are His words. I wish that everyone who heard the Absolution would receive it with joy. It truly is a precious gift. You get to hear the Lord’s message for you—a message of free, unconditional forgiveness. There is no penance, no restitution; just mercy ringing in the ears. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts of grace and peace From absolution flow; The pastor’s words are Christ’s For us to trust and know. Forgiveness that we need Is granted to us there; The Lord of mercy sends Us forth in His blest care. ("The Gifts Christ Freely Gives" LSB 602, st.3)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/12/20226 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tuesday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our Epistle lesson, Paul talks about the unity of the Christian Church. He says that there is one Body of Christ, one Church. This one Church is animated by one Spirit—the Holy Spirit. Believers of all times and places share a common Father and a common Lord. There is one faith that we confess and there is one Baptism that brings us into the Church. This is the unity that Paul celebrates.He also urges us to live a certain way. He wants us to practice humility, gentleness, and patience. These virtues are the ways love expresses itself when handling sinners. When someone sins against me, love says, “True, he did sin, but you have sinned often yourself.” When someone sins against me, love corrects him gently. When someone sins against me, love doesn’t want to condemn him and dismiss him quickly, but wants to give him another chance. Basically, Paul wants us to forgive each other, just as God forgives us for the sake of Christ crucified.And this is an important admonition. If we do not mortify our flesh, which is proud, mean, and impatient, and if we do not practice love, then we risk severing the bond of peace. You see, our good works don’t create or maintain our relationship with God. That relationship is created and maintained by the blood of Christ. However, our love does maintain our relationships with each other. Without love, schism occurs. And schism displeases our Father and breaks the heart of our Savior.Did Jesus die merely so that we could have a private relationship with Him? No! He died to bring us into His family. He unites us to Himself, so that we are united to each other. Our Baptisms into Christ create that unity, and His Spirit and Word maintain it. In the Name + of Jesus. AmenThough with a scornful wonder The world sees her oppressed, By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed, Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?” And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song. ("The Church’s One Foundation", LSB 644, st.3)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/11/20226 minutes, 34 seconds
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Monday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 25:6-14Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. (Proverbs 25:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Rain is a precious thing in the Middle East. In some parts of that land, they receive as little as eight inches of precipitation each year! Without enough rain, your crops will fail, which means hunger and poverty. If a severe drought hits, then the rivers and lakes might run dry, in which case you might not have much clean water to drink.In such a climate, there is nothing more disappointing or annoying than a cloud that appears as if it could give you rain, but then doesn’t. Likewise, a person who promises great gifts, but never gives them, brings great disappointment and frustration.There are lots of churches and teachers who promise great gifts. They promise good news, but never give any. Instead, they give conditions: “Do this and you’ll live!” Since we are all sinners, they might as well say, “You won’t do it. So, you won’t get it!” They don’t say that, however. They are not that honest. So, they promise a gift, which is received by none in the end. I expect that you may have family and friends who go to these churches. I bet they feel disappointed and frustrated. They have received the Mass and done penance, but don’t feel any more righteous. They have heard hundreds of "Seven Steps to a Better Life" sermons, but their lives are no better.Just think, you can be that person who brings them joy and relief! You can be the person who offers great gifts and actually delivers! You can give them that life-giving rain—the Word of God (Isaiah 55:10-11). You can tell them, “Do you want to live forever with God? Do nothing! Everything necessary was done for you by Jesus! Just go to Him and receive! Want to know more? Come with me to my church!” And what will they get at your church? Gifts promised and given! Indeed, they will hear your pastor speak the Absolution in the first five minutes of the service. How refreshing! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, bless the Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make is a word of power and peace to comfort those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen. (For Blessing on the Word, LSB)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/10/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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The 17th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 14:1-11, Introit: Ps. 119:1–2, 5–6; antiphon: Ps. 119:137, 124Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Collect, we ask that God would help us to withstand the temptations of the devil. One of the greatest temptations of the devil is the idea that we must climb the ladder to get to the top, so to speak. We must seize power, freedom, wealth, and the like. We must create our own honor. The devil said it best to the first woman: “Take the fruit. Seize the wisdom that God is withholding from you. Become as great as God Himself!”Notice that if you are seizing, then you are not receiving. A gift is not something earned or taken. It is possible that God was withholding some wisdom from Adam and Eve, intending to give it to them at the proper time. However, they did not allow God to give them good gifts, because they seized what they coveted. They tried to make themselves great. Thus, God was cheated of the opportunity of giving them greatness.This is the point that Jesus is trying to make. If you are at the bottom, then God can elevate you. If you have nothing, God can give you everything. If you are not earning or taking, then God can give freely.God desires to give every good and perfect gift to all sinners. So, what is He to do with those who are desperately climbing and selfishly seizing? He knocks them down with the Law. He empties their hands with a word of condemnation. Those who think they are at the top are pushed over by the uncompromising commandments and fall to the bottom. And that act of condemnation is an act of mercy. At the bottom, sinners can find Christ! He humbled Himself and went to the very bottom, so that, when the Father exalted Him, He could carry us up to the top with Him.In our Gospel lesson, Jesus warns that the day will come when God will humble the wicked and won’t bring them up again. They will fall, this time into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). Our Lord doesn’t want that to happen. So, in the meantime He does His alien work of humbling sinners, so that He can do His proper work—justifying and exalting them! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, we implore You, grant Your people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow You, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 17th Sunday after Trinity)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/9/20226 minutes, 40 seconds
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Saturday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 119:1–2, 5–6; antiphon: vv.137, 124)Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. (Psalms 119:1-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalms were the songs and prayers of Israel. Men like David composed them and for centuries the people of Israel used them for worship. Therefore, the psalms are truly the songs and prayers of Jesus. He is Israel-Reduced-to-One, after all. He came to represent Israel as Her Head. He came as a substitute, obeying the Law in Israel’s place to reverse the curse of the Law. Therefore, the psalms find their rightful home in His mouth.Who is the Blessed Man, the Man in whom God delights? Jesus! His way was completely blameless. He walked in the Law of the Lord, treasuring every testimony of God and seeking the Father with His whole heart. His eyes were fixed on the commandments and He never wavered in keeping them.The good news is that Jesus swaps places with us. Although He was completely blameless, He took the blame for our sins and was punished for them. Then, He gave us the credit for His obedience, so that we would not be put to shame on Judgment Day.And that’s not all. While Jesus did experience the shame of our sin on the Cross, He was not left naked and ashamed. No, the Father raised Him from the dead and clothed His obedient Son in glory. Then, the risen Jesus poured His Spirit out on us, so that the Spirit might change our hearts. The Holy Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts, so that we begin to seek God. He leads us, so that we walk in the law of love. Hence, we can pray these psalms with Jesus. Sometimes our flesh gets the better of us. Often our eyes glance at idols or we stumble on the way. Thankfully, such sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ. That grace turns our eyes back to God and helps us stand. We begin to keep His testimonies and live according to the commandments, until that day when sin’s poison is removed from our souls and we can serve God perfectly. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens, Let Your Word to me come near; Newborn life and spirit give me, Let each promise still my fear. Death’s dread pow’r, its inward strife, Wars against Your Word of life; Fill me, Lord, with love’s strong fervor, That I cling to You forever! ("Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens" LSB 589, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/8/20226 minutes, 37 seconds
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Friday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant….” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord gave Israel a home. He gave them land. However, He gave them so much more than that. He gave them a land full of plunder! They won’t build their own cities, but will take the cities built by the Canaanites. They won’t have to fill their houses with furniture, but will move into houses already furnished by their previous owners. They won’t have to dig cisterns or plant orchards. The Canaanites already did all that hard work.On the one hand, this is the reality of military conquest. Israel will conquer a land and this means inheriting whatever their enemies leave behind. On the other hand, this is an example of God’s gracious ways. God loves giving gifts to His people. And you don’t earn a gift, or work for it, or make it for yourself. You simply receive and enjoy it!Whenever sinners interact with God, they expect no gift—only a wage, something for which you must labor. This is the point of the Divine Service. We draw near to God week after week to be surprised by grace—to receive anew His Gifts. The baptized receive a kingdom that they did not build. They receive an eternal reward that they did not earn. They don’t work as servants, but rather sit at the King’s table as His family.As we experience God’s grace in the Divine Service, we learn to see His grace throughout our lives. We come to see everything as a good gift! We do not deserve food, clothes, house, family, friends, or the like. We deserve nothing but hell. Since Jesus died for all, God gives to all men these good things.And, of course, as we experience God’s goodness in this life, we wait to enter at last our Promised Land—the new creation—where we will experience the fullness of God’s goodness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, God of all grace, govern our hearts that we may never forget Your blessings but steadfastly thank and praise You for all Your goodness in this life until, with all Your saints, we praise You eternally in Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Thanksgiving to God, LSB p.310)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/7/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Thursday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary:Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For those who have the ears to hear, Jesus has just revealed who He is and what He came to do. First, He revealed that He is the Bridegroom. That might appear at first to be a quaint metaphor, but actually Jesus is calling Himself Yahweh, the God of Israel. Remember, in the Old Testament the covenant is often compared to marriage and idolatry is often compared to adultery. Israel was considered the Bride of Yahweh. If Jesus is the Bridegroom, then He is God!The disciples cannot fast now, because they are with the Bridegroom. Now is the time for feasting! And so, the disciples eat many meals with Jesus, sitting alongside sinners and tax collectors. However, there will come a time when the Bridegroom is taken from them. They will fast then. This is the first Passion prediction. Jesus will be taken from His disciples when the Sanhedrin arrest Him and crucify Him.So, what about now? Is now a time of fasting or feasting?It is indeed appropriate for Christians to fast now. After all, Jesus ascended into heaven and, although He is truly with us, He is hidden from our eyes. We are waiting for His reappearing and the wedding feast of the Lamb to begin. As we wait, the Church suffers the abuse of the devil, the world, and the flesh, who take advantage of the Bridegroom’s absence. So, fasting is appropriate.On the other hand, fasting cannot be the sole practice of Christians or even the most prevalent practice. The Bridegroom was crucified, but He is not dead. He lives and will never die again. Thus, we have a joy that none can take from us. While we cannot see Him, we know that He is present, especially when the Word is preached and the Sacrament is celebrated. Indeed, every Sunday is a Feast Day—a time of celebration. Christ has won the victory and will return shortly. Where the Spirit makes this known, there must be joy.So, you are free to fast and grieve, but never lose your Easter joy and hope. He is risen and He will come again! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All the earth with joy is sounding: Christ has risen from the dead! He, the greater Jonah, bounding From the grave, His three-day bed, Wins the prize: Death’s demise—Songs of triumph fill the skies. ("All the Earth with Joy Is Sounding" LSB 462, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/6/20226 minutes, 48 seconds
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Wednesday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 4Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21; Matthew 8:18-34What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. (Small Catechism: Baptism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church has a long history of immersing people in water when baptizing them. Only recently have we preferred sprinkling and pouring, and only to defend our Christian freedom from the legalists who require immersion.The practice of immersion is reflected in Luther’s answer. The Old Adam should “be drowned,” and then a new man should “emerge.” Then, Luther connects this practice to Romans 6. The baptized is plunged beneath the water to indicate that he is being buried with Christ. He is brought out of the water to indicate that he will live a new life, just as Christ was raised from the dead.Another practice of the Church has been lost. Once you were baptized naked. Before you could enter the water, you had to take off your clothes. When you stepped out of the pool, you were wrapped in a white robe. This practice was based on Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4:20-24, and Colossians 3:9-10. Through Baptism, the old is stripped away and Christ is put on.The traditions are not as important as the message they convey. When you come to the font, you come as a child of Adam. You leave the font a child of God. You were covered in sins, but these were washed away in the water and nailed to the Cross. Now, you are dressed in Christ. He is your righteousness. As a sinner, you should inherit death. At the font, you get death out of the way, and then you emerge, signifying that you are joined to the risen Christ and will live forever.Here’s the point: Baptism is a new beginning. It isn’t an event in the past to be forgotten, but it creates a new reality in which you live. You live in your Baptism. The pattern of dying and rising, or taking off and putting on, continues every day by the grace of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Father, through Holy Baptism You called us to be Your own possession. Grant that our lives may evidence the working of Your Holy Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, according to the image of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for Life as a Baptized Child of God, LSB p.310)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/5/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Tuesday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:13-21Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When that widow at Nain saw Jesus outside the gate of Nain, staring intently at her and at her son’s body, what do you think went through her mind? Did she know it was Jesus? If so, what did she expect Him to do?For some reason, I doubt that she expected Jesus to resurrect her only son. My guess is that the miracle was a surprise to her. After all, nothing seems more permanent than death. Furthermore, only Yahweh can give life and every Jew expected the dead to rest until the Day of Resurrection. Her reason, experience, and theology would prevent this widow from asking Jesus to resurrect her son.As Paul says, the Lord is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. Sinners don’t grasp God’s power and God’s mercy. Our doubting hearts try to limit God. We don’t expect God to do the impossible and we don’t pray for the unbelievable. What fools we are! Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive” (Matthew 7:7). Such a promise should cause us to ask for the moon and more!I think that Paul realized that his imagination was once too small and that it limited God. Once he hoped that God would save Israel. Then, the risen Jesus appeared to him and revealed that He has taken away the sins of the world. Therefore, the people of God will consist of people from every race, tribe, and kingdom. After his conversion, Paul observed the nations streaming into the Church. He witnessed Jews and Gentiles receiving the Lord’s Supper together, reconciled to God and to each other. Paul saw what he never expected, and he could only fall on his knees in awe and praise God. Consider what little things you ask for. Also, consider the marvelous things God gives you—more than you dare ask or imagine! He gives you His grace, His Spirit, His Kingdom, and eternal life for the sake of His crucified and risen Son. Consider all this, and then join Paul in giving glory to this God of surprises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, advocate on high, Sacrificed on Calv’ry’s altar, Through Your priestly blood we cry: Hear our prayers, though they may falter; Place them on your Father’s throne As Your own. ("Hear Us, Father, When We Pray" LSB 773, st.3)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/4/20226 minutes, 36 seconds
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Monday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” (1 Kings 17:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We have yet another confrontation with death. Once again, death has taken the only son of a widow. The parallels between this story and yesterday’s Gospel lesson are apparent to all. Still, more important are the differences!This time the prophet Elijah is confronted by death. He behaves quite differently than Jesus, doesn’t he? Jesus was so calm, but Elijah freaks out. He cries out to the Lord and in a dramatic show stretches himself out on the boy three times. I think that Elijah is quite aware that he is not death’s equal. No, death has him beat. Like all mortals, Elijah lives beneath the reign of death. The only one who can beat something as great as death is Yahweh, the One who gave man life in the first place. So, Elijah throws himself at God’s mercy.Another thing: Elijah comes very close to blaming God for the boy’s death. In verse 20, he says, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Obviously, there is truth in these words. God is the sovereign Lord, who kills and makes alive. Certainly, He permitted the boy to die. Still, I think Elijah feels that God has forsaken this family.We react the same way to death. Whenever we see death, we conclude that God has sent the Grim Reaper to destroy us. We think that death is a sign that God has forsaken us. We must remember that Jesus became a curse for us on the Cross (Galatians 3:13). He was forsaken by His Father (Matthew 27:46). Therefore, we can be sure that God is not against us. He won’t forsake us. Indeed, Jesus suffered death, so that He might conquer the grave.Death is a defeated enemy, forced to serve us. The Christian doesn’t fear death, knowing that his death brings his soul into the presence of Jesus. Eventually, death must release our bodies. On the Last Day, we will be resurrected, and soul and body will be reunited. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.For me to live is Jesus, To die is gain for me; So when my Savior pleases, I meet death willingly. ("For Me to Live Is Jesus" LSB 742, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/3/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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The 16th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 7:11-17Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. (Luke 7:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whenever I read Luke 7:12, I imagine that classic Dr. Seuss story called The Zax. It is a story encouraging children to compromise. You see, a North-Going Zax finds himself facing a South-Going Zax. Neither of them is willing to take a step east or west to let the other pass. And so, the two stand there, stubborn and stuck, until a highway is built around them!Jesus and His disciples come to the city gate of Nain. Just as they are about to pass through, a funeral procession begins to come out of the gate. If Jesus was the compromising sort, He would realize that He must step aside to let the funeral procession pass. If He doesn’t, they cannot get out of the city and Jesus cannot get in.Well, Jesus won’t compromise with death. When death faces Him, Jesus won’t take a step to the east or the west. So, what does this mean? Are the two equals, doomed to sit there, stubborn and stuck? Has an unstoppable force met an immovable object?No. Death is not Jesus’ equal. During His earthly ministry, Jesus will restrain Himself and live under death’s reign, but in truth death is not His equal or superior. Jesus is the Son of God, after all. Death cannot take away Jesus’ life, although for our sake Jesus will hand Himself over to death.As if to prove that death is not His equal, Jesus doesn’t move. Instead, He grabs the bier—before the funeral procession gets any ideas about backing up—and Jesus says, “Young man, arise.” The young man takes a breath, opens his eyes, and sits up. And there is nothing that death can do about it.This confrontation between death and life is simply a prelude of what is to come. Like I said, Jesus will give Himself over to death and for a time it appears that Jesus is stuck. He’s not. Jesus lays down His life in order to take it up again. And He takes it up again, in order to share His life with you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, we pray that Your grace may always go before and follow after us, that we may continually be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 16th Sunday after Trinity)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/2/20226 minutes, 40 seconds
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Saturday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 86:1, 7, 12–13; antiphon: vv.3, 5)Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (Psalm 86:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I hope you enjoyed Psalm 86 last Saturday, because the lectionary has given us yet more of it. And who can blame the framers of the lectionary? It truly is a great psalm.Once again, we hear the pleas of King David. He is crying out to the Lord and he hopes that God will be gracious and incline His ear to him. In the middle of the psalm, David expresses confidence that God will indeed hear and save him. The loyal love of God is so great that He has rescued David from death in the past and He will certainly do so again!That’s what we are talking about—death. Sheol is the abode of the dead. We might translate it “the grave.” Also, the word translated “soul,” probably refers to David’s life. David is saying that God rescues his life from the grave.I think there is beautiful logic connecting the 14th Sunday after Trinity with the 15th Sunday after Trinity. First, we hear that God will take care of us in this life, for we are more valuable than birds or lilies. But we leave church that Sunday with a feeling that something is left unresolved. God won’t always preserve our life, will He? I mean, we will die someday, right? If God will let us die, then does He really care? Thus, the 15th Sunday after Trinity addresses death head-on.Yes, even the children of God die. Indeed, even the only-begotten Son of God died! However, that doesn’t mean that God is unfaithful or uncaring. God’s ultimate goal is not to sustain this mortal life indefinitely. He has something better to give us—what the Bible sometimes calls “eternal life,” or, “abundant life.” We might call it, “resurrection life,” or, “immortality.” Ultimately, God wants to free us from pain, suffering, and decay. He doesn’t want us to live forever under the reign of death. So, God allows us to pass through death and out the other side. We die, only to rise again on the Last Day. We will be delivered from Sheol, because death was reversed in the flesh of Jesus. What happened to the Head on Easter morning will happen to every member of His Body. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, grant Your unworthy servants Your grace, that in the hour of death the adversary may not prevail against us but that we may be found worthy of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for a Blessed Death, LSB p. 313)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
10/1/20226 minutes, 37 seconds
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Friday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15; Matthew 6:1-15“Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.” (Deuteronomy 1:38)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses would not lead Israel into the Promised Land. He would die just outside the land, because he sinned against God. Thankfully, God raised up a man like Moses named Joshua. He would guide Israel into the Promised Land and lead the Israelites into battle against the Canaanites. Therefore, Moses tells Israel to encourage Joshua. All the responsibility has been laid on his shoulders. Use your words to build him up, so that he can bear it. With their amazing God-given faculties, humans can achieve difficult tasks, but insults and criticisms can break a man’s spirit and cause him to fail. Words of kindness and praise, on the other hand, can make a man stand tall, even when he is confronted by a mountain of problems. Jesus opened the way to the true Promised Land—eternity in the new creation. Sin should exclude us from entering Paradise, but Jesus took our sins and He died for them. The way is open! The risen Lord gives you pastors to help lead you into the Promised Land. They announce the Gospel, telling you that the way is open. They address your fears and doubts with the Word. They help you resist the devil through meditation and prayer. They feed you the Bread from heaven to give you the strength to move forward. Therefore, encourage your pastor. A lot of responsibility has been put on his shoulders. He needs your help bearing it. Speak kindly to him. Praise his successes. Ask him if he needs any prayer. Be ready to comfort him when he experiences his own troubles and tribulations. Encourage him, for by his preaching of the Word he shall cause you to inherit the Promised Land. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Keep me from saying words That later need recalling; Guard me lest idle speech May from my lips befalling; But when within my place I must and ought to speak, Then to my words give grace Lest I offend the weak. ("O God, My Faithful God" LSB 696, st.3)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House
9/30/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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St. Michael and All Angels

Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Angelology (the study of angels) is fascinating. There are different kinds of spirits: cherubim, seraphim, angels, archangels, etc. They have different jobs: Some are messengers or warriors, while others worship God, guard sacred space, etc. There are a lot of interesting details that Scripture gives us, and yet many more questions are left unanswered!But let’s keep things simple. There are spirits, who serve God specifically for our sake. Angels are servants. Since Jesus has paid for your sins and reconciled you to God, our heavenly Father specifically commands them to help us. We are God’s children. Angels are mere servants. What fascinates me most about the existence of angels is what this tells us about God. Apparently, God likes to achieve His goals through others, even in heaven. In other words, God could simply make things happen by sheer will. He is almighty, after all. Nevertheless, God invites creatures to participate in His work. In heaven, the angels participate in the work of God.And what about on earth? On earth, God invites humans to participate in His work. For example, God gave the Church the Holy Scriptures through prophets and apostles. He didn’t have to do it that way, but He wanted to. Likewise, God distributes the forgiveness of sins through the work of pastors. He speaks through ministers of grace. And guess what? God works through you, too! He might use you to give someone their daily bread. He might use you to protect someone from harm. He might use you to teach or encourage someone. He might use you to lead someone to Christ. God gives us vocations, making us His ministers on earth.So, go about your daily work, knowing that you are participating in God’s work. Also, know that you are more than mere servants. You are His children on account of Christ. Therefore, God will send His angels to care for you and protect you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/29/20226 minutes, 55 seconds
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Wednesday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 3Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Matthew 5:1-20How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.” (Small Catechism: Baptism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Naaman dipped himself in the waters of the Jordan, he was healed of his skin disease (2 Kings 5). How could water do such a great thing?Ironically, the same Protestants who scoff at Baptism and wonder how water could ever do such great things treat the muddy water of the Jordan River with special reverence (or rather, superstition). They seem to think that the Jordan River is something special, something holy. Many long to be baptized in the Jordan and countless tourists have filled small bottles with water from the Jordan to take to their homes.We know that the water of the Jordan is just water, no different than the water in your tap. You won’t find any fountain of youth or water with any kind of magical properties. Water is just water.How did the Jordan heal Naaman? God connected a promise to the Jordan: “Dip yourself in the Jordan and be healed.” The Word of God is effective and does what it says.In the same way, the Lord connects His promises to the waters of Baptism. He promises that Baptism will wash away your sins (Acts 22:16), crucify and bury you with Christ (Romans 6:3), give you new life (Titus 3:5-8), make you a disciple (Matthew 28:19), and save you (Mark 16:16). Faith believes the promise and receives what was promised in Baptism. It’s as simple as that. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts flow from the font Where He calls us His own; New life He gives that makes us His and His alone. Here He forgives our sins With water and the Word; The triune God Himself Gives pow’r to call Him Lord. ("The Gifts Christ freely Gives" LSB 602, st.2)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/28/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Tuesday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:25-6:10Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. (Galatians 6:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one likes to talk about money in church. No one wants to talk about what they give or get a lecture about how they ought to give. Trust me, pastors really don’t like preaching about the offering plate! Regardless, Paul talks about it a lot. And so, we need to talk about it.Paul talks about it because he sees it as a Gospel issue. The Gospel is at stake here! Think about it: If your pastor has to work a second job to feed his family, how much time does he have to deliver the Gospel to sinners? If a congregation isn’t taking care of its pastor, eventually that church might find itself without a pastor. And then, who will preach the Gospel? Who will absolve? What becomes of the ministry when the saints won’t support it?In 1 Kings 17, Elijah and the widow are living through a famine caused by a lack of rain. There are worse things, however. One might experience a famine of the Word. One might live in a town where there are no preachers proclaiming the Word of God—that Word which delivers forgiveness and eternal life. “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).The offering is an essential part of Christian worship. Our Father provides for our bodies and our souls. He provides for the soul by sending us pastors who preach Christ crucified and absolve sinners in His stead. Pastors deliver the Gifts, and the saints receive them by faith. When the saints truly receive the Word with faith, they receive the Word with joy and thanksgiving. In gratitude, those who receive the Word share all good things with their pastors, which includes their income. They give without grumbling, for they know that what they have received in the Divine Service is far more precious than money. And whenever Christians receive the Word by faith with thanksgiving, God is sure to provide more of that Word. Since God feeds and clothes the pastor through the generosity of the saints, he can continue to deliver the Word to them. In the Name + of Jesus. AmenAlmighty God, all that we possess is from Your loving hand. Give us grace that we may honor You with all we own, always remembering the account we must one day give to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Proper Use of Wealth, LSB p. 311)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/27/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Monday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When sinners are given an abundance, they become selfish. They want to receive far more than they need. In times of scarcity, things are different. When we have nothing, we become quite grateful when we receive only a little.Thus, during a great drought, Elijah didn’t come to the widow expecting a great feast. He only asked for a morsel of bread (I Kings 17:11). He asked only for a few bites of food. The drought was so severe that even this was too great a request. The widow said she had enough flour and oil to make a small cake or two to feed herself and her son—their last meal. They planned to eat a few bites and then wait to die.Our God is able to take something so small and insignificant and do great things with it. Elijah spoke a promise from the Lord. That Word of God attached itself to the flour and oil, thereby multiplying it, albeit in a way that was unseen. The widow saw a little flour and oil in small containers, but as she poured, the flour and oil just kept coming out! Thus, God saved Elijah, this widow, and her son!We live in a land of plenty and rarely experience physical hunger. Thanks to the Spirit, we recognize that we lack righteousness, and so we hunger for it (Matthew 5:6). We come to God, believing that He can fill us. He puts into our mouths a morsel of bread, not even a mouthful. It seems rather insignificant, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, God can take something so small and insignificant and do great things with it.The pastor speaks a promise from the Lord. The Word of God attaches itself to the bread. It doesn’t multiply, but it does become something far more than it once was. Although it remains hidden to our eyes, the bread becomes the very Body of our Lord—yes, that same body that was nailed to the Cross. The bread isn’t enough to fill up our bodies, but the Body of our Lord does indeed satisfy the soul. For as we receive the Lord’s Supper, we are given the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O living Bread from heaven, How well You feed Your guest! The gifts that You have given Have filled my heart with rest. Oh, wondrous food of blessing, Oh, cup that heals our woes! My heart, this gift possessing, With praises overflows. ("O Living Bread from Heaven" LSB 642, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/26/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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The 15th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:24-34Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We worry. We worry a lot. We worry about what we will eat and what we will wear. We worry about this life, which must end. And make no mistake, it will end, no matter how much food we have on hand or how many outfits are hanging in our closet. We need to get our priorities in order.Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Don’t seek food and clothes first. That’s what the heathen do. No, seek first the favor of God and His saving works. Seek the Lord and His grace. For you see, if you have the Almighty on your side and He cares for you, then you don’t have to worry about anything. The One who can feed the countless birds and dress the countless flowers can certainly feed and dress you! If you have the grace of God, then everything else will be added to you!Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. You have already found it, or rather it found you. When you were baptized, you became a citizen of God’s kingdom—nay, even more than that! You became a member of the royal family, a child of God! A good king takes care of his citizens, but even wicked kings take care of their own children. How much more will your King and Father take care of you?You are members of the kingdom. You have been dressed in a righteousness that far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). Jesus wrapped your sins around Himself, and then He dressed you in His righteousness. This isn’t the story of the prince and the pauper. It is the story of the Savior and the sinner—the righteous Savior takes our place on the Cross, so that the sinner can take His place at His Father’s table.So, stop worrying! The heathen want to extend their lives another week, another month, another year, but you will live forever in the Kingdom of God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 15th Sunday after Trinity)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/25/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 15th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 86:4, 6, 15a, 16; antiphon: vv.1a, 2b, 3)Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; 1 Timothy 6:3-21Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. (Psalm 86:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Read Psalm 86 in its entirety. Clearly David composed this psalm in a time of trouble. David calls himself “poor and needy” (Psalm 86:1). He asks God to preserve his life and to save him. At the end of the psalm, David says that insolent and ruthless men are seeking his life (Psalm 86:14, 17). Thus, David asks the Lord to listen to his prayer and to save him.Are ruthless men trying to kill you? Probably not. Still, you might feel like your life is in danger at times. Perhaps a terrible economy or unemployment has you shaken. You fear that one day your cupboards will be bare. Or perhaps your family has not been able to pay the bills and you are worried that they will turn off your electricity. That means no A/C during hot summer days and no heat during the cold winter. Or maybe your fears are not money related. Maybe you fear that your doctor will return with your tests and give you some really bad news.The point is that we live in a dangerous world. So, we fear death. In Matthew 6:24-34, Jesus calms our fears. He reminds us that we have a good and gracious Father in heaven, who will surely feed and clothe us. We are never in true danger, since we rest in the hands of a loving God.David knew this. He confesses that God is “merciful and gracious” (Psalm 86:15). And so, instead of wringing his hands and pacing the floor, David brings his fears to his God. “Listen,” David says to God, and indeed the Lord does listen. He listens to your prayers, too. “Ask,” the Son of God said, “and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7).Of course, this doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer or die. It means that God will deliver us from death. And sometimes that means taking us through death and out the other side. This is what happened to Jesus. He prayed that His Father would deliver Him from death. God heard His Son, allowed Him to die on a Cross, and then made death release Him on Easter morning! And what happened to the only-begotten Son of God on Easter morning must also happen to the adopted children of God on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Children of the heav’nly Father Safely in His bosom gather; Nestling bird nor star in heaven Such a refuge e’er was given. ("Children of the Heavenly Father" LSB 725, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/24/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Friday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary:Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In many Lutheran churches, there are a group of laymen called elders who aid the pastor in his ministry. Frankly, it is a bit odd to call these laymen elders. In the New Testament, the elders of the congregations are pastors.According to the Bible, Christians should assemble with other Christians, and every Christian assembly needs a pastor. And Christians are expected to treat their pastors a certain way. First, they should give extra honor and respect to their pastors. Second, we are told in 1 Timothy 5:18 that Christians should pay their pastors for their work. Third, Paul knows that pastors will make enemies, and so he tells us to never admit a charge against a pastor, unless there are two or three witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). In sum, you should respect and love your pastor, provide for him, and protect him.Why? Pastors do important work. They oversee the ministry of the congregation. This means giving guidance and encouragement when needed, of course. It also includes leading the Divine Service—giving the Gifts of the Lord, and then leading the people in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. They preach the Word of God, applying the Law and the Gospel to us. They teach the Christian faith—milk to new converts and meat for the spiritually mature.This is important work, indeed. Where the Word is preached, the Spirit works. The forgiveness of sins was won on the Cross, but gets distributed to individual sinners in the Church through the ministry of the Word. No ministry, no forgiveness. No ministers, no ministry. If you don’t respect and love your pastor and he gets burned out, or if he doesn’t get paid and must get another job, or if you allow false accusations to result in your pastor’s removal, then who will give you the Word?  Your pastor is a sinner, to be sure. He is also a wonderful gift. God placed him in your congregation so that you always have access to His Word. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and gracious God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You have commanded us to pray that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest. Of Your infinite mercy give us true teachers and ministers of Your Word who truly fulfill Your command and preach nothing contrary to Your holy Word. Grant that we, being warned, instructed, nurtured, comforted, and strengthened by Your holy Word, may do those things which are well pleasing to You and profitable for our salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/23/20226 minutes, 44 seconds
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Thursday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 2Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; 1 Timothy 5:1-16What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Small Catechism: Baptism)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Lord has attached so many great and wonderful promises to Baptism. Jesus told His disciples to make more disciples by baptizing them (Matthew 28:19). A disciple is a forgiven sinner. Indeed, Peter told the Jews gathered in Jerusalem to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and Acts 22:16 tells us that Baptism washes away our sins. Paul says that the Church is cleansed “by the washing of water with the Word” (Ephesians. 5:25-26).Jesus also said that you enter the Kingdom of God by being born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). If Baptism brings you into the Kingdom of God, then it takes you out of the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). Baptism rescues us from the devil.Baptism grants us life and salvation. Jesus promises that Baptism saves us in Mark 16:16. Peter affirms that Baptism saves in 1 Peter 3:21. Also, Paul says that God saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).Of course, our Protestant friends will protest that water cannot save you. Faith alone saves you. Well, it is true that faith saves us, but faith in what? We put our faith in the promises of the Lord. When He makes a promise, we believe Him. If the Lord says, “Pick up that straw and live,” faith doesn’t sneer at the straw and say, “How can mere straw save anyone?” Faith trusts the Lord and picks up the straw. Likewise, when our Lord connects His promises to Baptism, faith believes and receives the Gifts offered in the water.To despise Baptism is to doubt the Lord. Faith is ready to receive His Gifts, no matter how the Lord chooses to deliver them. The Lord brought the world out of water (Genesis 1:2). He rescued Israel by sending them through a sea. If He wants to give me eternal life and rescue me from sin and the devil by means of water, He can certainly do that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All who believe and are baptized Shall see the Lord’s salvation; Baptized into the death of Christ, They are a new creation. Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand Among the glorious heav’nly band Of ev’ry tribe and nation. ("All Who Believe and Are Baptized" LSB 601, st.1)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/22/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” (Matthew 9:12 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This spring I got sick—right before Holy Week, no less! I was coughing, blowing my nose all the time, and felt tired and weak. And that darn cold wouldn’t quit! It took three weeks before I had no more symptoms. Should I have gone to my doctor? Perhaps, but I was certain that he couldn’t help me. He would tell me, “Take some cold medicine and rest,” and then charge me for such, “wisdom.”Sometimes the Bible describes sin as a sickness. If sin is a disease, it’s a bad one. It lasts a lot longer than a few weeks. It lasts a lifetime! And sin is deadly. Those sick with sin will die. You can’t fight it. Sin is far worse than cancer. And you’ve got it! This disease is passed from Adam to his descendants, and you caught it from your mom and dad!If sin is a sickness, then Jesus is the good physician. And He’s the kind of doctor you can trust. He won’t look you over and say, “Yep, its sin. Sorry, I can’t help you. Just take some cold medicine and enjoy life while you still can. Here’s the bill.” No, Jesus can help the sin-sick soul. He can do something that no other doctor can do: He can take your sickness and let it kill Him, and then give you His health and life!Matthew the Evangelist describes in his Gospel how Jesus, “took our illnesses and bore our diseases,” (8:17 ESV). He took our sin, and then He suffered the fate of all sinners. He died, while feeling the full weight of God’s displeasure. Since He paid for our sins, Jesus can grant us His life. He can apply the sweet balm of Absolution to our wounds. He can feed us the Medicine of Immortality—His Body and His Blood. Through Word and Sacrament, His life is bestowed upon us! Jesus takes our sickness and gives us His health. He suffers our death and shares with us His life. Luther called this the Joyous Exchange. Are you a sinner? Then Jesus is the doctor for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Feast of St. Matthew)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/21/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:16-24Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Once you were ruled by the flesh. Once you were a slave of sin. You gratified your wicked desires. No longer! You are now a slave of Christ. Jesus is your Lord and Master. He rescued you from sin. On the cross He paid the price for your freedom. Then, He marked you with His own name in Holy Baptism.The Law could not rescue you from sin. The Law is good, but sin used the Law to keep you imprisoned (Gal. 3:22-23). Like gasoline added to a fire, the Law made sin abound (Rom. 5:20). The Law didn’t merely reveal sin. The Law increased sin, for its threats stirred up resentment toward God, dread of His wrath, and a covetous desire for whatever God forbids. Grace, on the other hand, extinguishes the fire. Your guilt is absolved and your heart begins to love the God that first loved us.Does this mean that I can sin however much I want? Of course not! If we intentionally sin, we are returning to our former master. We are intentionally gratifying the desires of the flesh, as if we were slaves of sin yet again. We were liberated from sin, so that we might be led by the Spirit. To follow the Spirit is to walk away from sin, for the two are against each other. Remember these words of our Lord: “No one can serve two masters,” (Matt. 6:24 ESV).This is the life of repentance: to turn your back on sin and to walk with the Spirit; to renounce the works of the flesh and to put your faith in Jesus—and such faith will produce the fruit of the Spirit. When we repent of our sins and give them to Jesus, they cannot harm us. When we cling to our sins, Jesus cannot help us. Therefore, repent of your sins and give them to Jesus. Crucify the flesh (Gal. 5:24), so that you might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon ourselves the armor of light now in the time of this mortal life in which Your Son, Jesus Christ, came to visit us in great humility, that in the Last Day, when He shall come again in glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Newness of Life in Christ, LSB page 311)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/20/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Monday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 4:10-23Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20; 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15“Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” (Proverbs 4:13 ESV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are two roads: the Way of Wisdom and the Way of Folly. The Way of Folly is the Road of Unbelief and Sin. It is the path that leads to death. This is the path that Jesus walked for you. He bore your sins and went to the cross to die in your place.According to Proverbs, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight,” (9:10 ESV). The fear of the Lord is contrition over your sin and confidence that the Lord will save you from those sins. Simply put, those who repent and believe are on the Way of Wisdom—a path that leads to life. How do you remain on that path? Proverbs tells us to keep hold of the instruction and to guard it. The instruction is your life! Likewise, we read these words: “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh,” (Prov. 9:20-22 ESV).The Word of the Lord creates faith. The Word also nourishes, sustains, and strengthens faith. The Word delivers Jesus to you. The life won on the cross is delivered through the good news: “You are absolved for the sake of Jesus!” When you doubt, return to the Word. When you have sinned, cling to the Word. This is how you stay on the Way of Wisdom.And those that remain attentive to the gracious Word and guard it in their hearts will receive eternal life on the Last Day, when their decaying flesh is healed by the risen Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise You for continuing among us the preaching of Your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send Your blessing upon the Word, which has been spoken to us, and by Your Holy Spirit increase our saving knowledge of You, that day by day we may be strengthened in the divine truth and remain steadfast in Your grace. Give us strength to fight the good fight and by faith to overcome all the temptations of Satan, the flesh, and the world, so that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (For Blessing on the Word, LSB pg. 308)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/19/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Sunday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 17:11-19Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; 1 Timothy 1:1-20And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our English translations have to make a couple of interpretive choices when they translate Luke 17:19. Jesus literally says, “Arise! Journey!  Your faith has saved you!”First, how do you translate “saved”? Obviously, Jesus saved this man from his skin disease. The ESV translates it this way: “Your faith had made you well.” However, Jesus did more than just heal his disease. He saved him from the state of exile caused by his impurity. An incurable skin disease would prevent anyone from entering a holy space, such as the temple. Also, in extreme cases you would be excluded from society, lest you pass your impurity to them. Jesus healed this man’s disease, but He also healed both the rift between this man and God and the rift between him and his fellow men. Jesus saved him!Second, when Jesus tells this man to get up and journey, what does He mean? The ESV assumes that Jesus is telling this man to move along—to go back home and to normal life. This is possible, but it is also possible that Jesus is inviting this man to journey with Him—to follow Him as a disciple and travel with Him to Jerusalem. That second interpretation certainly fits the theme of this Sunday. The Propers for this Sunday emphasize that after Jesus purifies you of your sins, you must follow Jesus and remain with Him. Thus, Proverbs 4:10-23 invites us to stay on the way of wisdom and the path of righteousness. In Galatians, Paul encourages us to walk by the Spirit, which means to crucify your flesh and to produce the fruit of the Spirit. The Introit speaks of dwelling with the Lord in His house.You are pure in the eyes of God as long as you are in Christ. He is your righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Christ you find the grace of God. To leave Christ is to leave God’s grace. Salvation is not a one-time event that occurred in the past. It is a reality that you live in. You were baptized into Christ. In Him you must stay. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, keep Your Church with Your perpetual mercy; and because of our frailty we cannot but fall, keep us ever by Your help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 14th Sunday after Trinity)-Pastor Alexander Lange is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Albany, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/18/20226 minutes, 38 seconds
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Saturday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 84:1-2a, 4, 10b, 11b; antiphon: v.9-10a)Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! (From the Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Are you looking forward to tomorrow? Are you looking forward to entering the house of the Lord to receive His Gifts and sing His praise? Or is tomorrow just the end of the weekend? Is tomorrow the last day of freedom before going back to work or school on Monday morning, the end of something good? Are you looking forward to gathering with the Body of Christ to hear God's Word, or are you dreading how slowly that hour of worship goes by? Does it seem like church isn't the most exciting or entertaining thing or your pastor's sermons are a little long and dry and boring and you just don't seem to get anything out of them? Does it seem like sometimes you would rather be any place other than in the house of God? What do we do when we don't really feel like going to church?Don't go. Well, don't go for you. Go for your neighbor. Go whether you feel like it or not because maybe your neighbor is struggling, and they need to see you there. Go and confess the faith because maybe your neighbor will be encouraged by hearing your confession. Go and sing the hymns because maybe your neighbor needs to hear your voice, whether it's on key or not. Go because maybe your pastor needs to see you and be encouraged that his preaching is not in vain even if it isn't the best preaching you've ever heard.But more importantly, go because whether it feels like it or not, the Lord's house is a good place to be. It may not be the most exciting, entertaining, or your favorite place to be, but it is the place where God's Gifts are delivered. It is the place where God's blessings are delivered, His Word is preached, and His Sacraments are administered. It is the place where your sins are forgiven for the sake of the crucified and risen Christ. And just maybe it will be the place where you are encouraged because your neighbor showed up even when he didn't feel like it, confessed his faith for you to hear, and joined with you and the millions in heaven and on earth to sing to God and to the Lamb. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing; To God and to the Lamb I will sing; To God and to the Lamb, Who is the great I AM, While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing, While millions join the theme, I will sing. ("What Wondrous Love Is This" LSB 543, st.3)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/17/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Friday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Colossians 3:1-25 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Galatians 3:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world demands a lot of us. Parents, teachers, friends, bosses, and coworkers demand that we "do this" or "do that." Sometimes, the Bible seems no different. "Set your minds on things that are above" (Galatians 3:2). "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you" (Galatians 3:5). "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Galatians 3:13). "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Galatians 3:17).Even that only names a few of the list of demands Paul gives to the Galatians and to you and me. Often the Bible can seem very Law-heavy and demanding. It preaches the Gospel, like Paul does to the Galatians, but then Paul seems to undo it with a list of demands. Sometimes, even the Gospel can seem like a demand. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). So what are we supposed to do? What demand does the Bible put on Christians?None. Even here, Paul is not demanding anything of the Christian, nor anything of you. No, he is appealing to our freedom. He is rejoicing in the freedom that we have because of Christ. Jesus has done everything that is necessary and fulfilled every demand for your salvation. Nothing is left for you to do. Even repentance and Baptism isn't for you to do, but it is God's work. He does it all for you. He dies and rises for you. It is all His work for you, to make your salvation sure and certain apart from your works. Nothing more is demanded from you or of you. You are free from every demand and command.What a wonderful gift to be free! How wonderful it is to have our freedom from sin. We are no longer held by sin but are raised with Christ. We are free to love as Christ has loved us. We are free to do whatever we want, in word or deed, in the Name of Jesus, giving thanks to God. We are free to focus on higher things, to glorify God, to bring our neighbor into God's kingdom with us to set them free. We are free to be God's means to save others. We are free from worrying about ourselves because Christ has done it all for us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Where charity and love prevail There God is ever found; Brought here together by Christ's love By love are we thus bound. ("Where Charity and Love Prevail" LSB 845, st.1)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/16/20226 minutes, 38 seconds
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Thursday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism part 1Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11,14-33; Colossians 2:8-23 Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's word. (Small Catechism: Baptism) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we baptize? Why do I need to be baptized? Is it just because God said so? Don't you hate that? When your parents tell you that you have to do something, "Because I said so"? If it was such a good thing to do, don't you think they would have an explanation as to "why" it is such a great idea? It makes you think they want you to do it for some random, arbitrary, reason without any real purpose or point to it other than, "Because I said so."As a pastor and a parent, I can tell you it's not always for no reason that we tell you to do something, "Because I said so." Sometimes I just don't have time to explain the "why" behind what I want you to do. Sometimes it's because you just might not understand the reason or purpose behind doing what is commanded and so the command stands alone.There are things, times, and lessons we have to learn without knowing the whole picture or reason behind them. There are times when we just have to trust that God's knowledge is bigger than our own and that something is good or will at least work out okay, "Because He said so." Baptism is not one of those times.In Baptism, there is more than just God's command to baptize all nations. In Baptism, the water is combined not only with the command, but also with God's Word, God's Promise. God tells us why we baptize and are baptized. Baptism makes disciples. Baptism puts Christ upon us. Baptism crucifies us with Christ and raises us to new life. Baptism saves you, "not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21). Your Baptism is for the comfort of your conscience. It is God's Promise to you that for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus, your sins are forgiven, your salvation has been won, and your eternal life is secure. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Baptism we now put on Christ- Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed and feely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav'nly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/15/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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Holy Cross Day

Today's Reading: John 12:20-33Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Colossians 1:24-2:7 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:20-33) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Not many people wear jewelry depicting a needle or the electric chair. I don't see many gold noose necklaces proudly displayed dangling from a chain on someone's chest. Maybe I hang out with the wrong crowd, but I don't see many guillotine charm bracelets adorning wrists. These are all instruments of death, means that have been used throughout history to carry out the death penalty. I do, however, see crosses on necklaces, bracelets, earrings, on clothing or tattoos. Maybe I am hanging out with the wrong crowd.The cross was the chosen instrument and means of death in carrying out the death penalty for the Romans. It wasn't a humane way to die. In fact, it was designed to maximize the pain and agony of the one being crucified. But if this is one of the most gruesome, painful, and agonizing ways to die in all of human history, why do we wear it with pride and adorn ourselves with it? Maybe it's because the Cross is more than a symbol of death. Or maybe it's because the death that happened there to Jesus wasn't just the end of someone's life. Maybe it's because it was there on the Cross that the grain of wheat, the seed and source of life, fell into the earth and died so that it might bear much fruit. Maybe it's because that instrument of death is a true sign of triumph that life conquers death, that Christ rises from the dead, that the fruit of that Tree is the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Maybe it's because the Cross is the symbol of the world's redemption from sin and death.Maybe it's all of that. We lift high the cross, parade it around in churches and on our bodies in gold and jewels, because it is from that Cross of Christ, from the body and life that is given then, from the blood of God which is shed there, that we do not remain alone but are united with God and all the faithful who wish to see Jesus in life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world's redemption, For the weight that hung on thee! ("Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle" LSB 454, st.4)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/14/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tuesday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:15-22Daily Lectionary:2 Chronicles 32:1-22; Colossians 1:1-23 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. (Galatians 3:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What came first: the Law or the Gospel? Does it matter? Paul seems to think so. Once a covenant is made, you cannot change it. Once a contract has been signed, you don't add to it or subtract from it. If that's true with the agreements we make with one another, then how much more so is this true for a covenant God makes with us?But what is the covenant that God makes with us, and with Abraham? It is Law, or is it Gospel? Which comes first, or do they go together? Is it like a vending machine where I put my money, my work in and get the gifts out? Then the Law must come first. But if the Law comes second, 430 years afterward, then that changes things. If the promise of the Gospel is given to Abraham first, and the Law doesn't come to Moses until 430 years later, then the Gospel, the covenantal Promise, is ratified, it's made, it's signed by the hand of God apart from works of the Law.That is my kind of vending machine! No works, no money, without so much as a quarter, yet out come the gifts of God. God promises and fulfills His promise to Abraham by grace alone. God's own Son, our Savior, comes not because of our own merit, but by grace and grace alone. Because of His merit, that of Jesus, and the free gift of faith given by the Holy Spirit, we have eternal life.So what then of the Law that comes 430 years later? Those are the instructions that show us how to put this good Gift into use. They don't change the Gift. The covenant, the Promise, the Gospel, is not annulled, canceled, added to, subtracted from, or changed because of them. The death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins is sure and certain. The instructions, too, are a gift that we might share the Gospel to others so they would have the Gift of life, also. They don't take the Gift away, but aid us in presenting that Gift to others so that they might know God's grace as we do. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. By grace God's Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace and grace alone, That brought Him from His heav'nly throne. ("By Grace I'm Saved" LSB 566, st.3)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/13/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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Monday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:8-15Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Judah and Jerusalem had been defeated and taken captive. 200,000 of them were taken as slaves along with their possessions as spoils of war. They were being taken from their land, their city, and the temple in which their God dwelt. Their lives and their world were being turned upside down and God had allowed it all to happen. In fact, He didn't just allow it, He was the one behind it, working through their captors to call them to repentance and faith. They had sinned against God and He was punishing them for their unfaithfulness.It's hard to argue with what God was doing. The people deserved it. They had turned their backs on God and disobeyed Him and His commandments. They deserved for God to forsake them, to turn His back on them. It's what we deserve for our sin. We turn our backs  on God when we sin against Him. We follow the devil and deserve to follow him into slavery to sin, all the way to death and hell, but we never get there.Israel never got there, either. Certain men of Ephraim stepped in and intervened. God stepped in to rescue His people from slavery. He took those who were destined for slavery and returned them to Judah. He cared for them not just to set them free, but that they would be clothed, given sandals, food, drink, anointed, carried and delivered back to their land. What great mercy He shows to Israel!What great mercy He shows to us who are destined for slavery, death and hell. By the blood of His Son, He intervenes, rescues us, and returns us to the Promised Land. He clothes us with Christ's righteousness, with the shirt on our backs and the food in our bellies. He cares for us in body and soul now and to eternity with the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. God's promise is to be with you always, even when your life seems like it's being turned upside down, and especially when it is ending, that you would enter into His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, forsake me not! Your gracious presence lend me; Lord, lead Your helpless child; Your Holy Spirit send me That I my course may run. O be my light, my lot, My staff, my rock, my shield- O God, forsake me not! ("O God, Forsake Me Not" LSB 731, st.1)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/12/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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The 13th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 10:21-37Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The lawyer thinks he knows it all. He tries to test Jesus to see how smart He is, to see if Jesus is any match for him. Little does he know that he is asking the wrong question to the wrong person. He asks, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) Jesus tells him what he must do if he wants to inherit eternal life. If he wants to earn his way into heaven, if you want to earn your way into heaven, be like the good Samaritan. You must have compassion on the poor, downtrodden, and needy. You must care for them, give them everything they need, the donkey you're riding on and the shirt off your back, and pay the full price to restore their life. Nothing short of doing everything will suffice.Ouch. Jesus brings the full weight and hammer of the Law down on this lawyer. He wants to be put under the Law, so Jesus brings the Law. The Law beats him and convicts him down to its last detail, that even a foreign Samaritan outsider is better than this lawyer. He is stripped of the self-righteousness he is seeking and left in a ditch to die. That's what the Law does to us, too. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27).Thanks be to God for that Samaritan, that man passing by who has come from a foreign place to pick us up and restore our life. He takes our broken sinfulness, our self-righteousness, and carries them for us. He bears the wounds and carries the scars that our sins make in His body for us. He carries us to the inn of His Church where He nurses us back to health and life by washing our wounds in the waters of Holy Baptism, by feeding and nourishing us not just with bread and wine but with every Word that comes from the mouth of God, even His very Body and Blood. He pays the full price for our lives not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death that we might be His own, and that by His work we might inherit eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 13th Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Brett Simek is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hilbert, WI. He also serves as catechesis coordinator for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/11/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Saturday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 13th Sunday after Trinity(Psalm 74:1-2, 19b, 21b; antiphon: v.20a, 21a, 22a, 23a)Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; Philippians 2:12-30 Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Let the poor and needy praise your name. (From the Introit for the 13th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 74 is not full of cheerful thoughts, fluffy teddy bears, and bright rainbows. It speaks about the temple in Jerusalem lying in ruins and there being no more prophets who proclaim the Word of the Lord. The psalmist even goes so far as to say that the Lord God who is their shepherd has turned bright red in anger, smoke billowing from His ears, and the sheep are the source and recipients of God's anger. Not a happy thought. Life for the psalmist is about as depressed and cheerless and miserable as it can get. Ever felt that way? Of course you have. We all have. That's part of sinful human existence. Sin has corrupted us through and through, breaking and destroying God's good creation. This is the beauty of the psalms. They get you. Ever feel like God has forgotten about you? So did the psalmists. Ever feel like God just doesn't care what happens to you? So did the psalmists. The Word of God which they wrote speaks to every human condition and emotion. Most of all, the psalms point you to Jesus. God does not forget His children. He does not abandon them. What He does is send His only-begotten Son into the world to save the poor in spirit, those who feel downtrodden and abandoned and hopeless. The poor and needy of the Scriptures are those who have been so broken by sin that they have nothing left but to cry to Jesus for salvation. And salvation they received. Freely. All gift because Jesus has taken your sins and brokenness and hopelessness to Himself on the Cross and gives to you His glorious life, death, and resurrection. Jesus has purchased and redeemed you, as the psalmist begs. All the prayers of the psalms, all your prayers, are answered in Jesus. Therefore, you who were once poor and needy, praise the Name of the Lord your God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the midst of His congregation for He has remembered and redeemed you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In suff'ring be Thy love my peace, In weakness be Thy love my pow'r; And when the storms of life shall cease, O Jesus, in that final hour, Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me safely to Thy side! ("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" LSB 683, st.4)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/10/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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Friday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 6:1-23; Philippians 1:21-2:11 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Isaiah 6, the prophet is given a vision of heaven's throne room. The six-winged seraphim shouted out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3). In the great Sanctus of Divine Service Setting Three, we leave "host" untranslated as "Sabaoth." They mean the same thing: a heavenly army. The Lord God of heaven's army, whom Isaiah saw, was again seen by Elisha and his servant. Heaven's army was on full display, even if at first Elisha's servant did not see it. This army of horses and chariot all ablaze was there to save God's people from destruction and deliver them from their enemies. That same Lord God of Sabaoth came to do battle for you. This time it was not hidden, but on full public display. Yet as visible as it was, most do not see it. It looks like a huge loss. Instead of being cloaked in fire with a vast army sounding Him, this time the Lord God is alone, hanging on a cross, dying. Not very victorious to the human eye. When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of faith, then you see a very different picture. Though your enemies of sin, death, and the devil try to surround you, you have Christ Jesus, the Son of the Lord God, and all of heaven's armies. He has saved you from destruction and delivered you from your enemies. His death is your salvation and by His resurrection He has won the victory. Satan and his demonic horde have been defeated and are going down kicking and screaming like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Your sin is forgiven. Death is no longer a threat. Now, in the presence of these defeated enemies, the Lord prepares a great feast of victory, His Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrament, as we join with the seraphim and angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to sing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of heaven's army!" On the day that Christ welcomes you home to the eternal feast, your enemies will never come to raid you again, for Christ is your victory now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; Sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, Sound the loud triumphant lay; Tell how Christ, the world's redeemer, As a victim won the day. ("Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle" LSB 454, st.1)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/9/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Thursday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 5:9-27; Philippians 1:1-20 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The answer: No. Nei. Nope. Nada. Nein. No way José. Non. Nullus. Impossible. Inconceivable. The question: Can anything separate you from God's love toward you in Christ Jesus? The devil will try. The world and culture around you will try. Your own sinful flesh will try. None of them change the fact:. God has loved the world, has loved you, and sent His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ into this world to die for the sins of the world, for your sin, that whoever believes in Him, in Jesus, will not perish but have eternal life. Period. No exceptions. 100% guaranteed. Even the believing is gift to you, not something you have to strive to do. Staying in the faith, to keep believing — guess what, that's all gift to you as well. Talk about a crazy love! God does it all. The Father does the sending of Jesus. Jesus does the saving by His death on the Cross. The Holy Spirit gifts you and keeps you believing in Jesus. It's all God from beginning to end. No wonder nothing in all of creation can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. God is on your side. He loves you and wants you to be with Him, now and eternally. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32) Look at what He gives. He has washed you in the waters of Holy Baptism in His Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has absolved you of all your sins. He feeds you with Jesus' Body and Blood in bread and wine to put the forgiveness won on the Cross into you. He preaches His Word into your ear. All gift from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. What can stop God's love for you in Christ Jesus? Nothing. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For no one can condemn me Or set my hope aside; Now hell no more can claim me: Its fury I deride. No sentence now reproves me, No guilt destroys my peace; For Christ, my Savior, loves me And shields me with His grace. ("If God Himself Be for Me" LSB 724, st.5)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/8/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Wednesday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, ConclusionDaily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:48-5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24 For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. What does this mean? This means that I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us. Amen, amen, means, "yes, yes, it shall be so." (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Conclusion) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church has a way that She prays. The Prayer of the Church in the Divine Service ends each petition with, "Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer" or "In peace, let us pray to the Lord; Lord have mercy." We find a similar addition to the psalms or Introit with the Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit), to give glory and praise to the One to whom we have just prayed. And so we also have a Church ending, or better, a liturgical ending to the Lord's Prayer, which is not found in most translations of the Bible. It is part of the language of the Church in prayer. This ending is threefold, a doxology, reminding us that as we pray to our Father who art in heaven, we are also praying to the Son and Holy Spirit, the Triune God. To this Triune God alone belongs the eternal kingdom opened to us by the death of Christ, the power which saves us now and eternally, and the glory and praise which we sing in the Church on earth and will sing with the Church in eternity. To all of our prayers we add, "Amen." This is an affirmation by Christians that all for which we have prayed, in the Lord's Prayer, in our liturgical prayers, and in our individual daily prayers, has been heard by our God and He is answering those prayers with His, "Yes!" As Paul assures us by inspiration, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31) The death of Jesus for you and your salvation is the assurance, the pledge and promise, that God will answer every one of your prayers with His "Amen," according to His gracious will. Thus we boldly and confidently pray, "Amen," knowing that God has heard and answered our prayers and caused His will to be done in all things, even our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We trust, O Lord, in Your great mercy to hear and answer us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/7/20226 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:8-22, 32-37; Ephesians 5:15-33 For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The letter kills. What letter? Maybe the letter "t," because it looks like a sword standing on end? No! The letter of the Law. If you try to justify yourself before God based only on your ability to keep the Law, the Ten Commandments, you won't be successful. You will die because no one can keep the Law perfectly enough. As a matter of fact, the more you stare at the Law, the more you see that you are a sinner who sins in thought, word, and deed, and deserves nothing but God's temporal and eternal punishment. Alright, say it with me: The Holy Spirit "has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." The Spirit gives life by the Gospel, the Good News that on account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, your sin is forgiven and you have life now that lasts into eternity. This is not your work, accomplished by your keeping the letter of the Law, as if you could, but on account of Jesus for you. He kept that holy Law perfectly in your place and gives His obedience as a gift to you. This is the Good News that Paul and other pastors proclaim to you. It is not because they have kept the Law perfectly on their own. They must rely on Jesus the same as you do for their forgiveness. God is the One who calls them and gives to them the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of proclaiming Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. This is why, when they stand before you in the Divine Service or private confession, they can say, "In the stead and by the command of Christ Jesus, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." God has given them this Word. It does not come from them, but from God for you. And this Word is more sure than even the words that were carved into rock for Moses. These words have permanent, eternal glory, for they are Christ's words of forgiveness and salvation for you account of His death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The gifts of grace and peace From absolution flow; The pastor's words are Christ's For us to trust and know. Forgiveness that we need Is granted to us there; The Lord of mercy sends Us forth in His blest care. ("The Gifts Christ Freely Gives" LSB 602, st.3)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/6/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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Monday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Isaiah 29:17-24Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:19-25; 4:1-7; Ephesians 4:25-5:14 Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? (Isaiah 29:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. With the fall into sin, the world was turned upside down. The lush garden of the Lord was turned into a wilderness of thickets and thorns and all sorts of things that can hurt you. Instead of perfectly formed bodies that worked at full capacity, sin brought sicknesses like deafness, blindness, cancer, flus and viruses, muscle aches, papercuts, and hangnails. Instead of listening to the Word of the Lord, we closed our ears and sinned against God and one another. We have lived in this broken, sinful world so long that we don't even realize how upside-down the world is. The prophet Isaiah comes with words of turning the upside down world right side up, and it sounds strange to our ears. In a little while, Isaiah proclaimed, God will come to restore all things to the way He created them to be. There will be a day, he promises, when the desolate wilderness will be a fruit-filled field, when the deaf will hear the words of a book proclaimed, when the blind will be able to see, and the poor who have had no reason to rejoice will sing for joy because the Holy One of Israel has acted to redeem creation. This restoration of creation began in the life and ministry of Jesus. He has made the deaf to hear the Word of the Holy Scriptures that proclaim life in His Name. He has opened the eyes of all who are spiritually blind and dead in their sins and trespasses by calling them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Sinners are forgiven on account of the craziest upside down action ever to occur: The Son of God dies! Yet by this action, the Lord redeems the world, and sets the upside down world right side up. He has opened your ears to His Word of salvation and declared you His child, the work of His hands in Holy Baptism. You are still living in the upside-down world and are not able to see this restoration fully, but by His death, Jesus has turned things right side up. One day He will make it all visible when He returns in glory and brings you into His right-side-up eternity, so that you may stand in awe of the God who saves you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Creator of the stars of night, Thy people's everlasting Light: O Christ, Redeemer, save us all And hear Thy servants when they call. ("Creator of the Stars of Night" LSB 351, st.1)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/5/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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The 12th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Mark 7:31-37Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:1-18; Ephesians 4:1-24 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." (Mark 7:34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus sighed. You know this sigh. It's the one you might make when you can't believe what you are dealing with. Part frustration. Part sadness. Mix in some disappointment and anger and you have this sigh. How long, O Lord? How long? A man who cannot hear has been brought to Jesus, but he has no idea that he should go to Jesus. Not hearing the voice of a loved one is painful. Not hearing the voice of God through the Holy Scriptures? That is eternally dangerous. Remember, they didn't have printed Bibles in their homes to read like you and I do. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17), and this man can't hear the Word of Christ who is standing right in front of him. How often have you turned a perfectly good ear from hearing the Word of Christ? Thus Christ sighs. Frustration, sadness, maybe some anger, at what sin has wrought on mankind. Jesus takes hold of this man to do for him what no one else can do. Jesus saves him. With healed ears, the man can hear the saving Word of Christ. His tongue is released so that he might proclaim salvation by faith in Christ to others who will hear. The Word of Christ to which Paul refers is the entirety of the Bible, climaxing in the Word made Flesh, Christ Jesus, who was sacrificed on the Cross in order that heaven would "ephphatha," be opened, to all who confess with their mouth, their released tongue, "that Jesus is Lord and believe in [their] heart that God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9). The preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for sinners opens the ears and releases the tongue that you might hear the Good News of your salvation and sing the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. By Jesus' death on the Cross, heaven has been opened to you, that hearing the Word of Christ, confessing with your tongue that Jesus is Lord, and believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 12th Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/4/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 12th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 70:2b, 4a, 5b; antiphon: v.1-2a)Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Ephesians 3:1-21 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! (From the Introit for the 12th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words of our text are familiar words. They begin both Matins and Vespers. They are the prayers of David and all the saints, asking that the Lord God not remember our sins, but remember His children. God has the worst and greatest memory. Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God has the worst memory, an incurable case of amnesia. He can't remember your sins. They have been forgiven, absolved, removed from you completely. Like that answer on the test you just cannot remember, so God cannot remember your sins any longer. They are forgiven in Jesus and forgotten eternally. Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God has the greatest memory the world has ever known. He knows and remembers you all the time. You are His child with whom He is well pleased. There is no sin in you on account of Christ. The Triune God has written His Name on your forehead with the sign of the Holy Cross in your Baptism. You are marked as one redeemed, one who has been delivered from sin, death, and the power of the devil. That is why when we sing these words, you may see people make the sign of the Holy Cross upon themselves as they remember their Baptisms. Just as God remembers us whom He has delivered, so we remember the One who has delivered us. There will be times in your life when your sins will be hard to forget. They haunt you. Others will remind you of those sins so that you cannot forget them. That is the work of the devil as he seeks your life for himself. It is the devil, the evil one, who remembers your sins and uses them against you to destroy faith.O Lord, "you are my help and my deliverer" (Psalm 70:5b), David prays and teaches us to pray. When the devil, the world, and your flesh seek your life with remembrance of past sins, turn to your Father, who for the sake of Christ remembers your sins no more. What He does remember is that you are His. You are His fully forgiven child with whom He is well pleased on account of Christ Jesus. Make haste, O Lord, to help us remember this each and every day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I trust, O Lord, Your holy name; O let me not be put to shame Nor let me be confounded. My faith, O Lord, Be in Your Word Forever firmly grounded. ("I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name" LSB 734, st. 1)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/3/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Hannah

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ephesians 2:1-22 And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation." (1 Samuel 2:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I once heard a pastor say that God answers prayer in four ways: "Yes," "No," "Let's do it my way," "You've got to be kidding me!" Paul writes, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you … was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes" (2 Corinthians 1:19). God's answer to prayer is always, "Yes." It may not seem like it this side of heaven, because that "Yes" often includes "In God's time, according to God's way." Hannah had no children. She prayed to God for a son and in due time, God's "Yes" was manifest. Hannah's boy was Samuel, a great prophet and last judge in Israel. After Samuel was born, Hannah "lent him to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:28) and sang a prayer, the opening verse of our text for today. Does it sound familiar? Hannah's song foreshadows another sung prayer we call the Magnificat, the Song of Mary in Luke 1. Both of these faithful women rejoiced in the promises of the Lord God that He would provide salvation for His people. For Hannah, it would be the life-long service of her boy child to minister to the people of God. For Mary, it would be the life-giving sacrifice of her boy child to save the world. Both of these faithful women believed the Word that God's messenger delivered to them, no matter how unlikely it seemed that that Word could be fulfilled. This, then, is what we learn from God's Word via these faithful women: What God has spoken through His Word, He will bring to fulfillment. God promised Eve that a day would come when one of her sons would crush the works of the devil. God inspired Hannah's son Samuel to prophesy that one of David's sons would sit on God's throne forever. Mary's Son was the fulfillment of these promises. Jesus is the Son of David, the Christ, by whom the ancient serpent is crushed as Jesus dies on the Cross to forgive sin, all sin, your sin. In Holy Baptism, God has declared you His child, born not of a woman, but of the Spirit. When you pray to your Father in heaven, like Hannah, He will answer you with a resounding, "Yes," according to His will. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To Hannah, praying childless Before Your throne of grace, You gave a son and called him To serve before Your face. Grant us her perseverance; Lord, teach us how to pray And trust in Your deliv'rance When darkness hides our way. ("For All the Faithful Women" LSB 855, st.6)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/2/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Thursday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-10Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19; Ephesians 1:1-23 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul makes it very simple. There is one message, one Gospel, that saves: Christ died for your sins in accordance with everything God has ever said in the Bible. Christ was buried. Christ was resurrected on the Third Day, again in accordance with everything God has ever said in the Bible. Believe this, hold fast to this, cling to this for dear life, for it is life, eternal life, life that knows no end. Change the message and you don't have the Gospel. Make the message about you and your life, not the death and resurrection of Jesus, and you don't have the Gospel. Ignore the Old Testament and you lose the richness of the Gospel that looked forward to and predicted that Jesus would have to die to forgive your sins and be raised to life again to grant you eternal life. Skip Good Friday and the death of Jesus, and there's no reason for an Easter Sunday. Leave Jesus dead on the Cross and you've got no hope in this life and certainly not in the age to come. This is of first importance, the most important of the importants: Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and three days later arose to life that will not end. Nothing else changes your life now and your life to come in eternity. This earliest version of our creeds, and their source, is why we confess the creeds every day and especially on Sundays. When something is important you want to remember it all the time. So confess the creed every day. It will guard and protect you from ever forgetting what is the most important thing in life: the Good News, the Gospel in which you stand, by which you are being saved. Christ died for your sins in accordance with the Scriptures, He was buried, and was raised to life on the Third Day in accordance with the Scriptures. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If Christ had not been raised from death Our faith would be in vain, Our preaching but a waste of breath, Our sin and guilt remain. But now the Lord is ris'n indeed; He rules in earth and heav'n: His Gospel meets a world of need—In Christ we are forgiv'n. ("If Christ Had Not Been Raised from Death" LSB 486, st.1)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
9/1/20226 minutes, 1 second
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Wednesday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Seventh PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 But deliver us from evil. What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven. (Small Catechism: Seventh Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday, we heard about the temptation which Cain gave into that caused him to sin. The Lord had warned Cain that sin was "crouching at the door" (Genesis 4:7), waiting to pounce like a lion ready to kill its prey. Peter writes, "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). You can hear the same language in what Peter writes as you do when the Lord speaks to Cain and which Luther echoes in the catechism. Evil is all around us. We don't have to go searching for it. It finds us. Like a lion crouching in readiness to pounce on its prey, so the devil, along with the world and our own sinful flesh, is ready to unleash all sorts of evil on us in an effort to cause us to reject God and His gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. Thus Jesus teaches us to pray for ourselves and all other Christians that our Father in heaven would save us. Save us from the assaults of the evil one. Save us from the unbelieving world that wants us to be just like it. Save us from our own flesh that would rather indulge in sin and  would reject salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Save us He does. In love, the Father sent His Son into this world to rescue, to save us from sin, death, and every evil, including the evil one, the devil. Jesus has taken an evil death away from us by His death on the Cross and given to us His blessed resurrection, so that when our time on this earth comes to its end, we can fall asleep in Jesus in peace. In Jesus, we have been delivered from the great evil of unbelief and we look forward to the day when Jesus will call us to Himself where we will be eternally freed from all evil of body and soul. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, but help us by Your Spirit to subdue our flesh, to turn from the world and its ways, and to overcome the devil with all his wiles. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/31/20225 minutes, 57 seconds
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Tuesday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 4:1-15Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24 And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." (Genesis 4:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord says to Cain, "What have you done?" It echoes what the Lord said to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9) We all have Cain in us. In his anger, Cain was tempted to sin. You are tempted in various ways to sin. The Lord comes to you through His Word to empower you to resist temptation and not sin. Yet, because like Cain you are a child of Adam and Eve, you give into temptation and sin. Sin results in consequences. For Cain, it means he becomes a fugitive and wanderer of the earth, always on the verge of death. You and I, because of our sin, are fugitives from God and wanderers of this earth, too, always on the verge of death. Along comes another shepherd, the Good Shepherd who is led outside of the city to be killed. Abel points us to Jesus. The Good Shepherd has been killed outside the city to save sinful fugitives and wanderers. Jesus has been killed to forgive you all your sins, all the times you have given into temptation and sinned. Then He was buried. His bloody corpse was laid in a tomb in the ground. Your brother's blood cries to the Father from the ground. And what does it cry? The Lord says, "What have you done?" and the voice of your brother Jesus' blood cries out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The blood of Christ Jesus, your brother, cries out forgiveness, for you. Therefore, you are no longer a fugitive. "Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). You are no longer a wanderer. "In my Father's house are many rooms. . . If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:2-3). You have been marked with the sign of the holy Cross in Holy Baptism, so that death can no longer kill you eternally. The voice of the blood of your brother Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has cried out a better Word than the blood of Abel, a Word of Absolution for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Adam we have all been one, One huge rebellious man; We all have fled that evening voice That sought us as we ran. But Thy strong love, it sought us still And sent Thine only Son That we might hear His Shepherd's voice And, hearing Him, be one. ("In Adam We Have All Been One" LSB 569 sts.1, 3)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/30/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:42-12:19; 2 Corinthians 7:1-16 When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. (Mark 6:20b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist was not out to win friends. He was sent by God to call people to confess and repent of their sins, to change their sinful ways, and return to the Lord God and His way. Your pastor is called to do the same thing. He is called to make you uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that you might want to shut him up and tuck him away where he can't be heard anymore. John also pointed to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Your pastor is called to do the same thing. We call this preaching Law and Gospel. The Law as contained in the Ten Commandments shows us our sins, like committing adultery in the case of Herod and Herodias. It makes us uncomfortable because we don't like to think of ourselves that way. We don't like hearing that we are sinners who sin in thought, word, and especially in deed. That's why we need preachers to put God's Law into our ears and hearts to convict us of our sins and call us to repentance. The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed on the Cross to take away the sin of the world–to take away your sin, all your sins of thought, word, and deed. Again, you need a preacher to put God's Gospel into your ear so that by the Holy Spirit you believe it. Then, like Herod, you can gladly hear God's Word of Law and Gospel through your pastor. It may often perplex you, it may confuse you, and it might not always make sense, but you should gladly hear and learn it. As strange as it may sound that God would send His only-begotten Son into this world just to kill Him on the altar of the Cross, that is the Gospel, the Good News of salvation for you. By His death on the Cross, Jesus has taken away your sin and forgiven you all your offenses against the Ten Commandments, in order that when you are laid in a tomb, you will be with Jesus, kept safe for eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our thanks for John the Baptist Who, till his dying day, Made straight paths for the Savior And heralded His way! In witnessing to Jesus Through times of threat or shame May we with faith and courage The Lamb of God proclaim. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st.24)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/29/20225 minutes, 57 seconds
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The 11th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 18:9-14Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26; 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You there! Do you think you are basically a good person who does good things when given the opportunity? Do you talk about yourself and your accomplishments every chance you get? Are there more selfies on your phone than pictures of others? Is everything you do posted on social media for others to like or comment on? Do you talk trash or gossip about those who are not in your friend group or who are just plain different? That is the Pharisee in our reading. He's self-assured, with no self-esteem issues. He's who we all are according to our human nature. And that's not a good thing in the eyes of God. Stare into the mirror of the Ten Commandments. See what a poor, miserable sinner you are. See that you sin in thought, word, and deed, all the time. Confess, that is, say back to God what He says about you. You are dead in your sins and trespasses. You have sinned by your fault, your own fault, your own most grievous fault. For you, Jesus died. God has been merciful to you, a sinner. God has in Christ Jesus absolved you of all your sins and washed them all away in the waters of Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit brings you to repent of your sins like the tax collector does, so that the mercy of God overwhelms you with His forgiveness and justifies you because of Jesus's death. In Jesus, you have been exalted with Jesus. Not your doing, but His doing for you. Jesus came to save sinners. He came to show mercy to those who do not deserve it in any way, shape, or form. Jesus came for you. In mercy, the Father sent His Son Jesus to be the One who justifies, saves you, so that you can stand up straight and lift your eyes up to heaven to see the place of your salvation — Jesus on the Cross for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than we either desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things that we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(Collect for the 11th Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/28/20226 minutes
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Saturday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 11th Sunday after Trinity          (Psalm 68:1, 3, 7a, 10b, 19; antiphon: v.5b, 6a, 35b)Daily Lectionary:1 Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 O God, when you went out before your people, in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. (From the Introit for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for tomorrow is drawn from the words of Psalm 68. Like all the other psalms, the 68th is a prayer. It doesn't seem to us like much of a prayer because it doesn't ask for anything. Instead, it is a song of thanksgiving for the great works of God. That's how prayer is sometimes. There are days when we can only cry out to God from within our pain. Sometimes we run out of words to say or are so beaten down that we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to cry to God on our behalf (Romans 8:26). And then there are days when we are filled with joy and our prayers reflect it. If you take a quick look at just a handful of psalms, you'll find both kinds of prayer. We are blessed to have the psalms to pray from our own lips.Psalm 68 moves us to praise God for His goodness. He is the God who rescues His people. He scatters His enemies and those who hate Him flee before Him! He gives power and strength to His people and provides for the needy. He bears us up and He is the God of our salvation. When the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh tell you that God is not for you, pray this psalm. When your guilty conscience shouts that you could never be forgiven, pray this psalm. When shame over sin makes you feel completely unlovable, pray this psalm. When the events of your life scream at you that God is absent, pray this psalm. For the One who bears you up is the One who was lifted up on a cross to remove the burden of your sin and shame. Jesus is the One who settles you into a home called the Church. Jesus is the One who is your salvation from death! Indeed, blessed be the Lord, who daily bears you up. God is your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Father like He tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame He knows; In His hand He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet His mercy flows. ("Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" LSB 793, st.3)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/27/20225 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Christianity is depicted apart from crosses, it always makes them scarier when Christians find out God actually does give them things they can't handle all the time, despite clinging to a mistranslated verse that doesn't actually say what they think it does.  Because it isn't you who handles all the stuff that's bigger than you. It's Jesus. Christianity is never depicted apart from suffering because our symbol is Christ crucified for us sinners. A God who won't associate with suffering is not a God who exists to be crucified for you. So there will be suffering because Jesus suffers for you to forgive you.  There's still suffering now, too, and it's maddening. On its own, it's soul-destroying. So Paul gives us something to cling to. We carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in us. We are baptized into Jesus' death. Into Jesus' resurrection. That changes things. The world is bigger than you and full of things you can't handle. But you carry with you the death of Jesus, suffering used for salvation, so the world cannot crush you. You carry in your body the Baptism He gives you, so you cling to the resurrection that gives you hope in the face of questions you can't answer. You are not forsaken, because God is in the suffering with you and for you. So you are already brought through suffering. It cannot destroy you.  The existence of God doesn't preclude the existence of suffering. It confirms it. You have a God who saves through the Cross. That's a God who dives into suffering to save, so He's a God who dives into suffering to carry you through yours, even if it's more than you can handle. This is what it is to remember your Baptism. You are baptized. Make the sign of the cross. Read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10. The life of Jesus that you carry speaks to your pain. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Despised and scorned, they sojourned here; But now, how glorious they appear! Those martyrs stand, A priestly band, God's throne forever near. On earth they wept through bitter years; Now God has wiped away their tears, Transformed their strife To heav'nly life, And freed them from their fears. They now enjoy the Sabbath rest, The heav'nly banquet of the blest; The Lamb, their Lord, At festive board Himself is host and guest. ("Behold a Host, Arrayed in White" LSB 676, st.2)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/26/20226 minutes, 38 seconds
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Thursday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Sixth PetitionDaily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 Lead us not into temptation. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. After "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," God teaches us to pray, "lead us not into temptation." I wonder if it's to remind us that Christian life isn't linear. You can take the Fifth Petition and run in a straight line one of two ways. The first is the idea of onward and upward. "I'm forgiven and now I build and that only goes one way. Constant improvement until perfection. Until I basically don't sin. Christian life is only measured by progress." The second way is straight on in what we were doing in the first place. "Since I'm forgiven, I might as well keep sinning." We read, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" and then quickly stop reading before it says, "BY NO MEANS."  That leads to "Since I know I'm forgiven I'll just do whatever I want." Don't worry about who your sins hurt, don't worry about the God who calls us to strive against those desires. Christian life is measured only in freedom to do whatever you want while yelling stuff about grace. Both are wrong. You're given this petition so you remember not just that you're forgiven, but that you're still in a bad spot. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation." It's not onward and upward or right on in sin. It's death and resurrection. We are constantly in need of the forgiveness that comes through the Cross, and constantly strive to live in the resurrection's freedom from sin. We constantly beg to be free from temptation because we're constantly falling into it. It's war against Old Adam, but it's fought in Christ, not in you. He has already won the victory.   There is no comfort in beating the drum of the Law. There is no real comfort in claiming that your actions should have no consequences while everything else falls apart because you keep doing dumb stuff. There is comfort in the Lord who tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.   We pray that we would see the victory we already have in Christ and cling to Him until we see it face to face. Christian life is measured by Jesus' bringing us through sin and death to resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lead not into temptation, Lord, Where our grim foe and all his horde Would vex our souls on ev'ry hand. Help us resist, help us to stand Firm in the faith, a mighty host, Through comfort of the Holy Ghost. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.7)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/25/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Today's Reading: Luke 22: 24-30Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-16; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17 "But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves." (Luke 22:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. Bartholomew is my favorite apostle. He's the Charlie Brown of the blessed Twelve. He's the kid who never fits in. He has one of the best lines in Scripture, as the first person to recognize the divinity of Jesus, but John calls him by the wrong name because John's too busy nursing a grudge he still has with Peter 40 years after they argued about who the greatest is. Bartholomew never got to do any of the cool apostle stuff like see the Transfiguration. After Luke closed the letter to Theophilus by talking about the all-stars, like Peter and Paul, St. Bart was martyred in modern-day Turkey for faithful preaching. They skinned him alive. So the Roman Catholics made him the patron saint of leatherworkers, which is amazing. They pray to the guy who got skinned alive for wallets. And this dude just points to Jesus, despite being overlooked and degraded. And he still sings for us in heaven with angels and archangels and the rest of the bunch. In the movies, he would get superpowers and finally be the cool kid. Or take off his glasses so everyone at the dance would see he's been handsome all along. In the movies, people like Bartholomew aren't the main character unless something extraordinary happens. In real life, Bart was never the main character, but he served. There is no real lordship in being the greatest, just idolatry. See St. Bart, patron saint of the bullied and the neglected. Praying to him won't get you a wallet or a moment in the spotlight. He'd rather you pray to Jesus, whom he confessed as Lord, whom he faced the grave to meet in the resurrection. If you see yourself in St. Bart, know that the Lord sees you, too, and joins you as the same. He is the One who serves. He is the One who bears the Cross for those who can't save themselves. He is the One who gathers into Sabbath rest those who find none in this place. And He knows your name, and calls you out of this vale of tears to the resurrection, to sing with the blessed saints who have gone before you, while the angels sing along. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For Barnabas we praise You, Who kept Your law of love And, leaving earthly treasures, Sought riches from above. O Christ, our Lord and Savior, Let gifts of grace descend, That Your true consolation May through the world extend. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st.7)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/24/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Tuesday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 9:30-10:4Daily Lectionary:1 Kings 3:1-15; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22 But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. (Romans 9:31-32a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is nothing wrong with trying to do your best. It is what is expected of you at school, at home, and at work. Your neighbors (teachers, family, and your boss) are blessed by such efforts. But don't bring that idea into your relationship with God. It didn't work for Israel and it won't work for you. The huge rock of the Law will crush you under the weight of its demands; the perfection that God's Law requires of you will always be out of reach. The apostle Paul works this truth to a fine point in our reading for today. Israel couldn't reach a right relationship with God because they had the devilish idea that it was up to them to make it happen. They ran smack into the promise of God to save the world by His mercy. They stumbled over it, and kept on going with the idea that they had to do more good things to gain God's approval.You get sucked into thinking that way as well. Repent. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). No more struggling and striving to keep the Law for salvation! The Law works as a pointer, an arrow aimed straight at the target of Christ. Christ Jesus is where we find that the demands of God's Law have been met. God's righteousness is met in Him as well. Jesus' perfect keeping of God's Law is what makes you right with God. His perfect life is given into death in your stead—instead of you! You get all the benefits of what Jesus did with no strings attached. Faith trusts this promise, and faith is what you have been given as pure gift from the Triune God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Law reveals the guilt of sin and makes us conscience-stricken; but then the Gospel enters in the sinful soul to quicken. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live; the Law no peace can ever give, no comfort or no blessing. ("Salvation Unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.8)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/23/20225 minutes, 50 seconds
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Monday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 8:4-12Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 "Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord." (Jeremiah 8:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A bird has more sense than you do! That is the message God used to invite His people to return to Him. We call that the preaching of repentance. The people rejected the invitation and yet Jeremiah kept up the call. The meaning of Jeremiah's preaching is clear: Even the birds, irrational creatures, know their appointed time and return to their homes, which they have left. Instinctively, they follow the pattern fixed for them by their Creator: They travel hundreds of miles, because that's what they've been created to do. Unbelieving Jerusalem had sunk below the common sense of a bird!  What is sadder than the people's refusal to hear the Word and return to the Lord their God is that they had forgotten how much God loved them. "My people know not the rules of the  LORD." That is a tricky translation. The Hebrew word is mishpat, which means righteous judgment. It's not just rules to be followed but also a declaration of innocence. The people were so caught up in themselves that they pushed aside the mercy and promises of God: His just decrees and the justice He had done and would do for them. That is a picture of us, too. Sad to say, but we know it is true. Thankfully, God still sends Jeremiah to stick His Word into our ears and to call us to repentance and faith. God the Father would fulfill all His righteous promises in Christ. Instead of pouring out the punishment for sin upon the world, the Father pours it on His Son. At the Cross, the righteous judgment of the Law is proclaimed. Jesus is overthrown in death, but only for a time. Jesus, the perfect One, rises from the grave and brings you along with Him. Jesus took your place in death on a cross and in a stone-cold tomb so that you would know God's righteous judgment: You are free from sin and death in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now my conscience is at peace; from the Law I stand acquitted. Christ hath purchased my release and my ev'ry sin remitted. Naught remains my soul to grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive. ("Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" LSB 609, st.7)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/22/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 19:41-48Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15-35; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." (Luke 19:41-42)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Interesting, isn't it? Jerusalem contains the word "peace" (salem) in its name yet does not recognize the peace of God in the flesh as He prepares to enter her gates. As Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus and the lack of faith that doubted Jesus could call him out of the grave, so Jesus weeps over a people who cannot know and see (believe) that He has come to bring them peace. But those tears do not keep Him from His appointed task. In Luke 18, Jesus told His disciples what would take place in Jerusalem: "See we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day, he will rise" (Luke 18:31-33). Ironically, Luke tells us that this news was hidden from the disciples' eyes as well. Why would these things be hidden from their eyes? Because Jesus needed to fulfill His work. Nothing of what He said or did would make complete sense until He died and rose from the dead. The people of Jerusalem sought peace by other means. The disciples wanted a "Son of Man" who would be triumphant, not someone who would die nailed to a Roman cross. We tend to make our own "peace" treaties with God on our own terms.But it is the Cross and, finally, the resurrection of Jesus that changes everything. Your eyes have been opened to see and your hearts made new to believe: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Jesus does not now weep over you. He rejoices over you who are baptized and receiveHis peace! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You declare Your almighty power above all in showing mercy and pity. Mercifully grant us such a measure of Your grace that we may obtain Your gracious promises and be make partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/21/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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Saturday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity          (Psalm 55:1, 4-5, 16; antiphon: v.16a, 17b, 18a, 22a)Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 12:1-25; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 I call to God, and he hears my voice; He redeems my soul in safety. (From the Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Object fixation is when a kid rides his bike into the tree he doesn't want to hit because he can't stop looking at the thing he wants to avoid. I'm fine, if you were wondering. Object fixation is when Christians are so afraid of something summed up under "sin, death, and the power of the devil," that they lose sight of everything else and it becomes their only prayer, which ignores the Cross of Christ, even though the things summed up under "sin, death, and the power of the devil" are the very things undone by the Cross of Christ.   The Introit begins out of order, but not. It grabs verses 16, 17, 18, and 22 and knits them together to teach the Church to begin to pray with the same Cross that is woven throughout this and every psalm. We pray based on the redemption won in Christ Jesus. I call to God, and He hears my voice; He redeems my soul in safety. It confronts our object fixation with the Jesus who wasn't afraid to run into the thing we're trying to avoid but keep crashing into. He dives into the mess of sin, death, and the power of the devil and conquers them by His death for you. Read the Introit, and start with the redemption, the victory, and the burdens, the pleas for mercy, the fear, and trembling that are met by a God who will hear your prayer as surely as He has already redeemed you back from the things you pray for refuge from. Your salvation isn't measured by whether or not you find yourself running into some form of those ugly three things anymore. It's measured by whether or not Jesus ran into them for you. He did. So if you find yourself barrelling towards death like I theoretically ran into a hypothetical tree (really, I'm fine), start with the Cross, and find the victory over that thing that's bigger than you. Christ has guaranteed your safe passage into the resurrection by His death. You are redeemed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In faith and confidence draw near, Within the holiest appear, With all who praise and pray; Who share one family, one feast, One great imperishable Priest, One new and living way. ("No Temple Now, No Gift of Price" LSB 530, st.3) -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/20/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Friday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can take communion wrong. It's not just that it's rude to party in front of starving people. To eat or drink unworthily is to be guilty before Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead on the Last Day. That probably warrants more than a halfhearted hope that someone reads the fine print on a communion card hidden in the back of the pew. If we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. That says something about those who, misjudging, leave the gates wide open. Shall the apostle commend you in this? Nah. Instead, he gives them the gift anyway. "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you…'" I'd have taken the gifts away. Paul only reinforces what the Sacrament is, what it does, and who it's for.  It's still Jesus for sinners. The Lord doesn't dangle the forgiveness of sin in front of the worthy. To a church full of sinners, He gives a gift so powerful that it warrants care. This is not a chapter about withholding the Sacrament. It's a promise that God won't withhold His presence from His Church, even if there are wicked people there. That's good news. God will not stand back from you. He meets you at the altar in Body and Blood to forgive your sins. If you would stand before Him in unbelief, woe to you, but your unbelief cannot deter Him from standing before you.  It shapes the proclamation you make of the Lord's death. It's not for the worthy. Jesus died for sinners. Jesus died for you. Your proclamation at the Supper is that your worth is found in the price paid for you: the very blood you drink for the forgiveness of your sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Unworthy though I am, O Savior, Because I have a sinful heart, Yet Thou Thy lamb wilt banish never, For Thou my faithful shepherd art: Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! ("I Come O Savior, To Thy Table" LSB 618, st.3) -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/19/20226 minutes, 2 seconds
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Thursday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:18-20; 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:16 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The apostle Paul was a super-religious guy in his previous life. We also know him as Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had his religious life all neatly packaged up, ready to give to God with the expectation that God would reward him for his good efforts and works. Paul would learn, in baptismal wonder, that such ideas were foolish (Acts 9). Salvation does not rest in any human. It is a gift granted for the sake of the death and life of Jesus alone. It seems like Paul is quoting a proverb he surely had memorized in his Pharisee days: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Some in the church at Corinth prided themselves on their own super religiosity and spiritual strength. They should be careful, Paul warns, not to fall from grace. That is a good warning for us as well. It keeps us from centering our life of faith on us instead of the One who really makes it all possible. It works repentance in us and moves us back to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Along with Paul's warning, he adds a beautiful word of promise: We will not be tested beyond our God-given capacity. When faced with trials, we can count on God's faithfulness. "God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).God remains faithful to the promise He made to you in Baptism. He will be with you always (Matthew 28:20). He has joined you to Jesus, the One who overcame every temptation and trial by His perfect obedience and death. The resurrected Jesus is there with forgiveness and mercy when you do fall. With every trial He will give you strength to endure, and will, in His own time, create the "way out"! In Christ, there is no need to stand on anything but His promise! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near with His cheer; never will He leave me. Who can rob me of this heaven that God's Son for me won when His life was given? ("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.1)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/18/20225 minutes, 58 seconds
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Wednesday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Fifth PetitionDaily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22 Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is one sentence we wish was two separate things. Having my forgiveness and my willingness to forgive others linked together is a damning thing. Still, Jesus is clear. In Matthew 6:14–15 He says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." It sounds like my grudge from the sixth grade is enough to undo my Baptism. It sounds like my heart is enough to undo the Cross.  That's because looking in my heart for forgiveness never goes particularly well. Ask the kid I still don't like from middle school even though I can't remember his last name anymore. Forgiveness doesn't come from your heart. It comes from the Cross. The forgiveness for your sins comes from the Cross, not from your asking for it. Jesus died 2000 years before you could ask Him to forgive you. Faith clings to this forgiveness and finds comfort there.  It works that way for your neighbor, too. Forgiveness for their sins comes from the Cross to address your heart, too. All forgiveness comes from the Cross. When we stop looking there for forgiveness, that's a problem. We pray in this petition that we would see our enemies the same way Jesus sees them: died for. Either there's forgiveness for sinners or there's not. Saying there's no forgiveness for sinners isn't going to work out well for you. Taking your grudges to the Cross and seeing that your neighbor's sins against you were so vile that He had to bleed to cover them is a gift. Look at a crucifix and see the nails in the hands of our Savior. That is where your neighbor's sins are punished. That is where wrath is abated. Seeing justice was done lets you see your neighbor as someone who doesn't owe you anything anymore. Jesus paid it.  Forgiveness isn't about what we deserve. It's about what was given. You don't earn your forgiveness by forgiving others. Instead, you get to see the God who forgives whether you're angry or not, and you get to say, "Amen." This is true. I'm angry, but they're still forgiven. Lord, address my heart with comfort so that I can find peace in your Cross, forgiveness for my sins, and forgiveness for my neighbors, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they may trouble us no more; We, too, will gladly those forgive Who hurt us by the way they live. Help us in our community To serve each other willingly. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" 766, st.6)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/17/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Tuesday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 22:26-34Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me secure on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Really, David? Your elderly feet like the feet of a deer? You couldn't even protect your old self from the Philistines and had to be told by your soldiers to just stay home and not get yourself killed (2 Samuel 21:17). David believed something that his soldiers would not: God the LORD was at work for the sake of His people. Whether David lived or died, it was the mercy of the LORD that would endure. The perfect Word of the LORD always proves true; He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him, old and young alike. David believed the promise that God had made to Adam and Eve, confirmed to Abraham, and restated to him: God would send One who would redeem the world from sin and the death that comes through sin. He would send One who would be King over all the world and live forever. The LORD kept His promise and sent to the world David's greater son, Jesus. Jesus brings the light of forgiveness and life into the darkness of the world. Jesus is the mercy of God in the flesh. Jesus is blameless yet bears our blame and guilt on the Cross. Jesus rose from the grave and will give our dead bodies their resurrection, too. Jesus sets us secure on the heights, washed and fed at His font and table. Old David wasn't delusional, he was filled with faith by the mercy of God. He lived by faith in God's promise that even his tired old bones would be renewed in resurrection life. His sin would be answered for by another, Jesus, and his way made pure and blameless for all eternity.Such is your life. The merciful LORD has redeemed you in His Son. Your sin is answered for and your death overcome by the Christ. "This God – His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him" (2 Samuel 22:31). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is a sight that gladdens – What peace it doth impart! Now nothing ever saddens the joy within my heart. No gloom shall ever shake, no foe shall overtake the hope with God's own Son in love for me has won. ("Awake My Heart, with Gladness" LSB 467, st.3)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/16/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-55Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 5:1-25; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13  And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." (Luke 1:46–49)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church honors significant people of faith throughout the year. They serve as witnesses to us of the faithfulness of God and we are therefore encouraged to follow their example in faith and life. This day, we give thanks to God for Mary, the mother of Our Lord. In his magnificent commentary on the Song of Mary, Luther wrote these words: "Whoever, therefore, would show her (Mary) the proper honor must not regard her alone and by herself, but set her in the presence of God and far beneath Him, must there strip her of all honor, and regard her low estate, as she says; he should then marvel at the exceedingly abundant grace of God, who regards, embraces, and blesses so poor and despised a mortal. Thus regarding her, you will be moved to love and praise God for His grace, and drawn to look for all good things to Him, who does not reject but graciously regards poor and despised and lowly mortals. Thus your heart will be strengthened in faith and love and hope. What do you suppose would please her more than to have you come through her to God this way, and learn from her to put your hope and trust in Him, notwithstanding your despised and lowly estate, in life as well as in death?""Notwithstanding your despised and lowly estate"—what wonderful words! Mary recognizes the truth. She is not worthy of this gift from God, yet she receives it in faith. Mary is a picture of us! We deserve the fruits of our sin—death! But in Mary's Son we are given resurrection life. Notwithstanding our despised and lowly estate, we are highly exalted by God and remembered in His mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, COAudio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/15/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 16:1-13Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23"You cannot serve God and money." (Luke 1:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yes, Jesus, we get it. We cannot serve God and money. If only it were that simple. The new you in Christ says a loud, "Amen," to the word of Jesus that concludes the parable of the rich man and the shrewd manager. However, the old sinful you cannot say, "Amen," to Jesus' conclusion. We are faithless in the management of much and very little. We love money and the security it brings. If only we had more. We serve money with our time and talent as if it were a god and not a gift from the One whose hand supplies all our needs of body and soul. We get it all backward: We live in service to money instead of recognizing that money serves us. So this parable becomes a call to repentance. Put to death the dishonesty and idolatry that dogs you day by day. We pray with saint/sinner David, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:1-2).The key to wrapping your heart and mind around the meaning of this parable is to focus on the mercy of the rich man, not the dishonesty of the manager. Mercy.The dishonest manager was commended because he chose to serve his lord, whom he trusted would be merciful. He used unrighteous wealth to achieve his goal, though he trusted not in the wealth but in his merciful master. In Luke 12:34 Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be." Faithful disciples will be commended for seeing that the crucified and risen Jesus is their treasure, and for trusting in His mercy. And that mercy is delivered to and for you this day in Jesus' Body and Blood which keeps you, body and soul, now and forever. That's mercy! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let your merciful ears. O Lord, be open to the prayers of Your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
8/14/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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Saturday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 54;1-3, 7; antiphon: v.4-5)Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, " Is not David hiding among us?"(Introduction to Psalm 54)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We're already familiar with the jealousy and murderous actions of King Saul's attempts to take the life of David. Psalm 54, the Introit for tomorrow, was written by King David during this same period, when he was in hiding from the murderous rage of Saul, and was betrayed by Ziphites who told the King his whereabouts.   Like David, you may have experienced betrayal. It's a terrible, hurtful experience. All kinds of emotions arise; from confusion and sadness, to hurt and anger, to fear and doubt. Psalm 54 gives voice to these emotions and helps us to commend our circumstances to God. David prays, telling God of his situation: "Strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life" (Psalm 54:3). He prays for God's help: "O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might" (Psalm 54:1). He expresses his trust that God will make things right: "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them" (Psalm 54:4-5). And finally, he remembers how God has delivered and helped him in the past: "For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies" (Psalm 54:7).  David couldn't have known how his prayer would perfectly parallel the experience of his descendant Jesus. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, with a kiss. He was abandoned by the rest of His disciples in His time of need. He was betrayed by His own people who shouted, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" But His trust in the Father never wavered. Perhaps He even prayed this psalm that day. God vindicated Him by raising Him from the dead, and now He stands in triumph over all His enemies. If you have been betrayed, look to Christ who was betrayed for you. See in His Cross and resurrection the embodiment of God's faithfulness to you. Take upon your lips the words of Psalm 54, commending yourself to God. And know that your faith in Christ will be vindicated on the Last Day.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family from whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Good Friday)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/13/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Friday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 28:3-25; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen. The above list is not exhaustive. You could add "murderers" and "persecutors" to the list, and Paul himself would be included. Paul, like the Christians whom he served, had a past. He was part of the mob that stoned Stephen, the first New Testament martyr (Acts 7:58; 8:1), and he was a persecutor and violent opponent of the first Christians (1 Timothy 1:13). But Jesus had lovingly and firmly called him to repentance on the Damascus road (Acts 9), sent him to a preacher where he heard the Gospel and was washed in Baptism, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and justified in the Name of Jesus Christ. Paul was a changed man. So were the Christians in Corinth, whom Paul had evangelized. Some of them had similarly dark pasts. But they, too, had been brought to repentance and faith through Paul's preaching of Law and Gospel. They were changed men and women, but that didn't mean that their struggles with sin were over. They were constantly tempted to slip back into the sins which once held such sway over their lives and sometimes, in weakness, they gave in to those temptations. Their lives would be those of daily repentance and faith, living in the forgiveness of sins. As Christians, their sins no longer defined them. No longer were they sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, etc. They had a new identity in Christ. Paul was warning them not to abandon their new identity and return to a life defined by unrepentant sins, but instead to embrace their true identity in Christ and live as those redeemed by Christ.       The same is true for you. Like Paul and the Corinthians, you may have a past, too, one that still tempts and troubles you. But that past doesn't define you. Christ does. You have been watermarked in your Baptism, sanctified by the Holy Spirit and justified in Jesus' Name. And that life, the life of the redeemed is far better. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Now my conscience is at peace; From the Law I stand acquitted. Christ hath purchased my release And my ev' ry sin remitted. Naught remains my soul to grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive. ("Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" LSB 609, st.6)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
8/12/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Thursday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you. . .  a man has his father's wife. . .  deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul had some difficult things to say to the church in Corinth. They were tolerating sexual immorality in their midst. A man had even taken his father's wife to be his own. Apparently, none of their pastors or leaders were willing to exercise church discipline and in failing to do so, they had failed to truly love this man.  Now, that might sound strange to you. Most people think of love as a feeling. We feel loved when those around us do and say things that make us feel good, and we often conclude that it would be unloving to ever say anything that might make a loved one feel bad. Even though the Bible speaks of reproof, rebuke, and correction, according to God's Word, as loving acts (2 Timothy 3:16; 4:2), we find ourselves hesitant to do such truly loving works, for fear of being "unloving."    "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:11-12). Just as a father disciplines his children out of love, Paul was loving this man and the Corinthian congregation when he boldly rebuked them. And even though he instructs them to take the extreme measure of delivering the man to Satan (excommunication), his ultimate desire is that this act of church discipline would finally bring him to repentance "so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."Being called to repentance is not a pleasant experience, but it is necessary. Holding on to our sins in unrepentance is to despise Christ and His sacrifice for sinners. Those who gently, or when necessary, firmly, call us to repentance, are people who truly love us. They care more about our salvation than they do about our approval. Let us thank God for them, heed their loving rebuke, repent, and return to Christ our Savior who has delivered us from our sins and freed us to walk in newness of life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Breathe, O Breathe Thy loving Spirit Into every troubled breast; Let us all in Thee inherit; Let us find Thy promised rest. Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be; End of faith, as its beginning, Set our hearts at liberty. (Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" LSB 700, st.2)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/11/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Wednesday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Fourth Petition of the Lord' s PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:23-44; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21Give us this day our daily bread. (Small Catechism: Fourth Petition of the Lord' s Prayer)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Luther's explanation says, "God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people." If that's true, then why do we need to pray for it? If our praying doesn't earn our daily bread, then why pray at all?Luther's list of the things included in "daily bread" are the very things we spend our lives trying to get. Our lives are filled with anxious work and worry because we think our daily bread depends on our own efforts. Look at Luther's list and consider how much of your life is filled with the pursuit of these things: "Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like."We need to pray for daily bread so that we might be set free from our worry and anxious labor. We need to "realize this," that God is the source of our daily bread, and to confess this with our mouth by asking Him for what He has promised to give. In so doing, we will receive our daily bread—not as something we have earned, but as a gift from God—"with thanksgiving."For we do have such a gracious God who can be trusted to provide. After all, has He not already given us the far greater gift of salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ? "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:7–11)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/10/20225 minutes, 47 seconds
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Tuesday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Acts 20:27-38Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him. (Acts 20:37)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why was there so much weeping from the Ephesian elders? Why did they hug and kiss Paul, sad to see him go? They were emotional because of their great love for Paul. And they loved Paul, most of all, because he had proclaimed the truth to them.The last couple of Reflections have warned us against false teachers and their wicked fruit of false doctrine. We are to "watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that [we] have been taught" and "avoid them" (Romans 16:17). But how should we respond to those who proclaim God's truth to us?The Ephesian elders provide us with a good example. Among them were Jews who had spent their whole lives desperately trying to earn God's favor by keeping the letter of the Law. Also among them were Greeks, raised in idolatry and wickedness. All had been lost in sin, futilely trying to save themselves. But now they knew the true God of love who sent His Son to rescue them from their sin. And who was it that brought them this good news? Paul! They loved him so, because he had delivered to them the greatest gift of all—God' s true words of freedom and life.Paul didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. Paul says, "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20–21). The Holy Spirit accompanied his preaching, bringing each of these men to repentance and faith. In many ways, then, they owed their eternal lives to the man who had proclaimed this saving Gospel to them.So have you been blessed with people who have proclaimed and taught you God's true Word. Whoever they are, be they parents or grandparents, other relatives or friends, and especially your pastors, God has worked through them to give you the greatest gift of all—repentance and faith in Jesus Christ leading to eternal life. Recognizing the great gifts that they have brought to you, how can you not treasure them, love them, and thank God for them? In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Christ, our true and only light, Enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear Your voice And in your fold with us rejoice. ("O Christ, Our True and Only Light" LSB 839, st.1)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/9/20225 minutes, 59 seconds
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Monday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:16-29Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. . . they say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you' ; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.' " (Jeremiah 23:16–17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Again, we see how seriously God warns us about the dangers of false prophets. Jesus said, "You will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). One fruit of false teachers is that they are quick to tell you what you want to hear. The hard thing about speaking the truth is that sometimes folks don't want to hear it. Paul warned young Timothy, "The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from the truth. . . " (2 Timothy 4:3–4). Any pastor who tries to preach and teach God' s truth as revealed in Holy Scripture quickly encounters those with itching ears who will reject him for his message. And immediately following that, he is faced with the intense temptation of the flesh to tell people what they want to hear in order to avoid suffering and be liked by all.That is why Paul exhorted Timothy to "be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2). God's truth demanded that Timothy do unpleasant things like reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. Our challenge is that God's Word says things we don't want to hear. No one enjoys being reproved or rebuked. But as unpleasant as it is, you need your sins exposed, or else you will go on in your sins, despising God's Word, and stubbornly following your own heart, all the while thinking "all is well with me" and "no disaster shall befall me."What you need is a faithful preacher, willing to speak the truth, not false teachers telling you what you want to hear. Salvation is not a vain hope in yourself; it is sure hope in Christ crucified and risen for you. Faithful preachers are willing to say the hard words to you, so that you will be ready to receive the good words in faith. And the good Gospel words are these: "It shall be well with you IN CHRIST," and, "No disaster shall befall you IN CHRIST." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Preach you the Word and plant it home To men who like or like it not, The Word that shall endure and stand When flow' rs and men shall be forgot. ("Preach You the Word" LSB 586, st.1)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
8/8/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 7:15-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:24-42; 1 Corinthians 1:1-25"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:15–16a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why can't we all just get along? Why is the Church so fractured, divided, and engaged in endless doctrinal arguments? Wouldn't it be better to set aside our differences and try to work together for the sake of the Church? You know, people who believe the Bible is God's Word and those who don't; those who celebrate homosexuality and those who call it sin; those who teach that Baptism saves and those who say it's only a symbol. Are these issues (and so many others) really worth dividing the Church? Can't we all just get along? It certainly would make for more peaceful lives and a more peaceful church. But there's just one little problem: Jesus won't have it!He's dead serious about the dangers of false teaching. He calls the false prophets "wolves"—a demonic name. They are rotten trees with bad fruit which shall be cut down and thrown into the "fire"—a designation for hell. It sounds harsh, but Jesus is trying to impress upon us the seriousness of false doctrine. Our God is a God of truth. The truth He reveals in His Word is for our good and for our salvation. Any teaching that contradicts the truth is an attack on our salvation."Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). All the false religions of men teach that the will of the Father is salvation by works. But in truth, this is the will of the Father: that the Son drink the cup of His wrath, and spill His blood on the Cross. The will of the Father is that you take and drink the lifeblood of His Son in Holy Communion, for the remission of your sins. The saving truth is that Christ has paid your debt. Your sins are forgiven. You are blessed and loved by Him. And if Jesus needs to get a little harsh with the false teachers to protect that truth, so be it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Grant to us, Lord, the Spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot do anything that is good without You, may be enabled by You to live according to Your will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/7/20226 minutes, 7 seconds
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Saturday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 48:1, 3, 11, 14; antiphon: v.9-10)Daily Lectionary:1 Samuel 20:1-23; Acts 28:16-31We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. (From the Introit for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow is the Lord's Day. Once again, we will go to the house of the Lord for worship. And it's good for us to occasionally ask ourselves: Why do we do this? Why do we go to church? Do we go to stroke God' s ego and tell Him how great He is? Do we go to church because God said we have to, and will be mad at us if we don' t?"We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple." That's what the Old Testament saints thought about church. To be sure, God commanded them to go, and the psalms they sang were full of praise for God. But God is not insecure. Nor does He issue commands simply to burden His children with yet one more thing to do to appease Him. Instead, God's faithful people knew that He only commanded that which was good for them. And when it came to praising God, well, they just couldn't help it. Why? Because there, in the temple, they received the greatest gifts of all. There they meditated upon God's steadfast love, remembered His mercies, and received that love again in the forgiveness of their sins. There in the temple they met with God and received His gift of forgiveness through the Old Testament sacrificial (sacramental) system.When their weak flesh tried to convince them that they had better things to do, God's command rebuked their flesh, and God's promises motivated them to come in faith. And as they received the Gifts, they could not help but praise His holy Name.Tomorrow is the Lord's Day. Your flesh may offer up reasons not to go to church, but God's command is there to curb the flesh, and His promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation remind you of the great blessings you will receive there. It's really quite amazing and wonderful! God Himself shows up in every congregation where the Word of God is preached purely and His Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution. There, love and forgiveness are poured out upon God's faithful people as they gather in His presence. And in receiving these Gifts, God's people cannot help but thank and praise their gracious God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Open now thy gates of beauty; Zion let me enter there, Where my soul in joyful duty Waits for Him who answers prayer. Oh, how blessed is this place, Filled with solace, light, and grace! ("Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty" LSB 901, st.1)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/6/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 19:1-24; Acts 28:1-15And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father. (1 Samuel 19:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. David's troubles with Saul continue in today's reading. Saul is still plotting and scheming to take David's life. But here we learn that David had an intercessor and friend in Saul's son Jonathan, who spoke on behalf of his friend David. How bold Jonathan was in his dealings with his father for the sake of his friend. In faith and love he obeyed the Eighth Commandment, defending David and speaking well of him, all at great risk to himself.In this, Jonathan is a picture of Christ, our truest friend and intercessor. The circumstances are not exactly the same. After all, we are guilty, whereas David, as Jonathan said, "has not sinned against you (Saul), and his deeds have brought good to you" (1 Samuel 19:4). Furthermore, Saul was a wicked man, motivated by sinful jealousy, but God is righteous, holy, and pure.This means Jesus, as our friend and intercessor, has a much harder job defending us than Jonathan did defending David. We are not innocent. We have earned God's righteous wrath. We have sinned against our king and deserve to die. How will our intercessor and friend, Jesus, appease God our king?In a far greater way than Jonathan, Jesus took all the risk upon Himself. To save us from God' s righteous wrath, He took our place, bearing the punishment that was meant for us. Risen from the grave, and seated at God' s right hand in glory, Jesus is our advocate before the Father. He says to His Father, "Behold My friends. See how I have paid for their sins, forgiven them Myself, washed them clean in Baptism, and filled them with My own life. Not a spot, not a blemish, not a stain of sin remains in them."Jesus welcomes us into His kingdom and presents us before His Father cleansed and redeemed, righteous, holy, and pure. And the Father cannot but agree with His Son. He relents from His righteous wrath and welcomes you into His presence with open arms.What a wonderful friend and intercessor you have in Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus, hail! Enthroned in glory, There forever to abide; All the heavenly hosts adore Thee, Seated at Thy Father's side. There for sinners Thou art pleading; There Thou dost our place prepare, Ever for us interceding Till in glory we appear. ("Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus" LSB 531, st.3)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/5/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 18:10-30; Acts 27:27-44 Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. (1 Samuel 18:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Speaking of tyrannical kings (recall the Reflection from the Seventh Sunday after Trinity) and evil plans and purposes of the devil (yesterday's Reflection), we have in 1 Samuel 18:10–30 the incarnation of both. Saul had become a wicked king, and God had withdrawn His blessing from him. David, however, had already been chosen by God as Saul's successor, and it was clear that God's blessing rested upon him. Not only did God give David success in battle, He also led David to love and be respectful of his enemy. This seemed to enrage Saul even more. By trickery, deceit, and outright violence, Saul tried time and again to end David's life. But God hindered the evil plans and purposes of Saul (which were of the devil) and protected and defended His chosen servant, David.David foreshadows another chosen servant of the Lord: Jesus the Christ. He, too, was hated by jealous foes who tried and even succeeded in killing Him, "although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9b). As was the case with Saul, so it was with Jesus' enemies. The devil and his evil plans and purposes lay behind their jealous rage. But even though they succeeded in putting Him to death, God did not abandon His soul nor let His body see corruption (Psalm 16:10). Even death could not defeat Him.And death cannot defeat you, either. The devil and all this world's tyrants rage against Christ, against the Church, and against you. Even though, in Christ, you love your enemies and seek their good, so often your faithfulness and love enrage them even more. Their evil plan and purpose is for your destruction. But you are God's chosen in Holy Baptism. You are His own beloved people. They can rage, plot, and try their best to bring about your destruction. But all their plans shall fail. For you are the ones redeemed by the blood of your Savior, Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpow'r us. This world's prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He's judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him. ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" LSB 656, st.3)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/4/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Third Petition of the Lord' s PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9; Acts 27:9-26Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Small Catechism: Third Petition of the Lord' s Prayer)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God's will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. God gave His Word to Adam and Eve—His good command not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The devil hated God and enacted his evil purpose and plan for the downfall of the man and woman whom God had created in love. He tempted them to disobey God's Word of life, bringing sin and death into the world. Since then, Satan's evil purpose and plan have continued to be the downfall of man. And ever since the Fall, the sin-corrupted world and our sin-corrupted flesh have been his allies. Luther called the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh the "unholy trinity," a united terrible force bent on our eternal destruction. Only one man stood in their way—the God-man, Jesus Christ. Here the Creator of the world, who had taken on uncorrupted human flesh, stood stronger than the devil. Only He could oppose the "unholy trinity" and have a prayer of winning. Imagine the devil's sinister glee when his greatest enemy was crucified, dead, and buried. Little did he know that the Cross was his undoing. For there at the Cross, God offered Himself in the place of sinners. Jesus "overcame the assaults of the devil and gave His life as a ransom for many." He "was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life."This is God' s will—to save you, to defeat the "unholy trinity" in His Cross and resurrection, to baptismally unite you to Jesus in His dying and rising, to give you faith so that you hallow God' s holy Name, live as a citizen of His kingdom, and be strengthened and kept firm in His Word and faith until you die and are raised to live with Him forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ the Lord of hosts, unshaken By the devil's seething rage, Thwarts the plan of Satan' s minions; Wins the strife from age to age; Conquers sin and death forever; Slams them in their steely cage. Jesus came, this word fulfilling, Trampled Satan, death defied; Bore the brunt of our temptation, On the wretched tree He died. Yet to life was raised victorious; By His life our life supplied. ("Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Unshaken" LSB 521, st.1, 4)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/3/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 6:19-23Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47; Acts 26:24-27:8The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22–23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Adam earned his wages when he ate the forbidden fruit, and death has reigned ever since. Adam was the first, but you have earned your wages, too. Death is coming for you. Death is what you have earned for your sins.How foolish, then, is the idea that anyone could earn salvation. And yet, that is the one thing  religions apart from Christianity have in common. All non-Christian religions, and sadly, even some who claim to be Christian, teach ways you can save yourself, whether by obedience, sacrifices, right worship, or going after a kind of intellectual or spiritual enlightenment. Even those who claim no religion at all seek to make themselves righteous by strongly (and sometimes obnoxiously) supporting the latest social causes of the day. They may not even believe in God or in heaven or hell, but with religious enthusiasm they try to make themselves righteous through activism.The Holy Spirit, speaking through the writings of Paul, demolishes all such schemes. "The wages of sin is death." If you have sinned, even once, then you have already earned your wages, and they will be paid. "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). If you wish to escape this fate, it will not be the result of anything you do, because everything you do is done by a sinner. Salvation, then, cannot be achieved, won, or earned by you. Instead, it is achieved, won, and earned by Jesus and then given to you. And it's given freely, because there is nothing in you worthy of the gift. To be sure, it's good, even demanded, that we "learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow' s cause" (Isaiah 1:17). These things are good, but they are not Jesus. Only Jesus can save.Receive salvation from Jesus. Rejoice in it. Thank the Lord and praise His holy Name. Study the Bible and grow in wisdom, understanding, and good works. Serve your neighbors and bless them. But never forget that "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy love and grace alone avail To blot out my transgression; The best and holiest deeds must fail To break sin' s dread oppression. Before Thee none can boasting stand, But all must fear Thy strict demand And live alone by mercy. ("From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee" LSB 607, st.2)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/2/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Monday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 2:7-17Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19; Acts 26:1-23The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Artwork often portrays the Tree of Life as bright and beautiful, green and full of delectable fruit, while the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is dark and ugly, scraggly, with a single poison apple attached. This is inaccurate. God called all that He made very good. Both trees were beautiful, reflecting the beauty of their Creator. Both trees were good.If anything, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the most beautiful and most precious of all the trees, since this tree had God's Word attached to it. Before the Fall, God's Word of command was received by Adam as a gift from God. "For man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Luther, in his great Genesis commentary, pictures this tree as the place of worship. Adam and his wife would have gathered at the tree. Adam would preach God's Word about the tree, and they would worship their good God by keeping His Word—admiring the tree but leaving the fruit alone.God's words are good. His commands are good and beautiful and precious. Only sin makes disobedience attractive. Because of sin, the minute God tells us, "No," we want to do it more than ever. How sad it is that the serpent tempted them, and that they were deceived and transgressed the command, plunging the world into sin and death. Now God's commands seem burdensome rather than good. Now every forbidden fruit seems irresistible."To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone" ("The Law of God Is Good and Wise" LSB 579, st.6).We flee to Jesus, the new and greater Adam, whose obedience is credited to us, and whose payment for guilt has set us free. And basking in His forgiveness and life, we learn, more and more, to love God's Word, and even His good commands. And soon, in the resurrection of all flesh, our lives will wholly conform to God's good and beautiful Word. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Our works cannot salvation gain; They merit only endless pain. Forgive us Lord! To Christ we flee, Who pleads for us endlessly. Have mercy, Lord! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.12)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
8/1/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Mark 8:1-9Daily Lectionary:1 Samuel 16:1-23; Acts 25:13-27"I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat." (Mark 8:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Speaking of kings (see yesterday' s Reflection), here we see Jesus, doing what good kings do: providing for His people in their time of need. Jesus has gone into the wilderness and crowds have followed Him, eager to hear His words of eternal life. In their eagerness, they took no thought for their own provision, and now they are in danger of fainting from hunger on the way home.Jesus has compassion on them. But it's also a test for His disciples. He wants them to learn to imitate His compassionate ways. There are a few factors that might get in the way of their compassion. First, the crowd is made up of mostly Gentiles, people traditionally looked down upon and despised by the Jews. Second, one could argue that the people are in this situation due to their own negligence. What were they thinking, wandering off into the wilderness without bringing provisions? How irresponsible of them! Third, the disciples themselves have only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. If they share what they have, they may find themselves fainting on the way home.With these three strikes against compassion, the disciples fail the test. "How can we feed THESE people in this desolate place? They're Gentile sinners. They should have been more responsible. They have only themselves to blame. We came prepared. Why should we share with them and go hungry ourselves?"Jesus is undeterred. He has compassion on the people. And, as God in the flesh, He provides for their needs. His compassion also extends to His disciples. He doesn't condemn them for their failure. He has them distribute the food so that they will learn to love sinners as He loves sinners. He feeds them, too, with more to spare. Thus, they learned to trust Jesus, and to be generous, even in times of scarcity. And by this example, so do we."Praise Him for His grace and favor To His people in distress; Praise Him still the same as ever, Slow to chide and swift to bless: Alleluia, Alleluia! Glorious in His faithfulness" (LSB 793, st.2). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, whose never-failing providence orders all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly implore You to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things that are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/31/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity      (Psalm 47:3, 6-8; antiphon: v.1-2)Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 15:10-35; Acts 24:24-25:12Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. (Psalm 47:1–2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Americans have a hard time with the idea of God as our king. We threw off the rule of King George III in the American Revolution and haven't had a king since. We red-blooded, freedom-loving Americans wouldn't want a king, either.And there are some good reasons for that. Samuel warned the people of Israel about the negative consequences of having a king over them (2 Samuel 8:10–18). Jesus acknowledges that earthly kings often abuse their authority: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you" (Matthew 20:25). When sinful men are given that much power, there is always a temptation toward corruption and tyranny. The annals of history are filled with stories of wicked kings.Is that the kind of king God is? Certainly not! Our God and king does not rule over us for His own gain or benefit. He does not abuse or take advantage of His subjects. He has no sinful nature to tempt Him to corruption or tyranny. Our God who is love (1 John 4:8) has committed Himself to us, and uses His almighty power for our benefit and for our good. To have such a king is a blessing, not a curse. So when you think of God as king, remember that He is king in the very best sense of the word, a king who provides for His people, who defends them from their enemies, and who fights for them, giving them victory over their foes.In fact, the most helpful way to think of God as king is to look to Jesus Christ. Learn from Him what a good king is. See how Jesus, the compassionate king, provides for His people as you read tomorrow' s account of the feeding of the 4,000. That was but a preview of the ultimate provision of salvation and eternal life that His reign will bestow on His people. For Jesus will come into His kingdom on the Cross, and there win the victory for us over sin, death, and the devil, providing for us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Here is truly a king worth praising! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen..Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; To His feet your tribute bring; Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Evermore His praises sing: Alleluia, Alleluia! Praise the everlasting King. ("Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" LSB 793, st.1)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/30/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 14:47-15:9; Acts 24:1-23"Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." (John 11:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today the Church commemorates three siblings and friends of our Lord: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany. Jesus had friends! Sometimes we forget that. But Jesus calls His disciples "friends" (John 15:15). And Jesus had other friends as well, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus included.In the two famous accounts of Jesus' interaction with these friends, we see Jesus doing the kinds of things friends do. He visits Mary and Martha for a dinner party (Luke 10:38–42) and teaches them an important lesson about the priority of hearing His Word. Later, Jesus grieves over the death of their brother Lazarus (John 11). We can relate. We've probably all been over to a friend's house for dinner, and many of us have grieved the death of a friend.Can you imagine what it would be like to have Jesus as your friend? He who fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes might be a pretty awesome dinner guest. And look at what Jesus did for Lazarus, raising him from the dead! (Read John 11 for the whole story.) Being friends with Jesus is a wonderful thing!You might think, "I could never be Jesus' friend. He's so powerful and holy, and I'm a dirty, rotten sinner. Even if He were my friend, I would just let Him down." And there's a lot of truth in that, for in your sin, you made yourself His enemy. You broke the relationship and betrayed your friend. There's nothing you can do to ever make that right. Only Jesus can.You have failed, but Jesus was faithful. "Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6–8). You have no truer friend than Jesus, who loved you while you were His enemy and gave His life for you. And He has made you His friend by the gift of faith.One day soon, you will sleep as Lazarus slept. But fear not! Jesus, your true and faithful friend, who is the "resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), will come to awaken you to eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thee will I love, my life, my Savior, Who art my best and truest friend. Thee will I love and praise forever, For never shall thy kindness end. Thee will I love with all my heart—Thou my redeemer art. ("Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower" LSB 694, st.2)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/29/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Thursday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 6:3-11Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18; Acts 23:12-35So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Through Baptism you are united with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection. His death counts as your death, and His resurrection is the certainty of your own resurrection.There' s no doubt that you deserve to die. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Just one sin, one little white lie, one selfish thought, one slip of the tongue. . . just one of these deserves death, eternal death. If you think this is unjust, it simply proves again the depth of your rebellion against your creator. You're so sinful you think it's no big deal! So yes, you deserve to die.One way or another, you will die. If you die going your own way, you die forever. But there's another way to die, without dying forever. Paul speaks of it in Romans 6. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (Romans 6:3). This means that God' s gift of Baptism has bridged the gap between you and Calvary. Jesus' death is now your death. It's as if you were there with Him as He hung on that Cross, as He gave His last breath. It's as if you were the one there dying for your sin. On the Cross Jesus was carrying the sins of the whole world. All God's wrath, all His anger over your sin, was taken out on Jesus, and He died. Your death is no longer required as payment for your sin, all because you are joined to Jesus in Baptism.But wait, there' s more. Jesus died, but He didn't stay dead. Paul goes on to say, "If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." If His death is your death, certainly His resurrection is your resurrection. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). Your death will be "but a slumber" (LSB 938, st.1). No need to fear death. Your death will be like His. Your death will end in resurrection and eternal life. And all because you are baptized! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right and good Before our heavenly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/28/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Second Petition of the Lord' s PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 12:1-25; Acts 22:30-23:11Thy kingdom come. (Small Catechism: Second Petition of the Lord's Prayer)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God's kingdom does not consist of a land with borders, a castle or palace, or an earthly ruler enthroned with a scepter in his hand, wearing a golden crown and royal robes. God's kingdom is Jesus. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!' or ‘There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst" (Luke 17:20). As He said these words, Jesus was literally standing "in the midst" of a group of Pharisees, so when He said, "The kingdom of God is in your midst," He was referring to Himself!The Pharisees weren't praying for God's kingdom to come—at least, not in the Person of Jesus Christ. The kingdom came to them without their prayers. They would reject and crucify their king, but He would still be their king. His royal scepter would be a reed, His crown a crown of thorns, and His royal robes a blood-soaked purple robe of mockery and shame. The Cross would be His royal throne, and from there the riches of His kingdom would be bestowed upon all mankind.You do not make Jesus your king by your prayer or decision. Some Christians imagine that Jesus can't be your king until YOU "make Him the Lord of your life," as if Jesus were incapable of being your king until you "let" Him be. Jesus is already the King of kings and Lord of lords. He rules over all creation by His divine power, and He will rule in glory for all eternity. You don't make Him your king; He makes Himself your king. That's what happened when you were baptized. Jesus, your king, chose you to be His own, to live under Him in His kingdom, the Church, which is His own Body, in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.That's what we're praying for in this petition. We're thanking King Jesus for making Himself our king and we are asking our king to defend us from the evil one, provide for us the gifts of salvation, give us the Holy Spirit and the gift of faith, and rule in our hearts and in our lives until He comes again in glory. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain And your eternal righteous reign. The Holy Ghost enrich our day With gifts attendant on our way. Break Satan's power, defeat his rage; Preserve your Church from age to age. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.3)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/27/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Exodus 20:1-17Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 10:1-27; Acts 22:17-29"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Exodus 20:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Before the Law is given, the Gospel rings forth. God reminds His people that He is their God and they are His people. He chose them to be His own. He delivered them from their slavery in the land of Egypt—a testimony of His love for them.The Ten Commandments, then, are not a list of arbitrary rules handed down from some distant, uncaring, "cosmic kill-joy god." They are the rules and statutes laid down by a loving Father for His own children. These commandments are good, each reflecting God's own goodness. They outline the good life according to God's design, protecting and upholding God's good gifts to us. Our creator God knows what is good for us, and when we keep these commandments, we are truly blessed, and also are a blessing to others.As our loving Father, God is also very serious about these commandments. They reflect God's holiness. They are not a collection of "divine suggestions." Your Father really wants you to lead a holy life, for your own sake and for the sake of others. When you fail to do so, God's good commandments condemn and convict you, showing how you have fallen short in your love for God and for your neighbor. By this word of Law, your loving Father disciplines and chastises you. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" (Hebrews 12:6).Do not despise the discipline of the Lord, but confess: "I, a poor, miserable sinner. . . " You can speak this truth, because your Father is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:8–10). Instead, He deals with you according to His Son, Jesus, who alone obeyed every commandment, and paid the ultimate price for sinners. On Thursday we will see how Baptism unites you to the perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice of Jesus, setting you free—free to be all that Christ has declared you to be. Now, in that freedom, you love the Law and strive to obey your loving Father who has given these commandments to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone. ("The Law of God Is Good and Wise" LSB 579, st.6)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/26/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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St. James the Elder, Apostle

Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 9:1-27; Acts 21:37-22:16"But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." (Mark 10:37)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James and John didn't know what they were asking. They imagined that Jesus, the Messiah, would come into His kingdom in a big, grand, and glorious way, and they wanted in on the action—power, glory, and popularity before men. We crave these things as well, wanting to be liked and glorified by our peers, measuring others' approval by the number of likes on our latest social media post or latching on to the popular people at work or school, hoping to share in their glory.But Jesus is not the way to earthly glory. Instead, those who trust in Jesus are more likely to be hated by the world. All of Jesus' disciples would drink the cup of suffering and be baptized in their own blood at the hands of their persecutors. James, who is remembered today, was the first apostle martyred for the faith, beheaded by King Herod—grandson of the Herod who attempted to murder Jesus in His infancy (Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29).Jesus' glory is completely different. His glory is His mercy and grace for undeserving sinners like James and John—and you. His glory was to drink the cup of God'  anger that sinners deserved and to be baptized in blood as God' s fiery wrath toward sinners was poured upon Him on the Cross. As King Jesus hung upon His royal throne, others were present at His right and His left. Strangely, two robbers received this honor (Mark 15:27). For "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).The glorious ones in Christ'  kingdom are not the wealthy or famous or popular. The glorious ones in Christ'  kingdom are the ones for whom He died: Sinners, robbers, those without a shred of personal worthiness or goodness, who deserve no glory, but are glorified by Jesus' forgiveness, who are baptized in His Name and who drink the eucharistic cup of His Blood. Those two robbers stand for you. You are the glorious ones, made glorious by Jesus' redemption. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, for James, we praise You, Who fell to Herod's sword; He drank the cup of suff'ring and thus fulfilled your word. Lord, curb our vain impatience For glory and for fame, Equip us for such suff'rings As glorify your name. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st.21)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/25/20226 minutes, 9 seconds
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The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:17-26Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 8:1-22; Acts 21:15-36"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The "Law and the Prophets" are the whole Old Testament: every rule, penalty, prophecy, and promise, and even all the weird stuff, like that rule about not boiling a young goat in its mother' s milk (Exodus 23:19). Not an "iota or dot," that is, not even the tiniest letter or point of punctuation, is to be removed. Far from relaxing even one commandment, Jesus intensifies them all. Take the Fifth Commandment. You might say to yourself, "I'm no murderer. If there's one commandment I've surely kept, it's the fifth!" Then Jesus teaches you that the minute you got angry with your sibling, or insulted someone on social media, you became a murderer (Matthew 5:21–22). So, "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." There's no watering down God's requirements to something "doable." The Gospel is not, "We're all sinners but God loves us anyway," as if God were not serious about His requirements. No, you must become more righteous than the most righteous people you can imagine. In Jesus' day those were the scribes and the Pharisees. Actually, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).Thank God, that's what JESUS came to do: not to abolish the Law or the prophets, but to fulfill them, perfectly, right down to iotas and dots, even the really weird, obscure stuff. (That's right, Jesus showed His respect for God's gift of life to animals by never boiling a young goat in its mother's life-giving milk.) You might say, "So what if He kept them perfectly? I haven't!" True, you haven't, but He has, for you. Not only the rules and regulations but also the penalties. That's what He was doing on the Cross—taking the penalty you deserved into Himself. In Baptism you are joined to Him. The perfect obedience He rendered and the penalty He paid count for you. Scribes and Pharisees trust their own righteousness. You trust Christ's righteousness given to you in Baptism, and that is a far greater righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Your great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Jeffrey Ware is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/24/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity      (Psalm 28:1-2, 7; antiphon: v.8-9)Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 6:19-7:17; Acts 19:1-22To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 28:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. David tells us that the Lord is his rock, his fortress, and his stronghold, the One to whom David turns when he is in need. David prays that the Lord will hear him. If the Lord does not act, then David will go down to the pit, the grave, and he will die. These pleas for mercy come from the heart and mind of one who was painfully aware of His sinfulness. David knew his faults, and by faith, he knew that God alone could save him. In verse 7 we read, "The Lord is my strength and my shield." This is a good reminder for us because the Lord alone is our strength. He is the shield that not only protects us in this life, but also gives us life. Like David, we are sinners. Our lives are filled with things we should not have done and things we should have done. We have failed to keep the commands of God, and without Jesus, we would go down to the pit. The wages of sin is death, and we can only be made right with God by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross for us. Jesus our Savior died and rose from the dead, so we now have forgiveness and life in His Name. This mercy of God comes to us by faith, and it makes us alive so that we trust in Him and are strengthened in this life. The Lord is your rock. He is the stronghold of your life. He is not silent to us. No, the Lord speaks to us through His Word when we read it. His voice comes to us in church through preaching and teaching. The Lord's Word is proclaimed by the Absolution and when you receive the Body and Blood of Christ. All of these good things are poured out by the One who is never silent, for the Lord hears the prayers of His people and shows mercy to all who cry out to Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, continue to hear the prayers of Your servants. Help us always to remember that You alone are our rock and our shield. Thank You for the forgiveness and life You give to us through Your Son, our Savior Jesus. We ask that You help us each day to live and serve You as obedient children. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.  -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/23/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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St. Mary Magdalene

Today's Reading: John 20:1-2, 10-18Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 5:1-6:3, 10-16; Acts 18:1-11, 23-28Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher) (John 20:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary Magdalene received a number of blessings from the Lord Jesus. In Luke 8:1-3, we read about how Jesus healed her by exorcizing seven demons. Once this miracle happens, Mary follows Jesus, and the blessings continue to come as she listens to the teachings of her Lord. Then in John's Gospel, we read that Mary is the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. At first she does not recognize Jesus. Maybe the tears, and the fact that she was an eyewitness to His death on the Cross, have so clouded her vision that the empty tomb, the angels, and even the appearance of Jesus Himself cannot cut through the sadness that fills her being. Mary is seeking a dead body, for she saw it taken down from the Cross. This living man standing before her could not be Jesus, so he must be a gardener. Mary only knows the truth when she hears, "Mary." The voice of her Savior is unique, it is powerful, and it has authority. Jesus speaks one simple word, and Mary knows who He is. And all is now good. Jesus, who died on the Cross for the sins of the world, is now alive, and He comes with life and salvation. Like Mary, all of us have received blessings from the Lord Jesus. Jesus called you by name. In Baptism He spoke your name and brought life, hope, and salvation to you. No longer are you dead in your sins. Now, because of Jesus, you are forgiven. The blessings of the Lord do not stop with Baptism. Weekly the Lord comes in bread and wine, and at the altar you receive His very Body and Blood, a blessing that forgives your sins, strengthens your faith, and preserves you all the days of your life. One day we will once again hear the voice of our Savior Jesus. On that day, He will call us by name, and we will arise from our graves to live and serve Him forever in Paradise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, restored Mary Magdalene to health and called her to be the first witness of his resurrection. Heal us from all our infirmities, and call us to know You in the power of Your Son' s unending life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Mary Magdalene) -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/22/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 4:1-22; Acts 16:23-40Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:30-31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The jailer thought he had failed in his duty. As a Roman jailer,  your life was over if your prisoners escaped while in your custody. This man was about to kill himself for his failure when Paul cried out to him. What a sweet message those words of Paul were to a man lost and without hope! This sinner realized that Paul and his companions were proclaiming a message of life and hope to those who were as good as dead. The cry of "What must I do to be saved?" is a cry that all who have been killed by the Law utter. For the Law always leads us to despair of ourselves, to see the gravity of our sins, and to look for help. At this point, when we are dead in sin, the Gospel can come and save us. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." The proclamation of the Gospel to the jailer and his family immediately led to Baptism. This man and his whole family received the washing and rebirth that comes to all sinners, regardless of age, when the Word of God is connected to simple water. This water is transformed into a life-giving water that gives faith and life to all who receive it. The Gift that was given that day to the jailer is also given to you. While you are dead in your sins, God calls you by name. He washes you. He makes you alive. He forgives all your sins. He makes you holy. This Gift you receive because of Jesus and the sacrifice that He offered on the Cross through His innocent suffering and death for your sins. Because Jesus has risen from the dead, you also will rise and live with Him in heaven. Rejoice in that gift and believe that the words and promises of God are for you, not just today, but every day of your life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Dear Lord, awaken us that we may be prepared to receive your Son with joy when he comes and to serve him with a pure heart. Graciously hurry the coming of that day. Bless and prepare us with wisdom and strength that in the meantime we may walk wisely and uprightly. May we joyfully wait for the coming of your dear Son and so depart from this valley of sorrow. Amen. (Luther' s Prayers, ed. Herbert F. Brokering. Augsburg Fortress, p.106) -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/21/20225 minutes, 57 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: First Petition of the Lord's PrayerDaily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 3:1-21; Acts 16:1-22God' s name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also. (Small Catechism: First Petition of the Lord's Prayer)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is holy, so His Name is always holy on account of who He is. Yet Martin Luther teaches us that we have a responsibility to keep God's Name holy. How can we do this? We can only do this by remaining in the true Word of God. How does this happen? Well, it happens when all of God's Word is taught exactly as God intends it to be taught. The problem we face as churches and as individuals is that our sinful flesh does not ever want to hear the truth. You see, the truth revealed in Holy Scripture shows us our failures. It reveals our sins. It tells us that God does not want us to live as selfish individuals who only think about our own pleasure. The Law of God is intended to kill us, and we don't want to die. That is why it is a struggle to listen to the truth. This difficulty is one of the reasons so many churches distort, change, or ignore portions of the Bible and instead teach some other nonsense. In so doing, they lead people astray and profane the Name of God. By faith we pray, "Hallowed be Thy Name." The Holy Spirit alone has the power to lead us to hallow God' s Name. It is only by faith that you or I can hear and believe all that the Law has to say to us. Then, as we come to a knowledge of the truth, we are able to confess our sins and turn to Jesus, for He alone can forgive our sins. As forgiven children of God, we are called to live holy lives according to the Word of God. All of us do this when we continue steadfast in the Word, listening to what it teaches and doing what it says. As long as we sinners are here on earth, we will continue to do this imperfectly. But because of the sacrifice Jesus offered up by His death on the Cross, we continue to be forgiven of all our sins. So we daily must return to our Baptisms, and there in the water and the Word, we arise new men in Christ, forgiven always. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, help us daily to hallow Thy Name. Protect us from all that would dishonor You and lead us to study Your Word with open hearts and minds. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/20/20226 minutes, 6 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-15Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 2:18-36; Acts 15:22-41But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 1 Peter 3, we are told how a believer in Christ is supposed to think, act, and live. What a list of expectations we are to follow! How are you doing? Do you show brotherly love? Are you humble? Do you keep your tongue from evil? Sadly, I know all of us have to confess that we are not good at doing these things. Our sinful flesh does not want to turn from evil. There is many a day that we cannot even go one hour before we fall into sin. So it is important that we always confess our sins and turn to Jesus because He alone can forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then, as a forgiven sinner who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb shed on the Cross, we can once more go forth and honor Christ, living by faith and doing the things that the Holy Spirit has prepared for us each day. One of the greatest things that we Christians can do is to share the reason for the hope that is in us. This simply means that you have the privilege of speaking about Jesus. You may share with your friends, with your family, with everyone the message that while we were yet sinners, Christ came and suffered and died so that we might be forgiven and brought into the family of God. This is the message we have to share with those who have not yet heard.Peter tells us to do this sharing with gentleness and respect, for we who have been forgiven greatly by Christ know how important it is to speak with love and concern to those who have not yet heard the message of the Gospel. In this way, our words and our actions will mirror Christ and the message that He has for those still lost in sin. It is a message of love, forgiveness, and peace. Share that message as you are led by the Holy Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. AmenGod, thank You for the forgiveness that You have given to us by Jesus' death on the Cross. Help us each day to live as You desire us to, sharing the hope that is in us so that all might come to a knowledge of Your truth. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/19/20225 minutes, 56 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19:11-21Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:17; Galatians 6:1-18And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The appearance of the Lord to Elijah in 1 Kings is not how I would come if I were God. If I were God, I would come in the earthquake and the fire. The full glory of my power would be displayed so that Elijah and the whole world would feel, hear, and see my divine majesty and power. The coming of the Lord should be an event that stops everything and makes everyone take notice. I would come with a vengeance, blasting everyone and everything that fails to do and live as I command. It's probably a good thing I am not God! In 1 Kings, the Lord comes to Elijah, not in an earthquake or fire but in the sound of a low whisper. And what's even more amazing, Elijah recognizes the Lord in the small, quiet sound. He wraps his face and goes out of the cave to listen to and receive God. As one of the greatest prophets, Elijah knew by faith that God works in ways beyond our understanding. The Lord comes often to the world in ways that the world considers weakness. A great example of this is Jesus' death on the Cross. The world looks at this event and cannot imagine how it accomplishes anything. Death is viewed as the ultimate weakness, yet God's power is greatest in the death of His Son. It is by Jesus' death on the Cross and His resurrection that all our sins are forgiven and we are made alive.The smallest whisper from God comes to Elijah that day with a message of hope and direction. This same whisper speaks to us through the pages of Holy Scripture. In a world filled with fires, earthquakes, and great noise, it is only by faith that you and I can stop looking at the world and quiet our hearts and minds to hear the whisper of God. This Word of God will always bring us peace, joy, and contentment, things we need so that we might set out each day doing the things God wants us to. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, we live in a world filled with distractions and turmoil. Help us to listen for Your quiet whispers so that we might find forgiveness, life, and direction in Your holy Word. Today and everyday, continue to pour out Your blessing upon us so that we might live as obedient children, trusting in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/18/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 5:1-11Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 5:1-26But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The calling of the first disciples has always been a fascinating story for me. The fishermen's day was over. They were getting ready to head home and go to bed after failing to catch anything the whole night. The frustration and plain old tiredness must have pushed them to the very brink. One can almost hear the sarcasm and rising anger in the voice of Simon: "Master, we have toiled all night and took nothing!" After all, the fishermen of Galilee know that you do not catch fish with a net during the day. However, there must have been something about this man Jesus. Maybe it was His voice that commanded attention and obedience. Simon listened and obeyed.You know what happens next. The nets are filled to breaking. The men call for backup, and the catch is so great that both of the boats begin to sink. Simon realizes that he is standing in the presence of the Lord because only God can do such great things. Simon' s revelation, a gift from the Holy Spirit, immediately leads him to the only place that anybody can go when standing in the presence of God. Falling to his knees, he confesses, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." This, too, must be our confession when we come into the presence of God. Today, as we do every Sunday, we gather in church before the presence of the almighty God. We join with all fellow believers in saying, "I, a poor miserable sinner." We confess that we do not deserve to be in the presence of the Lord, for sinners cannot remain before God.Christ hears this confession and speaks words of comfort to us just as He spoke to Peter. "Do not be afraid," and "I forgive you all your sins." What a gift you and I have received from Jesus on account of His sacrifice on the Cross! Like Peter, we are followers of Christ, blessed children of God who are now able to live and serve God in this life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, You have prepared for those who love You good things that surpass all understanding. Pour into our hearts such love toward You that we, loving You above all things, may obtain Your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/17/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity      (Psalm 27:1a, 11-12, 14; antiphon: v.7, 9b)Daily Lectionary: Judges 16:4-30; Galatians 4:12-31O, you who have been my help, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? (Introit for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for today is from Psalm 27, which is a psalm of David. David was well aware of the work of the Lord in his life. From an early age, David had been watched over and cared for by God. With God's help, David was able to defend his father' s flock from the lion and the bear. With the assistance and protection of the Lord, David was able to defeat Goliath. It was God who kept David from the hands of King Saul, and it was the Lord alone who made David king over all Israel. All the days of David's life, the Lord was with him, and by faith David was able to recognize it and give thanks for it. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" Like David, we can give thanks to God for the protection, peace, and life that we have been given. By faith we, too, know that all things come from the gracious hand of our heavenly Father. Our daily cry needs to be, "Forsake me not, O God of my salvation!" For the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh are constantly trying to get us to forget God and to live as we want. If we were alone in this struggle, we would fail. But we are not alone. Jesus is the salvation that has come for us. He alone has paid the price for our sin and given to us forgiveness and life in His Name. When Jesus died on the Cross, all our sins were forgiven, and because Christ rose from the grave, we shall also rise. It is only by faith which comes from the Word that we can continue in the way of the Lord. The Word of God alone is the level path that leads us to the knowledge of the truth.In this life we will face many adversaries, and all of them seek our death. However, like David, we have One who is gracious and merciful. It is because of Jesus that we need not fear anything in the world, for He is our light and our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, teach us Your way and continue to lead us on Your path. Help us to wait for You in the day of trouble and to take courage in Your promises. For the sake of Jesus we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/16/20226 minutes, 1 second
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Friday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 15:1-16:3; Galatians 3:23-4:11But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How often have you waited with eager expectation for something? Maybe it was a birthday, spring break, or Christmas. How did you feel? Did your expectations for that great day keep building until you couldn't wait anymore? I imagine that most of us at one time or another have been so excited for a day to arrive that we could hardly stand it. But no matter how much we tried, we could not make time go by faster to speed up the arrival of the special day. This was exactly how the people of God felt throughout the entire Old Testament. From the moment the first promise of the coming of the Messiah was made, the people watched, waited, and longed for Him to come. Days passed, years came and went, and then at just the right moment and exactly when the Father wanted it to happen, Jesus came. God sent His Son into a world filled with sin. Jesus was righteous and holy, yet He was born under the Law. Born a man just like all of us, the Son of God lived under the Law. Perfectly fulfilling all the commands of God, He did everything we could not. Suffering and dying in our place on the Cross, your Savior paid the price so that you might be received into the family of God.Jesus has forgiven you of all your sins. Now you are part of God's family.Because Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us, we are no longer slaves to it. Now, because of Christ, we are free to live as sons of God. This means that by faith the new man in us desires to love and serve God and to love and serve our neighbor. We do this by following the Law of God. However, we are still sinners, and this means that as long as we live on earth, we will daily fail to follow the Law. We still need Jesus, and because the fullness of time has come, He is here for us. When we return to our Baptisms each day, we receive forgiveness from Christ, and this is the greatest gift we can ever receive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, we give thanks to You for sending forth Your Son, Jesus our Savior. Please keep us strong in the faith so that we might live and serve You. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/15/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 14:1-20; Galatians 3:1-22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Galatians 3, Paul teaches about the Law and the Gospel. In order to understand the Bible, we need to be clear on the distinction between the two. The Bible was written in order that we might have an account of who man is and what he needs. According to Galatians 3:22, the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin. This came about when Adam and Eve desired to be like God and ate of the fruit that they were commanded not to touch. From that moment forward, everything on earth was held captive by sin. Death reigned, and all who failed perfectly to live up to the teachings of God' s holy Law were dead in their trespasses. This is the state all of us are in, for the Law clearly shows us our sins. It tells us what we have done and left undone. Left in that condition, we would be enemies of God and would receive the punishment of hell on account of our sins. What a horrible state in which to live!However, God loved His creation. He loved us, so He made a promise long ago that One would be born who would save His people from their sins. These words are the message of the Gospel. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. Jesus came, and by His death on the Cross, He offered up the eternal sacrifice for sin. We are justified by faith, and the promises of God have come true. The Gospel is that Jesus died for you and that on account of His blood shed on the Cross, all your sins are forgiven. This is the promise that is given for all those who believe. This is your promise. Because of Christ, the promise has now been fulfilled. We are children of Abraham and offspring of the promise. We have received Jesus through Absolution, through preaching, and by the Sacraments. These great blessings are ours by faith, and for these Gifts, we give thanks to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in heaven, we give thanks to You for Your words of Law that show us our sins and drive us to despair of ourselves. And we praise You for the words of the Gospel that give us Jesus who has bought us with His precious blood. Continue to keep us in the true faith so that we might at the Last Day hear the voice of our Savior calling us to be with Him. Amen. -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/14/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Introduction to the Lord' s PrayerDaily Lectionary: Judges 13:1-25; Galatians 2:1-21Our Father who art in heaven. (Small Catechism: Introduction to the Lord' s Prayer)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Martin Luther writes that God invites us to believe that He is our true Father. Have you ever thought about what this actually means? You are a child of the Almighty. Of all the people on the earth, the Lord chose you. As an enemy of God who was dead in your sins, you have done nothing to earn this right. Instead, this relationship between God and man can only come from above. Our heavenly Father alone is the actor, and we are the receivers. Think about our life here on earth. You and I do not get to choose our fathers. We do nothing to be conceived in our mothers' wombs. Instead, God created us, and He alone provides us with parents. Just as we have not chosen our earthly fathers, we don't choose our heavenly Father. In mercy, God calls us by faith. He makes us His by the Word, a precious gift given by the working of the Holy Spirit.This faith unites us with Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father. When this happens, we are crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), we are united with Jesus, and we receive the forgiveness of all our sins. Purified by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross, we are now at peace with the Father, and we are viewed as beloved children of God. It is this work of Jesus done on our behalf that enables us to ask our dear heavenly Father with all boldness and confidence for the things that we need in this life. What a great and precious gift, that is freely given to you by your Savior! No longer do we need to fear the wrath of God or the punishment for our sins. Instead, you and I are part of God' s chosen family, brothers and sisters of Christ, who have been called by the Holy Word of God. We have a relationship with the Father that allows us to bring to Him all of our concerns, problems, requests, thanks, and praise, knowing that our heavenly Father will hear, listen, and give to us all that we need to support this body and life, not just on earth but also forever in heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the great gifts of love and mercy that You give to Your children each and every day. Help us to be ever mindful of the fact that You have chosen us to be Your children, so that we may boldly pray with confidence in the knowledge that You will hear and help us. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/13/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 12:14-21Daily Lectionary: Judges 7:1-23; Galatians 1:1-24If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the twelfth chapter of Romans, Paul writes to the church in Rome and to us about how we are to act and live in the midst of trials. As believers in Christ, the Church will always face hardship and persecution. Just as the world hated Jesus, the world will also hate all of us who follow Him. Because of this reality, we must prepare ourselves for what will come upon us so that we are able to give a faithful witness to the hope that is in us. The problem is that our sinful flesh does not want to live at peace. When we are mistreated and when evil is done to us, we want to get even. By nature we strike out against and impose our own vengeance upon those who have wronged us. Getting even feels good, and the sense of accomplishment that we get when we put someone in their place often leads us to do it again. However, this is sinful. It is not the example that Jesus has given to us, and as we have just read, it is not how the people of God are called to live. So by faith we must repent of our sins. We must confess to the Lord that we have failed to live in peace and that we have often repaid evil with evil. We must confess that we have failed to let the light of Christ shine forth through us.Jesus came to earth to forgive all who have done evil. His death on the Cross and the shedding of His blood brought forth our forgiveness. When Jesus received evil at the hands of all sinners, He overcame it by good. He is the perfect example for us who have been called by faith. This is how we are to live. When we are mistreated and when evil is done to us, we are to overcome it with good. With the help of God, we discipline our flesh and pray for those who have done harm to us. We pray for God to grant them the peace He has given to us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, we ask that You would grant us Your peace so that we might live at peace with those who have done wrong to us. Help us be shining lights of the love of Christ so that the hearts of our enemies might be turned to You. Grant all this we pray for the sake of Jesus. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/12/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 50:15-21Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:25-40; Acts 15:6-21"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today." (Genesis 50:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Joseph's brothers hated him. They hated his dreams, his coat, his status as the favorite, and they especially hated his tattling. The brothers hated him, so they cast him into a dry well, sold him into slavery in Egypt, and convinced their father that he had been killed by a wild animal. In Egypt, Joseph was wrongly accused and placed in prison. At the death of Jacob, the sins of the brothers were once more brought to remembrance, and Joseph was finally free to pay them back for their mistreatment. Our sinful flesh understands vengeance. We cling to it. We naturally react to hurt and to pain by lashing out at those who wronged us. We feel a need to get even. We want our pound of flesh and to give back as good as we got. So it is not a surprise that Joseph' s brothers were worried. As the second-most powerful man in all Egypt, Joseph was capable of doing anything he wished to settle the score.However, by faith and the working of the Holy Spirit, Joseph clearly saw the good that had come about in his life because of his brothers' actions. In the midst of great evil, God had worked through His servant Joseph to bring about the salvation of his people. Joseph did not negate the sins of his brothers, but he was willing to forgive them. This forgiveness came only by the grace and mercy that God had first given to Joseph. In 1 John 4:19 we are told that, "We love because God first loved us." And this love comes by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross for all of our sins. Joseph knew the promise of the coming of the Messiah; he awaited it. And it was this faith that enabled him to forgive and to love those brothers who had done such evil to him.You, too, are loved by God. Always remember that for those who love God, "all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). These words bring us comfort and peace as we live in a world filled with evil and sin. No matter what problems we face, our heavenly Father will work it out for our good because of Jesus.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, help us to remember that Your almighty hand works all things for our good, not only here and now, but forever in heaven. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/11/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 6:36-42Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24; Acts 14:19-15:4"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We judge everything, everywhere, all the time. Do you like the food you eat? Do you like the outfit your friend is wearing? Do you agree with the post you just read? Every day we determine whether we like things or not,  or if someone is right or wrong. Our lives are filled with constant judging. Judging, if done in light of the teachings of the Holy Scripture, is not a bad thing. We are told, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). All of us are called by God to search the Scriptures and to use this knowledge and the teachings of Christ to judge right from wrong.However, there is a difference between using the measure of God's Word to judge and using our own measure. As sinful and selfish creatures, we want what we think is best for us and care little for the good of our neighbor. Often our heart's desire is contrary to the things of God. We condemn and judge on the basis of our authority instead of realizing the truth that all people are under the judgment of Holy Scripture. When this happens, we are no longer being merciful. Instead, we are condemning our brother for a speck, all the while ignoring the logs in our own eyes. This is wrong, it is sin, and we need to confess our transgressions to the Lord.The psalmist writes, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (Psalm 103:8). The mercy of the Father and the love that He had for His fallen creation is what brought Christ to earth. Jesus came, took our sins, received our punishment, was judged in our place, and died on the Cross so that we might receive everlasting mercy. Because Christ shed His blood for you, you are no longer condemned. Forgiven by God, we are now to show mercy and to forgive in the same way.What a great gift we received from the hands of Jesus! Using the same measure that we have received, we may–by faith–love, forgive, and live as God intends us to. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschChristians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
7/10/20226 minutes, 6 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24; Acts 14:1-18     But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. (Judges 4:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. And the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . . once again. Of course they did. When do we not? I almost feel as if each section in the book of Judges is just an example of a year in the life of Eli Lietzau, or even a day for that matter.  I'm constantly falling back into sin, seeking after other gods, hurting and hating my neighbor, being crushed by the Law that oftentimes really does hurt, and then being saved in the most unexpected and impossible way. So the Israelites have been sold into the hands of Jabin the king of Canaan. And he has a pretty imposing general in his army, Sisera, who should by all accounts win every battle that he ever enters. But he doesn't win this one, not once the Lord fights for His people. Sisera's army is routed and he goes running, running for cover under the tent of an old friend. He thinks that he is safe and sound, hidden from danger. But as he is exhausted and falls dead asleep, the last thing that ever goes through his head is a spike nailed into the ground by Jael, the wife of his friend. Now I may be stretching this a little bit far, but in Sisera I see a little bit of Satan. At the Cross, Satan believed he was safe from his enemy, and more than that, he thought he had won the battle and the war. Rational logic would say that at Calvary, Satan found himself to be the victor as the Lord of life was dying. And so, I have to believe the last thing that went through Satan's head as the nails were pounded into Jesus' hands and feet was, "Victory is mine!"  But wouldn't you know it, both in the case of Jael and her tent and Jesus and His Cross, a spike and a hammer brings an unbelievable end to the enemy and an impossible victory to God's people, to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Salvation unto us has come By God's free grace and favor; Good works cannot avert our doom, They help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone; He is our one Redeemer. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/9/20226 minutes, 3 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31; Acts 13:42-52 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. (Judges 3:31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The judges who we find in the book of Judges are saviors.  That is literally their job description, as laid out in Judges 2:16. Judges are mini-Jesuses, saving God's people from their enemies and pointing forward to the bigger Jesus to come. It's kind of amazing when you take the time to think about it this way, but then again, Jesus is all over the Old Testament. He is foreshadowed and promised and sometimes He even shows up in His pre-incarnate ways.  That's why it's no coincidence that the book of Judges, chock full of mini-Jesuses, begins with the death of Joshua, the man who led God's people into the Promised Land, whose name literally means " YHWH (God) saves,"  and is the Hebrew equivalent of the name "Jesus."  In today's text we get to hear about the first three mini-Jesuses who began the 400-year trek to Samuel, the final judge, and to the coronation of the kings. (Again, a foreshadowing of Jesus, but we will leave that for another day.) Throughout these four centuries there is a never-ending cycle that happens: The people fall away from YHWH and run after false gods. YHWH hands them over to their enemies. YHWH has compassion on His people and sends them a judge to save them. The people live under YHWH all the days of the judge's life. And then it begins all over again. The odd thing is, almost all of the judges come with sword and shield (or in Shamgar's case, an oxgoad) in order to save God's people. They go out to fight, violently, in order to save, bringing death to their enemies. All of this points forward to Jesus, except in an opposite way, like in a mirror. For even though Jesus is the fulfillment of all the judges and saves God's people from their enemies, and even though that salvation will come in violent ways, the violence is done to Him. He defeats the enemies of God's people, sin, death, and the devil, by death. But because He is risen from the dead, there is no need for another judge to follow.  Even as we fall daily into sin, He is and always will be the saving Judge who saves us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Preach you the Word and plant it home To men who like or like it not, The Word that shall endure and stand When flow'rs and men shall be forgot. ("Preach You the Word" LSB 586, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/8/20226 minutes, 29 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article part 2Daily Lectionary: Judges 2:6-23; Acts 13:13-41 In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are not as special as we think we are. God does His saving work for you and me in the same way that He does His saving work for everyone else: It is through the Holy Spirit's calling us by the Gospel, enlightening us with His gifts, sanctifying and keeping us in the one true faith. It is all the work of God. He does it all, from beginning to end, and He does it all for everyone. As good Lutherans we love to be able to say, "I believe that I can't believe," but sometimes we have trouble believing that for the other guy. Sometimes we heap more and more guilt upon ourselves because we want to be able to say the right things in the right situations in order to get our neighbor to start believing in Jesus. Somehow we think that conversion is part of our job. But if you had nothing to do with your own conversion, how could you think you have anything to do with someone else's? It is true that we are told to always be ready to give a defense for that which we believe, but all that means is that we should know what we believe and why we believe it. And of course, we should. Christianity isn't a thing of silly blind faith, but it is built on the objective and historical fact of the resurrection. We should know that and always be ready to proclaim it. But that is where our part ends. Everything else is so far above our pay grade we can't even see the top. Leave the converting to the Holy Spirit. He's much better at it than you or I could ever hope to be. And then also be comforted in the fact that as the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of your neighbor to turn it from stone, so, too, is He continually working upon yours so that it might never return to that rocky place of unbelief. Daily and richly, He brings Christ and His Cross to you in Word and water and bread and wine so that you might receive Him who saved you, so that your sins might be forgiven, so that your faith might be forever strengthened. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all confess the Holy Ghost, Who from both in truth proceeds, Who sustains and comforts us In all trials, fears, and needs. Blessed, holy Trinity, Praise forever be to Thee! ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 953, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.   
7/7/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Isaiah

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5Daily Lectionary: Joshua 24:1-31; Acts 13:1-12   Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah is probably one of the best-known prophets in the Old Testament. His book is prominent. He is quoted about as frequently as one could be, by Jesus, the evangelists, and Paul. Some have even called his book the "fifth Gospel,"  because salvation in Christ is dripping from each and every verse.Isaiah speaks to the people of God, many of whom have gone astray. He proclaims God's Law and calls the errant to repentance. He points forward to a savior, Cyrus, who would save God's people from captivity in Babylon and to a Savior, Jesus, who would save God's people from their enemies of sin, death, and the devil. He preaches the full counsel of God in season and out of season so that confident sinners can be crushed and terrified sinners can be comforted.Isaiah gives us the scene of the heavenly throne room: "Holy, holy, holy," is shouted by the seraphim as the foundations tremble and shake from the glory of God. He then shines a light on Christ's forerunner, telling John to proclaim comfort and peace and double forgiveness to all those who are terrified in their sin. Isaiah lifts our hearts with songs of the Suffering Servant, each one more Jesus-y than the next, capped off in chapters 52-53. He tells of the silent Lamb who goes despised, stricken, smitten, crushed, buried, and chastised to the slaughter in our stead. There is also the Mountain of the Lord, the future heaven and earth, and so very much more. For all of this we can give thanks to our God above who has given us the Words of the prophet Isaiah that we may know that the Suffering Servant has come, and that by His stripes we have been healed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old, The Lord of all in spirit did behold High on a lofty throne, in splendor bright, With robes that filled the temple courts with light. Above the throne were flaming seraphim; Six wings had they, these messengers of Him. With two they veiled their faces as was right, With two they humbly hid their feet from sight, And with the other two aloft they soared; One to the other called and praised the Lord: "Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! His glory fills the heavens and the earth!" The beams and lintels trembled at the cry, And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high. ("Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old" LSB 960)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/6/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25 Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8b-9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is no promise of a life without suffering, especially for the Christian. We think that there should be. We logically conclude that if we could just figure out the right steps to walk and the correct words to say, then we could find our way onto the simple and easy path to the Promised Land. But that just isn't the case. First, it's because we are sinners. Yes, we have been redeemed by Christ and are a new creation in Him, and yet the Old Adam still hangs on and must be continuously drowned in the baptismal waters that make us righteous. And second, the Lord actually promises persecution for the Christian. Just as your sinful flesh hates the things of Jesus, the things of the Church, the things of the forgiveness of sins and life and salvation, so, too, does the world. And the demons will drive all evil to come upon you like a lion hunting down his prey. I know that sounds daunting. I know being a Christian in an increasingly secular world is difficult. I know that sometimes it's just easier to hide your Bible at the bottom of your locker and change out your crucifix necklace for a simple silver chain. But know that you are not alone. Not only is your Lord and Savior with you in His Word, strengthening you each Sunday with His Sacraments, but there are millions of brothers and sisters all over the world experiencing the same exact things that you are. Cast all of these anxieties at the feet of your heavenly Father. Goodness, when it gets too much to handle, shake a fist or two at Him as well, but then stand in faith in the midst of things that seem too outside of you to control, because they are. Know that the Lord who has redeemed you through His precious blood is also the Lord who has promised to never forsake you, and will grant you all you need to be sustained until the day in which He comes again to take you home with Him forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ Jesus is my splendor, My sun, my light, alone; Were He not my defender Before God's judgment throne, I never should find favor And mercy in His sight, But be destroyed forever As darkness by the light. ("If God Himself Be for Me" LSB 724, st.3)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/5/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Micah 7:18-20Daily Lectionary: Joshua 10:1-25; Acts 11:19-30 Who is a God like you,pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Micah is a hard man, a hard prophet. He says some things that are pretty difficult to hear, but of course, that is how the Law always is. Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah. He speaks some of the same words. It's almost as if the two of them have the same Word to speak, as if they have the same things to say about God and His Christ. There is quite a lot of reproving that Micah does throughout his ministry and throughout his book. The people have gone astray, lusting after idols and false gods who could never truly bring them joy and comfort. Micah also has a hard word for the shepherds of the people. Although each man is to be held to account for his own sin, the wrath of the Lord for a shepherd who fails to guard and keep his flock will be double. And of course it will, for the Lord sends shepherds to care for His flock, not to lead them astray. Inevitably the end result is that Israel and Judah will crumble in their sin and idolatry. The Lord will bring upon them the wrath of the nations, first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. And although all of this will take place, the Gospel still prevails. Micah is the one who shines a light into the manger in Bethlehem and prophesies the birthplace of the Christ. And so, even though the Law is severe, the Gospel still prevails. Micah wraps up his book of woe and warning with a little bit of Gospel that comforts the conscience. Is there any other God who pardons sin and iniquity, who passes over transgression for the sake of another? No, there is none. Only our God has the language of " forgiveness"  in His vocabulary, winning it for and speaking it to poor miserable sinners who deserve to hear nothing but wrath and condemnation. Ours is the God who is faithful to us, despite our sin and adulterous idolatry. He is the One who keeps His covenant, even after we have broken it, so that our sins might find their way into the depths of the sea. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless; My soul, believe and doubt  it not. Why stagger at this word of promise? Has Scripture ever falsehood taught? No! Then this word must true remain: By grace you too will life obtain. ("By Grace I'm Saved" LSB 566, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/4/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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The Third Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 15:1-10Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28; Acts 11:1-18 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord is surrounded by the "wrong" type of people. That is what the "right" type of people think, anyway. And, if truth be told, those "right" types of people make a lot of sense. If I took the time to think about it, I would assume that Jesus would spend the majority of His time with those who lived an upright and holy life, those who have shunned the things of the shadows, where shame and humiliation lurk about. The most rational thing would be for the shepherd to stay with the flock, the woman not to spend the day looking for a nickel, and the father to forget about his prodigal son and focus on the one who stuck around. But Jesus doesn't do that, because to be honest, there is no flock, no purse with nine coins, no perfect son who continuously does his father's bidding. I would like to think that I am all of those things. I would like to pat myself on the back for never running off in the country or getting lost in the couch cushions. That's not me, and it's not you, either. But that certainly doesn't keep us from pretending that we're the perfect ones. What is meant to be an insult from the "right" type of people is really a compliment, and Jesus takes it that way. For if a savior isn't dining with sinners then he isn't a savior. And no, forgiveness does not mean that when Jesus receives sinners, He grants them permission to remain in their sin. Haven't you read the parables? Jesus is bringing the lost ones back from their sin, back from their danger, back from their deaths. A shepherd isn't worth his weight in wool if he doesn't go and track down the silly sheep that lost its way. Because if he didn't do that today, tomorrow he would find himself with two lost sheep, and then three, and then the whole flock. Sheep don't stay in their pens: The shepherd places them there each and every day. And so, of course Jesus receives sinners and eats with them: They are the only type of people there are. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/3/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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The Visitation

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-56Daily Lectionary: Joshua 7:1-26; Acts 10:34-48 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy." (Luke 1:44) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Pebble-sized preborn Jesus makes His way to visit His cousin, His forerunner, the one who will make His paths straight. At Mary's arrival, the other bitty baby, John, hears her greeting. But certainly this was so much more than a simple " Hello." Certainly this greeting had all of the trappings of a teenage girl blathering out every last detail of the past few weeks as fast as she could: the angel Gabriel, Joseph's initial and then secondary response, her simple reply in faith. Surely these are the words that John hears.Baby John leaps for joy: a little baby leap with little baby legs, exuberantly kicking at the walls of his fleshy abode. At six months gestation, John is in the exact place that a person of his size should be, both physically and spiritually. It is there, in that place, that Jesus, His Savior comes to him. Imagine that: The salvific Word of God is so authoritative that it can produce faith in the heart of an unborn child, through the simple greeting of a woman who is merely recounting the events of the recent past. But it was in the recounting of these events that the proclamation of the Incarnation took place. God's plan of salvation, taking form in tangible ways and being spoken of in real time and space. It is through this proclamation that John and his mother are brought to faith. And it is this faith, this objective faith in the Incarnation God for the salvation of mankind, that John is going to proclaim to the nations 30 years removed from that first Gospel encounter. With tender words, John is going to speak words of comfort to the people of Jerusalem, to you and me. Our warfare is ended. Our iniquity is pardoned. Every crooked place is now straight, every hill brought low, every valley brought level, every obstacle taken away. The Savior is coming, even as a speckle-sized dot floating down Mary's fallopian tubes. That dot is God in the flesh. That dot is the Savior of the world. That dot is Jesus the Christ, and He has come that we might receive from His outstretched and crucified hands double for all our sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You chose the virgin Mary to be the mother of Your Son and made known through her Your gracious regard for the poor and lowly and despised. Grant that we may receive Your Word in humility and faith, and so be made one with Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Visitation)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/2/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:17-33And [Peter] said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean." (Acts 10:28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just before our text, Peter has a vision. It's an odd one at that:  A giant picnic sheet is dropped down from heaven covered in all the animals that a good Jewish boy is supposed to shun: bacon and lobster and all things delicious. He is told to eat, but he can't, of course, because that would make him unclean. But the Lord tells him something different: What God has made clean must not be called common.Of course, this has to do with much more than food, for God isn't all that concerned with food. The food means something more, points to something more important. The Jews had, for a good number of years, seen the Gentiles as inherently unclean. They had a superiority complex over everyone else in the world, simply because of who their grandfather was. They believed that YHWH, God, was only for them and that the salvation that He brought was to stay within their borders.And this is all strange because Jesus had often spoken to the Pharisees about how lineage meant nothing, about how there would be many Gentiles seated at the heavenly banquet while the sons and daughters of Abraham gnashed their teeth while looking through the window. But it took a while for all of this to sink in for Peter. In fact, he needed a special vision just so that he could wrap his mind around it. No problem, just as long as the Good News of Jesus for all people was proclaimed.And it was by Peter, for a while. But we hear later in Acts and in Galatians that even the great Peter had difficulty keeping the "Gospel-For-Everyone" business free and clear. He fell in line with the circumcision party that said that a Gentile must first become a Jew if he wanted to be a Christian. But that's just the thing: In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free. There is just forgiven sinner. And no forgiven sinner is greater or less than his brother.Peter eventually figured this out (check out Acts 15) and spent the rest of his days proclaiming a Jesus for all, a Jesus for you. We give thanks to the Lord above for that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God, should take Our mortal form for mortals' sake! ("O Love, How Deep" LSB 544, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
7/1/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article part 1Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6:5; Acts 10:1-17I 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. What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a lot that the Holy Spirit does, but most of it is behind the scenes. He does have His big day on Pentecost. And Jesus explains in John 16 that unless He goes away, the Holy Spirit will not come. But usually the Holy Spirit is hanging out in the background, hovering over the waters at creation or leading Jesus out into the wilderness after His Baptism.And this is as it should be, as it must be, as He would have it. For the Holy Spirit always points to the Son. It is His job to shine a bright light into the dark space of Good Friday and early Easter morning. He is the One who says to the world, "Jesus has come and He has come for you! Don't fear any longer, your sins are forgiven, your death is dead, and even Satan's head has been crushed with a heel."His work is to show us Jesus. And it is a good thing that He does, because without Him, I wouldn't be able to see a thing. Dead in my trespasses, I can't reach out to the Son, make my way to the Christ, work my works of belief in Jesus. Dead men are dead! They can't grasp or choose or decide or make sense of, all they can do is lie dead.It is the work of the Holy Spirit that I believe. It is Him and not me. I believe that I can't believe and need the Holy Spirit to make me holy and keep me in the one true faith. And so He does, but He ties Himself to means so that I can know for certain that the victory won on the Cross has been delivered to me. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all confess the Holy Ghost, Who, in highest heaven dwelling With God the Father and the Son, Comforts us beyond all telling; Who the Church, His own creation, Keeps in unity of spirit. Here forgiveness and salvation Daily come through Jesus' merit. All flesh shall rise, and we shall be In bliss with God eternally. ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 954, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/30/20226 minutes, 9 seconds
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St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles

Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-20Daily Lectionary: Joshua 4:1-24; Acts 9:23-43Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It may seem strange that we celebrate the feast of Peter and Paul on the exact same day. After all, they probably didn't spend all that much time together. After the Damascus road, Paul was jet-setting all over the known world, and not spending a whole lot of time in Jerusalem. So how is it that we end up celebrating both on the 29th of June? It's really about tradition. There is evidence as early as 256 AD that churches were observing the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul together. And that was because it was traditionally thought that Emperor Nero had both of them killed in the city of Rome on the exact same day Paul beheaded and Peter crucified upside down. It is generally believed today that Peter was martyred nearly three years prior to Paul, but whatever the case, tradition runs its course and we can still find ample reasons for celebrating these two pillars of the Church together. For indeed, who is responsible for the proclamation of the Gospel more than Peter and Paul?In our reading for today we hear Peter's confession, the confession upon which Jesus would build His Church. And it is within this Church, the universal Church, the Church founded upon the testimony of the prophets and the apostles, that Jesus places the Keys of the kingdom of heaven. Within Her walls we get to hear of the Son of God crucified as the Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Within Her walls we get to receive this Cross of His, dripping from the baptismal font, placed upon paten and chalice, to be wetted and eaten and drunk for life everlasting.And it is for these reasons that we give thanks to our Lord above who found it meet, right, and salutary to send these two men (and many others) out to proclaim the Good News of Christ crucified for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful and eternal God, Your holy apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of Your Son. Strengthen us by Your  Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Peter and St. Paul)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/29/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 9:1-10Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24; Acts 8:26-40[Wisdom] has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks sense she says, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight." (Proverbs 9:3-6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Two women are contrasted in our text for today. Let's start with the latter: Lady Folly is a fool. She is a simpleton and knows nothing at all, but her ways are seductive. She sets herself up to look like the first lady. She does the same things and says the same words. It's all a ruse, but it's an effective one.And her purpose is not to offer an equally valid option. She might say as much, maybe even has her minions whispering that very thing into your ear. In the advertisements that she has plastered all over town she is billing herself as equal to Lady Wisdom, only better. But only death lies beyond her. There is no life to be found in her. But she is seductive. And she promises to you that she can grant you more life than Wisdom. She can't.For Wisdom has her house built on a sure foundation and she has already slaughtered her beasts to feed you with a full banquet. No stale water or crusty bread for you, just the choicest of wines and the fattiest of meats. Only the best for you: That is what Wisdom gives."The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." This whole reading is all about Jesus. Contrast Him with whatever else and with whomever else you would like, because everything else is folly. Everything else only offers you the things that lead to death, eternal death, although they promise you the moon and all the happiness in the world. But it is all hollow and vapid, worthless and deadly. Only Christ Jesus calls His children inside His house and offers to them the things of life, the things of forgiveness, the things of Word and water and bread and wine, the things of Him and His Cross, given and granted free of charge to the simple and those who lack sense. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Since He is ours, We fear no powers, Not of earth nor sin nor death. He sees and blesses In worst distresses; He can change them with a breath. Wherefore the story Tell of His glory With heart and voices; All heav'n rejoices In Him forever: Alleluia! We shout for gladness, Triumph o'er sadness, Love Him and praise Him And still shall raise Him Glad hymns forever: Alleluia! ("In Thee Is Gladness" LSB 818, st.2)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/27/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 John 3:13-18Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17; Acts 9:1-22By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is love? We don't need to guess what it means to love someone. Jesus has shown us His and the Father's love for us, that He laid down His life for us. He did this in a sacrificial way, offering His body as a propitiation for our sin: a covering, a removal, a great exchange of His stuff given to us and our stuff taken away. See, the concept of love isn't that hard.Unfortunately, when the sinner exercises "love," he rarely cares about the other. Think about it: When I am in love with something or someone, the sinner within me really only cares what that something or someone can do for me. I care about how I feel and about how I see things. In loving something or someone, my hope is that my life is the one that is improved.But this isn't love. Sure, this might be what we think love is or what the world says love is, but this is never the way in which our Lord speaks about love. The love that He shows is always a love for the other, never for the self. The self is always sacrificed, the self always goes without, the self always suffers so that the other can have. That is the way of Christ and so this is the way of His Church.Bottom line is that you can't claim to be a Christian and not know how to love your neighbor. It is inherent in who Christ is and He speaks of what that means for us in His Word. We love our neighbor because it is commanded of us by our Lord. But do not think of this command as something you need to fulfill in order to be saved. Christ already has taken care of that. Remember the whole, "By this we know love," stuff? Instead, think of this command as something you need to fulfill because your neighbor needs to be served. Yes, your neighbor, never yourself. In Christ, love gives and sacrifices for the other, always for the other. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In suff'ring be Thy love my peace, In weakness be Thy love my pow'r; And when the storms of life shall cease, O Jesus, in that final hour, Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me safely to Thy side! ("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" LSB 683, st.4)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/27/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Second Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 14:12-24Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25And the master said to the servant, "Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled." (Luke 14:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus finds Himself at another banquet. Early on, people loved to invite Him to these kinds of things, that is, until He garnered for Himself a certain reputation. At this particular banquet, Jesus makes things a little bit uncomfortable by telling the man who threw the party that he only did so in order to become more popular with the "in" crowd. If he really wanted a heavenly reward, he should have gone and invited those sitting at the losers' table. Awkward . . .Someone tries to tamp everything down by making a bland, "Duh," sort of statement, meant to quiet the situation. So Jesus turns the awkwardness up to 11. The mysterious parable of the Great Banquet is then told: Everyone should clamor to come to this feast, but none of the cool kids want to. They all have better things to deal with: a new field, a new cow, a new wife. They seem like legitimate excuses, but are they really? The man isn't asking them to slave away in the coal mines. He is inviting them to a party. "Eat, drink, dance the night away. Don't worry about cleaning up afterward or inviting me to your party next week, just have the time of your life!" But everyone refuses.Such is the way of the sinner, especially the one who has become so very bored with the things of Jesus. Why would anyone refuse a party? Why would anyone refuse the eternal Gifts given by the Lord of Life? It sounds weird when you pose it that way, but that is exactly what the sinner does.And so the man invites the bums off the street and the wanderers of the byways. He invites the people who would never have hoped to be included in such a shindig. He invites the ones who couldn't pay Him back or throw a rival party. Those are the people who pack the banquet hall: the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, the losers, the nobodies, the worthless, the sinners. Yep, you guessed it, He invites you, and you get to feast with Him for all eternity at the best never-ending party ever thrown. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/26/20226 minutes, 3 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 30a, 49; antiphon: v.18b-19)Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25 [O Lord,] I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let us pray . . . How long, O Lord? How long am I supposed to deal with these enemies who rail against me? How long am I going to have to deal with the evil that destroys all of the relationships I have in my life? How long will the guilt of my sin prick my conscience and trouble my heart? How long will the shame of the sin of others lay heavy upon me, smothering me to the point where I can't breathe anymore?Is this going to last forever? You promised that you love me, but is this love? I thought that all of this pain would be taken away. I thought that the bullies at school would find someone new to pick on. I thought that the demons running around my head would be told to be silent. I thought that the feelings and desires that seem to come so naturally to me wouldn't be so foreign to what you call good. How long, O Lord, must I suffer with all of this?Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Grant to my eyes the light of your salvation. Give me comfort and the peace that passes all understanding in the midst of pain. For I know that my death looms over me; each day calling out a little louder. I know that my enemies lurk in the shadows, plotting and scheming against me. I know that the demons whisper into my ears, telling me that I am too far gone and am not yours.So deal bountifully with me once again, like you did on the Cross those many years ago. In fact, give me that Cross, today, right now, for now is when I need it. Graciously provide for me the Body that was broken there for me. Place it on my tongue. Mercifully share with me the Blood that was poured out there for the sins of the world. Pour it down my throat. Grant to me the faith I need to receive your crucified and empty-tomb victory, that I may sing your praises once again and proclaim unto the world, in the face of my enemies, that Jesus is for me! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Shine in our hearts, O Spirit, precious light; Teach us Jesus Christ to know aright That we may abide in the Lord who bought us, Till to our true home He has brought us. Lord, have mercy! ("To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray" LSB 768, st.4)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/25/20225 minutes, 56 seconds
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The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:1-18 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins." (Luke 1:76-77) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Zechariah's tongue is finally loose. Nine months of silence. Nine months of not being able to speak with Elizabeth about this miracle within her, not being able to speak with Mary upon her visitation about the greater miracle that had been bestowed upon her. Nine months of a stopped-up tongue so he might know that when the Lord promises a promise, a promise shall be fulfilled.And so, on the day of his son's circumcision, the day in which his name is given to him before God and before his family, Zachariah is able to speak once again. But he doesn't just speak, he prophesies, he sings! He sings a song of salvation, a song of redemption, a song of forgiveness and life and promises everlasting. The fulfillment of the oath sworn centuries before, now being ushered in through this miracle son of his.I wonder if this was a spontaneous prophecy, or if it was the Holy Spirit working within Zechariah for the last nine months. Were these lyrics running around in his head to a tune that had never been heard before by anyone except himself, and now he gets to proclaim this well-crafted hymn to all of creation? Or did he beep-bop and scat this thing out like jazz, so overwhelmed and overcome with the Holy Spirit that he barely had time to recognize the very things that he was saying?In the end, it doesn't matter; it's just something fun to ponder. But whether this song of Zechariah was crafted or spontaneous, it pointed forward to a day that was fast approaching. Six months later the real miracle would be performed. And while the world would have to wait a couple of decades to see it all pay out with Jordan waters and a head on a platter and a Savior on a Cross, the time was at hand. Salvation had come to God's people in the very way that He had promised. And this eight-day-old boy named John was going to be the one to tell the world about it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Nativity of John the Baptist)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/24/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; John 20:1-18 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him,  "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). (John 20:15-16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary Magdalene is more terrified and confused than she has ever been in her life. Her Lord has been crucified and now His body is no longer in the tomb. She came there that morning to find a small amount of peace in this world of death and destruction, and now even that is gone. Some graverobbers have stolen away the body of the Lord of Life and now she can't even commend Him to God above.Peter doesn't seem to offer much help, nor does John. Even though they are viewing with their own eyes the empty tomb that Jesus had continually prophesied about, they can't believe it. Dead men stay dead and full tombs remain full. Even when the angels miraculously appear, it seems as if Mary is too punch-drunk to even acknowledge the miraculous.So Jesus stands behind her. Was it the tears in her eyes that kept her from recognizing Him? Surely she could tell the difference between her Lord and some gardener she had never met before. Or maybe it is the mysterious miraculous impossibility of it all that keeps her mind clamped down in the rational and the logical.And so Jesus calls her by name. (There is that "name" stuff again.) And it is in calling her by name that she recognizes the risen Christ. She wants to grab onto Him and never let Him go. She never again wants to lose Him, or to be without Him. But He says, " No,"  for a risen Christ isn't just for her: He is for everyone. He is going to go away again, and in a little while will ascend to His Father and hers. He does this so that He can send His Spirit and in His Spirit give the Gifts of the Cross, the Gifts of the empty tomb to everyone that He calls by name. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Awake, my heart, with gladness, See what today is done; Now, after gloom and sadness, Comes forth the glorious sun. My Savior there was laid Where our bed must be made When to the realms of light Our spirit wings its flight. ("Awake, My Heart, with Gladness" LSB 467, st.1)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/23/20226 minutes, 7 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 3Daily Lectionary:  Proverbs 25:1-22; John 19:23-42 That I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Small Catechism teaches us that the Second Article of the creed is about our redemption. It tells us who the Second Person of the Trinity is and what He has done for us. It tells what He has accomplished for us on the Cross with those words of finality, "It is finished!" So we know the "Who," and the "what." Part three of this article tells us, "why." God does nothing without purpose. He is not random. He doesn't just tinker with things to satisfy His own curiosity. We are told that before the foundation of the world, God loved us in Christ. As He spoke us into existence and formed us out of the dust of the earth, He loved us. As we slithered our way to the Tree of Knowledge and consumed the evil that should have never been ours, He loved us. He loved us to the point of the Cross and back, paying for our sins with His precious blood. He would make atonement for us because we could not make it for ourselves. He would rather go through hell than live for eternity without us.And so the "why" of it all, the "why" of the atonement, the "why" of the incarnation, the "why" Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, the "why" of everything is so that we would be His once again. So that we would be wrestled from the deadly hands of sin and live in His kingdom: a kingdom of life, not of death.He did all of this by granting us His righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness, His innocence in exchange for our guilt, His blessedness in exchange for our curse. He did all of this so that we may live forever with Him, serving Him by loving our neighbors and declaring to them the atoning love that Christ Jesus has for them. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all believe in Jesus Christ, His own Son, our Lord, possessing An equal Godhead, throne, and might, Source of ev'ry grace and blessing; Born of Mary, virgin mother, By the power of the Spirit, Word made flesh, our elder brother; That the lost might life inherit, Was crucified for all our sin And raised by God to life again. ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 954, st.2)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/22/20226 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 John 3:13-18Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22; John 19:1-22 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John is writing to the churches in Macedonia, which is modern-day Turkey. He had spent the greater part of his ministry up near Ephesus, preaching and teaching the Gospel of a crucified Christ. It was the Gospel that landed him on Patmos. Eighteen months later, once he had made his way back to Ephesus, he saw the congregations that he had once held so dear, now thrown into heresy and unbelief. It doesn't take long for the sinner to screw things up. And we are so adept at screwing things up that we even pull God's Word into the equation and use Him to justify our actions.One of the most deadly heresies that was circling the fledgling congregations was the thought that good works for our neighbor weren't important. Now as good Lutherans we like to say that good works aren't necessary, but that's not true: They just aren't necessary for salvation. But they are necessary, because even if God doesn't need them, your neighbor certainly does.And so, a lot of what you hear in 1 John is a proclamation of who you are. John isn't so much telling you what you should do, but instead he is telling you who Christ has made you to be in Him. "By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." Christ has made us to be sacrificial servants for others because that is exactly who He is for us. One cannot help but be in Christ and love one's neighbor, not just in word or talk, but in deed and truth.Love looks like something. Love serves. Love cares for the other. Love never looks inward, but always looks to the neighbor. Love looks like Christ, and so should we, not to garner salvation or to make God smile upon us, but so that our neighbors might be provided and cared for, and that they might be loved. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; My ev'ry act, word, thought be love. ("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" LSB 683, st.2)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/21/20226 minutes, 6 seconds
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Monday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 15:1-6Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-20 And [the Lord God] brought [Abram] outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Andhe believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Abraham is a 75-year-old man when God first calls him, and promises that his offspring will inherit the most beautiful land his eyes had ever seen. But ten years later, there was still no son; and ten years for a 75-year-old doesn't leave much time for having children. So Abraham decides to give God a helping hand and have a son with a woman who was not his wife. (Best intentions always sound like a good idea, but they rarely ever are.)  It's another 15 years after the Hagar debacle that Isaac makes his way into the world and Sarah holds her one and only son.Bottom line: The Lord always keeps His promises. He may seem slow in doing so, at least from our point of view, but He isn't. When it is good and right, in His time, He fulfills what He has spoken and brings forth what He has always promised. For Abraham, a descendant finally came. And through Isaac, his lineage, as many as the stars in the sky,  spiraled forward all the way into the New Testament. But it wasn't because Abraham cut any sort of covenant with God. He tried to, time and time again, but that had always left things worse than when things began. Sinners do this to the things of God. Whenever we try to make things better, whenever we try to tell God how it is going to be, whenever we promise to Him that we will never fall away, we always end up screwing it up before we can take our next breath.Abraham is like us, and we are like him. In fact, we are his sons and daughters in faith, the exact same faith that grasps onto the promises of God, because sinners like us can never accomplish anything on our own. So a Son will come, has come, to be (and was) the Ram in thicket thorns who died in our stead and grants us His righteousness through faith. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The God of Abr'ham praise, Who all-sufficient grace Shall guide me all my pilgrim days In all my ways. He deigns to call me friends; He calls Himself my God. And He shall save me to the end Through Jesus' blood. ("The God of Abraham Praise" LSB 798, st.3)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/20/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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The First Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 16:19-31Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14 He said to him, "If they do not hearMoses and the Prophets,neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." (Luke 16:31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The two men in our text couldn't be any different. One feasted sumptuously. He had more than he ever needed, more than enough to support this body and life. He ate what he wanted, and lived how he desired. The other man had nothing. He lay in ruins. Sores covered his diseased body from head to toe. His only companions were the filthy dogs licking his sores, making him continually unclean. It's clear, from the world's perspective, which man was more favored. When you lack for nothing, when everything is placed at your fingertips, when life is easy and blessed and perfect all of the time, it's obvious that you live a semi-charmed kind of life. And this has to be because the Lord up above is pleased with you, for some unknown reason. If you want any proof, all you have to do is look at your temporal surroundings. But then when you do, you realize that everything isn't always so wonderfully perfect. Truth be told, your life probably resembles the leprous poor man's than it does the rich guy's. And if that is true, then you probably find it pretty easy to believe that your life is garbage for a reason. Some sin that you have committed along the way has made God so angry with you that He is going to curse you for however long it takes you to die.  But that's just it: Both men die, which means that they were both sinners, despite how it may have appeared. But only one of the men had a name, Lazarus. His name was known by God. He was known by God. And this certainly couldn't have come from his sinful self. The name had to be a gift.It's a Name that comes in the baptismal waters which cleanse you in the blood of Christ and make you alive in His empty tomb. It's a Name that speaks against everything that sin, death, and the world declare you to be. It's a Name that makes you partakers of the wondrous glories of heaven. Before the Father, a name means everything, and you have one for the sake of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the strength of all who trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us Your grace to keep Your commandments that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/19/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 13:1-4; antiphon: v.5-6)Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; John 17:1-26Consider and answer me! (Psalm 13:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Desperation, abandonment, hopelessness and sorrow, enemies exalting themselves over me. Are there any words in this psalm that we have not spoken or thought? Yet the psalm gets real Hebrew, real fast. Psalm 13 teaches us to pray like a Hebrew: Give me an answer! "Consider and answer me" (Psalm 13:4) is the tidy way the English puts it. We like tidy prayers, just tiptoeing, whispering, muttering sheepishly. Oh, that we'd pray like a Hebrew, with a finger pointed to the sky, with ugly tears, with clenched teeth, yelling, screaming, and deep lamenting. Psalm 13 prays about big time problems to a Triune God who is big enough to handle it, gentle enough to stoop down to comfort us, merciful enough to take us up into His arms with our sloppy tears, broken hearts, and words that sound like what we'd hear at a truck stop rather than in church.Consider me! Hear me, take note of me, notice me! Do it now! It's nothing other than to pray as God has commanded us. Christ has taken notice of you, He's taken upon Himself your own sin and become your Savior. He notices you and cares for you because there's no one else He'd rather pay attention to than you. There's no need of yours that's too big, no hurt that His forgiveness and peace cannot soothe.Answer me! Let me hear what You're going to do about this! Let me hear your Word, your peace, your care for me. Tell me that I'm not alone, that I'm not the only one to suffer this. Tell me again that You'll never leave me or forsake me. Answer me in my hour of deepest need, delay not, come quickly! He considers you: "You are forgiven, by My blood and righteousness." He answers you: "I, too, have suffered as you do (Isaiah 53). I, too, have known injustice and hatred. I have borne your sin unto death, fulfilled the Law for you. Not only that, but I also weep with you, I abide with you still, today, tomorrow, and forever. Your tears are My tears, your joy is My joy, your guilt and shame I made My guilt and shame. You are the apple of my eye, my beloved, my child, my very Bride." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and most merciful God, in this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and of the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/18/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Friday of Trinity Week

Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 17:1-28; John 16:17-33A little while . . . (John 16:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How long is a little while? The disciples wanted to know. Are we talking 15 minutes, 15 days, or 15 years? God's been talking like this since the Old Testament. "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor; it's time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come" (Jeremiah. 51:33). "For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction" (Isaiah 10:25). "A little while": words that mean there's going to be waiting, and with waiting all the headaches that go with it. The disciples witnessed the scourging, trial, and death of their Lord, and spent three agonizing and terrifying days waiting for the resurrection.We focus on the waiting. To be sure, Jesus says, "You will weep and lament, the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy" (John 16:20). How long until we see the joy? A little while, but your sorrow will not be forever. Your joy, however, is and will be forever! Today you hear that it'll be a little while until we see the fulness of our Lord's blessings, but even in the little whiles, which might seem to last for a very long time, even there in the  waiting, sadness, sorrow, depression, grief, Christ our Lord abides with us still.Sorrows will be turned to joy. In a little while there will only be joy. But even now, for a little while, there is joy in the midst of all that we suffer. Waiting for loved ones to get better, suffering through a breakup, struggling to find a job–a little while where God attends to you, a little while where you will be sorrowful, when you will weep and lament. Yet it is Christ who sorrows with you. He cries tears with you, laments with you still. God sends you His good Gifts under bread and wine, in the sign of the cross that reminds you that you're marked as the apple of God's eye. For a little while you are filled with all that you need for this body and life that will give way to an eternity of peace and joy. A little while but not forever. Until forever, Christ finds you, wipes your tears away, forgives you your sin and loves to take care of you still. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, by the patient endurance of Your only-begotten Son You beat down the pride of the old enemy. Help us to treasure rightly in our hearts  what our Lord has borne for our sakes that, after His example, we may bear with patience those things that are adverse to us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/17/20226 minutes, 39 seconds
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Thursday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Romans 11:33-36Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16Who has known . . . Who has counseled . . . Who has given? (Romans 11:34-35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul wonders who has known the mind of the Lord (Romans 11:34). The answer, because of sin, is none of us. "You have not in mind the things of God but the things of men," Jesus says to Peter (Matthew 16:23). Paul also wonders who has counseled God. In other words, who has actually been able to give God advice about how best to be God? The answer? We've certainly tried, but our counsel is so deeply immersed in our sin that even the best of our advice is found wanting. Who has given a gift to God that he might be repaid? My goodness, that last phrase hits hard. The only thing that could be given is our very lives, and thankfully, God does not require that of us. According to the Law, because of our sin the answer to all three questions is none of us, not one.But Paul writes so that we would see that Jesus' death and resurrection, His tabernacling with us, addresses at least two of the questions. Who has known the mind of God? You have. He's given you His mind, given you Jesus. "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:7). We "see" Him by hearing (Romans 10:17). But who has given God something? This is where the psalmist helps: "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12-13). Our giving, then, starts in and finds its everlasting source in receiving: receiving what Jesus graciously gives in the Divine Service and the Lord's Supper, so we may call upon Him, pray, and confess the words He's given us to say.As for counsel, well, that's where Paul leaves us hanging. None of us has counseled God, and there is great comfort in this. He needs no help from us, but instead sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to lead us to and  keep us in the Holy Christian Church, where daily forgiveness and life are given to you and me. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Triune God, be Thou our stay; O let us perish never! Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, And grant us life forever. Keep us from the evil one; Uphold our faith most holy, And let us trust Thee solely With humble hearts and lowly. Let us put God's armor on, With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, amen! This be done; So sing we, "Alleluia!" ("Triune God, Be Thou Our Stay" LSB 505, st.1)-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/16/20226 minutes, 39 seconds
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Wednesday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 2Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27I believe that Jesus Christ has become my Lord. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus has become my Lord: It's not what the English versions of our catechisms say, but it is a good translation. Christ Jesus has become my Lord. You've perhaps met people who have spoken in this way before. Maybe someone has said that they've made Jesus their Lord, usually by some good thing they had done, said, or decided. But the Second Article of the creed and its explanation aren't saying this in the least. In a word, it says this: Christ saw me in my great sin, my sorrow, and need, took note of the great agony here on Earth, and did something about it. Paul says it, too: "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).Jesus says elsewhere, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). What does this mean? That even in your inborn sin and your actual sins each and every day, Christ Jesus, true God and true man, came to dwell among His enemies, came to bear your sin to the Cross, bore the whole weight of God's Law for you and me, suffered in your place, died your death, ascended to heaven to bring His very blood as the sacrifice for sin. And then, from heaven, Jesus comes still to give you the Gifts of heaven right here on earth. We say it like this: " . . .on earth as it is in heaven."How has Jesus become your Lord? He took all that stood between you and Him, all your sin that made you His enemy, all your grief, sorrow, and guilt, and provided full remission of sin by Baptism. Now, day after day, as you rise and pray the Morning Prayer, you are awakened to new mercies, gracious gifts, protection and peace brand new each day. He's always been your Lord and yet He becomes your Lord by His precious Body and Blood, given and shed for you in the Holy Sacrament. He graciously comes to you still, and mercifully rules you through the forgiveness of sins that He pours out to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thou art King of glory Christ; Son of God yet born of Mary. For us sinners sacrificed, As to death a Tributary, First to break the bars of death, Thou hast opened heav'n to faith. ("Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" LSB 940, st.4)-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/15/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Elisha

Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 14:1-27; John 15:1-11"Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elisha, son of Shaphat of the tribe of Issachar, was the prophet of God to the Northern Kingdom of Israel around 849–786 BC. Elisha assumed the prophetic office after his predecessor and teacher Elijah was taken up into heaven. Elisha is best known as the guy who asked for a double portion. He asked boldly for the blessings of Yahweh to be bestowed on him, and by grace it was granted to him. Our reading for today, particularly the portion that deals with bearing much fruit, is unfortunately often misunderstood. Bearing fruit is sometimes thought of as what we do, what we bear forth and give to God and neighbor. The problem here is that while the fruits we bear are for God and our neighbor, it's not the fruits that bestow salvation to us. The Vine bears the fruit, one of which is salvation. It's just one of many free gifts that Christ our Lord has won for us and has freely delivered in Baptism.Elisha is a wonderful example of a branch grafted to the Vine. Taken from the fields, taught by Elijah and given a double portion of the blessings of God Himself, Elisha learned daily what it meant to receive the grace and mercy of God. He was a branch, grafted lovingly to the life-giving Vine. Whether it was the poor widow and orphan of 2 Kings 4 who received the never-ending grain and oil, or the son of the Shunammite whom Elisha raised from the dead, God used weak and lowly Elisha for His good purposes. Finally, by Elisha's interactions with Naaman the Syrian, an enemy of the people of God who was healed of leprosy by washing in the Jordan river, our gracious Lord revealed His mercy and grace to all. Let us praise God as we remember Elisha and those who bring to us the certain hope of our resurrection in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, heavenly Father, through the prophet Elisha, You continued the prophetic pattern of teaching Your people the true faith and demonstrating through miracles Your presence in creation to heal it of its brokenness. Grant that Your Church may see in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the final end-times prophet whose teaching and miracles continue in Your Church through the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/14/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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Monday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25; John 14:18-31Woe IS me! (Isaiah 6:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You've heard it before, you've said it before . . . woe is me! Thanks be to God that the prophet Isaiah gives us a fuller understanding of that phrase: "I AM woe. It's what I've known and all it seems that I'll ever know." Isaiah had witnessed something unbelievable, something not known on earth: a glimpse of holiness and perfection, but just a glimpse. For the six-winged seraph veils Isaiah's eyes from beholding it fully, for no man of woe, no sinful man, can see God and live! Woe is me. I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips. We can identify with Isaiah, for not only have our own lips muttered terrible things to friend and foe alike, but our scrolling fingers, typing thumbs and wayward minds have revealed the true fallen nature that plagues us each day. Not only that, Isaiah dwells with a people of unclean lips. It's funny how 800 BC is so much like AD 2022! Isaiah saw with His own eyes the holiness of God and it caused him to recognize how wretched he was. That's what the holiness of God does, it terrifies us, because we natural sinners know that perfection in and of ourselves is unattainable by even our best desires and works. That's how the Law works, especially the Law which sets us up alongside the perfect and Holy Christ.God our Lord, is pleased to come. With Him are the seraphs, messengers of God to still our shattered hearts, to grant solace to our precious and fragile hearts and lives, to cleanse not just our lips. We are not cleansed by fire but by the water of Baptism, water that drowns our Old Adam. It is cleansing water, pure, clean, and refreshing water that stills our souls. By the Word in and with that water that speaks the same words spoken to Isaiah, "Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for" (Isaiah 6:7).Woe no longer IS you! Your woe has been taken up completely by Christ your Lord. Woe is not you for it has been drowned and died with all sin! Christ is in you, and you in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Lord, you have known me before I was in my mother’s womb, You have known me, my sorrow and my grief for You were pleased to dwell on this earth, You willingly humbled Yourself to bear my sin, there is nothing of me that You do not know, no sin of mine that You did not put to death; take heed of me in my great need this day and pour out again, abundantly and without end, Your, lovingkindness, Your perfect holiness and Your gentle mercies known n the forgiveness of my sins, open my ears to hear always,“Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/13/20226 minutes, 55 seconds
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The Holy Trinity

Today's Reading: John 3:1-17Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23; John 14:1-17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Back in the day, I was told that in order to know something you must sometimes understand what that thing is not. John does just that  in our reading for today: He tells us that Jesus did not come as true God and true man to condemn the world. So now we know what Jesus hasn't come to do. What has He come to do? Of course, John says that Jesus has come to save the world, but He's also come to save you. On this blessed Feast of the Holy Trinity where we behold the Trinity in unity and unity in the Trinity, an unfathomable, unexplainable concept, it's wonderful to simply take in the fact that God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier is pleased to dwell with us. He comes among us not to condemn us or the world with us in our sin, but the Creator, God the Father, was pleased to send His Son to us. To send the Redeemer of the world to bear our sin, fulfill every last jot and tittle of the Law for us and to hang and die in our place. The Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, gives us faith in the Word made flesh, to wake us, who by our own reason or strength cannot believe in Jesus our Lord or come to Him. The Holy Spirit, or the divine finger, as I've heard Him called, points only and always to what Christ Jesus has done for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the eternal Trinity by the confession of the true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in the faith and defend us from all adversities for You, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/12/20225 minutes, 34 seconds
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St. Barnabas, Apostle

Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18; John 13:21-28So they (the apostles) went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:12-13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Barnabas, which means "the son of encouragement," was a contemporary of Paul's and was originally from Cyprus. Through his generosity, he sold his land and offered all the proceeds to the preaching of the Holy Gospel. He was a cousin of Mark the evangelist, whose text we consider today: "So they (the apostles) went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them" (Mark 6:12-13).As described in Acts 1-12, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas up the coast to Antioch. While there, Barnabas preached and taught just as your pastor preaches and teaches, of the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. Barnabas even grabbed up an ornery, raucous persecutor of the new Christians, a man by the name of Saul, also known as Paul in the Greek, and convinced the frightened disciples that Paul's conversion and Baptism of Saul (Acts 9 and 13).Such is the way of the Lord, that during the years of His ministry He sent the apostles out two by two. So it was also in the days after His ascension that Barnabas and Paul were sent out to preach and teach, and to confirm every word they preached with the signs they did. Yet they were quick to assert that they were not gods, but men like their listeners (Acts 14:15). "We bring you good news," they said, "that you should turn from these worthless idols to the living God who made all things."Through many years Barnabas continued, finding himself back again in Cyprus, where he would labor until his death by stoning. Barnabas, the son of encouragement, endured hardships and traveled widely. God sustained him in his vocations, just as God is always with you as you carry out your own vocations. Thanks be to God for the encouragement He gives to others through you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the disciples and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the commemoration of St. Barnabas)-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/11/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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Friday of Pentecost Week

Today's Reading: Genesis 11:1-9Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:22-36; John 13:1-20So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Tower of Babel has it all! Hardworking people trying to build a tower to God, and God's saying that now "nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them" (Genesis 11:6). God's confounding the languages of the people and then . . . AND THEN scattering them all over the place.I thought God said that it wasn't good to be scattered and isolated! What gives?To be sure, it's good, right, and salutary that we do have people to talk to. But don't forget that what you talk about also matters. The people of Babel were of one mind, which teaches us that it's possible to be in agreement and be totally WRONG! The people of Babel had unanimously agreed that the best way to get to God was to make your own way to Him. If they think that they can build a tower to God, where will their ambition end?In His great mercy, God  mixed up the language of the people so they couldn't be one in their grave error. It's not possible to get to God by anything we do, not even if the whole world says you can, God comes to us! God abides with us. To teach this, He confuses the languages, casts the people all over the known world, but He never stops talking to them.God scrambled the languages, but new languages and new cities would pop up all over. The people would maintain these different languages until our current day, and by the day of Pentecost much of the known world would hear, in their own native languages, the clear and concise Word of God. Between Babel and Pentecost, God talked to them and continued to send prophets and judges, the pastors of old. All would have the Word of God to comfort them and to provide forgiveness of sins, to assure them that there's no need to build a tower to God. Indeed, we can't. Yet Christ, God and man, came down, the Word made flesh to bear our sins and become our Savior. He comes to us now each Lord's day by bread and wine to give us what we desperately need, now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus, Word made flesh, as it pleased you in the days of old to speak to your scattered people by many and various tongues, so come to us, by the preached word given to us by our pastors and church, come to us by your Spirit in hearing we would be given faith to believe that you find us, come to us, speak to us, comfort us and forgive us this and every day. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/10/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Thursday of Pentecost Week

Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-21Daily Lectionary:Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50And they were bewildered. (Acts 2:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Bewilderment . . . what a fun word! Just rolls off the tongue. But if you've ever lived a day of life here on earth, you know that  bewilderment in reality isn't much fun at all. To be bewildered, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, simply means to be confused.There's plenty to be confused about in our day. Teachers tell you this, your pastor and parents tell you that, and your friends via Twitter and Instagram, well, they say something different all together. That's the world, and it's been this way ever since the tongues were confounded at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). But it's not just the words that describe everyday life that have gotten mixed up. The very Word of God left the people mentioned in Acts bewildered, too.How could it be that all those people were speaking in languages that none of them had ever heard or spoken? Maybe the mockers WERE right in saying that the apostles were filled with new wine (Acts 2:13). Thankfully, Peter clarifies: Though the people who speak are filled with great joy, they're not filled with wine but with the Spirit who has been poured out on all flesh (Acts 2:17). And if they have the Spirit then they also have what the explanation of the Third Article of the Creed promises: "The Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened us with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." This explanation of Holy Baptism in the Small Catechism portrays Baptism not as just plain water, but "a life giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit." What does this mean? There's plenty to be bewildered about here in this fallen world and many times we are, but in Baptism the Lord has given you His Holy Spirit. He's already yours, and you're already His. He opens your ears to hear and your tongue to speak, even in the midst of bewilderment. It's not a matter of understanding as much as it's taking hold of the fact that Christ has covered you in Baptism and still sends the Holy Spirit today by preaching and the Word. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, into this bewildering world You are pleased to come. Into our bewildered hearts and minds You bring the great joy, not of new wine but of Your life-giving Word! So continue to send Your Spirit to keep us with the Church and Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/9/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday of Pentecost Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 1Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; John 12:20-36aI believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. (Small Catechism: Second Article)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Jesus has become my Lord." That means that there was a time when Jesus was not our Lord. When was that? King David reminds us, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). But it gets really tough when we see that little baby brought to the font. That little baby, looking all cute and cuddly, gentle and lowly, is actually a poor miserable sinner. It just doesn't make sense. After all, that little baby hasn't DONE anything sinful yet.Martin Luther's baptismal rite of 1523 included the following: The priest began by blowing three times under the child's eyes and saying, " Depart thou unclean spirit and give room to the Holy Spirit." The opening prayer of the baptismal rite implores God to "break all the snares of the devil with which he is bound." Later, there was a more extended exorcism of the child, concluding with the words, "I adjure thee, thou unclean spirit, by the name of the + Father and of the + Son and of the + Holy Ghost that thou come out and depart from this servant of God, (Name), for he commands thee, thou miserable one, he who walked upon the sea and stretched forth his hand to sinking Peter." What else is your Baptism, other than the work of God that allows the explanation of the Second Article to make sense? Jesus becomes your Lord in the water, with the Word that exorcised the demons and devil, that drowned and killed the Old Adam in you, and washed you clean in the blood of Jesus. He gave you the full inheritance and gave you His Holy Name! You've got it all! You lack nothing. Jesus says you're His, Jesus says He loves you and protects you and cares for you always. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gracious Jesus, true God and true man, though I am beset with such grave sin that has caused me to be born as Your enemy, let not the devil and his demons torment me, for You alone have claimed me, You alone have made me your precious child, an heir of Your eternal kingdom and a blessed recipient of Your lovingkindness each new day. So lead me this and each new day to the waters of my Baptism, bring to my remembrance today and forever, Your gracious love and mercy toward me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/8/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Pentecost Tuesday

Today's Reading: John 10:1-10Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 4:1-27; John 12:1-19"The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3b)"He does all things well!" (Mark 7:37)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A wise man I know once rejected the idea that we are sheep. "Sheep are dumb animals," he said. "I just can't stand the idea that God would talk about us like that!" Jesus does talk like that though. In fact, all Scripture speaks in that way so that we will hear that there is a Good Shepherd who is always tending to us.Our Merciful God knows precisely who He's dealing with. We are not the well-adjusted, got-it-all-together, never-been-better crowd. Christ came not just as a shepherd, but as the GOOD Shepherd. He came talking, always talking, chattering like an enthusiastic baseball fan in the right field bleachers. And what does He say? "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). That's you! Sheep: not dumb animals but those who desperately need shepherding. And it's not about what you'll eat for breakfast, where you'll work, or what college you'll go to. Instead, you are shepherded to hear the mercy and peace that Christ freely bestows in a world filled with hate and discord. Shepherded to a strong church in the midst of false shepherds who seek to lead you away from the Jesus who loves and cares for you. Shepherded to hear that there's no amount of your own blood, sweat, or tears that you could shed to make everything perfect. That's Christ's job. Our "job" is to hear. To hear that although we often find ourselves cut off from the herd, alone or afraid because of what we've done or failed to do or by what's been done to us:, Jesus is always taking care of us.He's the Shepherd, and He does that well. He's the Word, constantly talking, speaking His Law to put us to death in sin, but also speaking mercy and forgiveness for all that baggage we think we need to carry. That has all been borne by Him. He's the One who gives abundant life, who has taken on Himself all our careless wandering and our following after the false shepherds of this world. He's the One who gives us the ears to hear Him who has bought us back, leading us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me And on His shoulder gently laid And home rejoicing brought me. ("The King of Love My Shepherd Is" LSB 709, st.3)-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/7/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Pentecost Monday

Today's Reading: John 3:16-20Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 3:5-24; John 11:38-57For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)In the Name of Jesus + Amen. Ours is a dog-eat-dog world. Selfishness, greed, lust, envy, and strife pervade our world and our own lives. It's every man, woman, and child for himself. Who's watching out for you? If you believe much of what you see tweeted, or on Instagram and Facebook, it's difficult, if not impossible to find the answer to that question. Who's watching out for you? Thankfully John addresses this crucial question, at first objectively and then subjectively. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That's quite a BIG statement. The world is a BIG place, with BIG things happening–what about little ol' me? God sent Jesus for the whole world: That's objective justification. But who is watching out specifically for you? This is where John makes the subjective point: God didn't send His own Son to hunt you down and punish you for your sin. Far from it. The Father sent the Son to seek you out and to bear your very sin to death. He came not to condemn, no, no, no–He came to seek you. He came and took on your flesh, became like you in every way but one. Jesus your Savior was without sin, yet He humbled Himself, lowered Himself into the Jordan River and had all your sin washed onto Him! Every bit of it! He carried the full weight of it all to Calvary's Cross and put it to death with Him, and when He went down into that tomb on Good Friday your sin stayed dead in that tomb! But even before all that–remember the blood and water that flowed from His side? That blood and water was FOR YOU! His blood flowed into the chalices of all Christendom, and the water is one and the same water that was washed over you on the day you were baptized! Who's watching out for you? The same Christ Jesus who knew you even before He formed you in the womb, the same Jesus who took on your very flesh, who took all your sin and suffered your death, the same Jesus who rose as the firstborn of the dead so that you, too, would rise forever with Him on the Last Day. He's got you covered. He's watching out for you by the blood and the water, the bread and the Word, now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/6/20226 minutes, 56 seconds
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The Day of Pentecost

Today's Reading: John 14:23-31Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 1:8-33; John 11:17-37"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all need a little help in life, with changing a flat tire, or that pesky calculus homework, but when it comes to matters of greater importance, we Lutherans confess in the Small Catechism, "I believe that I cannot believe." I believe that I cannot believe. Aren't we Christians supposed to have all the answers? Haven't we heard that we've got to have it all figured out when it comes to the trials and tribulations of life? There was a time–but alas, it ended with Adam's hiding for fear from the sounds of God walking in the Garden. A time, long past, when God's creatures used to expect only good from God. But those days are long gone. "I believe I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him."Thanks be to God, then, that He comes to us! The Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, and enlightened me with His gifts. Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord that He takes a vested, incarnational interest in us! Before ascending to the very throne of God, He sends the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to teach, and bring to our remembrance all that we've forgotten that Jesus has said and done for us.He teaches us by the Divine Service, catechism class, Sunday school and Bible study, showing us where we can go to find the words of eternal life. He teaches us who we can trust to give the most precious of all gifts: the forgiveness of sins.The Spirit is constantly bringing to our remembrance, that is, giving us His Word to remind, comfort, and give us the peace that the world cannot give. This strengthens us, enlivens us and opens our ears to hear and mouths to speak of the wonders Christ gives us still by Word and Sacrament. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Day of Pentecost)-Rev. Adam Degroot is pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane BamschCome on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/5/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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The Eve of Pentecost

Today's Reading: John 14:15-21Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." (John 14:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you love Jesus? It seems like a silly question to ask a Christian, and yet it was just asked of you. How is it that you love Jesus? Was it something you decided to do one day? Did you will your love for Jesus into existence? Clearly those seem to be unlikely answers. Your love of Jesus, your love for God, did not and could not come from you. Such a love came about because of a Gift that you received, the Gift of faith. This Gift was given to you by the Holy Spirit. Jesus prepares us for that time when He will no longer be among us in the flesh. As upsetting to the disciples as that might have been, that day was drawing ever closer. But Jesus promised that the disciples would not be left alone. You, too, have received that promise, for Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to you. He comes to give to us the Gift of faith which believes all that God has said and done. By faith, you have to come to know love, true love shown by God to us sinners. It is this love which led Him to send Jesus into creation, to make Jesus our sacrificial Lamb. God has made you known to Him, but more importantly, God has made Himself known to you. He has done so by giving you a name, one that is more important than any other name: child of God. That makes God your Father, and because God is your Father, He desires to give you the greatest Gift in all of creation, and that is the forgiveness of all of your sins. No greater Gift can be given than that, for it is by forgiveness that you are received into the kingdom of God. All that God desires to give you is yours because you have been made a part of Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Eve of Pentecost)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/4/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. (Luke 20:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have to hand it to the scribes and the chief priests for staying true to themselves. They pretend to be sincere when it comes to Jesus, all while trying to find ways to put Him to death. At least they're consistent in their doubletalk. What was at the heart of their issue with Jesus? For the scribes and chief priests, it came down to one word: power. They had it, and then Jesus came onto the scene, disrupting their powerbase. They could not allow that to happen, and so they sought to do whatever they could to remove Jesus from the picture. Regarding Jesus, it came down to a different word: authority. Jesus had the authority because He spoke the Word of God, not the word of man. That was at the heart of all the issues the people had with Jesus. It wasn't about power, but authority. When you seek to change God's Word in order to keep your power, it is clear that you do not have authority. Jesus, however, has all authority because He IS the authority. He is God in the flesh. If anyone should know what God has said, it would be Jesus. Later, when asking regarding marriage and the resurrection, the scribes and priests were put in their place again, because what they desired wasn't a legitimate answer. They wanted instead to discredit Jesus, show Him to be one who had no authority. And once again, they proved to be on the losing side of things, for Luke records: "For they no longer dared to ask him any question" (Luke 20:40). There is only one authority and that is God's authority. That authority has been revealed to us through His Word, both written and in the flesh of Jesus. God's Word reveals to us the length that God is willing to go to in order to redeem creation. For Christ's sake, your sins have been forgiven, not by man's authority but by God's. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/3/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostle's Creed, First Article part 3Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18 All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. (Small Catechism: Apostle's Creed, First Article)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you read the Explanation to the First Article, it's amazing how much God does for us, especially when you look at who we are–sinners. You and I deserve nothing, and yet God grants to us everything. There is no reason for God to do what He does, and yet He does it anyway. We don't even need to ask why, because Luther tells us: "without any merit or worthiness in me." And so, Luther writes in the Large Catechism, "We confess that He does all this out of pure love and goodness, without our merit, as a kind Father. He cares for us so that no evil falls upon us." There is no worthiness in us that causes God to do all that He does. He shows His great love for us in giving us all things to support our earthly body and life. Because of the great things God has given, we want to serve Him with all that we have received. However, according to Luther, we sin daily, even with the gifts God has given. We fail to do as Luther says: "thank and praise, serve and obey Him." It is fortunate for us that we have a gracious God, one who doesn't treat us the way that we deserve. He gives freely, "out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. . . " That means that you don't have to do anything to earn what God gives; you simply receive from His bountiful goodness. As good as it is to receive temporal gifts from God, it is better to receive eternal gifts, and there can be no greater eternal gift than that of salvation and everlasting life. God has seen fit to give that to you as well, no strings attached, no hoops to jump through. That's what a loving Father does: gives generously. For you, He has done it and there is nothing for you to do except to receive from God the gifts He desires to give. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, heavenly Father, Your mercies are new to us every morning and, though we in no wise deserve Your goodness, You abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul. Give us, we humbly pray, Your Holy Spirit that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness toward us, give thanks for all Your benefits and cheerfully serve You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/2/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Justin, Martyr

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48 "For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:43-44)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today the Church remembers Justin, a martyr from the early second century. Raised in a pagan home, Justin converted to Christianity and taught the faith in Ephesus and Rome. Sadly, but not unexpected given his upbringing, Justin was martyred along with six others for refusing to make pagan sacrifices and the like. But all was not in vain, for Justin's bold confession of faith would lead to a strengthening of the Christian faith in the early second century. So what does that have to do with you or the Christian Church today? Quite a bit, actually. Justin came to faith in Jesus after being raised a pagan. Such an influence like that would be hard to overcome, and yet Justin did just that, though not without help. The Holy Spirit worked faith in him to believe in Jesus, just as the Holy Spirit has done for you. While facing great persecution for his beliefs, Justin did not relent in his confession of faith. We continue to face that reality today, as the world seems to grow ever more hostile towards the Christian Church. In much the same way that Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of what was happening there, so, too, does He view the Church today. Jesus tells us in Matthew's Gospel, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). The world will be hostile to the Church and She will be persecuted for Her faith in Jesus. You, too, will be persecuted for your faith; Jesus tells us as much. Like the martyrs who have gone before us, may we remain ever faithful to the calling which we have received: faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You found Your martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, searching for the true God. Grant that all who seek for a deeper knowledge of the sublime wisdom of Your eternal Word may be found by You, who sent Your Son to seek and to save the lost; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Justin Martyr)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
6/1/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-14Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter sure has a lofty goal for us, that we love one another earnestly. Clearly Peter never had any enemies and he certainly hasn't met our enemies before, those people who are unworthy of our love. There's a good reason why they're our enemies and we don't love them; all you have to do is ask us and we'll tell you all about it. Sadly, that's not the way that it is supposed to be. God does not want us to love some and hate others. That's not what Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer: "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." No, God wants us to love all people, despite who they might be and what they may have done. This is because of who we were: enemies of God. Paul tells us, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Since we are sinners, we know that we have a multitude of sins. What does God do with those sins? Does He condemn us for them? No, He forgives them, each and every one of them. He does that out of love for us, His creation. That is because He is our loving Father, and as our Father, God does nothing but love us, loving us to the point of the death of His Son Jesus. We see just how much love covers our multitude of sins. They are covered in Jesus' holiness and righteousness, so much so that God does not see our sins, but only sees Jesus. Every person, from all times and all places have received the forgiveness of their sins on account of Jesus' death and resurrection. They are all people whom God has loved and for whom Christ has died. God doesn't play favorites with regards to His love. If God has created them, then God loves them; and since God has created all, God loves all. That idea of loving everyone is contrary to how we want to behave. God sees us for who we are: sinners in need of salvation. And because we are all sinners, God shows His love to all of us by sending Christ. That is the unconditional love that God has for us, and the same love which we should show others. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant us a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, a cheerful hope in Your mercy, and a sincere love for You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/31/20226 minutes, 35 seconds
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Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 36:22-28Daily Lectionary:  Numbers 14:25-45; Luke 18:35-19:10 "You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are advantages when you belong to something. Belonging to something often means that there are perks. If you're really fortunate, you get rewarded with free stuff just for belonging. You do belong to something, or rather, to someone: God. And when you belong to God, there are some great perks that go with it. You have God's Name placed on you, marking you as part of Him. You receive the free Gift of the forgiveness of your sins. Let's not forget the Gift of everlasting life that you receive by belonging to God. The best part of this: All of it is freely given to you, no punch card required! When you belong to God, everything is freely given to you. That's the promise God gave when He made us His people and He our God. The only thing necessary on your part is faith, and even that is given to you by the Holy Spirit. All of this is yours as a free gift. This is what God had done in the very beginning with Adam and Eve. They were God's people and He their God. They lived together in perfect harmony. Through man's fall into sin, all of that went away. Track throughout the Old Testament how many times God's people walked away from Him, believing in false idols and rejecting God. While the people strayed from God, He never strayed from them. He would remain faithful to them despite the fact that they were unfaithful to Him. That's the great difference between man and God. Man is faithful today but faithless tomorrow. We are easily tempted by the bright and shiny things of this world. We can and do easily forget that we belong to God. Fortunately for us, God does not lose faith in us and forget us. God can't forget us because He made a promise to us, to be our God, and that's not a promise that God takes likely. In fact, God doesn't take any of His promises lightly. Every promise made is a promise kept. You are His people and He is your God, now and forevermore. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, keep Your Church with Your perpetual mercy; and because of our frailty we cannot but fall, keep us ever by Your help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity 14)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/30/20226 minutes, 41 seconds
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The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 15:26-16:4Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34 "I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away." (John 16:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you wondered why Jesus spends so much time with His disciples? If He wanted to get His message out to the mass population, you would think that He would devote more time to being amongst the people, though He does spend His fair share of time with them. In order for the disciples to be strengthened and prepared to go and spread the Word of God, Jesus needs to convey that Word to them. The best way He knows how to do that is to bring them with Him and teach them as much as He can in a short amount of time. The Word of God that was taught to the disciples is that same Word that has been and continues to be taught to you. There is so much that is contained within God's Word, you could never mine every nugget of God's wisdom. What we have recorded in Scripture is what God has decided we need to have–nothing more and nothing less. The purpose is simple according to John: "But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). The devil is quite crafty and continues to try to cause doubt in the believer. Anyone who will doubt God and His Word is a win for Satan. This will continue until the day that Jesus returns. Luther tells us, "He will certainly have the devil also around him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let him have no peace, within or without. . . " (Small Catechism). The only sure defense we have against Satan is God's Word. It is for that reason that Jesus spends so much time with His disciples, to teach them God's Word. It is for that reason that you and I remain in God's Word, and that we will always have before us God's promise of forgiveness and salvation. God's Word, both in its written form and through the Word made flesh, has been given to us, to lead and guide us into the truth. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/29/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter        (Psalm 27:1, 11a, 12; antiphon: v.7a, 8b, 9a)Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is my stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Children tend to be fearful of many things, especially of the dark. It's likely because they can't see anything and are afraid of what might happen to them. As we get older, our fears tend to subside and we aren't so easily frightened. When it comes to this present darkness in which we live, it would be easy for us to fear, but there is no reason for us to fear. Though there is darkness, there is Light: Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome (John 8:12, 1:5). Satan tried desperately to extinguish this Light, to snuff out our salvation. Try as he might, Satan could not succeed. Tempting Jesus failed. Leading Judas to betray Jesus failed. Crucifying Jesus failed to extinguish the Light. All that Satan could do was sit and watch God's promise of salvation come to fruition. Despite knowing that he has already lost, Satan doesn't go down without a fight. He musters all of his wicked strength to go after the children of God, causing all sorts of trials and temptations to rise up against us. Throughout the darkness, we must remember that we have God for us. That means that nothing can harm us; it means that nothing can be against us (Romans 8:31). As the blood-bought and redeemed children of God, we would do well to remember all that God has done for us, continues to do for us, and will do for us. God has spared us from eternal death and damnation by the sending of Jesus. God protects you from all the assaults of Satan and whatever he can throw at you because Jesus has conquered the darkness. There is nothing that you need to be fearful of because God is your stronghold. God is our salvation. God is your hope. God is your everything. In this earthly life, He provides you everything you need. But more importantly, He grants to you the forgiveness of your sins and the privilege of being called a child of God. There is nothing for you to fear, for the LORD Almighty is with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon; He helps us free from ev'ry need That hath us now o'er taken. The old evil foe Now means deadly woe; Deep guile and great might Are his dread arms in fight; On earth is not his equal. ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" LSB 656, st.1)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/28/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Acts 1:1-11Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29; 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "You heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:4-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Baptism. Baptized with water. Now, baptized with the Holy Spirit. Obviously, this is significant, not just for Jesus, but for the Church as a whole. This is an important point in the lives of the disciples. Jesus has risen from the dead and appeared to them, as well as to many others. In short order, though, Jesus will leave the disciples again. But He promises not to leave them lacking; He promises to send them the Holy Spirit. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, something else will be coming: the gift of faith. Jesus sends the Spirit of truth to guide the disciples into all truth. The truth is nothing short of God's divine plan of salvation that is meant for His creation. The truth is of Jesus Christ, and His salvation of us through His life, death, and resurrection. The work of the Holy Spirit is to create faith in a person. Note that the Spirit does not speak on His own, but rather speaks on behalf of the Father and Jesus, and testifies about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. For the Holy Spirit, it has to be all about Jesus because Jesus is the sole means of salvation. If there is a single message that we need to hear and take to heart, it is that of Jesus Christ, for He is our sole means of salvation. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to create this wonderful Gift in us called faith. It is that faith which believes in Jesus, believes in His atoning sacrifice for our sins. All of this was promised by God to His people of old, from Adam and Eve all the way up to the disciples and to the early Church. This promise was extended to all peoples of all times and in all places; this promise extends to you as well. God's promise was the promise of salvation, to undo the damning effects of sin at the Fall. God's promise had been made and it was fulfilled. Jesus has come and forgiven us our sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, You have made the promise of salvation to Your people of old and fulfilled in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Strengthen the faith of Your people, that they would look alone to Jesus for their salvation, trusting in Your great mercy for Your creation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/27/20226 minutes, 36 seconds
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The Ascension of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 24:44-53Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:51) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all are familiar with the saying, "Here today, gone tomorrow." Whether we like it or not, what is today will not be tomorrow. This same thought applies to Jesus as well, whether you like it or not. After His three years of ministry, there were people who were more than happy to see Jesus die; this was the prevailing sentiment from the beginning of His ministry. But for as many people who wanted to see Jesus dead, there were just as many who wanted to see Jesus live forever. Their reasons varied: Some admired His teaching, some looked to Jesus as a means of healing the sick. For the disciples, Jesus was their Teacher. He was their Master. He was their Friend. Regardless of who Jesus was, He was not destined to live a long life on earth. He was destined to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As much as the disciples did not want to hear of Jesus' death, it was necessary. Following our Lord's resurrection, all seemed well with the disciples–Jesus had returned to them! Though the disciples had Jesus back again, Jesus had other plans–He would return to the Father. All of this had been taught to them. All of this was according to God's divine plan for salvation. Luke's Gospel gives us just a glimpse of our Lord's Ascension. In fact, the Ascension itself comprises a single verse: "While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven." Jesus was here yesterday and gone tomorrow. But then, Jesus was here again following the resurrection. How happy the disciples must have been to have Jesus with them once again. But that would not last long, as Jesus needed to return to the Father. All would not be lost after Jesus' Ascension, though, as He would grant to them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Because Christ has ascended unto the Father, so we will ascend as well. We will be with Him in glory. We will enjoy all of the benefits Christ has won for us. We have life because Christ has laid down His life and taken it up again in order to grant life for all believers. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Ascension of Our Lord)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/26/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, First Article part 2Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31 He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, First Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Did you know that you are rich? It doesn't matter if you don't have a dime in your pocket. You are rich, but that's because your wealth doesn't involve money. We are rich because God has provided everything that we need to support our earthly life. That means the clothes on our backs and the shoes on our feet, the food in our stomachs and the roofs over our heads. Luther sums up our First Article gifts with three simple words: "all I have." But what is that? We know the things we have because we can see them and touch them. But what about the things we can't see and touch? Do we have those as well? Not only does God provide us all that we see, He also provides all that we do not see, namely, our salvation. When a person looks at you, do they see that you are covered in the blood of the Lamb which forgives you all of your sins? Do they see God's Name placed upon you in your Baptism? Do they see that your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ? None of that is visible to the naked eye, and yet, that is what we have as well. We are wealthy beyond all measure because of the sacrifice that was made for us by Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, all that God intended for creation to have, all that was lost because of sin, has been restored. Everything that was meant for you from before the creation of the world is yours once again because Jesus has died and is risen again. He has made full satisfaction for your sins. All that we need in this life is given to us by God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. All that you need for the life of the world to come, is yours because of Jesus. The best part of all of this is that you don't need to wait until Christ comes again to receive the full benefit of Christ's death and resurrection. It is yours now, for Christ has died for you. All that Christ has to give is yours; all of your sins are forgiven and salvation is yours now. God has richly provided for you, now and forevermore. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all believe in one true God. . .  He in soul and body feeds us; All we need His hand provides us. . .  He cares for us by day and night; All things are governed by His might. ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 954 st.1)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/25/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: James 1:22-27Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you "do" the Word of God? Martin Luther tells us that we "hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it" (Explanation to the Third Commandment). That's the hearing which James speaks of, but what about the doing of the Word? What does that mean? What does it look like? To be a doer of the Word means to do what the Word says. And what does that Word say? "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). To be perfect means to do all that God has commanded of you. It means to do all that His Law says and to do it exactly as He has said to do it, to the letter. But you and I are not capable of keeping the Law perfectly. The only thing we are good at is failing to do what God has commanded of us. If we expect to be perfect, to do all that God commands of us, someone else will have to bring that about. A thought like that goes against everything the world would have us believe. The world wants you to think that you are certainly capable of doing what God tells you to do, that you are capable of saving yourself. The harsh truth is that the world lies to you. The world builds you up, sets you up for something that you are not capable of doing. Fortunately for us, we have One who does set us up, but not for failure. God our heavenly Father sets us up for salvation by making a promise and keeping that promise. There was nothing that Adam and Eve could do to save themselves, just like there is nothing that you can do to save yourself. Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, was sent into this world. He who is the Word is also the doer of the Word. His Word created and His Word saves. He does exactly what God sets out for Him to do: to redeem creation from the devastating and destructive forces of sin, death, and the devil. Jesus does all that the Father commands: He keeps the Word of God perfectly. so He keeps that Law of God perfectly. He keeps all things perfectly, including His sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, Your mercy will not leave me; Ever will Your truth abide. Then in You I will confide. Since Your Word cannot deceive me, My salvation is to me Safe and sure eternally. ("Oh, How Great Is Your Compassion" LSB 559, st.4)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/24/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Numbers 21:4-9Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. (Numbers 21:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "I don't want to!" "No!" "You can't make me!" Does this sound familiar to you? Do you remember ever saying those words yourself? I don't know about you, but I've said those phrases a time or two, probably more recently than I'd want to admit. As God's people began to voice this sentiment, they probably all jumped into the cadence of complaint. But to whom was their complaint directed? Of course this was directed against Moses, because it was Moses who issued the command to move. But where did Moses get the command? "And the people spoke against God and against Moses. . . "(Numbers 21:5). Clearly, all of this was God's fault. It was God's fault that the people were impatient. It was God's fault that the people didn't want to listen to God. It was God's fault that they had no food or water. Blame God for everything and everything will work out for the better, right? That's how God's people thought then and that's how people tend to think today, isn't it? Things go well and we think we were the cause; things go bad and we blame God. What good is there in blaming God? What good is there in trying to go around God and do things our own way? Whenever we try to do things without God, the results are never promising. In fact, we make things worse for ourselves all because we don't want to listen to what God has to say about this and that. What happened to God's people when they chose not to listen? God sent fiery serpents to the people and many died. It was then that the people repented and returned to Moses, asking what they needed to do to be saved. The answer: Look to the fiery serpent and live. You and I do not have a fiery serpent to look at in order to be saved. We have Jesus. We see our salvation as He is lifted high upon the Cross. We see our Jesus in the breaking of the bread. We see Jesus in the waters of Holy Baptism. We see our salvation high and lifted up for us, that we may gaze upon Jesus and be saved. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim Til all the world adore His sacred name. O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, As Thou hast promised, draw us all to Thee. ("Lift High the Cross" LSB 837, st.4)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/23/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:23-33Daily Lectionary:Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Luke 14:25-15:10 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Many will say that life changed in March 2020 and has not returned to normal. Instead, we are learning what the "new normal" is, whatever that means. But life changed long before 2020. Life changed in the Garden of Eden, and it didn't change for the better. It didn't take long for God's creation to go from perfect to not perfect. There was no in-between with regard to creation's state of being. It wasn't not-quite-perfect; it wasn't mostly perfect; it wasn't anything having to do with perfect, because perfect was left in the rearview mirror. In other words, there was no chance of getting perfection back. In its place, we were left with the complete opposite of perfection: sin. Sin was not meant to be part of God's creation. However, because man chose to listen to the serpent rather than God, sin became intertwined with creation to the point that there would be no way to separate the two. Because of sin, we are left with all sorts of things that God did not desire for us. Sin leads to tribulation, and in this world, there will be no shortage of it. Jesus tells the disciples as much. Sin leads us away from God, eternally separating us from God. Without God, there can be nothing but tribulation. All would seem lost: "seem" being the key word. We have something or rather, someone, working in our favor: Jesus. He has conquered sin, and with it, He has conquered tribulation. Whatever was done by the Fall into sin was undone by Jesus' death upon the Cross. We hear in our communion liturgy, ". . .  through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. . . " For the Christian, the joys of Easter cannot be confined to a single day, or even to a single single season of the Church year. Instead, every day is a little Easter, a day of rejoicing in Christ's victory over sin and death, once and for all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter)-Rev. Jared Tucher is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers Retreat, IN, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Dewberry, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/22/20226 minutes, 48 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter     (Psalm 66:1-2a, 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b)Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24 Send it out to the end of the earth; say, "The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!" (Isaiah 48:20b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can almost taste it! Freedom is right around the corner. Summer is coming and the chains of school requirements are about to be cast off. You are ready for whatever the summer has in store for you. Your emotions are running high. The final exams are almost here, or maybe they have already passed and now it is just a matter of biding your time until that final bell rings. In the end, freedom is close at hand.As Isaiah writes to the people of God, he reminds them that freedom approaches for them as well. The shackles of slavery are about to be removed and their shouts of freedom will abound. The one doing the freeing is the one true God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God who will deliver them. He will redeem them from the bondage of the Babylonians. No longer will they be subject to the godless people who have held them captive, but instead they will return to their land, a land flowing with milk and honey. A land given to them by their God. Redemption is at hand.In sin we are held captive to the requirements of the Law. The Law requires us to be perfect in every aspect. On account of our sinful condition it is impossible for us to keep the Law. We are in need of being redeemed. We are in need of being freed from the righteous requirements of the law for our salvation. In Christ we are set free. In Christ the shackles of the righteous requirement of the Law have been taken off. Christ has fulfilled the Law for us. We shout for joy and sing His praises as He has given to us our freedom.In Christ we look to the day of His glorious return. We are prepared for His return in the waters of Baptism. In the Sacrament of the Altar we look back and proclaim His death while at the same time we look forward to His glorious return on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; Arise, O Sun so longed for, O'er this benighted sphere. With hearts and hands uplifted, We plead, O Lord, to see The day of earth's redemption That sets Your people free! ("Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers" LSB 515, st.4)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/21/20226 minutes, 2 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35 "When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'" (Luke 13:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the 1970's, American Express advertised that its card was for important people. People who mattered carried their exclusive card. The movie star or famous athlete would conclude, "Do you know me?" then the ad would flash to an American Express card with his name on it while the person would say, "That's why I carry American Express." The idea was that if you could present your American Express card, you were important.As Christ speaks of the kingdom of heaven, He reminds His hearers that salvation is not about how important they are in this world. Your salvation is hinged upon your faith in Christ. The master of the house denies entrance to the foreigners. Who are you? Where do you come from? He does not know the strangers knocking on the door. It is an eerie narrative that Christ delivers. He identifies that there are some who are going to heaven and some who are not. Those who are brought into heaven are known by the master of the house. The Lord knows them. They come from the four corners of the world. As Christ speaks to the people of Jerusalem, He warns them about the dangers of their unbelief and rejection of the son of man. He teaches them that salvation is for the four corners of the world.In your Baptism you are known by your Father in heaven. You are connected to Jesus Christ and it is He who presents you to His Father in heaven. Your salvation is delivered to you through the work of Christ. His works are for You. On the Last Day, in the resurrection, you can be sure that salvation is yours because Christ is known by His Father and Christ knows you. As He knows you, so also the Father knows you. The narrow door is opened wide for you to enter and live in a new, restored earth for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Treasury of Daily Prayer, p.283)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/20/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 24:1-23; Luke 12:54-13:17"And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?" (Luke 13:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The great reversal of Luke takes place again. Jesus heals on the Sabbath and is reprimanded for breaking the laws. He just cannot win with these picky church leaders. Nothing is ever right for them. Christ reads Scriptures and explains it, and the leadership wants to stone Him. He shows up at the temple and heals a man with a withered hand, and they accuse Him of Sabbath violations. He heals a woman on the Sabbath and again He is chastised for violating God's ceremonial laws. Christ heals on the Sabbath.The work laws for the historic Jew were strict. No work on the Sabbath was a primary one. Yet there were all kinds of exceptions that could be invoked so that you would not be accused of violating the law. When Christ heals on the Sabbath, it is because that's His day to work. The whole concept of resting is reversed when it comes to Christ. At creation God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh. He declared the seventh day to be a holy day. A day of rest. The Sabbath Day connected God's people to His work and rest cycle. As Christ comes into the temple and synagogues on the Sabbath, a reversal takes place. He is the one working now. Today, Christ works on our Sabbath. As we gather in His Holy sanctuaries on Sunday, the eighth day of the week as well as the day He rose from the dead, we rest while He works. His Holy Word is spoken to us. He absolves us through the work of the Office of the Holy Ministry. He places in our ears His comforting words of reconciliation and forgiveness. He points us back to our Baptisms and gives us comfort in knowing that we belong to Him. He comes to us in His precious Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar for the forgiveness of our sins and strengthening of our faith. He is doing all the work and we are merely resting and receiving. Sunday is the day of our rest and the day that Christ conquers sin, death, and the devil. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now have I found consolation, Comfort in my tribulation, Balm to heal the troubled soul. God, my shield from ev'ry terror, Cleanses me from sin and error, Makes my wounded spirit whole. ("Jesus Comes Today with Healing" LSB 620, st.6)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/19/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, First Article part 1Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44; Luke 12:35-53 "I believe that God has made me and all creatures. . . "(Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, First Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Rome was not built in a day!" If you try to claim that Rome was built in a day you would be ridiculed for being ignorant and foolish. Rome could not possibly have been built in a day. The secular world laughs at us when we say that the world was created in six days. "How could that possibly be?" they say. Six days to put all of this together from the simplest organism to the complexities of human life? Impossible! It is inconceivable that the entire creation could come about in 144 hours. The book of Genesis opens up with the simple phrase, "In the beginning God created. . . ." Those simple words leave no doubt that the start of everything, including time, comes from God. He is the source of all that exists. Understanding God as the source of everything is very humbling for mankind. We like to think of ourselves as the creator, not the creation. We work hard to demonstrate how much we have discovered in all of our sciences. We define life's origins in billions of years. We capture light and attempt to determine the origins of the universe. We try to develop life on our own apart from the natural process that God gave us in creation. We take from God's creation and claim it as our own. We use His subatomic particles, His atoms, His molecules, His cells and say, "Look at what WE have created!" In the end it is all God's, and His creation. We have done nothing new.In spite of our desire to lay claim to creation, God still takes care of us. He provides all that we need to sustain this life from day to day. We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." He places homes over our heads, parents to raise us, food to feed us, churches for worship, and clothes to cover us. He never stops taking care of us. He not only created you, He also sustains you in all your needs. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, Content with it I'll be: My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me! ("What Is the World to Me" LSB 730, st.3)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/18/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: James 1:16-21Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:1-22; Luke 12:13-34 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God's people are to be holy people. It is how God designed it. Holiness reflects God's holiness. In the Garden of Eden man was created in the holy image of God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they lost that holiness. The inclination of the heart is opposed to the will of God. Left to ourselves, we want nothing to do with God's desire for us to be holy. Our condition is that we are dead in our transgressions with no ability whatsoever to come to God or to be holy as He is holy. James uses language that reflects the passive nature of our salvation. On account of our sinful condition, we cannot come to God by our own power. Rather, it is God who comes to us. James' words are very specific. He says to "receive" the implanted Word. We do not accept the Word, but rather receive the Word. The doingness is through the work of the Holy Spirit and God's Holy Word is brought to us. Often we will hear someone say that you need to "accept" the Word of God as truth. Unfortunately, that is the wrong language to use when we speak about our relationship with God. We "receive" His Holy Word. The burden is not on us, it cannot be on us, because we are spiritually dead in our sin. James does not stop with just conversion. He reminds his hearers about their new life in Christ. As children of God, we live in a constant tension between the Old Adam and the New Man in Christ. The Old Adam desires to pursue the wants of the flesh and live in filthiness and rampant wickedness. The New Man in Christ desires to live as a holy being, in the image of a holy God. In your Baptism you have put on Christ. Daily, the Old Adam is drowned and the New Man in Christ is resurrected. In that resurrection you live with the robe of Christ's righteousness over you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Hope of the world, afoot on dusty highways, Showing to wand'ring souls the path of light, Walk Thou beside us Lest the tempting byways Lure us away from Thee to endless night. ("Hope of the World" LSB 690, st.3)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/17/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Isaiah 12:1-6Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 21:1-24; Luke 12:1-12 For though you were angry with me, your anger turned away that you might comfort me. (Isaiah 12:1b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Approaching the end of a school year can be very stressful. The last days, weeks, and months remind us that a chapter of our life is about to end, and a new one is about to begin. The summer months are pressing in on us and plans for travel, vacations, or other summer activities are well underway. It is understandable that there may be some anxiety resting upon our hearts as these times of transition take place. We reflect on the things to come and the things that have transpired. In those reflections, memories of unresolved conflict may arise.It is that unresolved conflict that Satan and sin use to keep us from the comfort of our Father in heaven. Our lives in sin create that chasm between us and Him. He wants nothing more than to draw us back to Him. As God the Father walks in the Garden of Eden, after the Fall, He wants to be with Adam and Eve. They have disobeyed God and have hidden themselves, for they were afraid. The image of God is lost and His wrath is kindled. He curses the serpent, the woman, the man, and even the ground is cursed. God's wrath is finally delivered to His Son Jesus Christ in His death on the Cross. God delivers the punishment of our sin to His Son. His wrath is turned away from us. In His wrathful punishment of His Son on the Cross, our salvation is won. No longer do we fear His wrath, but rather we are covered in the comfort of His unfailing mercy, where the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation have taken place. Joy and comfort are delivered in the message that on the Last Day we will rise from the dead. We will walk upon a restored earth and under a new heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, by Your Spirit, You give us faith to cast out all fear of confessing the true faith; for we are helpless to save ourselves, and we must trust in You and You alone for our salvation. Keep us faithful to the end, that You will not be ashamed of us when You come in Your glory with Your Father and the holy angels; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/16/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:5-15Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16, 22-27; Luke 11:37-54 "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The disciples' plan of salvation was not going in the direction they had hoped. Jesus has been doing miracles, teaching in the synagogues, preparing the people for the kingdom to come and now He was talking about leaving and sending a helper. This was not what they had in mind. Jesus cannot leave. The language of death and resurrection was contrary to the way freedom was usually brought to a nation. Now He is speaking of leaving and sending someone else, and this is to our advantage?Christ's words of departure and promise to send the "Helper" were foreign to the disciples. He was promising the sending of the Holy Spirit to equip and enable them to proclaim the Good News of salvation. God's plan of salvation was completely different from what the disciples had in mind. The disciples sought temporal freedom from the Roman Empire. Christ brought to them eternal freedom through His actions and deeds.In our lives we, too, have our own plans. We want our lives to go as we desire. We fail to see or do not want to see God's work in our lives through Christ. Our sinfulness pulls us back from what Christ has delivered to us and points us to the temporal activities in our own situation. The Holy Spirit works in our lives, waging war against the sinful man and pointing us back to the eternal things of God. He delivers to us the Gift of salvation won for us on the Cross. Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples proclaimed the message of hope and reconciliation to the churches. It is the same message that is proclaimed today: that Christ delivered us through His life, death, and resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come, Holy Light, guide divine, Now cause the Word of life to shine. Teach us to know our God arightAnd call Him Father with delight. From ev'ry error keep us free; Let none but Christ our master beThat we in living faith abide, In Him, our Lord, with all our might confide. Alleluia, alleluia! ("Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord" LSB 497, st.2)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/15/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday of Easter          (Psalm 98:1b, 3-4; antiphon: v.1a, 2b)Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. (From the Introit for the Fifth Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "God works in mysterious ways!" We hear that phrase frequently in our lives. We attribute the unexplainable to God's mysterious way of interceding in our lives. We reduce His marvelous work to some form of mysticism or magical event taking place. In our sinful, temporal lives we look only at the current activities that surround us. We invoke the Name of God in the hope that He'll be a "fix it" god who resolves our current struggles. We use Him as a handyman to get us through the times that we see as difficult and then we ignore Him when we are comfortable. When tragedy strikes, then we call upon Him again. In sin, our focus is only on the right now. In sin we dictate to God what we believe He needs to do in our lives so that our lives can be comfortable by our standards. We do not want to experience any discomforts that may lead to strengthening of faith and growth in our trust in Him.The psalmist reminds his hearers to sing a new song to the LORD. No longer are they to sing a song of lament and sorrow, but rather a song of joy and comfort. The LORD has done marvelous things in the redemption of His people. No longer are they bound in slavery but they are set free from their enemies. The twofold meaning of the opening stanza of the psalm draws the reader to the immediate temporal lives that the LORD redeemed from earthly slavery and points them to the coming Messiah and His work of redemption. In our lives, God bestows upon us our daily bread of sustenance. We are also reminded of the marvelous work the LORD did through the Gift of redemption. He has redeemed us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. A new song is sung, proclaiming that we have been set free through the blood of the Lamb. We sing a new song because He has done marvelous things. He has given us eternal life through Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice, With exultation springing, And with united heart and voice And holy rapture singing, Proclaim the wonders God has done, How His right arm the vict'ry won. What price our ransom cost Him! ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.1)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/14/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7, 20-19:8; Luke 11:1-13 "Father, hallowed be your name. . . " (Luke 11:2b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God gives His Holy Name to us. A Name that is above all names. A Name that is more than just an identification. His Name is set apart from all other names and clarifies who He is and what He has done. In our world today, names bring identity to individuals and have become symbols of success. Families have names that are passed down from generation to generation. Companies have names, and with those names come branding and marketing logos. Schools are given names and mascots of those schools are given names, too. Everything has a name.God's Name is unique. His Name brings comfort that no other name on earth can bring. His Name is holy, not because we make it holy but because He declares it to be holy. In our sinfulness we loathe His Holy Name. We use it frivolously and toss it around as some insignificant name. We use His Name to deride, to curse, to swear, to lie, to deceive. We take His Holy Name and cast it among the names of other false gods and equate the value of His Name with their names. In the end, we really want nothing to do with His Name.It is God who wants something to do with you. In His unfathomable love for you, He has called you by name. In your Baptism, the Name of the Triune God was given to you. In His Name and with the waters of Baptism you were washed and cleansed with the forgiveness of sins. You received the sign of the cross both upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. The benefits of His death and resurrection are yours through Baptism. As you are sent into this world you carry His Name upon you. He takes you and equips and enables you to serve in the vocations that He has created. He has prepared you for His glorious return when every knee shall bow and every mouth confess His Holy Name. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At the name of Jesus Ev'ry knee shall bow Ev'ry tongue confess Him King of glory now, 'Tis the Father's pleasure We should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning Was the mighty word. ("At the Name of Jesus" LSB 512, st.1)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/13/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 17:1-16; Luke 10:23-42 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The lawyer was really pressing Jesus in order to justify himself. "So tell me Jesus, who really is my neighbor?" The ambiguity of the word "neighbor" was working on the heart of the lawyer. The reality that all people could be the lawyer's neighbors did not sit well with him. The lawyer was only looking at himself to fulfill the Law. His original question regarding what he must do to inherit eternal life showed that he was a man who was all about the Law. His salvation was up to him.Jesus delivers to him the parable of the Good Samaritan. It's a parable that many of us are familiar with and have heard throughout our lives. Often we are placed in the parable as the one who is helping and assisting. We are the ones working to demonstrate our validity before others. We see ourselves as the "Good Samaritan." Unfortunately, when we insert ourselves as the one doing the action, we usurp the work of Christ. The lawyer wants to know two things: What must I do to inherit eternal life, and who is my neighbor? With both of these questions he is seeking justification. It is the latter question that answers the first question. The Good Samaritan is not him! It is not us! Reading the text through the work of Christ we see that Christ is the Good Samaritan and we are the person lying in the road (half) dead because of our sins. We have been beaten down and left for dead by the world. Christ comes as the person least likely to help us. In our sinfulness we despise Christ just as the Samaritans were loathed by the Jewish people. He is the neighbor who serves us and restores us to life. He pays for all our needs and then He is coming again to claim us. No longer are we left dead along the road. The Good Samaritan has washed your wounds in the waters of Baptism. He has restored you with the nurturing strengthening of faith in the Eucharist. You are in His everlasting care until He returns in the resurrection of the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ has our host surrounded With clouds of martyrs bright, Who wave their palms in triumph And fire us for the fight. Then Christ the cross ascended To save a world undone And, suffering for the sinful, Our full redemption won. ("Christ Is the World's Redeemer" LSB 539, st.2)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/12/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Close of the CommandmentsDaily Lectionary: Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22 God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. (Small Catechism: Close of the Commandments) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nothing starts the heart pumping harder than to see those flashing lights in the rearview mirror. The law is coming for us. We might not have done anything wrong, but just the mere sight of lights behind us that starts the mind racing. What could we have possibly done wrong to warrant this? God's Law convicts us. The Law reveals to us that we are unholy people before a holy, holy, holy God. The Law condemns us. On account of our sinfulness, we deserve nothing but punishment and eternal condemnation. However, God does not leave us to eternal death. He put in place a plan for our redemption. The First Commandment reminds us that we should have no other gods. The Close of the Commandments reminds us that there is a loving God who has given to us a Holy Law. His Holy Law reflects who He is as a Holy God.. Our sinfulness reveals that we are in need. We are in need of a Savior. In Christ, the Holy Law of God is fulfilled on our behalf. It is Christ who has taken the punishment for our sins. We deserve the punishment that Christ received. In simple terms we say, "He got what we deserved." Christ kept the commandments perfectly. He kept them not to demonstrate how we should live our lives, but to fulfill God's Holy Law that we are completely incapable of keeping. Christ's obedience is for me! Christ's obedience is for you! In His perfect obedience is our redemption. As God looks down on you, He sees Christ's perfection covering you. He sees the work of Christ in that robe of righteousness that has been placed over you in your Baptism. No longer are you under the threat of the Law, but rather, you are covered in the blood of the Lamb. His life and death are for you! On account of Christ, you do not need to live in the fear of God's punishment, because the punishment for your sins was taken to the Cross. You live now in the promises of your Baptism that connects you to the work of Christ. Your faith holds fast to the work of Christ. In Christ the Law is fulfilled for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne,Saved by His grace through faith alone. ("The Law of God Is Good and Wise" LSB 579, st.6)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/11/20226 minutes, 29 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:11-20Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 10:1-20; Luke 9:37-60 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Three hiking trails traverse the United States from south to north: The Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. All three trails allow the hiker to go from some of the most southern areas of our country to the most northern areas. Each trail delivers breathtaking views in three different regions of our country from east to west. As one travels these trails, he becomes a sojourner, someone who is merely passing through. Experienced hikers may claim that they "live" on the trail, but generally speaking their home is somewhere not intrinsically connected to the trail. In this world, as God's children, we are sojourners. We are travelers. The world around us is not our true home. It is our home insofar as we have a bed on which to lay our head, we have tables that we eat around, we have families, and we have a structure that provides shelter from the elements but it is not our permanent home. It is temporary. As Peter writes to his audience, he reminds them that they are merely travelers in a foreign land. In this foreign land there are deceit and temptation that have come about because of man's fall into sin. The world wants to draw us away from our walk in our Baptisms and move us into a walk with itself. The Old Adam in us draws us to the desires of the flesh and encourages us to engage in behaviors contrary to the will of God. In the end, the world does not care about your wellbeing or your spiritual health. It merely wants you to indulge and gratify those sinful desires.In God's Holy Word we are drawn back to our Baptisms. We are reminded that we carry a mark that is not of this world but of God. Our focus is not on this world but on the world to come. The world around us is temporary and we are merely sojourners in this world. Our lives have been pointed beyond this world to the world that is to come. In the restored world, the new Jerusalem, we will not be sojourners but dwellers. We will have the classification of permanent citizens. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our way In fear and tribulation O hear and grant our fervent plea: Come, mighty judge, and set us free From death and ev'ry evil. ("The Day Is Surely Drawing Near" LSB 508, st.7)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/10/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:25-31Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24; Luke 9:18-36 He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Captivity is exhausting. God's people were tired. The consequences of following the false gods and bending the knee to the deities around them drove them into captivity. They were no longer free. The people of God were slaves and foreigners in the land that they had been driven to in the deportation. They were tired and weary.In sin we are held captive in the shackles of this world. Sin holds us in despair. As we compare ourselves to the Law we are left in complete contempt of our failure. We have shackled ourselves to the Law. Our God sees our exhaustion. He sees our captivity, and through His Son, Jesus Christ, delivers freedom to us. In Christ, the Law was fulfilled on our behalf. We are set free from the condemnation of sin. As the Law beats us down and says to us, "You are not worthy," Christ says, "You are baptized and connected to my fulfillment of the Law." Christ is the one who goes to the Cross and pays the price for your sins. He did not turn His back on you and grow tired. He instead reaches out to you with His Holy Word. He speaks His Holy words of Absolution into your ears. He declares you forgiven. He takes His holy water in Baptism and covers you in His righteousness. He shows His love for you in that while you were still a sinner, He died for you. We will never be able to comprehend His love for us. All we have is faith that holds fast to His promises and knowledge that in Christ Jesus all is fulfilled. No sin too great for forgiveness. No chasm too great for His reconciliation. His love is far greater than any human mind could understand. The world in which we live delivers bondage, captivity, and shackles. Our God, the Triune God, delivers freedom through Jesus Christ. He is the one God, and He does not grow weary with us. He frees us and sets us apart to live in this world as His people. He is the God who freed His people through His Son Jesus Christ by Christ's death on the Cross and resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, think on me And purge away my sin; From worldly passions set me free And make me pure within. ("Lord Jesus, Think on Me" LSB 610, st.1)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/9/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:16-22Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13, 30-36; Luke 9:1-17 "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice." (John 16:20a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The season of Easter is a time of celebration. We look back at the resurrection of Christ while looking forward to His glorious return and our resurrection. All around us in our worship life we see and hear the song of the saints going forth boldly. The white on the altar, the lingering smell of the lilies, the joyful banners that adorn our sanctuaries all remind us of what has taken place and what will take place.Our struggle is the now. Right now, in this world and in this life, we wrestle with all that the world throws at us. We are reminded daily of the consequences of sin in our lives. Fathers still provoke their children to anger. Children still disobey their parents. Pornography and sexual immorality still abound and tempt us. Bullies still bully. Addiction still controls our lives or the lives of others we know. Siblings still manipulate each other. Death still kills us.After the death of Christ, His disciples and followers were "holed up" in a room with the doors locked. They were lamenting His death. Their hope of being freed from Roman tyranny did not come to fruition. The world around the disciples rejoiced in the death of Christ. It seemed as if God's plan had been thwarted. While we weep and lament in the chaos of sin, the world rejoices in that chaos as God is removed from our lives. The world thrives on chaos.In the middle of the chaos is order. God prevails now. You are baptized and in that Baptism you are connected to the death of Christ. The connection of your Baptism does not end at the crucifixion. You are also connected to His resurrection. As Christ walked from the tomb, so also will you walk from your grave. You struggle through this life, rejoicing in the knowledge that death does not prevail. Your faith holds fast to the promise that Christ has died and Christ has conquered death. In Christ, you rejoice in His resurrection as that is also your resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's Church that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter)-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/8/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Easter          (Psalm 66:3, 5, 8-9; antiphon: v.1-2)Daily Lectionary:  Exodus 40:17-38; Luke 8:40-56 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you." (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Easter)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This psalm places into our mouth and on our lips the appropriate praise for our heavenly Father. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Even His enemies are summoned to acknowledge His power, although they "come cringing" before the Lord of glory (Psalm 66:3b). We can think of a myriad of stories where God's people were rescued from their enemies. In many ways it seems like something that we rarely get to experience ourselves. But we do not merely sit back and read about God's mighty deeds. Instead, we live in them, because He carries out His continued work for us today. Each day He reveals His mighty arm which was stretched out on the Cross to take away our sins. God's great power was hidden and, at the same time revealed, at the Cross. Every time your pastor proclaims Absolution to you, God is working His mighty deed for you. On that first Easter, God's power over our enemy of death was proclaimed for the entire world. Jesus would walk out of the empty tomb, risen from the dead. In the wonderful waters of Holy Baptism God the Holy Spirit has marked you with the sign of the Cross on your forehead and heart to signify that you have died and risen with Christ. Death is destroyed, Hell is overcome and our enemies have been defeated. Jesus is the One who prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies of sin and death. As you partake of His Body and Blood you are receiving the mighty deeds of God for your forgiveness and the strengthening of faith. "Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful and everlasting God, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all to bear our sins on the cross. Grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in Him that we fear not the power of sin, death, and the devil; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Wednesday of Holy Week)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/7/20225 minutes, 52 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16; Luke 8:22-39 And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. (Luke 8:24) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our daily lectionary today we hear about one of the more famous accounts of Jesus and His disciples. They are crossing the Sea of Galilee and a storm rises up. While the disciples fear they are going to drown, Jesus is asleep.Most of us have never been caught in a storm that threatened our lives, but we are familiar with feelings of desperation, especially in the midst of circumstances that we cannot control. Like the disciples, sometimes we feel like God is not aware of what is going on in our lives–that He is asleep at the wheel and or has forgotten about us. However, this passage is not simply about Jesus calming the "storms of life." We should be careful not to simplify what Jesus does here in the boat. The storm that the disciples faced was real. In that very real story Jesus has all "authority in heaven and on earth," even over the wind and waves. Jesus was present at the foundation of all creation and despite His sleeping during this storm, He still has authority over the wind and waves while in the boat. By His simply speaking to the wind and waves, everything was placed back into order. If Jesus has this ability to calm the wind and waves, He certainly has the ability to speak His Word over the waters of your Baptism where He declared from heaven to earth, "This is my beloved child." In Holy Baptism Jesus speaks over the waters of life and death. You were crucified and buried with Him in Baptism so that you, too, might rise and walk in the newness of life. By your Baptism into Christ you are safe and secure in the Ark of the Christian Church until Christ returns to bring you home to the quiet waters of paradise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/6/20226 minutes
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Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-25Daily Lectionary: Exodus 38:21-39:8; Luke 8:1-21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The beginning of our reading today isn't quite clear as to what we have been called to. We need to go back to verse 20 to grasp what this is: "For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20). Great, this sounds like a calling that is really motivating. We are called to "suffer"? To be honest, most of us are willing to suffer for Christ, but it has to be something big and inspiring. The nitty-gritty, day-to-day stuff that we face in our lives isn't worth it. Give us the big stuff, where it is crystal clear that we are truly suffering on account of Jesus. The crosses that God appoints for us are not inspiring or majestic, they are just painful and seem so ordinary. The truth is that the glorious suffering of the heroes of the faith was not all that glorious for them. The luster of glory that descends on them comes from time and space between us and them. For them, it was the pain of the moment, and the ache that was happening right then. There was nothing of glory or fame or pleasure about it while they endured it. Likewise, the Cross of Christ was not all majestic and glorious for Him to endure. It was pain and nails and sweat and humiliation and burning agony inside and out. Then it was death. That is what the price was for your salvation. "By His stripes you are healed!" Your sins have been forgiven for Christ's sake. Now He has been made Shepherd of your soul. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near With His cheer; Never will He leave me. Who can rob me of the heaven That God's Son For me won When His life was given? ("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/5/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Tenth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35:21; Luke 7:36-50 What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor's wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty. (Small Catechism: Tenth Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. While the Ninth Commandment deals with coveting "stuff" that belongs to our neighbor, the Tenth Commandment is really about coveting other people. That may sound rather odd. But think for a moment about the people who are all around you. Think about your parents or your teachers or your spouse. You might say in your heart, "I wish I had different parents," "I wish I had different teachers," or, "I wish I had a different husband or wife or boyfriend/girlfriend." It always seems that other people have individuals in their lives who are cooler than the ones that God has placed into your life. This has caused us to do so many different things in order to separate others from the relationships that God has established. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments remind us that we are never fully satisfied with what God will give to us. We have truly squandered all that we have, including everyone around us. Yet Jesus still seeks you out in the midst of your covetousness. Our Lord is always seeking you out, no matter how disappointed you are in Him. As you walk by the baptismal font at your church, be reminded that in that wonderful gift of Baptism Jesus has called you by name. You are His because He has set you free from the sins and temptations of your heart. Now you walk in the newness of life and by faith you can come to realize the true value of everyone Jesus has placed into your life, all because Jesus gave Himself up for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is the world to me! My Jesus is my treasure, My life, my health, my wealth, My friend, my love, my pleasure, My joy, my crown, my all, My bliss eternally. Once more then I declare: What is the world to me! ("What Is the World to Me" LSB 730, st.4)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/4/20225 minutes, 52 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28; Luke 7:18-35 "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice." (Ezekiel 34:15-16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Ezekiel 34 we find God's people in a time of defeat. They are a nation in exile. But what made this worse was Israel's leaders, the shepherds, who failed in their callings. Unfaithful, they cared more about themselves than about the flock God charged them to serve and lead. So, how did God respond? He said that He would get rid of them. He would become their Shepherd, replacing those unfaithful and wicked leaders.But here's where it gets weird. When God said that He wanted shepherds for His people, just by saying that, He was describing the people of Israel as sheep. That's not a flattering description. Have you seen how stupid sheep can be? Sheep rescued from a fire have even been known to run back into the flames from which they were just rescued. So, what point was God making by referring to His people as sheep? It was this: Just as sheep can be stupid, so can we. That's not to insult you; it's sin that makes us stupid. So, if sin makes us stupid like sheep, and we get lost like sheep, then it makes sense why God was so angry at those shepherds who didn't care for His flock. They failed by not feeding the sheep. Earlier in Ezekiel 34, God said, "My shepherds fed themselves but did not feed my sheep" (Ezekiel 34:8). They had failed to feed the sheep. God would become the Shepherd of His people. Jesus came, fulfilling all the shepherding roles that God had given to His old-covenant priests and prophets. He is the Good Shepherd, fulfilling the old covenant, all while ushering in the new. And so, this shepherding and feeding of God's flock takes place in Christ's Church, today through your pastor. That's how the sheep, the flock, hear the voice of their Shepherd today. As you gather together with fellow sheep, Jesus cleanses you of all the sins you have fallen into. As He cleans you He promises you, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish" (John 10:27-28). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant to Your church Your Holy Spirit and the wisdom that comes from down from above, that Your Word may not be bound but have free course and be preached to the joy and edifying of Christ's holy people, that in steadfast faith we may serve You and in the confession of Your name, abide unto the end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Church)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/3/20226 minutes, 43 seconds
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St. Philip and St. James the Apostles

Today's Reading: John 14:1-14Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23; Luke 7:1-17 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:12-14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We always have a tendency to want the full road map of the future. We all crave certainty and understanding. Jesus says we crave that too much. He reminds us that He is sufficient. He is the Way, after all. "I'm not showing you the way, I am the way," Jesus says. "Believe in the Father and believe also in me, and this ought to be enough that your hearts will not be troubled."But questions continue, and that is why we celebrate the Lord's work though Philip and James. They were not ones who are seen as great and mighty heroes of the Christian faith. Like Thomas, Philip questioned the path and the destination. Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?" It's never quite enough for us, is it? Even when Jesus comforts us and shows undying sacrificial love for us, we still want something a little more. The early 2020s have reminded us that we can't anticipate more and that no one has a clear picture of the future. No one can tell us what the world will look like 72 hours from now let alone six months or six years from now. The urge to know what lies ahead of us is understandable. We all want to plan, prepare and be ready. Yet Christ assures us of our greater home, the heavenly place prepared for us already. We will not be able to understand or anticipate every single twist and turn here on earth, and yet His assurance remains: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." And this is enough. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love towards sinners You have given us Your Son, that believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant to us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Steadfast Faith)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/2/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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The Third Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 10:11-16Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35; Luke 6:39-49"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "I am the good shepherd," says Jesus. That seems to mean that there are some bad shepherds, too. How do you know which shepherd is good or bad? A bad shepherd is not concerned with the well-being of the sheep. A bad shepherd will really only live for himself at the expense of the sheep he is supposed to care for. A bad shepherd comes to steal and rob the sheep. However, do not be deceived: The bad shepherds among you will also speak in ways that will sound very attractive, all while causing us to wander further and further away from the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd, on the other hand, cares for the sheep. But He does so in ways that seem unreasonable to most shepherds. He follows the one lost sheep through rugged terrain far and wide in order to bring him back to the fold. The Good Shepherd tells us, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:23). As our Good Shepherd is lifted up on the Cross it may seem as if He has abandoned His sheep and failed them. However, in the Cross of Jesus Christ we are drawn safely to His side. We have the Good Shepherd who seeks us out to bring each one of us, His lost sheep, safely home to His fold. Sheltered and secure in His goodness and love, we lack nothing. We are His and He is ours, now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
5/1/20225 minutes, 35 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter      (Psalm 33:1, 18-20; antiphon: v.5b, 6a)Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:1-14; Luke 6:20-38 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever watched something so closely that you became obsessed with it? Maybe it's your phone or TV, maybe it's a video game that you can't tear yourself away from. Our eyes are generally fixed on things that are hard to look away from. Sometimes that is good, most of the time it is bad. The psalmist says that "The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him." That might seem a bit uncomfortable for us to hear. When we think about the Lord looking down on us with HIs own eyes we often feel a sense of guilt, maybe even a sense of wanting to hide. We certainly don't want anyone else to see us in our sins, let alone the Lord God almighty. While it is true that God sees us in our sins, that is not why He looks upon us with His eyes. He looks upon us to see where we are at in life and to draw us back to Him. Tomorrow is Good Shepherd Sunday. It's a wonderful Sunday in the Easter season when we are reminded that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Everyone knows that a Good Shepherd keeps a watchful eye on His flock. He keeps an eye on them so they do not wander off into danger. The eyes of the Lord are on you to bring you back to His mercy which is found in the forgiveness of all your sins. On the Last Day the Lord will look upon you with His own eyes and He will see nothing but His dear Son in you. Until then, rejoice that His eyes are ever upon you to guard and keep you until life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Heavenly Father, God of all grace, govern our hearts that we may never forget Your blessings but steadfastly thank and praise You for all Your goodness in this life until, with all Your saints, we praise You eternally in Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer of Thanksgiving to God)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/30/20225 minutes, 44 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 31:1-18; Luke 6:1-19 And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" And after looking around at them all he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:9-11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our daily lectionary reading from Luke we see a portrayal of the Pharisees as those who, in their attempt to protect the Sabbath, burdened it with restrictions. We remember from the commandments that we are to "Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy." In Luther's explanation we read: "We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it." Are we more like the Pharisees in Luke's story than we care to admit? How have we managed to turn God's gift of the Sabbath into a burden? One could argue, for instance, that we have gone to the opposite extreme of the Pharisees. There are no restrictions on what we can do on our Sabbath Day. So many of us have soccer and baseball games, and multiple other activities on Sunday. Most of our stores are open and we often have taken Sundays to catch up on chores and projects around the house. When it comes to Sunday worship and the Divine Service, well, that becomes one more thing to squeeze into a busy day. Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for humankind. It is meant to be life-giving, not life-draining. It is meant to be a gift, a time apart from the relentless demands of daily life, a time to rest in God's presence. Whether it's Sundays at church or as you are reading this devotion on a Friday, your Sabbath time is a  blessed time to savor the goodness of Jesus' work for you. He worked tirelessly on your behalf and He did not rest until He was laid dead in the tomb. He is risen, and that is why Sundays have been our traditional time for the Sabbath rest. Church is a place or rest, not burden, a place of freedom, not obligation. Jesus has established your Sabbath rest in His Word so that you might be fully restored in body and soul. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge. (Psalm 16:1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/29/20226 minutes, 8 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 John 5:4-10Daily Lectionary: Exodus 25:1-22; Luke 5:17-39 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems as if the world can throw an awful lot at us. It seems that just as we get through one major hurdle, like the pandemic, we have to deal with wars breaking out and inflation at all-time highs. Just one of these things would be difficult to overcome. If that wasn't bad enough, we also have all the sin and temptation that we wrestle with in our day-to-day lives. It certainly seems like the world is winning against you, dear Christian. Yet John reminds you that you are not of this world, for you have been "born of God." Jesus Christ has come to defeat sin, the devil, and our flesh, as well as this world, by the shedding of His blood. Water and blood flowed out of Jesus' side as He was hanging on the Cross. As He gave up His Spirit, He was fulfilling the victory for us over all of our enemies, including the world. Because He has overcome the world, so shall you. "For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree." In Holy Baptism you have been washed clean by water, blood, and the Spirit in order that you may share in the victory of Christ. This testimony is true; God does not lie to you, His children, and He will return to bring you out of this world into the new heavens and new earth that will never fade away. Until then this world will rage against you and the Church. It will seem as if the world is claiming victory over us, but hold on to your Baptism, hold on to your dear Savior Jesus, who assures us that, "It is finished." The world has been overcome for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is the world to me With all its vaunted pleasure When You, and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure! You only, dearest Lord, my soul's delight shall be; You are my peace, my rest. What is the world to me! ("What Is the World to Me" LSB 730, st.1)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/28/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Ninth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18; Luke 5:1-16 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. What does this mean? We should fear and love God, so that we do not craftily seek to gain our neighbor's inheritance or home, nor get it by a show of right, but help and serve him in keeping it. (Small Catechism: Ninth Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever looked at the places that other people live in and long to own their house, their condo on the beach, or their apartment in the big city? We typically talk about coveting smaller things like cars, electronics, or other stuff that belongs to our neighbors. Many people around us live in better conditions and in better homes. How do we respond? Do we wait and pray for patience, knowing that God will provide for us according to His will? Do we uphold and protect the things that belong to our neighbor, including the home in which they live? Make no mistake: This commandment reminds us that we are consumed with all that our neighbor has and dwells in even when it's not rightly ours. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house." Thanks be to God that these commandments lead us to recognize our own sin. Jesus Christ has come for you. As He has told us, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). He serves you while giving up His heavenly home and rightful inheritance in the Kingdom of God so that you may be forgiven. Since we are redeemed by His precious blood, even the most covetous behavior we engage in is wiped away. As we are found homeless and without any riches in our sins, He now has promised to us a place that is prepared for us, an inheritance that will neither perish nor fade away.He takes all of your sins, every last one of them, onto Himself so that you might be set free. You are who He obsesses over and that is why He has taken on sin, death, and the devil's fiercest attacks, all so that He can declare you to be His own dearest possession and call you to be at the Father's house forever and ever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To me He said: "Stay close to Me, I am your rock and castle. Your ransom I Myself will be; For you I strive and wrestle. For I am yours, and you are Mine, And where I am you may remain; The foe shall not divide us." ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.7)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/27/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33; Luke 4:31-44 "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 37:5-6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It was a dark time for God's people. Most of Israel had been exiled and there was a certain sense of hopelessness. The Temple had been destroyed, and its treasures taken. The Temple was the center of God's presence abiding with HIs people, and when that was destroyed, all seemed lost. God would reveal to Ezekiel a startling vision. His Spirit brought him to a valley full of dry bones. A place where there was no life. What Ezekiel sees is more hopelessness and despair. God asks Ezekiel if these bones can live. God then tells Ezekiel that these bones would be resurrected. God breathed on these dry and dusty bones the breath of life. At once they "came to life and stood on their feet." Moreover, they became "an exceedingly great army."God explained that "these bones are the whole house of Israel." That He would cause His people to "come up out of your graves" and "come to life." And He would place them "on your own land."Just as these dry bones have come back to life, we can be sure that on the last day the risen Lord Jesus will say to our dry and dusty graves, "Arise and live!" Despite our own despair and feelings of loss or hopelessness, He will accomplish His purpose. And He will bless those who bless His people. He will raise you on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee, From death's dread sting Thy servants free, That we may live and sing to Thee. Alleluia! ("The Strife Is O'er, the Battle Done" LSB 464, st.5)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/26/20225 minutes, 45 seconds
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St. Mark the Evangelist

Today's Reading: Mark 16:14-20Daily Lectionary: Exodus 22:20-23:13; Luke 4:16-30 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mark was one of the evangelists whom Jesus would use to proclaim the Gospel into all the world. Mark would go out after Jesus' ascension to tell that the kingdom of God was at hand and that all should repent and be baptized. Mark was never alone; Jesus was always with Him, just as He is with His Church today. But what was Mark to proclaim? This is more than just the facts about Jesus, as if He were just an important figure from the past, but is the living presence of Jesus with all His power to save. This is more than just "good news." It is news that brings about the new creation through the death and resurrection of Christ.Today as we remember the Feast of St. Mark, we ponder that he (with Matthew and Luke) recorded for us the account of the Lord's Supper. This meal is the greatest of signs and wonders that accompany the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus continues to pour His blessings through Word and Sacrament, which are His continued accompanying presence. As we approach to receive that same Jesus whom Mark received, we pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed further and further throughout the world. Give thanks to God for the work He did through Mark and pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would continue to send out this proclamation to all the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You have enriched Your Church with the proclamation of the Gospel through the evangelist Mark. Grant that we may firmly believe these glad tidings and daily walk according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Mark the Evangelist)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/25/20225 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Second Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 20:19-31Daily Lectionary:Exodus 20:1-24; Luke 4:1-15 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We can certainly agree with Thomas in today's reading: "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." We don't see people rise from the dead today! We cannot sit down with someone who has come back from the grave and ask them all of the questions that we have concerning death and the promises of Jesus. Yet how many other things do we take for granted and believe in this life even though we do not have physical proof of their existence? We believe that things like the Civil War occurred and that Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. We believe that men landed on the moon. Yet we cannot cannot speak to Lincoln or Neil Armstrong to verify that they really did what we have learned. But we are taught to believe and understand our history and embrace it. The Bible says that were well over 500 witnesses to Jesus' resurrection. The Gospel writers recorded that Jesus was truly risen in the flesh from the dead. Jesus would be seen with His disciples, He would physically eat with them and promise them life eternal. The Scriptures are given to us to reveal the will of God for us and for our salvation. They bear witness to all the things that Jesus has done for us through His death and mighty resurrection. We may not be able to prove His resurrection to the world, and in fact the Bible says the world will call us fools for believing such a thing. But by faith Jesus calls you blessed. We are blessed with the peace that passes all our understanding, blessed with the knowledge that even though we may die, in Christ we shall live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant that we, who have celebrated the Lord's resurrection, may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/24/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter       (Psalm 81:1, 71, 10, 16b; antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2a)Daily Lectionary: Exodus 19:1-25; Hebrews 13:1-21 "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." (From the Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As you read through various narratives in the Old Testament, it's easy to see that when God is saving His people He is also feeding them. As the Israelites were being delivered from their slavery to Egypt, the Lord gave clear instructions as to how they would be fed. In Exodus 12 the Lord established the Passover meal for His people. They were about to be freed from their slavery under Pharaoh, and in preparation the Lord told them to take an unblemished lamb and kill it. They were to paint the doorposts of their houses with the blood of the lamb and they were also to eat. The Lord told them; "In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover." Throughout the generations of Israel, God's people were to remember their deliverance from Egypt and how the Lord fed them at the same time. Each Sunday we gather around the Word of God where we are reminded of how Jesus our Lamb was slain for us and for our salvation. God has brought us out of our slavery to sin as we have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus. In the same way, the Lord feeds us in the midst of our salvation. We come to the Lord's table to partake of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world. We eat as strangers and sojourners in this world as we follow the great Exodus out of this world and into the Promised Land prepared for us by Jesus. Until that time comes for you, remember the Lord's salvation for you in the Cross and resurrection of Jesus. Open your mouth wide so that He may feed you with Himself the bread of everlasting life which forgives you and strengthens you in body and soul until life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, You have given Yourself to us in this holy Sacrament. Keep us in Your faith and favor that we may live in You even as You live in us. May Your body and blood preserve us in the true faith to life everlasting. Hear us for the sake of Your name. Amen. (Prayer of Thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/23/20226 minutes, 4 seconds
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Friday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8Daily Lectionary: Exodus 18:5-27; Hebrews 12:1-24 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Leaven is yeast, which in baking makes dough rise. If you have ever made bread or rolls with yeast in them, you know that you only use a little bit of yeast. But when you put it into the lump of dough and give it time, it works its way through the entire lump and makes it expand to twice its original size, or more. This idea of leaven became a common metaphor in the Bible for the corrupting influence of sin. Paul's point is that a relatively small amount of sin, even one sin, if it is not dealt with properly, can spread its influence throughout an entire church. Paul is reminding us of this constant battle that we have against sin within the Church. It doesn't take much guilt and shame caused by sin to bring a Christian down. In the same way, it doesn't take much sin to bring an entire church down. However, the Church remains the Body of Christ by faith and has been made alive by the Holy Spirit through our Baptisms into Christ. In His second letter to the Corinthians, Paul will remind them that in Christ we are new creations. The old things have passed away. All things have become new. Specifically, what makes us "new" is the presence of Christ as He comes to His Church through Word and Sacrament. The Holy Spirit is the One who applies the saving work of Christ to us and strengthens our faith against the leaven of sin and evil. That is your position in Christ. Paul says "You really are unleavened." You really are righteous and holy in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O holy and most merciful God, You have taught us the way of Your commandments. We implore You to pour Your grace into our hearts. Cause it to bear fruit in us that, being ever mindful of Your mercies and Your laws, we may always be directed to Your will and daily increase love toward You and one another. Enable us to resist all evil and to live a godly life. Help us to follow the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to walk in His steps until we shall possess the kingdom that has been prepared for us in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for obedience to the Word)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/22/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Thursday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Job 19:23-37Daily Lectionary: Exodus 17:1-16; Hebrews 11:1-29 "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth." (Job 19:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one needs to convince you that over the last two years we have seen and experienced the sharpness of death. From the ongoing pandemic to wars being fought in Europe, we are constantly under the shadow of death in this life. Job experienced the tragic loss of his own family. He lost his possessions, his health, and even his sons and daughters, who perished when a severe storm destroyed the house where they were assembled. On hearing this news, Job felt thoroughly stripped of everything. He tore his robe, fell to the ground, and exclaimed, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21).Left alone in his sin, his shame, and nakedness Job would surely not survive such tragic losses. Likewise we who have encountered and engaged with the sharpness of death around us are useless if we are left on our own. Job survived in the faith He had been given. A faith that confessed, "I know that my Redeemer lives" (Job 19:25). It meant that he, too, would rise again from the grave. But even more! Job was to live many more years. God gave him a second family and enabled him to see "his children and their children to the fourth generation" (Job 42:16).God has not promised that He would end pandemics or wars or replace lost families, but He has solemnly declared, "I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). Also He says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). This grace is given to us in its fullness in Jesus Christ, His Son, who gave His life for our salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. He lives to grant me rich supply; He lives to guide me with His eye; He lives to comfort me when faint; He lives to hear my soul's complaint. ("I Know That My Redeemer Lives" LSB 461, st.4)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/21/20225 minutes, 57 seconds
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Wednesday of Easter Week

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 16:13-35; Hebrews 10:19-39 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the third setting of the Divine Service, during Confession and Absolution we say, "Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins. . . " (LSB, p.184). How does one draw near to God? Is this something that we can choose to do? Is it something that we have the ability to decide on? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding "NO!" We cannot decide to draw near to God, we do not have a choice in the matter, and because of our sin we don't even want to draw near to God. So how can we fulfill what the author of the Hebrews tells us to do? Jesus must first draw us to Himself. He has done just that through His glorious death and resurrection, won for you that first Holy Week. He poured out this Gift to you freely in your Baptism. In Holy Baptism your sins are drowned and you are resurrected in the newness of Jesus' life. The writer to the Hebrews says, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. . . " (Hebrews 10:19-20). In Holy Baptism you have the confidence and assurance that your confession of sins is heard by almighty God. In Holy Baptism you are given the confidence that your Old Adam has been drowned and that you have been resurrected to new life in Christ. In Holy Baptism you can be assured that you have been drawn near to Christ and forgiven of all your sins and cleansed to walk in the newness of eternal life. We confess our sins and we know that our Father in heaven has forgiven us of all our sins on account of Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful Father, through Holy Baptism You called us to be Your own possession. Grant that our lives may evidence the working of Your Holy Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, according to the image of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for Life as a Baptized Child of God)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/20/20226 minutes, 9 seconds
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Tuesday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-48Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:19-16:12; Hebrews 10:1-18And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24:41-42) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus loves to eat! This is quite remarkable! The resurrected Christ breaks bread with those grieving men at Emmaus, turning their tears and confusion into hope and purpose. Then Jesus shares in eating fish with the disciples in Jerusalem, with a similar impact. For Luke, Easter is less about an empty tomb then it is about food shared around a table! Ghosts and spirits cannot eat real food. The resurrected Jesus asks for and eats this fish to prove that He is truly resurrected in body and soul. If a high point of your Easter celebration was a big family meal, how appropriate–it would appear that Jesus spent Easter Day eating, and calling the ones He loved to the place where bread is broken and food is shared.Luke challenges us to think of Easter in terms of food. We should not have difficulty in doing that. Central to our Holy Week remembrance is that wonderful meal that Jesus provided for his followers in the Upper Room on the night before He was handed over to His enemies. We hear of Jesus sitting with the disciples on that first Maundy Thursday. Jesus took the Passover bread, blessed it in a special way, then broke the bread and shared it with His friends. In words that have become woven into the fabric of our believing hearts, Jesus gave His new covenant in His blood for us to eat, drink, and be forgiven and sustained. This great act is not only a defining memory for us, but it is the way we are fed by Jesus Himself: in, with, and under the bread and wine.This points us to the promise we hear, again and again, in the great resurrection banquet" that no one will be hungry and all will be satisfied. The last will be first and the first will be last, and the feasting will continue forever. Christ is risen: Come and let us feast! "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him" (Psalm 34:8).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood that the fruits of Your redemption may continually be manifest in us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Thursday)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/19/20226 minutes, 39 seconds
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Monday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Luke 24:13-35Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:1-18; Hebrew 9:1-28 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:30-31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! The resurrection is hard to believe and hold onto. We don't see people rising from the dead in our cemeteries on a regular basis. It would be great if we could point everyone to the resurrected Christ in our midst every Sunday. Obviously we cannot do this, but nonetheless, Jesus has not left us to fend for ourselves. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:19). The message of the resurrected Christ is foolishness to the world and even at times to our ears as well, but we are not those who have no hope. This is why Jesus gave us His Word and even by that Word He instituted the Sacrament of the Altar for us and for our salvation. The first disciples doubted Jesus' resurrection even on that first Easter Sunday. They were sure that all was lost. Jesus opened up their minds to the Scriptures and finally revealed His victory over death in the breaking of the bread. Each Sunday Jesus opens your minds in the hearing of His glorious Gospel and in the breaking of the bread. As your pastor raises the bread and the cup in the Eucharist, he proclaims, "The peace of the Lord be with you always." This isn't an earthly peace or some temporary sense of being calm. This is the peace that Christ won for you by His death and resurrection. As you come to the altar you partake of the crucified and resurrected Jesus who reveals Himself for you. By this wondrous meal you are forgiven and strengthened in this Christian faith. Jesus says to you today, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Come to the Easter feast, come and see and receive Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed, Paschal victim, paschal bread; With sincerity and love Eat we manna from above. Alleluia! ("At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing" LSB 633, st.4)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/18/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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The Resurrection of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Mark 16:1-8Daily Lectionary: Exodus 14:10-31; Hebrews 7:23-8:13 And they went out and fled the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them. . .  (Mark 16:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! So shall you be! Historically Mark, who wrote this Gospel, has been recorded as the one who fled away naked from Jesus on the night of Jesus' betrayal. Imagine that for a minute. Seeing your Lord and Master being betrayed with a kiss of peace, put into shackles and hauled off to trial. Imagine the fear that gripped Mark and the disciples. Fear that was so intense that Mark would rather run away naked in public than be caught up with Jesus in suffering. Fear and trembling gripped the disciples, just as fear and trembling gripped the women on that first Easter morning. Fear and trembling grips us in the throes of life as well. Changes, decay, chaos, confusion, and death are looming all around us. Our fears can get the best of us and our trembling can cause us to run away from the Lord's work. It happened to the disciples, to the women, and it happens to you. Yet within all of the fear, trembling, and astonishment, the simple words of a young man ring out for us today: "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here" (Mark 16:6). The man sitting with the white robe in the empty tomb foreshadows you on the day of the resurrection of all flesh. You shall not die eternally, but you shall live. You have received the robe of Christ's righteousness that covers all your sin. You are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. Fears, trembling, and astonishment subside as Christ tells you today, "Peace be with you!" You are forgiven, you are restored. Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, and so shall you rise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Resurrection of Our Lord)-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschOver eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/17/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Holy Saturday

Today's Reading: Matthew 27:57-66Daily Lectionary: Exodus 13:17-14:9; Hebrews 7:1-22 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:3-4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When God created the heavens and the earth and everything that fills them in six days, He rested on the seventh day. He commanded that the seventh day, Saturday, be a day of rest for His people. That seventh day is called the "Sabbath," which literally means "the rest day." But the day of rest has been disfigured by sin and sinfulness. Instead of resting in the grace of God, people (including you!) have filled it with work and play and have ignored the rest that God has given you in this day. That's why the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is so important. On Friday afternoon, the body of Jesus was laid to rest in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. He rested there until His return to life and His resurrection. It's like creation held its breath between one week and another, between the fullness of sin and the fullness of God's grace revealed. Jesus Christ died so that you would have the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He rested, inviting you into the rest of His grace. How will you spend this day, the day that seems suspended between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Is today a day simply for Easter egg hunts or shopping for Easter clothes or the mundane activities of weekly life? Maybe. But make today also a day of resting in God's grace. As Jesus rested in the tomb for you, rest in the grace of Jesus Christ. He has taken your sins to the Cross, and now that He has died for those sins, you truly have rest. Today is a day of joy and true relaxation, because Jesus has died for you and given you what sinners without God's grace can't have--rest. Today, if the devil, the world, and your own sinful nature come to you calling you a sinner who doesn't deserve God's rest, tell them to leave you alone, because you have the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and that gives you the fullness of God's rest. After all, it is Jesus who holds all creation together and He is the One who gives you complete and total rest. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, creator of heaven and earth, grant that as the crucified body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Saturday)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/16/20226 minutes, 55 seconds
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Good Friday

Today's Reading: John 18:1-19:42Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:29-32; 13:1-16; Hebrews 6:1-20 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. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:18-20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus is the firstborn. But wait, that sounds like a Christmas statement, not a Good Friday statement. But it is also a Good Friday thing to say. Not only was Jesus the firstborn of the Virgin Mary; but He is also the only-begotten Son of God. Colossians refers to Him as the firstborn from the dead. Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus is the "firstborn of the dead." Jesus is the firstborn, and Jesus died. The only-begotten of God, who is God in the flesh, died. Those are powerful words that don't always make a lot of sense to us. After all, how can God die? That's not something that can be explained rationally. It can only be confessed. God took on flesh, and according to His human nature, He died. That doesn't mean that just the "human part" of Jesus died: Everything that is true of the human nature of Jesus is also true of the divine nature of Jesus. Jesus died. He is the firstborn of the dead. He is the most important person, who died for you so that you are His dear child. Colossians uses the word "preeminent" to say this. "Preeminent" can be understood as "most important" or "in the most important place." Exodus 13 talks about the sacrifice that needed to be made for a firstborn son. It was necessary to redeem a firstborn son by the sacrifice of a lamb. You are now all the firstborn who have had the Lamb of God sacrificed for you to redeem you. That's what's necessary for you. That promise is unchanging. From the day that Jesus hung on the Cross until now, to the day when Jesus returns in the resurrection, nothing will change the fact that He is the One who was and who is and who is to come. As you observe Jesus' death today, remember that this reality is for you, now and always. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.         Your cords of love, my Savior, Bind me to You forever, I am no longer mine. To You I gladly tender All that my life can render And all I have to You resign. ("Upon the Cross Extended" LSB 453, st.6)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/15/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Maundy Thursday

Today's Reading: John 13:1-15, 34-35Daily Lectionary:Exodus 12:1-28; Hebrews 5:1-14 [Jesus said][ "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is all about commands. That doesn't sound very Lutheran, though. Lutherans like to talk about God's Law and God's Gospel. But "commandment" is law language. Even the name for this day, "Maundy" Thursday, comes with commandment language. The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum (like "mandate) that means "commandment." On this day we remember that our Lord Jesus commanded us to love one another. But He also commands that we receive the specific Gift of the Lord's Supper. Jesus calls you to love one another. Love other people in Christ's Church. Love your classmates, your friends, even those you might think of as your enemies. How is that going for you? Especially now, at the end of Lent, you can probably say that you haven't always loved one another and you certainly don't deserve God's goodness or love. Instead, you deserve God's punishment and anger. You haven't kept His commandment. You need help. The Lord's Supper was given on the day of Passover. That's because Jesus is the Passover Lamb. You remember that from Exodus--how the lamb that was killed was drained of its blood and then cooked. Jesus shed His blood on the Cross for you, and Jesus declared that the bread that was broken is His Body and the wine in the cup is His Blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus has given this command: Take, eat; take, drink, because you haven't kept all the other commands He has given to you. In the Lord's Supper, Jesus gives you Himself. The One who washed the feet of His disciples is the One who died for you. He brings you the forgiveness that He won for you on the Cross and delivers it to you, here and now. Since today is another day of your being a sinner, this is another day for you to believe that Jesus is your Passover Lamb, that He shed His Blood for you and has given His own Body as a feast of forgiveness. Come, receive the promises of Jesus, just as He has commanded you for your good and for your forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood that the fruits of Your redemption may continually be manifest in us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Maundy Thursday)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/14/20226 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of Holy Week

Today's Reading: Luke 22:1-23:56Daily Lectionary: Exodus 10:21-11:10; Hebrews 4:1-16 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. (Luke 22:3-6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Hard hearts are hard to understand. You might get this, at least a little bit, if you have ever apologized to someone and they wouldn't forgive you. That is a difficult situation. In Exodus, Moses records that there had been ten plagues calling the people of Egypt and the people of Israel to repentance. Pharaoh's heart was hardened. It even says that the Lord Himself hardened Pharaoh's heart. That can be troubling. Why would God harden Pharaoh's heart? The Lord explained why He did this in Exodus 7:3-5: "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." The Lord did this so the Egyptians would know this was the Lord's doing, and the people of Israel would be delivered by the hand of the Lord. Scripture doesn't say that Judas Iscariot had a hard heart, but Luke does say that Satan entered into Judas. He agreed to turn Jesus over to the chief priests. But Satan can't do anything that God doesn't allow him to do. Why did God allow Judas to betray Jesus? Why did God let this bad thing happen to His only-begotten Son? It was in order to show His grace. It is by the betrayal and death of Jesus that hearts would be called to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. It is by the shedding of the blood of Jesus that you are made holy before God. God's work is seen even as Jesus is betrayed and as He died for you. Jesus has the opposite of a hard heart. For you, a sinner who has not obeyed God's Law, He has shown the depth of His mercy. He has rescued you from sin, death, and the devil. That's the Gospel truth. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful and everlasting God, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all to bear our sins on the cross. Grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in Him that we fear not the power of sin, death, and the devil; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Wednesday of Holy Week)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/13/20226 minutes, 46 seconds
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Tuesday of Holy Week

Today's Reading: Mark 14:1-15:47Daily Lectionary:  Exodus 9:29-10:20; Hebrews 3:1-19 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?" (Mark 14:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever wasted something? Honestly, you've probably wasted time, and maybe you've been told you were wasting energy. Certainly, no one wants to waste money or food or anything else physical. Precious things are precious, and shouldn't be wasted. That's what the people thought had happened at the dinner Jesus attended. That ointment that could only be used once was being wasted on Jesus. When the objection was raised that the money could have been used for the poor, Jesus pointed out that the poor would always be in the world, but Jesus Himself wouldn't always be here. Putting this expensive, precious ointment on Jesus seemed to be a waste. But then Jesus said that the ointment was preparing Him for His death. Jesus' death seemed wasteful, too. As He was crucified and was dying on the Cross, it would have been easy to think "What a waste of a life!" There, as Jesus' blood was shed from the Cross it could certainly seem that His life, like that precious ointment, was being wasted. But Jesus' death wasn't wasted. Instead, it was the precious blood of Jesus that cleansed you from your sin and calls you to believe in His gracious Name. Jesus didn't waste His life on you. Instead, He spent His life for you. It's like the explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles Creed in Luther's Small Catechism: "I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity." You, a poor and condemned person, were saved by the holy, precious blood of Jesus and His innocent suffering and death. Now you belong to Jesus because of His goodness. Jesus' life was not wasted on you, but He is the price of your redemption and your forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord's passion that we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Tuesday of Holy Week)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/12/20226 minutes, 44 seconds
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Monday of Holy Week

Today's Reading: John 12:1-43Daily Lectionary:Exodus 9:1-28; Hebrews 2:1-18 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, but it sure looks odd. The Cross with Jesus on it doesn't look like glory and honor. Instead, it looks like there is a lot of shame and tragedy on the Cross. A crown of thorns doesn't look like glory, and a man stripped naked doesn't look like honor. No, it's on the Cross that Jesus, God in the flesh, tastes death for everyone. Or to put it another way, God died on the Cross. Now, don't start thinking that the Father died on the Cross, or that the Holy Spirit died on the Cross. They didn't. But Jesus is fully God, and when Jesus died on the Cross, God died. That's a big deal!  He tasted death for everyone. That means that Jesus tasted death for you. The death your sin deserves has been died by Jesus, God in the flesh. That's not just true for you, though. It's true for everyone. He tasted death for everyone, and there is no one who is outside of Jesus' death and the mercy and grace that He has for sinners. That doesn't mean that everyone is saved, because salvation is by grace through faith. Do you believe what Jesus has done for you and that He is your Lord and your God? That faith in Jesus that you have been given is the center of your life. Jesus is your only hope and your only Savior. Thanks be to God, He shows you His glory and honor from the Cross for your everlasting life. It's because of God's grace that Jesus came into the flesh to die for you. You see His grace on the Cross. From there the forgiveness of all your sins was earned. Jesus delivers that forgiveness to you when you are baptized into His death and resurrection and when He feeds Christians His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. God has poured out His grace on you, and He forgives you all your sins. You are pure and holy because of Jesus' death for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant that in the midst of our failures and weaknesses we may be restored through the passion and intercession of Your only-begotten Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Monday of Holy Week)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/11/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Palmarum

Today's Reading: Matthew 21:1-9Daily Lectionary: Exodus 8:1-32; Hebrews 1:1-14 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is a day full of strange words. Where else other than church and devotions do you see the word "Palmarum"? But that one is pretty easy--it simply means "of the palms" or "day of the palms." You could also call today "Palm Sunday," remembering that a week before Easter Jesus entered into Jerusalem as people waved branches over Him and welcomed Him into the holy city as He was called the Son of David, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. That reveals another strange word, the Hebrew word "Hosanna," which means, "Save us now!" It is a prayer for deliverance, and it is a prayer that Jesus, the Son of David who comes in the Name of the Lord, comes to answer. As the crowds cried out, "Hosanna," Jesus was coming to do just that, preparing for His death that would save not only the crowds, but you. That prayer of "Hosanna" is one that is repeated in the Divine Service today. In preparation for the Lord's Supper, the words of the Palm Sunday crowds are combined with the words of the angelic song of Isaiah 6:1-8 so that Christ's Church sings, "Holy, Holy, Holy," and, "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," in the canticle (Bible song) called the Sanctus. This is a confession that your Lord, Jesus, is holy, and that it is your Lord, Jesus, who comes in the Name of the Lord, not only on a donkey in Jerusalem but also in His Body and Blood in the Lord's Supper. There, given and shed for you, He brings forgiveness, life, and salvation that saves you. He gives you this will and testament as an answer to your prayer as you greet Him, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. That's not a one time event, but an ever present reality for you, one of His Christians. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Palmarum)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/10/20226 minutes, 11 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Introit for Palmarum       (Psalm 24:7-10; antiphon: Psalm 118:26)Daily Lectionary: Exodus 7:1-25; Mark 16:1-20 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! (From the Introit for Palmarum)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Get ready! Palm Sunday is coming! This reading from the psalms sets the stage for Palm Sunday. It seems a little strange to address part of this psalm to the doors, the city gates of Jerusalem, but that is exactly where these words are directed. Get ready, because someone who is coming through you is the Lord, mighty in battle. The Lord Himself will pass through these gates!  This is the same Lord who created the heavens and the earth. This is the same Lord who saved Noah and his family when the world was flooded. This is the same Lord who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the same Lord who rescued His people from slavery in Egypt. This mighty Lord established His people in the city of Jerusalem. The same Lord would come into Jerusalem and visit His people. But this is not an ordinary visit. Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth, wasn't just going to pay a social call to Jerusalem. He wouldn't just show His face and then disappear again. The Lord, mighty in battle, was coming into Jerusalem for a battle of cosmic proportions. He was coming to do the most glorious of all His actions: to bring salvation to all creation. Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem to be betrayed, to suffer, die, and rise again. The mighty Lord has come, not just entering into Jerusalem, but entering into you and your life in the waters of Holy Baptism. He has called you His own!  Not only has He entered the gates of Jerusalem, He has entered you to make you His holy temple. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O'er captive death and conquered sin. ("Ride On, Ride On in Majesty" LSB 441, st.2)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/9/20225 minutes, 45 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 5:1-6:1; Mark 15:33-47 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words of the centurion by the side of the Cross are, for the most part, some of the most important true words spoken. Jesus is truly the Son of God. However, there is one thing the centurion gets wrong: Jesus isn't in the past. Often, when someone dies, people speak to them "as they were" or in the past tense. But Jesus isn't in the past tense. Jesus is the Son of God, and that doesn't stop. It didn't stop with His death on the Cross, and it doesn't stop during His resurrection, and it will never stop. Jesus laid in the tomb is just as much the Savior of the world as Jesus on the Cross or as Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus raised from the dead is just as much the Savior, too. A situation that looked hopeless and that looked like Jesus was left in the past tense isn't what it seems. Instead, the crucified Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb in order to rise again. The fact that Jesus is not in the past tense is important for you because you will never be in the past tense, either. Jesus' eternal life gives you eternal life. You will live forever in the present tense because Jesus lives forever. The One who died is the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Him will never die--and that message is for you. The devil might try to tell you that Jesus is disconnected and far away from you. Your own common sense might try to tell you that, too. But your Lord Jesus, the Son of God, has drawn close to you, delivering His death and resurrection to you every time it is preached into your ears, when you read about His great love for you, when you were baptized into that death and resurrection, and when you receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for you for the forgiveness of sins. If the centurion saw and believed that Jesus was the Son of God, so do you, one of God's redeemed children for whom He died. Your Savior has forgiven you all your sins and holds you continually in His grace, not in the past but in the present. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Upon the cross extended See, world, your Lord suspended. Your Savior yields His breath. The Prince of Life from heaven Himself has freely given To shame and blows and bitter death. ("Upon the Cross Extended" LSB 453, st.1)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/8/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:19-31; Mark 15:16-32 And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. Wait, what? The Lord is the one who hardened Pharaoh's heart, who brought about the lack of faith, who brought the ten plagues against Egypt. That doesn't sound like good news at all. How can a good, gracious, and loving God harden Pharaoh's (or anyone's) heart? It is the will of God that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, as 1 Timothy 2:4 says. Yet not only does God allow people to disbelieve His promises and truth, He Himself even hardened Pharaoh's heart. So where do you stand? Has God hardened your heart? What about others who don't believe in God's Name? Is that God's fault, or their fault? Luther's Small Catechism gives a good answer to this regarding the Third Article of the Apostles Creed:  "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." The Holy Spirit has called YOU to faith, enlightened YOU with His gifts, sanctified and kept YOU in the faith. What the Holy Spirit does for you He also does for the whole Church. There's nothing here about Pharaoh or those who don't believe, because that's not your business. That's God's business to deal with in His righteousness and justice. You are called simply to believe in His Name, to confess your sins before Jesus Christ who intercedes for you before the Father, and to confess that faith in the Triune God in love to your neighbors. Is your heart hard? Even though you are fully and completely a sinner (just like Moses who didn't circumcise his children in accordance with God's commands), your heart has been softened by the Holy Spirit who has called you as God's own. You are also completely one of God's saints. Jesus Christ was crucified for you to see to your holiness and perfection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Holy Spirit, you have called, gathered, and enlightened me with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sanctify and keep me in that Gospel always, until Jesus' return in glory and the everlasting Kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/7/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Eighth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Exodus 4:1-18; Mark 15:1-15 Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'" (Exodus 4:1) You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Small Catechism: Eighth Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What happens when you tell the truth and people don't believe you? You know what you said is true, but they just will not believe what you have said. Exodus 4 has a lot to say about truth and belief. God revealed His truth to Moses, but Moses was afraid that the people of Israel wouldn't believe him when he told it to them. Not only was Moses entrusted with God's truth, he thought it was up to him to get people to believe God's truth. Do you ever feel like telling the truth is a lost cause? Like even if what you say is true, people won't believe it and it won't make a difference? Perhaps if you try to set a rumor straight, people would still want to believe the rumor instead of the true account, or if you try to tell others why they have misjudged a classmate or a friend, they won't listen to you. What should you do then? One answer might be to not even try, and another response might be to try once and let it go. But that's not how God treated Moses, nor is it how God wanted Moses to treat the people of Israel. Instead, God repeatedly told His truth to Moses, and gave Moses ways to repeatedly tell that truth to the people. The Lord gave Moses His own Name to declare to the people: YHWH, I am who I am. The Lord gave Moses three miracles. Then the Lord promised that Moses' brother, Aaron, would come and he would do the talking. Again and again, the Lord put truth in Moses' ears and in his mouth. The Lord puts truth in your ears and in your mouth, too. He has given you the living Word, Jesus Himself. When you doubt and disbelieve, even then your Savior is the way, the truth, and the life. Even then your Savior shows you something better than a miracle: His own death and resurrection for you. He brings you the forgiveness of your sins. That's no false testimony. Jesus Christ is the truth for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, You are the way, the truth, and the life. You put your truth in Moses' ears and in his mouth. Place your truth and your presence in me that I would not disbelieve but believe Your wonderful promises and speak that truth to all those around me, through You, my Lord, as You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/6/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:23-3:22; Mark 14:53-72 [Jesus] 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. (Hebrews 9:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blood makes people squeamish. Some people faint or pass out at the sight of blood. Few people like to look at blood. Blood has a unique smell, a slick, sticky feel. Kinda grosses you out, doesn't it? But throughout Scripture, blood is a big deal. From Abel's blood crying out to God from the ground in Genesis 4, to the blood of the Passover lambs being collected in bowls and smeared on door frames, to the blood sprinkled in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, even on the mercy seat on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, blood is all over the Old Testament. Aren't you glad that there isn't blood-talk in the New Testament?Well, that's when the writer of Hebrews breaks your hopefulness and points out the importance of the blood of Jesus Himself. There's nothing distant or far away about that. Just when you thought you got those squeamish, bloody thoughts out of your head, here they are again. It's important for you to know and to remember that Jesus has blood, as gross as that seems. Leviticus 17:11 says, "The life is in the blood," and it's why God commanded His people not to eat meat with blood in it. But Jesus, the fully enfleshed God, came with real flesh and real blood. That real blood, full of the life of the Son of God, was poured out for you and brings you forgiveness of all your sins. It covers you as one of God's saints whose robe has been made white in the blood of the Lamb of God. It's serious business that Jesus shed His blood for His saints, and He gives that Blood alongside His Body to strengthen your faith, to forgive your sins, and to bring life and immortality to light. Is blood yucky? Maybe, but the blood of Jesus Christ is what you count on to save your life, because your life is in the blood of Jesus, shed for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. ("Not All the Blood of Beasts" LSB 431, st.2)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/5/20226 minutes, 6 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Genesis 22:1-14Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-33; Mark 14:32-52 "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does God expect of you? Does He expect a perfect life? Or maybe He wants proof of your faithfulness by seeing what a great job you do of telling other people about Jesus. Certainly, God doesn't expect you to offer animal sacrifices anymore, but sometimes you might wonder if more time, more money, or more of your skills at church or at youth group are going to impress God. Maybe you're already shaking your head and saying, "That's not how God works." That doesn't mean that you aren't sometimes tempted to prove your faithfulness to God. And that makes you ask, "What does God want? What can I give God?" Isaac asked a normal, innocent question. "We have everything we need except the lamb for the sacrifice." Where were they going to get that? In the remote mountains, there wasn't a grocery store or a "Sacrifices 'R' Us" store for Abraham and Isaac to get a sacrificial lamb. How was this going to work? Abraham's answer was literally, "God will see the lamb." While many translations say something like "God will provide the lamb," or "God will see to the lamb," the clearest understanding is that God will see the lamb. God did see the lamb, but it wasn't a fluffy, white lamb carried to the top of the mountain. It wasn't Isaac, the only son of his father, Abraham. It wasn't even the ram caught in the thicket by its horns. The Lamb that God saw was His own Son, Jesus Christ. The only-begotten Son of God was the Lamb given so that all who believe in His Name would not perish but have eternal life. God sees Jesus as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for you. Where's your sacrifice? You already have one. God sees the Lamb whom He has sent to take away the sin of the world. You don't need to prove yourself to God. You don't need to do anything to earn His grace, and God won't remove His grace if you don't do the right thing to thank Him. He has provided His Son for you, and that settles the matter. God has seen His ever-present grace for you. God has not withheld His Son from you, and that's all you need. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The dying Lord our ransom paid, One final full self-off'ring made, Complete in ev'ry part. His finished sacrifice for sins The covenant of grace begins, The law within the heart. ("No Temple Now, No Gift of Price" LSB 530, st.2)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/4/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Today's Reading: John 8:46-59Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22; Mark 14:12-31 [Jesus said,] "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you ever think that terrible things can't happen to you? Car accidents may happen to other people, but not to you. Horrible illnesses may happen to other people, but not to you. Bullies may take advantage of other people, but not of you. The devil and your own sinful mind tempt you to believe that you're invincible and that nothing can hurt you. But the truth is different from that. The truth is that bad things will happen to you since you live in this sinful world. One of those bad things, according to your human perspective, is death. But Jesus makes a bold statement: If you keep His Word, you will not see death. If you keep Jesus' Word, you are invincible. This isn't just the hopefulness of a young person, but the promise of the fully incarnate God in the flesh. When Jesus says that you will never see death, He means it. That can be hard to wrap your head around today. We are drawing closer and closer to Good Friday. Some churches have a special focus on the Cross and the Passion of Jesus for the next two weeks. And that's right, since we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Jesus died and has given you His Word so that you will never see death. But that conflicts with common sense, doesn't it? It seems that everyone dies. But Jesus promises that those who keep His Word won't see death. So do you believe in your common sense, or do you believe Jesus? Whatever your common sense says, Jesus declares that you are invincible in Him, because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). You live in Jesus Christ, because He has made it so. He is your Lord, the One who rules over all things and calls you His very own. He has promised that you will never see eternal death because of His goodness and mercy for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent)-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/3/20226 minutes, 1 second
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Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent            (Psalm 43:3-5; antiphon: v. 1-2a)Daily Lectionary: Genesis 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! (From the Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Throughout Holy Scripture, God does some of His most important work on mountain tops. God brought Noah and the ark to rest on the mountains of Ararat. God spared Abraham's son, his only son Isaac, from sacrifice on Mount Moriah. God gave his Torah to Moses and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. God dwelled with and for His people in the glory and the sacrifices on Mount Zion. As good as these things were, we haven't even approached the summit of God's mountainous grace.For that we must hike to where the Torah, psalms, and prophets lead us: to Jesus, God's incarnate mountain man. Jesus feeds the multitudes and prays on the mountain sides of Judea. Jesus is transfigured on a mountain top as He and Moses and Elijah talk about His exodus to come in Jerusalem. Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and prays with His disciples on the Mount of Olives before He walks His own Cross, and all of our sin, to the top of Mount Calvary, Golgotha, the peak of His glory, in crucifixion for you. So it should come as no surprise that when Jesus ascends to heaven, He does so on a mountaintop. And one day, He will return again so that what was written in the book of Hebrews will be fully seen and rejoiced in as we dwell on Mount Zion forever. "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. . . But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:18-24). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/2/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 47:1-31; Mark 13:24-37 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. (Genesis 47:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Israelites were tempted to think that their time in Egypt was one of glory and ease, and that they had deserved the possessions they had and land they dwelled in. But of course, we know how the story goes. As we learned yesterday, all the good things that happened to Joseph were not because he was a perfect, deserving guy. Far from it. In truth, everything Joseph had done and received in life--the dreams, the ascent to Pharaoh's court, and so on--was accomplished by God's grace.The same was true for the people of Israel. Even when they were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, the grace of God watched over and was with them. God waited for the perfect time when He would lead his servant Moses to take His people Israel out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. And along the way there, the grace of God accompanied His people all the more. The Passover lamb. The Red Sea Exodus. The manna and quail in the wilderness. The water from the rock. The Divine Service of the Old Testament in the sacrifices of the tabernacle. It was all given and accomplished by the grace of God for His people.The same is true for you. It's tempting to think that we are entitled to God's mercy. That we deserve His grace. That we have earned His favor. Just like Israel, we are tempted to look at our thoughts, emotions, and works as a ladder we try to use to ascend to God, or some kind of assurance that we are loved by God. And just like Israel, we are dead wrong. That's the real kind of slavery: slavery to sin. Thankfully, God has compassion on us as He did for Israel. Only He didn't send Joseph or even Moses. God the Father sent His only-begotten Son, so that in Jesus we would possess everything God desires to give us: His grace, mercy, peace, life, and salvation. Everything we have, all our gifts of body and soul, are given to us by God's grace in Christ Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, you have given us the good news of your abounding love in your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
4/1/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Joseph, Patriarch

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 45:1-20, 24-28; Mark 13:1-23 "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life." (Genesis 45:4-5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are many Old Testament people whose lives foreshadow and point us to the person and work of Jesus. Jesus says that His death and resurrection are foretold in Jonah's three-day rest in the belly of the fish. Jesus says that His own body is the new and greater temple. Jesus declares that Abraham saw and believed in Him long before His incarnation for us. Joseph the patriarch is no different. Consider just a few of the many ways Joseph's life foreshadows and points us to the life and work of Jesus. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and left for dead. Jesus is betrayed by one of His own disciples so that He would be left for dead on the Cross. Joseph went down to Egypt to provide for the people of Egypt as well as for His own family. Jesus also went down to Egypt with His earthly family so that when He returned to Nazareth after Herod's death, He would begin His life and ministry that would provide life and salvation not just for Israel, but for all nations. Joseph tells his brothers that what they meant for evil, God worked for good. Jesus, our greater Joseph, takes all the sin and evil that we have worked onto Himself on the Cross, and there, He works the greatest good for us in His crucifixion for us.Today, as we remember and give thanks to God for Joseph the patriarch, we are also giving thanks to God and remember the grace and mercy of God which kept Joseph. For the same Lord who watched over Joseph in prison, slavery, and famine, is the same Lord who watches over you in all trials and travails of this life. Like Joseph, Jesus the greater Joseph was sent by God. The Father has sent His Son Jesus before us to preserve our lives, now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord God, heavenly Father, in the kingdom of Egypt the needy and suffering people were told to go to Joseph and do all that he shall say to them. May the needy and suffering people in the kingdom of Your Church now be provided for by those who follow in the example of Joseph as they love their neighbors as themselves; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/31/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Seventh CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Genesis 44:1-18, 32-34; Mark 12:28-44 You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. (Small Catechism: Seventh Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Small Catechism is full of questions and answers, like the famous catechism question, "What does this mean?" Whenever we spend time unpacking the meaning of the commandments and their explanations, it's also helpful to ask a few additional questions. What gift of God is being preserved and protected by God in the Seventh Commandment? How have we failed to keep this commandment? And, most important of all, how does Jesus keep this commandment for us?Luther's short but insightful explanation reveals the meaning of the Seventh Commandment. It also reveals the gift of God in this commandment: our possessions and earthly blessings, or, in other words, our stuff. Everything we have from the kicks on our feet, to the lid on our dome, is all a gift from God. When we come to the Seventh Commandment, it's easy to think, "Well, I haven't been arrested for grand theft auto or stolen anything lately, so I'm good to go." Not so fast! Have we always helped our neighbor to improve his possessions and income? Have we taken a pencil from school? Spent five more minutes at our lunch break at work than we should have? And the list goes on. Not one of us can say we've perfectly kept the Seventh Commandment.Thankfully, while it's true that we have broken the Seventh Commandant, it's also true that our Lord Jesus kept this commandment perfectly in our place. How so? Consider Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 8:10: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."You see, everything in all creation belongs to our Lord Jesus. And yet He provides for all our physical needs. And more than that, he uses the stuff of His creation--water, word, bread and wine--to give us heavenly treasures of His grace in His holy, precious Word and Sacraments as well. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/30/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Galatians 4:21-31Daily Lectionary: Genesis 43:1-28; Mark 12:13-27 The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church father Cyprian once wrote that, "No one can have God as his Father, who does not have the Church as his mother." St. Augustine and Martin Luther would later quote these famous words as well. Cyprian wasn't saying anything new, though. He was quoting Paul here in Galatians. The Jerusalem above, the Mother of us all, is free (Galatians 4:26). How is the Church our Mother? Think about all the ways a mother cares for her child. Even before a child is born, he is cared for in her womb and, Lord willing, brought safely through childbirth. So, too, in the Church we are born from above by water, Word and the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. God works faith in our hearts by His Word just as He creates life in the womb. Our earthly mothers then go on to feed us, care for us, love and nurture us. So, too, in the Church, God our Father provides the daily bread of His Holy Word, Holy Absolution, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion. In His Gifts of Word and Sacrament in the Church God feeds us, cares for us, loves us, and nurtures us. As we grow older, our earthly mothers and fathers discipline us, teach us many things needful for our life, and most of all, lead us in the ways and words of our heavenly Father. The same thing happens in the Church, the new Jerusalem. The free gifts of life and salvation are given to us. We are children of the promise, just as Isaac was. And yes, at times we are disciplined. And at other times we are instructed in many things from the Scriptures, as in confirmation or Bible class. In these ways, our heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit, leads us in His ways and words throughout our life. And in this holy Christian Church you are freely forgiven, and live to freely love one another as Christ first loved us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turned us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/29/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Exodus 16:2-21Daily Lectionary: Genesis 42:1-34, 38; Mark 12:1-12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.'" (Exodus 16:11-12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yahweh provided bread from heaven. The food of angels, they called it. "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, declares the Lord, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion for every day" (Exodus 16:4).Israel didn't have to work for this bread. No labor, planting, or harvesting. No sweaty brows, calloused hands, or sore backs. All they had to do was go outside their tents and there it was. Manna in the wilderness. Yahweh provided just enough for each day--no more, no less.And yet Israel still grumbled against the Lord: "We loathe this worthless food. Why did you bring us out into the wilderness to die? Would that we were in Egypt where we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full."Bread couldn't save Adam. The bread from heaven that God gave through Moses couldn't save Israel, either. And neither will Adam or Moses save us.For like Adam, we have hungered and thirsted for self-righteousness. We have labored to fill our bellies with the food of this world. Like Israel, we've grumbled and groaned against God's grace. We've pushed aside the Lord's bread to get all we can eat at the world's buffet. We foolishly think that slavery to sin looks more appetizing and satisfying than the Bread of life that God offers freely.As Jesus tells the crowds in John 6, "Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died." That's the problem. Like Adam and Israel, we eat bread to our death. Ordinary bread won't save us.The bread that Jesus gives, however, is completely different. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51). The next time you go to the Lord's Supper, rejoice! In Jesus' Body and Blood you have true Manna from heaven. Eat this bread and live forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord our God, in your Holy Sacraments you have given us a foretaste of the good things of your kingdom: Direct us, we pray, in the way that leads to eternal life, that we may come to appear before you in that place of light where you dwell forever with your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/28/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Today's Reading: John 6:1-15Daily Lectionary: Genesis 41:28-57; Mark 11:20-33 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. (John 6:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ever heard a song, watched a movie, or read a book, and afterwards thought, "That sounds familiar; where have I heard that before?" Sometimes we call that feeling deja vu, the feeling that you've been there or heard something before.There's something of a deja vu moment happening in today's reading from John 6. Consider some of the details of the feeding of the 5000 here in John's Gospel. There's a crowd following Jesus. They're in the wilderness near a mountain. It's close to the time of the Passover. The crowds are hungry. Jesus has the crowds sit down on the green pastures. He gives thanks. Jesus miraculously feeds over 5000; there are even leftovers. And to top it all off, Jesus is called the Prophet who is coming into the world. That all sounds rather familiar doesn't it? Like we've heard that story before. Indeed we have, in Exodus and Psalm 23. John's account of the feeding of the 5000 comes out of God's cookbook in the Old Testament Exodus. John reveals that Jesus is Moses 2.0, not a new lawgiver, but the Prophet who was foretold. The Prophet who would be like Moses and come after him and turn the hearts of the people to God. Coincidence? Of course not. The good things that God called Moses to do, and accomplished through Moses, point forward to the Prophet of God come in human flesh: Jesus. But of course we know that Jesus is a prophet--He speaks and teaches and foretells God's Word. But unlike any other prophet, Jesus is the one Prophet who not only speaks for God, but IS God. He not only declares God's Word, He is the Word made flesh.Jesus' words give life. Jesus' Body and Blood are our true Bread from heaven come down to save, forgive, and heal. Jesus is truly the Prophet who has come into the world to save you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent)-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/27/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Lent            (Psalm 122:1-2, 6, 8; antiphon: Isaiah 66:10a, 11a)Daily Lectionary:Genesis 41:1-27; Mark 11:1-19 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Lent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 122 is one of several ascent psalms in the psalter, the Old Testament hymnal. In this psalm, God's faithful people would sing His praises as they made their way to the temple, the Lord's house, to receive the Lord's gifts.Tomorrow in Divine Service we will sing or say together the Introit, taken from Psalm 122. As we sing or say these words together, God is gathering His Church, the new Israel, around His Gifts of Word, water, Body and Blood. As we sing or say these words together we are in the house of the Lord where the Lord has promised to dwell with us to heal, forgive, and save us. Even the word "Introit" tells us what's going on. "Introit" means "to enter." In the Divine Service that's what we do. We enter the Lord's house on the Lord's Day to receive the Lord's Gifts in Word and Sacrament.It is good for us to sing the psalms of ascent as we approach our Lord's table, because all too often we have not ascended to our Lord in praise, but have descended into sin. In our sinful flesh we descend into chaos; we sing the funeral dirge that our sins have earned. We confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. This confession of our sin may not be popular or pretty, but it is good. That's why we confess our sins just before the Introit of the day.We start with confession, then receive the Absolution. For all the times we've descended into sin, Christ's forgiveness and love have descended to us to save us. Jesus went up to the Cross, was crucified, died, and was buried. Jesus descended into hell, and on the Third Day rose again. He ascended into heaven. He did all of this so that when you descend into sin, you will be forgiven. And you will sing with joy tomorrow and forever. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord,. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/26/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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The Annunciation of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 1:26-38Daily Lectionary:Genesis 40:1-23; Mark 10:32-52 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:31-33) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. An angel, the Virgin Mary, and the message that the Savior is soon to be born? Aren't we in the middle of the season of Lent? What's going on here? No, you didn't read the calendar wrong. Today the Church remembers and gives thanks to God for the angel Gabriel's annunciation of Jesus' birth to the Virgin Mary. There might still be nine months to go until Christmas Day, but in many ways, Lent is a wonderful time to remember the Annunciation of our Lord. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus' crucifixion for us, we pause to celebrate His birth for us. As we prepare for the joy of Easter and Christ's resurrection, we stop to remember the joy of His incarnation for us. As we prepare to celebrate with the angels at the empty tomb of our risen Lord, we pause to remember the message of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.It might seem odd to us, celebrating the Annunciation of Our Lord as we prepare to celebrate Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. And yet, for Christians in the ancient Church, this made perfect sense. The date of the Annunciation of Our Lord is March 25th because many in the early Church believed Jesus' crucifixion occurred on that date. Additionally, many people in the ancient world linked the day of a person's conception with the day of their death. So, when we celebrate the Annunciation of our Lord in March, in the middle of Lent, the Church is remembering both the Incarnation of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus, two events that reveal our Lord's great love, grace, and salvation for us. So today, with Mary, we rejoice that God has done and accomplished and made possible what we deemed impossible: His virgin birth and His death and resurrection to save us. Let it be to us, according to His Word! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/25/20226 minutes, 9 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 39:1-23; Mark 10:13-31 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (Genesis 39:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Even though he was thrown in a pit by his brothers. Even though he was sold into slavery. Even though his father Jacob thought he was dead. Even though he was hounded by temptation and sin by Potiphar's wife, thrown into prison, a long, long way from home down in Egypt. Even through all that, the Lord was with Joseph.The Lord never stopped being with Joseph. In the next chapter of Genesis we hear that God gave Joseph the ability to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and, in doing so, was able to prepare the land for a great famine. The Lord was with Joseph so that through him, Egypt, and even his own family, would find food when it became scarce. The Lord was with Joseph and brought about reconciliation between him and his brothers. What they meant for evil, God used for their good. And not only their good, but yours. Because the Lord was with Joseph, the people of Israel ended up in Egypt for over 400 years. Because Israel was in Egypt, the Lord rescued them in the Exodus and delivered them to the Promised Land. Because Israel was in the Promised Land, God brought about the passing of time through the period of judges, kings, a divided kingdom, exile, and return, preparing the way for the long-expected Messiah. And in the fullness of time the God who was with Joseph in Egypt was born to be our Immanuel, God with us.Like Joseph before him, Jesus even spent some time in exile in Egypt that He would rescue us all from slavery to sin, death, and the devil. Like Joseph before us, God is with us, too. When we are tempted to sin, the Lord is with us. When we fall into temptation, the Lord is with us to bring us to repentance and forgiveness. When we were in bondage to slavery and captive in the pit of death, Jesus was with us, just as He was with Joseph, to rescue, redeem, and restore us.And the same Lord who was with Joseph and with us in human flesh still dwells with us in His Word, water, Body and Blood. No matter what, the Lord is with you. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Keep watch over your church, O Lord, with your unfailing love; and, since it is grounded in human weakness and cannot maintain itself without your aid, protect it from all danger, and keep it in the way of salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/24/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism, Sixth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Genesis 37:1-36; Mark 10:1-12 You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in all we say and do, and that husband and wife love and honor each other. (Small Catechism: Sixth Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul writes, "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."Paul's words give us a good summary of Luther's explanation to the Sixth Commandment. Whether you are married, engaged, dating, or single, God calls you to be chaste--to honor our bodies in all stations of life. The Sixth Commandment isn't God's way of being a spoilsport. No, like all the other commandments, God gives this one for our good. In the Sixth Commandment God is protecting and preserving for us His gift of marriage and human sexuality. Sadly, like all of God's other gifts, sinful, fallen humanity has made a royal mess of this commandment and gift as well, through adultery, pornography, homosexuality--the list goes on. Scripture reveals the truth that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us have broken the Sixth Commandment. All of us have abused or misused or taken for granted God's gift of marriage and human sexuality. It might seem like the Sixth Commandment is the worst or biggest commandment we could break. And yet, even for our sins against this commandment, there is forgiveness. No matter how great our sins are against this or any other commandment, Christ's purity and holiness and faithfulness for you are far greater. Jesus led a pure and decent life in all He said and did for you. Jesus went to the Cross, revealing the depth of the Father's love and His compassion to save you. Indeed, you were bought with a price. In Jesus crucified, you are forgiven, redeemed, cleansed, and restored. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our heart by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. -Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/23/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:1-9Daily Lectionary: Genesis 35:1-29; Mark 9:33-50 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth). (Ephesians 5:8-9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Darkness in Scripture is always more than the physical absence of light. It is a spiritual darkness, too. The presence of disorder, chaos, and wanton evil. The darkness of sin. The shadow of death. The tenebrous shroud that overshadows God's creation which was once proclaimed, "very good." We live in darkness. A fallen world full of fallen men, who, Jesus declares, "love the darkness rather than the Light" (John 3:19). Humanity follows the broken compass of our fallen flesh, a needle constantly pointed inward, drawn by the gravity of our sinful, selfish desires. Such is the darkness of fallen mankind, a mind, will, and heart of darkness whose thoughts are continually evil. No wonder that C.S. Lewis, when writing his science-fiction space trilogy, called earth the "silent planet." Silent and dark.Notice Paul's choice of verbs. Once you were darkness. Past tense. Now you are light in the Lord. Present, indicative tense. In Christ, who is the Light of the world, our past sin and darkness have been changed into an eternally present reality: You are light in the Lord Jesus.Unlike our love that so often fades, God's brilliant love for us in Christ does not flicker. His grace and mercy to you cannot be snuffed out. Christ's peace is no rolling blackout whose light comes and goes. No. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. In His birth for us, His life for us, His death and resurrection for us, we have received God's true, enduring, endless, and eternal Light.In Jesus, you are a child of the light. You are a city set on a hill. Do not hide who you are, but "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Reflect the light of Christ as you share the Good News of Jesus, born for you, with your friends, coworkers, and neighbors. This, too, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/22/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Exodus 8:16-24Daily Lectionary:  Genesis 29:1-30; Mark 9:14-32 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said. (Exodus 8:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God's finger brought judgment upon Pharaoh and all his idols. Flies and lice soon gave way to darkness, and eventually death, save for those Israelites whose doorposts were covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.Pharaoh, however, isn't the only one whose hands have wrought wickedness and sin. We may not worship Ra or Amun like the Egyptians did, but make no mistake, we have our own idols all the same. Who or what is it that we look to for all our good? Who or what is it that we fear, love, and trust in above all things? Because of all the sin our hands and fingers, and sinful hearts have worked, we, too, deserve the wrath of the finger of God.But that's not what happened. Israel was saved from God's wrath by the blood of the passover lamb. You are saved by the One who is the Passover Lamb of God in human flesh: Jesus Christ. What's more, you are saved by the very same fingers of God that saved Israel in the Exodus.That's right, in Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary, God has ten human fingers that touched and healed the sick. Fingers that took bread and broke it and gave it to His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed. Fingers that writhed in pain as Jesus hung on the Cross to pay for all the sin our hands have wrought. The finger of God brought wrath and judgment to Pharaoh and Egypt. But in Jesus, God's fingers have brought you life and salvation forever. God rescued His children of Israel, just as He promised, through the blood on the doorposts, and the water of the Exodus. Our Lord Jesus does the same for each of us as well. He paints the doorposts of our mouth with His Holy Body and Blood and He saves us from bondage to sin, death, and the devil through the Red Sea of your Baptism. So whenever you see the Scriptures, the font, and the altar, you, too, can say, "This is the finger of God come to save me." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Look upon the heart-felt desires of your humble servants, Almighty God, and stretch forth the right hand of your majesty to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/21/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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The Third Sunday in Lent

Today's Reading: Luke 11:14-28Daily Lectionary: Genesis 27:30-45; 28:10-22; Mark 9:1-13 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when one stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils." (Luke 11:21-22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "He is possessed by Beelzebub and by the prince of demons he casts out demons" (Mark 3:22). It's the ultimate Old Testament insult: If you don't like what someone says, call ‘em the devil. In the Old Testament Beelzebub was a Caananite god, the lord of the flies, the god of dung. A crass euphemism for the ruler of death. Eventually it became another name for Satan. The Scribes are accusing Jesus of being in league with the devil, like in an old country song. Problem is, that's most illogical. Divided kingdoms don't stand. Divided houses fall. If Satan is actually opposed to himself, then his days are over.Jesus didn't join the devil's ranks. He came to defeat the devil. And it's a good thing He did. Like Adam and Eve, we're guilty of treason. "Fast bound in Satan's chains we lay" ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.2). That's why Jesus, the rightful King, lands in enemy occupied territory. Jesus comes for you. To your rescue. To save you. It's a great invasion, and Bethlehem is the beachhead. The wilderness temptation is a key battleground and skirmishes break out all over. Demons are cast out in Capernaum, Galilee, and Gerasene. Jesus is on the move, headed toward Jerusalem and the Cross, the last battle.Jesus dies the same way He is born: in humility and utter helplessness. "He must be crazy. So weak. How foolish," the world cries out. But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisest men. And the weakness of God is stronger than both men and the devil. So, this is Jesus' battle plan: "Bind the strong man" and plunder his goods. Jesus does what we are unable and unwilling to do. Jesus the Burglar comes in human flesh, ties up the devil, storms the dragon's lair and reclaims you, His rightful treasure. We're the plunder the Divine Thief carries off after He's tied up the strong man. We who were once dogs, rebels, and sinners are now Jesus' greatest treasure in the Cross. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent)-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/20/20226 minutes, 45 seconds
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St. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23Daily Lectionary: Genesis 27:1-29; Mark 8:22-38 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy him." (Matthew 2:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The last time an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, he was told not to be afraid. He was to take Mary as his wife. The child in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. His Name is Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins, the angel told him. All was going according to God's plan of salvation. Now, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph again. This time Joseph is warned in a dream to take the Christ Child and Mary, flee to Egypt, and escape Herod's treacherous, murderous plot to kill Jesus, the one born King of the Jews. And just as he did before, Joseph listened to the angel's word. We don't often pay attention to Joseph. This, on the one hand, is good. Joseph isn't the center of the story, Jesus is. On the other hand, it is good to remember and give thanks to God for Joseph, guardian of Jesus. For God gave Joseph an important part to play in the story of our salvation.It's quite the title, if you think about it: Guardian of Jesus. Wait, what? God Incarnate needs a guardian? Yes, He did. That's the joy and mystery of Christmas, but also of Lent and Easter. You see, God sent Joseph to be Mary's husband, and Jesus' guardian, so that when the time came to flee Egypt, he would be there to safeguard the Son of God and His mother. God sent Joseph to be Jesus' guardian so that in fleeing Herod's wrath, Jesus would one day grow up and go to the Cross to bear God's wrath for us. God sent Joseph to be Jesus' guardian so that Jesus would go to Jerusalem to be crucified under Pontius Pilate for you. God sent Joseph to be Jesus' guardian so that Jesus, the rightful King, would rule and reign from His crib to the Cross, and into all eternity, for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Joseph to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother, Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman in heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/19/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 24:32-52, 61-67; Mark 8:1-21 "And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink."'"(Genesis 24:42-43) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There's something in the water when it comes to wells in the Bible. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a bride from among his kinsmen for his son Isaac. Eventually, the servant returned home to Isaac with his bride-to-be, Rebekah. Later on, in Genesis 29, Isaac's son, Jacob, meets his future wife, Rachel, at--you guessed it--the well. In the Gospel of John, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, an outsider, at, of all places, a well. Only this time, the Offspring of Abraham isn't at the well to find a bride, but to show this woman, and all who call on His Name, that He is our heavenly Bridegroom, come to save us all by His life, death, and resurrection. At the well in John 4, Jesus is fulfilling the promise God made to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all believers of all time and place. Jesus is that Promised Seed, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Bridegroom who has come to save us, His lost, wayward, faithless Bride. Jesus sat next to that Samaritan woman at the well, not only for her sake, but for yours as well. "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13,14).The well of Genesis 24 gives way to a far deeper well, where the water of life flows freely out of Jesus' wounded side on the Cross. Water and blood flows into the font and the chalice. And out of this wellspring of eternal life Jesus makes for Himself a Holy Bride: you, His baptized, beloved people. Indeed, there's something in the water of your Baptism: the Word and promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turned us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/18/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Patrick, Missionary to Ireland

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 24:1-31; Mark 7:24-37 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." (Mark 7:33-34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Ephphatha. Be opened." This is what happens when Jesus, the Word made flesh, speaks. Jesus' Word opens. A little water in the form of spit united with His creative, does-what-He-says Word, and, "Open sesame!" The deaf man could hear. The mute man spoke. Jesus opened this man's ears and loosed his tongue. Jesus' Word opens.Today the Church remembers and gives thanks to God for St. Patrick, missionary to Ireland. The same Lord who opened the deaf-mute man's ears and mouth, also opened the mouth of St. Patrick to declare the praises and Good News of Christ crucified and risen to the Irish people. And there, too, God opened their hearts and minds by sending His Word and Spirit to create faith in Jesus.Our Lord does the same thing for you as well. It doesn't matter if you're Irish or not, or whether or not you're wearing any green at all. Our Lord has worked his Ephphatha for you, too. Jesus' hands, feet, and side were opened on the Cross to save you from sin, death, and darkness. Jesus opened His grave on Easter Sunday so that your grave will one day be opened again when He returns in glory. Jesus opened heaven for you when you were baptized by water, Word, and the Spirit. There, just as He did for the deaf-mute man, Jesus opened heaven for you.O Lord, open our lips to rejoice with St. Patrick: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger. "I bind unto myself today The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three" ("I Bind unto Myself Today" LSB 604, st.1). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, you chose your servant Patrick to be a missionary to the Irish people who were wandering in darkness and error. You bound unto them the trinitarian name through Baptism and faith that they might dwell in the light of Christ. Bind unto us this same strong name of the Trinity as we remember our Baptism and walk in His light, that we may come to dwell at last in the eternal light of the presence of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/17/20226 minutes, 33 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Fifth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Genesis 22:1-19; Mark 7:1-23 You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. (Small Catechism: Fifth Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week when we read about the Fourth Commandment, we reflected upon three questions: What does this commandment mean? What gift of God is He protecting and providing for us in this commandment? And, how does Jesus keep this commandment for us? The meaning of the Fifth Commandment goes deeper than we might expect. At first, we might think, "I've never murdered anyone! I'm good to go. Kept that commandment; now onto the next." Not so fast. The catechism helps us unpack the meaning of this commandment. It is not enough that we have refrained from murdering our neighbor. Jesus also teaches us that whoever hates his brother in his heart has broken this commandment as well. That is to say, there's an inward spiritual dimension to this commandment, not only an outward action. We easily break the Fifth Commandment without ever picking up a weapon to murder someone. Not only that, we fail to keep this commandment when we do not help and support our neighbor in their physical need.  And that's the answer to our second question. God gives the Fifth Commandment to protect and preserve His gift of our physical body and our bodily needs. This is what we pray for in the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer when we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."This is also why we pray, "Forgive us our trespasses." For we have failed to keep this commandment as well. In thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone, we have broken the Fifth Commandment. What we deserve is the death sentence for our sins. Only that's not what we receive. Remember that important third question: How does Jesus keep this commandment for me? Jesus keeps both sides of this commandment, the inward and the outward parts. By His every thought, word, and deed, Jesus kept the Fifth Commandment for you. And on the Cross, He left nothing undone to save you, body and soul. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, you know that we have no power to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/16/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7Daily Lectionary: Genesis 21:1-21; Mark 6:35-56 For this is the will of God, your sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sanctification is the word of the day from Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians. Sanctification means "to make holy." If you look at church history, you'll notice that a lot of ink has been spilled about the Scripture's teaching on sanctification, and the Christian life of good works. Some say that good works are required for salvation, like paying for tickets to ride a rollercoaster at the fair. Some say that good works are harmful to our salvation, because we might be tempted to use them like a crutch. Notice the problem in both errors about sanctification and good works: They both focus the Christian inwardly, back to our navel-gazing ways.Paul, however, points us to the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our sanctification. It is the will of God, he writes. That's the way it is with anything that is called holy. It all comes from, is supported by, and happens through the work of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's Word is holy, for it comes from Him who is holy. God's gifts of Absolution, Baptism, and the Supper are holy because they are filled with His Holy Word, promise, and life. Anything that is holy comes from God. The same is true of our sanctification, or our life of good works. We are God's holy people because we have been declared and made holy in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy One of Israel.When we look in the mirror, we see an unholy mess. Sexual immorality, lust, unbelief, stealing from others, and the list of our uncleanliness goes on, Paul writes.Thankfully, that list is wiped clean, and you are made holy by the blood of Jesus crucified. God gave His Son to live a holy, sanctified life for you. Jesus died an unholy death to clothe you in His holiness. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to work faith in your heart, and holiness in your life. Rejoice, for your salvation and your sanctification are the will and work of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of Hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hand pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/15/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Genesis 32:22-32Daily Lectionary: Genesis 18:1-15; Mark 6:14-34 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one likes losing. It doesn't matter if it's a job, a ballgame, a barroom brawl or Monopoly. You see, we follow the principle that if you're not first, you're last. Those are the ways of man.But those are not the ways of God. When it comes to fighting with and for His people, God is the biggest and the happiest loser. For when God loses, we win; and when we win, God wins. This is what happened back in Genesis 32. On the banks of the Jabbok Jacob wrestled with God. God got in the ring with Joseph and went all ten rounds. And to our surprise, Jacob won. God lost. The remarkable thing is not that God appeared as a man, not that He picked a fight with Jacob, but that God lost. And here is the even more remarkable thing: God delighted in losing. When God loses we win. That's the way it was for Jacob. "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God and have prevailed." Jacob is given a new name: Israel, the God-fighter. He saw God face to face and lived. God works the same for you. When God loses, you win. Look no further than the Cross where Christ, who is first, became last for our sakes.Jesus turns the world upside down. No Cross, no glory. No death, no resurrection. Good Friday must come before Easter. And if you try to save your life on your own terms you'll lose it forever. If you lose your life for Jesus' sake you'll find it. That's the paradox of the Gospel. The Cross is Christ's glory and yours. Losing is living. Dying is life.Christ comes ready to fight for our very lives. Jesus is not content until He has wrestled away every last sin from you and given you every last blessing of His. For when Jesus loses His life for you on the Cross, you gain everything in Him. And when He rises victoriously from the grave, death loses once again. And in Jesus you are alive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten Son to reconcile earth with heaven; Grant that we, loving you above all things, may love our friends in you, and our enemies for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/14/20226 minutes, 48 seconds
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The Second Sunday in Lent

Today's Reading: Matthew 15:21-28Daily Lectionary: Genesis 16:1-9, 15-17:22; Mark 6:1-13  "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." (Matthew 15:27) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. She is desperate. She has no one to turn to. Her daughter is deeply oppressed by a demon. The woman is at the end of her rope. Jesus is all she has left. She heard He was coming into her region, the district of Tyre and Sidon, the far north coast county named after the great-grandson of Noah. The problem is, she's a Canaanite. Canaanites were Gentiles, idolaters, enemies of Israel and God. She has no business talking to a Jewish rabbi. Yet somehow she knows Jesus can help. She's heard the stories of His healing and miracles. So she comes with all boldness and confidence: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. . . "Strange words coming from the lips of a Canaanite. "Son of David" is Israelite talk. This is the language of the faithful expecting the promised Messiah. But isn't that how it is for us, too? That we, who have no right to claim any favor from God, are given the right to be called sons of God. That's the promise of Holy Baptism. We were Gentiles, idolaters, and enemies of God. But then God threw us into the water, washed us, and gave us a new identity. We're transformed and given the faith of Abraham. Children of the promise. Heirs with Christ. We pray, "Our Father," in all boldness and confidence as dear children ask their dear father. We pray the same way the Canaanite woman did: "Yes, Lord. You're right about me. I am a poor, miserable, mangy, mutt of a sinner." And yet He cleanses you from all sin. Your Baptism is a divine flea bath, washing away all your sin. Jesus gives more than a crumb. Jesus gives you Himself. Jesus became the outsider and the dog for you. Jesus died for the Canaanite woman and for you. Jesus died in humility in order to raise you up and seat you at His table, not as dogs but as His beloved Bride. Where we would settle for a crumb, Christ gives a feast, His Body and His Blood shed for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/13/20226 minutes, 26 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday in Lent            (Psalm 25: 1-2a, 7-8, 11; antiphon: v. 6, 2b, 22)Daily Lectionary: Genesis 15:1-21; Mark 5:21-43 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Let not my enemies exult over me. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday in Lent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We generally think of remembering something as a purely mental activity. When it comes to God's remembering, however, it's more than a mental exercise. When God remembers, God acts. When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God remembered and sent ten plagues followed by the rescue through the Red Sea. When Hannah prayed to God for a son, God remembered and acted. God gave Hannah a son, Samuel. So the psalmist cries out, "Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old." When God remembers, He acts. We join the psalmist in praying these words by asking God not only to remember in His eternal, merciful mind, but also to act. To rescue. To save and deliver. And He does. God remembers. God acts. God sends His steadfast love incarnate. The God whose mercy is "from of old" becomes an infant just a few days old. The God who redeemed Israel with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm from Egypt, stretches out His arms on the Cross to redeem you. The God who remembered and acted to save Israel time and time again, remembers and acts to save you once and for all.Do you remember what the thief on the cross said as they were hanging there dying? "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Remember me. Act. Save and deliver me. That is our prayer in our sin as well. That is our prayer in the hour of trial and distress. In our time of despair and doubt. In the face of death. Remember me, O Lord. Forgive me. Lord Jesus, Son of God remember me in your mercy. And He does. God remembers. God acts. Jesus is crucified for you. Risen for you. Ascended for you. Seated at the right hand of God for you where He lives and rules and reigns to remember, that is, to act eternally on your behalf. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/12/20226 minutes, 28 seconds
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Friday of the First Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 13:1-18; Mark 5:1-20 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (Genesis 13:14-15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we heard how God called Abram. Today we hear how God gives to Abram. Even though Lot chose the proverbial greener grasses, God reveals that He is also the God who gives. God tells Abram to look in every direction on the compass, north and south, east and west. "You see all that land, Abram? It's all yours. It's your inheritance and your descendants' inheritance."God is the God who gives. God gives Abram a son: Isaac. God gives Isaac a son: Jacob. God gives Jacob a new name: Israel. God's gift and promise to Abram was starting to unfold. But God wasn't done giving yet. God gave Jacob many sons, one of whom was Joseph, who was eventually sold into slavery.And then, about 400 years years later, God gave His children Israel His promise to rescue and deliver them out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. God gave them victory over Pharoah and a path through the Red Sea. God gave them the tabernacle and sacrifices for sin. God gave them the Promised Land where one day, many, many years later, God would give His own Son to keep and fulfill the promises He made to Abram so long ago.God gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. God is the God who gives. Jesus gives His perfect life in exchange for our failures and sins. Jesus gives His death on the Cross in exchange for the punishment we deserved. Jesus gives us His body into the grave and out again in the resurrection. Jesus is still the God who gives. Jesus gives you a new name and makes you an offspring of Abram by faith delivered in water and Word by the Spirit. Jesus gives you His holy, saving Word of Absolution. Jesus gives you His Body and Blood in the Supper. Jesus gives you His Word and promise just like He did to Abram. And just like Abram, God is the God who gives His gifts to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so that it might produce what is needed for life: Bless those who work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant that we may all share the fruits for the earth, rejoicing in your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/11/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week of Lent

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 11:27-12:20; Mark 4:21-41 The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you." (Genesis 12:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is the God who calls. In the beginning God called out, "Let there be light," and there was light. God called Noah and saved his family in the ark. God called Israel out of Egypt and rescued them in the Exodus. God called David to be His anointed king and foreshadow the true Anointed King, Jesus. God called prophet after prophet until He finally called His only begotten Son. All of this was foretold to Abram when God called him to leave his own country and go to the place God would show him. God is the God who calls. Here in Genesis 12, God calls Abram to faith. God gives him a promise: "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."God's promise to Abram is fulfilled and kept in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for you. That's right. God's promise to Abram is also God's promise to you. The God who called Abram also calls you. God is the God who calls.God the Father calls you to faith in His Son Jesus by the Holy Spirit. And the same Lord who called His twelve disciples to follow Him calls you out of death and into life. You are called God's child in your Baptism. You are called out of darkness into Christ's marvelous light.And just like Jesus' disciples, you are called to follow Him in whatever vocations He gives you throughout your life. God may not call you to leave your home country and family like He did Abram. But wherever He calls you to serve and love your neighbor, He will always be with you, just as He was with Abram. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, Who did cause the children of Israel to traverse the Red Sea dryshod; Thou Who did point out by a star to the Magi the road that led them to Thee; grant us we beseech Thee, a prosperous journey and propitious weather; so that, under the guidance of Thy holy angels we may safely reach that journey's end, and later the haven of eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/10/20226 minutes
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Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Fourth CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Genesis 8:13-9:17; Mark 4:1-20 Honor your father and mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. (Small Catechism: Fourth Commandment) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When it comes to the Ten Commandments, there are a few basic questions that we can ask ourselves every time we read them, whether in the Scriptures or in Luther's Small Catechism. Today's reading gives us the first basic question that follows each of the Ten Commandments. It's the quintessential catechism question: What does this mean? Thankfully, the catechism unpacks what it means to honor father and mother. That leads us to the next helpful question: What gift is God giving us and protecting for us in this commandment? We might not think of God's commandments as gifts, but they certainly are. God's commandments diagnose our sin. They do damage control on a fallen world. And they discipline us, His people, in His ways. And behind all of that, the commandments also reveal God's divine, Fatherly goodness. You see, God's Law is given because living in His ways and Word is how He gives us what is best for us. So, in the Fourth Commandment, God is giving us the gift of authority and vocation, and the gifts of family, parents, and other authorities. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, now matter who we are, we will always be under some kind of authority. Sadly, we know, sinful, fallen humanity has made a mess of God's gift of authority in every part of life, in the home, society, government, and even in the church. Why? Because every one of us is a sinner. Every one of us fails to honor father and mother. Every one of us breaks the Fourth Commandment.This leads to the third, and most important question of all: How has Jesus kept this commandment for me? For every time we've broken the Fourth Commandment, Jesus perfectly honored, served, obeyed, loved, and cherished not only Mary and Joseph, but also His heavenly Father. He did this for you. Jesus kept the Fourth Commandment for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA. Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/9/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10Daily Lectionary: Genesis 7:11-8:12; Mark 3:20-35 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When is the day of our salvation? Was it when Jesus died on the Cross and rose again? Was it the day of your Baptism into Jesus' death and resurrection? Is it when you hear God's Word and receive His Holy Sacraments? The answer, Paul says, is "Yes. All of the above! Now is the day of salvation." Ponder that for a moment. Your salvation happened the day Jesus was born for you. Your salvation happened when Jesus lived perfectly for you. Your salvation happened as Jesus died on the Cross for you. Your salvation happened when He rose from the grave on that first day of the week. Your salvation happened when He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. In God's gracious mystery revealed in Scripture, your salvation happened before the foundation of the world. And yet, Paul says, it also happens today. Now is the day of your salvation. That means that your salvation happens, right now, as Jesus pleads for you, prays for you, and intercedes for you at the Father's right hand. Your salvation happens when you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest His Holy Word. Your salvation happens when your pastor declares, "In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sin." Your salvation happens on the day of your Baptism and every day until our Lord returns in glory and raises us from the dead. Your salvation happens when you kneel and receive Jesus' Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. When God's Word fills your ears, now is the day of salvation. When you remember your Baptism, now is the day of salvation. When you eat and drink Jesus' Body and Blood, now is the day of your salvation.  Because Jesus was born, lived, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again in the past, God's gifts to you are always present tense. Yesterday's sins, today's griefs, tomorrow's burdens. They are all answered and borne by Jesus crucified for you. And not only on the Cross, but also today. For now is the day of your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, by your Word you marvelously carry out the work of reconciliation: Grant that in our Lenten fast we may be devoted to you with all our hearts, and united with one another in prayer and holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA. Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/8/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Monday of the First Week of Lent

Today's Reading: Genesis 3:1-21Daily Lectionary: Genesis 6:1-7:5; Mark 3:1-19 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. (Genesis 1:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What's the first sacrifice in the Bible? Is it when Noah steps out of the ark onto the dry land of the new creation? Is it the animals or offerings of the field that Cain and Abel brought to the Lord? Those are all sacrifices, but they are not the first.  If you listen to the words of Genesis 3:21, it appears that the first sacrifice to cover sin follows closely on the heels of Adam and Eve's fall into sin. It seems like such a small verse. Like a small town you pass on the interstate. Blink and it's gone. The Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed Adam and his wife. Clothing made of animal skins could only have come from one place. An animal gave its life to clothe naked, guilty, ashamed Adam and Eve. After the curses. After the promise of the Seed of the Woman who would crush Satan's head (Genesis 3:15). God goes to work as a gracious tailor, exchanging Adam and Eve's fig leaves for a robe of sacrificial righteousness. They were covered by the death of an animal. A substitute. A sacrifice. In the Scriptures, atonement for sin is always a bloody business. This unnamed animal here in Genesis 3. The sacrifices of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The countless sacrifices of Aaron and the Levites in the tabernacle and later the temple. It all points us to the great sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross for Adam and Eve and all creation, and for you.  Jesus, the innocent, holy, spotless Lamb of God is bruised, beaten, and bloodied on the Cross to save you. Like Adam and Eve you are clothed in the sacrifice of another. It wasn't an animal, but the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is your substitute. Your sacrifice.  Jesus dies that we might live. Jesus hangs naked on the Cross to clothe us in the robes of His righteousness. Jesus exchanges our filthy, sin-ridden garments with His holy, spotless garments of salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/7/20226 minutes, 18 seconds
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The First Sunday in Lent

Today's Reading: Matthew 4:1-11Daily Lectionary: Genesis 4:1-26; Mark 2:18-28 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus is tempted three times. Tempted to turn stones into bread instead of relying upon the sustenance of God the Father's Word. Tempted to throw Himself down to His death instead of dying on the Cross. Tempted to bow down in idolatry instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in the Father above all things. Each and every one of Satan's lies and empty promises are met by Jesus' rebuke: "It is written." It is the Word of God made flesh and the Word He speaks that silences and chases away the devil.  Jesus is tempted three times. Sound familiar? Adam and Eve were tempted three times as well. Only they failed. They fell. They sinned. They swallowed the devil's lies. So do we. God's Word reveals that, like Adam and Eve, we're tempted, and fall into sin. Not just three times, but daily. We're tempted by our passions while at our computers. We're tempted with doubt and despair of God's promises when we have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. We're tempted by our pride to live as if God did not matter and as if I mattered most. And like Adam and Eve, we fail, we fall, we sin. This is why Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted, not for His own sake, but for yours. Jesus was tempted three times for all the times we are tempted. Jesus withstood temptation for all the times we fall into sin. Jesus overcame the devil's lies for all the times we have failed. Jesus was faithful for all of our unfaithfulness. Where Adam and Eve, and each of us, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Jesus withstood temptation each and every time for you.  The battle Satan wages with Jesus in the wilderness is won in crucified victory on the Cross. And in Jesus crucified, all of our temptations, failures, and sins, are washed away in the blood of Jesus. For it is written, "It is finished." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Lent)-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/6/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Today's Reading: Introit for the First Sunday in Lent            (Psalm 91:1-2, 9-10, 13; antiphon: v. 15a, c, 16)Daily Lectionary: Genesis 3:1-24; Mark 2:1-17 I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (From the Introit for the First Sunday in Lent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow, on the First Sunday in Lent, many Lutheran churches will sing Martin Luther's famous Reformation hymn, "A Mighty Fortress." At first, you might think this hymn is being sung a little out of season. After all, we typically sing it on Reformation Sunday in October. Strange as it may seem at first, "A Mighty Fortress" is a perfect hymn for the First Sunday in Lent. In this hymn, we sing against the devil. As we did at our Baptism, we continue to renounce all his works and all his ways. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. So, we pick up this hymn as our Lenten war cry. When the devil throws our guilt and sins back in our face, or when he hurls his fiery darts of temptation our way, we sing, "A mighty fortress is our God!" In Jesus, our crucified and risen King, the devil is done. The ancient dragon is defeated. The serpent's head is trampled under the foot of Jesus crucified. In this hymn, we echo the psalms: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). Usually shadows are a bad thing. Dark deeds happen in the shadows. We live in the valley of the shadow of death. But the shadow of the Almighty is the shade of Jesus' Cross. Let sin, death, the devil, and this fallen world rage around you: In the wounds and words of Jesus, you are safe, secure, and saved. In this hymn we also sing of God's sure and certain protection. The imagery of this hymn reflects the rich imagery of Scriptures, the psalms in particular. Throughout the psalms we find such beautiful, good, and true words like the ones we hear in Psalm 91. God is our mighty fortress. Jesus crucified is your refuge. His saving gifts of water, Word, Jesus' Body and Blood are our safe haven. His Holy Church is your ark and your shelter from the storm. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/5/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Friday after Ash Wednesday

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10Daily Lectionary: Genesis 2:4-25; Mark 1:29-45 For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Even though the season of Lent has just begun, think back to Christmas. Imagine sitting around in a circle with family or friends at a Christmas white elephant gift exchange. There's always that one person who forgets the instructions and brings an expensive gift to a clean-out-your-closet gift exchange. You brought junk, but Uncle Fred over there brought treasure.  There's a glimpse of the Gospel in this famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Christmas tradition. It's what Martin Luther called the blessed or sweet exchange. Luther said it this way: "God is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ's and the righteousness of Christ is ours. He has emptied Himself of His righteousness that He might clothe us with it, and fill us with it. He has taken our evils upon Himself that He might deliver us from them." This is what Paul proclaims when he writes in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus takes on all our sin, unholiness, and unrighteousness, and in exchange, gives us His forgiveness, His holiness, and His righteousness. Jesus takes the punishment we deserved, the death we had coming, and the wrath of God that we had earned, and in exchange, He sets us free, raises us from the dead, and showers us with His steadfast love and mercy. Sounds awfully unfair, doesn't it? And it is. But thank God He is unfair! Thank God we don't get what we deserve, but rather, that in Jesus crucified we get the opposite of what we deserve. We receive God's grace. Thank God for His outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners. Thank God that Jesus, who was perfect and sinless, became sin for us, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth your right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/4/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Today's Reading: Joel 2:12-19Daily Lectionary: Genesis 1:20-2:3; Mark 1:14-28 "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." (Joel 2:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Repentance is one of the watch words of the Lenten season. "Turn to Me," says the Lord. In other words, repent. Repentance means to turn away from sin and return to the Lord. Repentance means, "You were walking the way of sin and death; but now in Jesus' life and death and resurrection, you walk in His ways." As we learn and confess in Luther's Small Catechism, we live a life of repentance and forgiveness by daily dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ. Repent. Return. Turn to Me. Sounds good. But how do we do that? How do we repent, turn away from sin and turn to God? We don't. We can't. Wait, what? It sounds strange at first. But think about it. How do we know our sins? God's Word reveals them through His Word of Law. How do we see our sin for what it is and ask for forgiveness? The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. How do we return to God when all we really want to do is return to our sin? It is God who "repents" you, who turns your heart back to Him. You see, God's work for you isn't done when He calls you to faith in Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work to save you and repent you as well. God shows us our sin so that He might all the more clearly show us our salvation in Jesus.  Repentance, then, isn't work we do to please God, but the work God is pleased to do in us through His Word by the Holy Spirit. Repentance isn't God's arcade game prize shop where we trade in our good works of repentance for a shiny trinket. No. From start to finish, repentance is God's work.  And wherever you find God's work of repentance, His Good News of redemption is there to save you. Confession leads to Absolution. As the prophet Joel declares, "Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm" (Joel 2:13). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and, finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/3/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Ash Wednesday

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21Daily Lectionary: Genesis 1:1-9; Mark 1:1-13 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting." (Matthew 6:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's not hard to imagine what the social media accounts of the  Pharisees would have looked like if Twitter or Facebook had existed back in Jesus' day: Humble brags. Pre- and post-Sabbath Day selfies. More holy hashtags than spots on a dalmatian. Jesus' words here in Matthew 6 reveal that virtue signaling was just as popular in the first century as it is now. The Pharisees were obsessed with the man in the mirror. They loved showing off their holiness like Joseph and his coat of many colors. They liked to strut their righteousness like a peacock through the streets.  The problem, however, goes much deeper. What Jesus was teaching His disciples then, and is teaching us now, is that the problem of our sin, and its solution in Jesus' sacrifice for sin, is far more than skin deep. Jesus warns His disciples then, and us today, that underneath those furrowed brows and disfigured faces there is a far greater, more disfigured sinful heart that is wicked above all things. The problem, Scripture tells us, isn't just with the Pharisees. It's our problem, too. There dwells within each of us a little Pharisee, our Old Adam, as Luther called it. Behind all unrighteousness is self-righteousness. Behind self-righteousness is the First Commandment. We do not fear, love, or trust in God above all things. Like the Pharisees, we constantly look to our own thoughts, words, actions, and emotions to justify ourselves before others, and before God. That's why Ash Wednesday is a good day. We're reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. That all our righteousness is like a filthy rag. We're also reminded that though our sins were as scarlet, Christ has made them white as snow. And though our unrighteousness is great, the righteousness that is given to us in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is far greater. Be of good cheer, yes, even in Lent. For your righteousness isn't found in the mirror or on your social media feed. It's found in Jesus crucified and risen for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Ash Wednesday) -Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschLearn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/2/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Tuesday of Quinquagesima

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13Daily Lectionary: Job 32:1-22; John 10:1-21Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love is all these things. Patient. Kind. All-bearing. It's almost a little intimidating. Because I'm not these things. I'm out at "patient." I'm not the embodiment of love. God is love. If I want to see a picture of love, I should start with my Savior instead of with my mirror. When you read this passage, don't think of the descriptions of love as hurdles to overcome. Replace the word "love" with the word "Jesus" and you'll be a lot closer to what Paul actually means. Love never ends. That's not a testament to the power of your relationships or the undying power of a Hallmark movie plot. It's the Omega. This passage is a description of what God is for you. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. The love that bears all things bore the Cross for you. This is a love that endures. Even the grave comes undone before this love can pass away. The love that God has for you is our everything. Paul is right: Even if we speak in the tongues of the angels themselves, but have not love, we are nothing but a noisy cymbal, and if we have all the powers of all the prophets, the knowledge of every mystery of the universe, and the faith to move mountains, if that faith is not in Jesus, it does us no good. When we look at ourselves, we see love in the mirror dimly, but to look at Him is to see love face to face. That's not a call to abandon love for neighbor. It's not a pass to ignore this text. It's a joy to know that even what we do in part will pass away before the face of Him who knows us fully and still loves us enough to save us where our works and love for one another cannot. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. Your faith and hope are not discounted, but only because they are in Jesus, love made flesh to save you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The King of love my shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His And He is mine forever. ("The King of Love My Shepherd Is" LSB 709, st.1)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
3/1/20226 minutes, 2 seconds
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Monday of Quinquagesima

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13Daily Lectionary: Job 31:1-12, 33-40; John 9:24-41Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord rejected Saul from being king over Israel. He tells Samuel to stop mourning him. He tells Samuel to anoint David. And the Spirit of the LORD remained on David from that day forward. David commits adultery and murder. Why David and not Saul? Why some and not others?  It's part of the song Hannah sings over Samuel when he is still an infant. "He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail" (1 Samuel 2:9). It's in the word "wicked." Wicked doesn't mean "naughty." It means "unbelieving." David is a sinner, the same as Saul is. Maybe worse. David, when confronted with God's Word, clung to it in repentance. The Law worked contrition. The Gospel worked hope. Saul, when confronted with God's Word, ran and turned further inward on himself to avoid it. Faith isn't a measurement of obedience. It's the gift given by God through the means of hearing His Word. It's the trust given by the God who makes alive what sin would destroy. David heard the Word, and by the power of the Spirit, clung to it in faith as a sinner redeemed, and was guarded unto eternal life, even from himself. God speaks Law and Gospel to you. Both are good gifts for you to hear. Sinners hear Law and Gospel and say, "Amen." The wicked close their ears.  It's our nature to avoid pain. Which also means it's in our nature to avoid the sting of the Law. God doesn't give the Law to reject us, though. He didn't will Saul's fall. It's in our nature to assume that the Law is bad and must come from a bad God. The Law is a good gift from God that interjects and pulls us away from the war we wage against God. He gives us His Law because the parts of us that flee from Him and His promises need to die. Sin needs to be brought to nothing on the Cross. Old Adam needs to drown so that the new man may arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Hear and believe that your sins, though many, are blotted out. Jesus has died for you. You are baptized, and in this faith God will guard and keep you forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Its light of holiness imparts The knowledge of our sinful hearts That we may see our lost estate And turn from sin before too late. ("The Law of God Is Good and Wise" LSB 579, st.2)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/28/20226 minutes, 38 seconds
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Quinquagesima

Today's Reading: Luke 18:31-43Daily Lectionary: Job 30:16-31; John 9:1-23And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:39)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The crowd is so offended that someone would actually need something from the Jesus who just promised to be crucified and rise from the dead to save sinners. One thing hasn't changed about the crowds who gather for the "Jesus Show." For all the talk about God's being our Savior, it's amazing how quickly we turn on each other when someone actually needs help. It starts inside ourselves with the shame we feel in having to depend on help ourselves. It's quite something to acknowledge that I actually am so broken that I need it. I'm not just here at church for the nice feeling, the community, or even just theology to study and understand. I need help. Enough to be desperate for it. Enough to beg for it. That's harder. Because it feels like the rest of the crowd is just here to lend their support, and you're the one guy in the whole place who's different, less, and sadly, even rebuked sometimes. We want to measure gain, not loss, and show that we don't need anything. The closer we get to that, the further we get from love. Honestly, the farther we get from God, too. Ours is a merciful God. It's a truth you hear and even sing every week. It is seen in the simplest prayer of the Church, the same one in this text: the Kyrie. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. This prayer is what the world doesn't understand about the Church. We have a God who helps sinners. The people who see more clearly than anyone are the ones in need, even if they're blind. The blind man saw something everyone else missed, and understood something that even the disciples didn't. God came to help those in need. Need, as in, you can't "just get better." Can't just quit. God came to be merciful, to the degree that He would be delivered over to the Gentiles, be mocked and shamefully treated, and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they would kill Him, and on the Third Day He would rise. This is what mercy looks like. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers, and having set us free from the bonds of our sins, deliver us from every evil; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Quinquagesima)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/27/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of Sexagesima

Today's Reading: Introit for Quinquagesima (Psalm 31:1, 5, 9, 16; antiphon: vs.2b-3)Daily Lectionary: Job 21:1-21; John 8:39-59 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! (From the Introit for Quinquagesima)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If God is our rock of refuge, we are refugees. It's a humbling word. It isn't just that God is our security, which sounds nice in a vague sort of way. Refugees are people who can't stay in their homeland. It's not safe. They need help. Without it they'll die. It's a bleak picture of the world in which we try to build kingdoms. Our world is dying. We don't have a home here anymore. We don't have shelter anymore. We live hand to mouth. It's a long way from the white picket fence and happy family most people covet. Lent is coming. It's a chance to recognize that homes and picket fences are not the things that save us, and to fear, love, and trust in them above all things is a certain path toward destruction. Idolatry will not save you, no matter how pretty you paint it. But Lent also isn't a call to cast these things aside if you do have them. It was God who gave them to you. Having stuff is not a test to see whether or not you'll give them back in order to prove that you love God. It's just a reality that the stuff that makes up daily bread will turn to dust someday. Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. Refugees migrate toward safety. The psalm is the prayer of the one who knows where true refuge lies. We cling to God's redemption. We cling to the Cross of Christ. We cling to the forgiveness of sins won, where the righteousness of God is given to sinners. When the wages of sin press down, we have a prayer that finds hope in that which sin could not destroy and death could not conquer. Even in this vale of tears, we have a rock of refuge, who is Christ. When all else crumbles, He is our fortress. Not just some day. The redemption has already happened. Today He makes His face shine on us. Today He leads and guides us. If we are refugees, we commit our spirits to the One who grants us a heavenly home and keeps us safe until we receive it, even Jesus Christ our Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life's desert dreary, Savior from the world above: Often have Your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner's fall; Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all. ("Jesus Refuge of the Weary" LSB 423, st.1)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/26/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Friday of Sexagesima

Daily Lectionary: Job 20:1-23, 29; John 8:21-38Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." (John 8:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Words of slavery are always the most optimistic. When there's no escape, you don't have to waste time hoping for something realistic. Addicts say things like, "I'm fine. It's okay. I have a plan,"  all the while lying in a gutter and smiling about it. It's the ugly truth about the bondage of sin. The same kind of slavery happens under the Law in the name of religion. It doesn't look like it's the Law telling you what to do. It looks like it's you who can't keep from doing the stuff that's killing you. You can even dare to think that it's your job to fix it somehow. Those are the dreams that leave you wanting to love Jesus but hating yourself while looking for an excuse for everything you do that He says not to. When you can't describe yourself without balancing your accomplishments and failures on a lopsided hill, hoping nobody notices, you know. Anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. If your religion is just false optimism based on trying harder in the face of everything that hasn't worked yet, then Christianity has become a race towards not needing God. And that's not working. It's just the bold dreams of another addict. That's not okay with the Son. He sets sinners free. He is bound to the Cross in their stead. He bears the weight of the bondage of sin. He dies for you, and your sins are forgiven. Now you are bound to the Cross, too. That's where the real freedom is. It isn't license to do whatever you want. It's hope in an escape so rooted in reality that they buried Him in a tomb and three days later He moved the rock so you'd see. Jesus rose from death. You are free, indeed. You are free from having to fix this. You are free from being known by what the Law would call you. You are free from excuses that hide from wrath. You are even free to love yourself as God first loved you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen."This is the Christ, our God Most High, Who hears your sad and bitter cry; He will Himself your Savior be From all your sins to set you free." ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" LSB 358, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/25/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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St. Matthias, Apostle

Today's Reading: Acts 1:15-26Daily Lectionary: Job 19:1-12, 21-27; John 8:1-20In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said. . .  (Acts 1:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about going to seminary? I don't think they introduce the topic by talking about Judas in the pamphlets. That's how Matthias is introduced, though. "Let's find a new pastor because Judas messed up so bad." I guess it sets the bar achievably low. Don't be remembered as "the one who betrayed him." It also doesn't paint a cheery picture for the new guy. Matthias' introduction has more in it about Judas than about him. None of it's good, either. It doesn't seem like a great introduction to the Office of the Holy Ministry.But Peter is  preaching wisdom even before Pentecost. He stood up and said, "The Scripture had to be fulfilled concerning Judas." Even among the tragedy, God's will is done. It was not God's will that Judas kill himself. There's a specific commandment against that. It was not His will that Judas carry the burden of his own sin. Jesus bore the Cross for that. What Judas did was also not enough to thwart God's Word and promise. The Scriptures would be fulfilled. The Christ would suffer and die for the sins of the world. Nothing can stop that, and nothing should try. It's actually a gift to anyone who would ever consider standing in a pulpit. You can and will sin and fall short of God's command. You will not embody His Law. But you will be the one through which He fulfills His will anyway. Judas' fall led to Christ's sacrifice for him and for all. Matthias, called by the Holy Spirit, will be a tool of the same God who wants all to believe and be saved. Matthias bore witness to the resurrection. Jesus, who died, is risen. For Judas' sins, for yours, and for all. None of what went wrong can put Him back in the tomb. Matthias, who we know very little about, proclaimed what we know he saw. Christ is risen. Here, God's will is done, too. The Office doesn't rest on the man, but on the will of God to speak of the Good News. To preach the whole counsel of God. To give the Gifts that sustain even as they fulfill the Scriptures that promise life to you. The Scriptures have to be fulfilled. So when your pastor preaches to you, God works salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For one in place of Judas, Th'apostles sought God's choice; The lot fell to Matthias For whom we now rejoice. May we like true apostles Your holy Church defend, And not betray our calling But serve You to the end. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 517, st.13)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/24/20226 minutes, 31 seconds
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Wednesday of Sexagesima

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Third CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Job 18:1-21; John 7:32-53Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. (Small Catechism: Third Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God wasn't tired after making everything. The Sabbath isn't a chance to parrot God's catching His breath. The focus on abstaining from work on the Sabbath Day misses the point. The point of the commandment is in the word "holy." You will not be holier by sitting on the couch eating junk food. Jesus insists that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath, because this day was not given as a measuring stick for you to prove yourself to God by. . . doing nothing. It only serves to prove how sinful we are that we somehow fail at even doing nothing to the point that the Pharisees would pick at each other and even at our Lord. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Instead of looking to your works, look to something actually holy. Look to Jesus. The Sabbath Day won't become holy to you who are unholy in your sins. There's nothing you can do to make the day holy. It's like trying to clean a table with a dirty rag. The Sabbath Day becomes holy for you when you're exposed to something holy. The Sabbath Day becomes holy to you when you do not despise preaching or God's Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Go to church. Receive God's gifts. He insists that a day be set aside to make you holy. The reason God set aside the seventh day wasn't because He was tired. It was so God could spend time with you. Our rest is found in receiving the Word and Sacraments that take away our sins and leave us holy. It's also why we celebrate the Sabbath on the first day of the week, not the seventh. This is the day Jesus rose from the grave. This is the day a holy God conquered unholy sin and death. It isn't about the day. It's about the gifts. He gives you His Body and Blood to eat and drink. He gives you His Word, promising peace, forgiveness, and joy. He sets aside time and insists that you join Him so you will not remain in your unholiness and sin. He would dwell with you to cleanse you and bring you with Him to the last great day when the Sabbath rest will be unending. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen."You shall observe the worship day That peace may fill your home, and pray, And put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you." Have mercy, Lord! ("These are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.4)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/23/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Tuesday of Sexagesima

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 11:19-12:9Daily Lectionary: Job 17:1-16; John 7:14-31But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul needs to work on the art of the humble brag. This stuff's a little over the top. I don't even know what the "third heaven" is. People wonder about the thorn in his flesh. Even though we know what the shipwrecks and beatings are, they're difficult to conceive of in detail. Okay, Paul. We get it. Chill.He's writing to the church in Corinth, which was full of people who built themselves up by their works, their gifts, and at the expense of their neighbor. He's proving a point. If these works are a measurement of Christianity, Corinth can't brag. Paul clearly can, though. He just won't. It ruins the math. If Christ is our righteousness, and we boast in ourselves, we boast in taking something away from Christ. Paul, whose righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, still isn't righteous enough to save himself. So instead, he focuses on those things that leave him unrighteous: his sinfulness, his weakness, his struggle against the devil, the world, and his own sinful flesh. There Paul finds the Cross and the victory won for him by his Savior. Where we cannot save ourselves, Jesus saves us. Where we cannot atone for our sins, Jesus dies for us. Where we cannot boast in our works, we can boast in His. It changes the rest of the equation, too. I still don't know what the "third heaven" is or what it feels like to be beaten with rods or lowered from a window in a basket. I honestly have trouble carving out enough time to do much more than these devotions each day. I sin in predictable and sad ways. And even these things aren't enough to separate me from salvation. Christ's victory is that sure. Where your spiritual discipline falters, where your works war against the Ten Commandments, Jesus has died for you. Boast in that. God's love for you is so powerful it would bear all of these things willingly to save you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I come, O Savior, to Thy table, For weak and weary is my soul; Thou, Bread of Life, alone art able To satisfy and make me whole: Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! ("I come, O Savior, to Thy Table" LSB 618, st.1)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/22/20226 minutes, 13 seconds
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Monday of Sexagesima

Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:10-13Daily Lectionary: Job 16:1-22; John 7:1-13"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God speaks. Stuff happens. His Word does what He wants it to. He spoke. Let there be light. Then it was light. And good. It's what you would expect from the Almighty. The power displayed within words only seems to magnify the simplicity of the Bible today. His Word doesn't seem so active anymore. The Bible is still ours to read, but it's dark down here, and far from good. For all the promises of Scripture, it doesn't look like they're true yet. Usually we just put them off into the future. Someday they'll be true. But not today. That's wrong. It's wrong because it calls God's Word effective only in terms of power. It looks to creation and sees only might, but never mercy. Isaiah promises that God's Word is effective not just in power, but chiefly in mercy. You can see it in a little word: instead. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress. It should be one way. But it's another. Your sins deserve death. Instead, Christ died for you, and you get life. God's Word insists that sinners be forgiven.The Cross of Christ is an act of great power. It forgave the sins of all the world, but only by seeing the mercy can you appreciate the gift, because crosses don't look like much. The Cross looks messy and not ordered like creation was before the fall, but it does what God intends. It forgives sinners. His Word speaks of this Cross, and so the Bible is measured chiefly in mercy, not just in power. The words of Scripture paint a picture of the God who endures with you and for you, and promises the same resurrection He Himself has won. God's Word is not ineffectual just because it isn't acting according to the power of the Law. It's succeeding even now in bringing the Gospel to sinners. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! ("Thy Strong Word" LSB 578, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/21/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Sexagesima

Today's Reading: Luke 8:4-15Daily Lectionary: Job 15:1-23, 30-35; John 6:60-71He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" (Luke 8:10)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus told a parable. He who has ears, let him hear, but even the disciples didn't get it, so we get a freebie. The parables contain the secrets of the kingdom of God. And we take from this one an assessment tool. What kind of soil are you?  Never mind that Jesus couldn't avoid the devil, I'm sure I have. Never mind our worries about money and family and politics, and definitely don't mention that the cares and riches and pleasures of this life make up more of our prayers than any of the other petitions combined. And never mind if you're not sure which petition I'm talking about or couldn't list the Ten Commandments if your life depended on it. We go to church, so we must be the good soil. This is what's wrong with everyone else. Seeing, we do not perceive, and hearing, we do not understand. What the Lord actually gives us is a list of all the reasons this thing shouldn't work. Jesus explains all the reasons the Church shouldn't still be standing, all of the things we wrestle with, the enemies that assault every Christian this side of glory. But here we are. It defies the condemnation of the Law. It defies our reason and strength, or lack of both, because the Church doesn't stand on us, but on Christ and His work. When we take this parable to be nothing more than an assessment tool, we start looking at ourselves instead of Jesus. Worse, we start looking at each other. Stop looking for yourself, and start looking for Jesus. It will make more sense. An assessment tool is Law. By works of the Law no man will enter the kingdom of God. This is not about the Law, it's about the Gospel. It's about the sower who sows recklessly to those where no growth should happen. This is not just a warning to behave better and care less about the world. It's a promise for sinners who don't. God will not forsake you to the devil, your sins, or your earthly cares. He bears the Cross for you, forgives you, and dares to call you good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/20/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of Septuagesima

Today's Reading: Introit for Sexagesima (Psalm 44:1-2, 7-8; antiphon: v.23, 25a, 26a)Daily Lectionary: Job 14:1-22; John 6:41-49Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! (From the Introit for Sexagesima)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes the absence of everything we expected from God is so profound that even the devout begin to ask questions. Where is God? Is it real or is it all just a story? Did He abandon us? The questions seem so jarring to the piety that hangs decorative crosses in the living room and says table prayers by heart. Midwestern politeness that can't actually call attention to the thing everyone's thinking about is answered by Middle Eastern prayers of old. "God, it looks like You're doing a bad job. Get up and do what You promised."The psalms that are full of anger and doubt give us not only the vocabulary to speak the questions we all think, but the permission to do so. God wanted you to pray this. "Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!" Ask the question out loud, then listen to the same prayer as it speaks the answer. "But You have saved us from our foes." A past tense victory that seems as much an old story as it is evidence that there should be more cool stuff to see today. It looks bleak and empty, and even the devout are starting to wonder, but God has already saved us. A victory in the past that somehow affects even a bleak and empty present. An empty tomb contested by the devil, the world, and the reason of the sinful flesh, but marked in history the same as each tragedy that brought us to question it all. It's already finished. It doesn't need to be won again just for a little more pizazz today. Christ has already conquered sin, death, and the devil. The Holy Spirit has already united you to this victory in your Baptism. It might look like God is sleeping, but He's already won the victory. Why would He need to win it again just so you can watch?  The quiet times when we start to wonder are not marks of God's absence, but evidence that He's already fought the fight. Now we find Him where He promises to be, in Word and Sacrament. I'd do it differently, but I'm not timeless or all-knowing, or even sinless. Maybe God's way of doing things differently than I would isn't proof that He isn't real, but evidence that there's Someone big enough to be smarter than I am, someone who would save me anyway. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To us on earth He came to bring From sin and fear release, To give the Spirit's unity, The very bond of peace. ("Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death" LSB 697, st.2)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/19/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Friday of Septuagesima

Daily Lectionary: Job 13:13-28; John 6:22-40Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." (John 6:29)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They followed Him for miles hoping to see another miracle. They tried to make Him their king after He fed them in mercy because they were so far from home. And we mistake His compassion for His desire to prove Himself to us. We mistake the miracles for the love that motivates them. We lose sight of eternity for daily bread. And the Lord rebukes us along with the crowds. Jesus says not to chase the miracles. Don't try to earn them by your prayers or by your works. The crowd is eager, so Jesus answers. This is that work, that you believe in Him whom the Father has sent. I wonder if Jesus smirked as He made that point. We cannot by our own reason or strength believe. But the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies, and keeps us in the true faith. The work that earns salvation is the work you don't do. It's not allowed to be on you. It's the will of Him who sent the Son to save you, that none given to Him should be lost. So not only does He win Your salvation on the Cross, but by Word and Sacrament He delivers this salvation to you in a way that gives the faith you need. So He makes your work His own work and gives you credit for it. He makes His works yours in return. He fulfills the Law perfectly for you, dies and rises to atone for your sins, then gives you His good works by faith. Your believing in Him whom the Father has sent is the work of God. We don't have to save ourselves, earn our salvation, or even choose to believe. The Father sent the Son, and the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit. He preaches through your pastor, and He feeds you with the bread of life that is His Body and Blood. Your pastor holds it up and promises it brings the peace of the Lord that will be with you always. Eat it. Drink it. Believe, and rise with Jesus on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My Lord, You here have led me To this most holy place And with Yourself have fed me The treasures of Your grace; For You have freely given What earth could never buy, The bread of life from heaven, That now I shall not die. ("O Living Bread from Heaven" LSB 642, st.2)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/18/20226 minutes, 2 seconds
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Thursday of Septuagesima

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5Daily Lectionary: Job 13:1-12; John 6:1-21And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I wish Paul didn't talk about Christianity as a race. I'm exhausted. My vocations pull against each other. Excelling at one thing only means falling short somewhere else. "Discipline your body," I'm told, but all the getting-things-done hacks only leave me with a neatly organized list of things I've thus far failed to do. "Run, that you may obtain the prize." I'm barely limping. Everyone feels it, knows it won't work, and still tries to do it anyway. Try harder to do the things you can't seem to get done so you don't go to hell and one day you'll go to heaven. But that's not what Paul is saying. That's of the devil. Christianity cannot be reduced into productivity. It cannot be motivation, either by carrot or stick. If that's all it is, you're the one doing the work to save, not Jesus. It's the not-Jesus path that so displeased God with the Israelites. That's running aimlessly, as Paul warns against. It's running with no goal. Get perfect grades, accomplish everything on the to-do list. Be so good at it nobody's ever disappointed in you. But to what end? The chance to do it all again, but this time with even higher expectations?  We do not run aimlessly. We discipline our bodies and keep them under control, lest after preaching to others lofty goals of success, we ourselves should be disqualified. Sooner or later the greatest overachievers fall off that wagon. We don't run aimlessly. We run towards the Cross. There's work to do. You're not going to be perfect. It's because you're a sinner. Instead of trying to remedy that, lean not towards hopeless sloth, but run towards the Cross for mercy. The Rock that is Christ follows you and endures where you fail. It isn't measured in your best getting better. It's measured in your death and resurrection, in your Baptism, in your eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Jesus, and in His promise that the things that matter have never been your race to run. Jesus ran that race for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Triune God, be Thou our stay; O let us perish never! Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, And grant us life forever. Keep us from the evil one; Uphold our faith most holy, And let us trust Thee solely With humble hearts and lowly. Let us put God's armor on, With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, amen! This be done; So sing we, "Alleluia!" ("Triune God, Be Thou Our Stay" LSB 505, st.1)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/17/20226 minutes, 37 seconds
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Wednesday of Septuagesima

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Second CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Job 12:1-6,12-25; John 5:30-47You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. (Small Catechism: Second Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Second Commandment usually gets reduced to a rule against saying "damn" when you stub your toe or it gets twisted around into talk about ouija boards because of that little line regarding satanic arts in the catechism. Really, it's far more profound. God's Name has great power, and He gives it to you. The more powerful a thing is, the more rules get attached to it. There aren't a lot of laws surrounding feathers, but fireworks, cars, and guns have all kinds of regulations. It's not that any of those things are inherently evil. Some are just powerful enough that when used for good, great good can come from it, but when used for evil, great evil comes, too. God's Name is so powerful that He demands we don't misuse it, because sin breaks stuff, and God's Name is potent enough to cause great harm when used for evil. The chief way this happens is when we lie about who He is. We attach His Name to things that aren't true. That's called false doctrine. A doctrine is just a truth. We attach God's Name to falsehood, and then the way, the truth, gets diminished. Jesus, who calls Himself both of these things, gets diminished. Pray that it never happens, because that would mean life gets diminished, too. False doctrine is dangerous because it directs people to look for God where He's never promised to be. It points people away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn't just, "What if God actually damned everything you asked Him to when you were angry?", it's "What if He wanted to see sin punished apart from the Cross?  What if we thought we were closer to Him by our works? What if we attached His Name to lies so people lost trust in His promises?"He doesn't say we shouldn't use His Name. The Father teaches you His identity specifically so that you'll call upon Him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. He teaches you to know Him through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. He reveals Himself in true doctrine through His Word by the Holy Spirit. He gives us His identity so that we would look to Jesus and find forgiveness, life, and salvation in Him and His gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen."Do not My holy name disgrace, Do not My Word of truth debase. Praise only that as good and true Which I Myself say and do." Have mercy, Lord! ("These are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/16/20226 minutes, 25 seconds
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Tuesday of Septuagesima

Today's Reading: Exodus 17:1-7Daily Lectionary:Job 11:1-20; John 5:19-29"Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus 17:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The people were thirsty sinners. They complained they were thirsty. Moses would have threatened to turn the whole nation around and go back to Egypt, but they would have liked that. The issue isn't their frustration over going without the things God had promised. It's that in the face of this, they decided Egypt was a better thing to fear, love, and trust in above all things. The word for that is idolatry. The worry behind it is that God won't deliver on His promises, so we'd better look somewhere else for good gifts. So God commanded Moses to hit a rock. This doesn't make sense unless you're willing to see Christ in the Old Testament. Paul makes it easy. "For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). The people were sinners and idolators, so in response God commanded the Rock (which was Christ) to be struck down. That from His side would flow water. That through the water from the Rock, the people would receive and be delivered from death. Jesus was crucified for Israel's sins, and for yours, and from His pierced side poured out blood and water. The Baptism that you receive is a baptism into Christ, the living water, that you would thirst no more, that you would be saved. The Old Testament is Christ crucified for sinners, just like the New Testament. The Old Testament, just like the New Testament, doesn't make sense if you take out Jesus, the Cross, or the ways He delivers that Cross to you. We use Scripture to interpret Scripture, and we start with the simplest truths, that Christ Jesus came to save sinners. Even where everything seems weird and a guy hits a rock with a stick, it's about Jesus. The people sometimes miss it in their grumbling, wondering if the LORD is among us or not, but God is at work to save His people. The idolaters looked elsewhere, but the LORD still baptized them for salvation. He calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps Israel, and you, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Life-imparting heav'nly manna, Stricken rock with streaming side, Heav'n and earth with loud hosanna Worship You, the Lamb who died, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Ris'n, ascended, glorified! Ris'n, ascended, glorified! ("Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor" LSB 534, st.4)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/15/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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Valentine, Martyr

Daily Lectionary: Job 10:1-22; John 5:1-18Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you." (John 5:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. It almost sounds like a threat. The man laid there paralyzed for 38 years with nobody to help him into the pool. Jesus walked up and took care of the whole thing with a few words. That's a long time to suffer when the cure is so easy. You'd think God might hurry it up a little. Better late than never, I guess. But when they meet later in the temple and Jesus only warns him to behave or else, even the mercy shown leaves a bad aftertaste due to the hanging implication of what might happen if he sins again. When he sins again. St. Valentine got his head cut off and I'm still more comfortable with that story than this one. Woe to those who think they preach better than Jesus, who would diminish His words or warning. The command to sin no more must not be ignored. The man sinned again. He has the same condition we all do. Something worse will happen to him after this story. He's going to die. It's the last great enemy. The wages of sin is death. Sin breaks stuff, so don't lean into sin. Sin no more. Woe to anyone who would say otherwise. But also, woe to those who ignore the promise connected to Jesus' words. Rise. Take up your bed, and walk. When God speaks, something happens. When He tells you to pick up your bed and walk, you can. When He forgives you your sins through your pastor, they're gone. When He calls you to the resurrection, you rise. So when Jesus healed a man by calling him to rise, there's more than just physical healing going on. The man died, but was called into the resurrection by the same Jesus who told him to get up the first time. The same Jesus who went into the grave because, even though He was completely serious when He warned us to sin no more, He also knew we would. He gives us a Law we cannot fulfill. So He fulfills it for us, dies for us, and calls us to life with the very same Word that gave this man the ability to go home. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin; Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within. ("Not What These Hands Have Done" LSB 567, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/14/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Septuagesima

Today's Reading: Matthew 20:1-16Daily Lectionary: Job 9:1-35; John 4:46-54"Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?" (Matthew 20:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Fair is the enemy of good. Nobody believes it because we're so desperate for fairness that we get tunnel vision. Fair is what looks at my sister's half of the cookie and decides it's bigger, so some of it should be mine. But the Lord's commandment says, "You shall not steal." Good goes a lot farther than fair. It is not just, "Thou shalt not steal," but more. We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions or get them in any dishonest way but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. Good doesn't change. It's spelled out in God's Law that you should love your neighbor in these ways. Fair gets flexible. The workers who agreed to a wage were perfectly happy with the denarius until they saw someone who did less work get the same wage. Then fair changed. They knew they should be getting more.When it comes to the word "fair" what we usually mean is "we covet," but we found a nicer way of saying it. It probably says something about us that given the chance, we try to impose fairness before we ever think to impose goodness. But at the end of the day, God would rather be generous than fair. He could do fair and punish every sinner with the hell they deserve. Fair is your going to hell for your sins. The Lord is not fair, but He is good. Thanks be to God. He doesn't disregard justice but He takes it on Himself. He pays for you. He gets punished for your sins. The unfair sacrifice fulfills the Law, takes your sins, and dies that you would live. Stop worrying about what everyone else has got or what's fair. Start here, in this one place, where the Lord bore the unfair Cross for you and for all. Start here. Life isn't fair and we're on the better end of it. All of us. We can rejoice that God not only forgives our sins, but our neighbors', too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/13/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Transfiguration

Today's Reading: Introit for Septuagesima (Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 32, 49; antiphon: vs.5-6a)Daily Lectionary: Job 8:1-22; John 4:27-45The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD. (From the Introit for Septuagesima)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Septuagesima. About 70 days until Easter. We can't stay on the mountain of Transfiguration forever. Thanks be to God for good days, but the bad ones tend to follow. The snares of death confronted me. That's what the passion of our Lord is for. He rescues us from the evils that confront us, not by dangling a way of escape in front of us but by running ahead of us into every unsafe place we're afraid of. The gesima Sundays count down to Easter, but that means they also introduce Lent. These aren't Sundays meant simply to make you sad. They're to speak to every awful thing you pray never happens and every awful thing you pray will stop right now. The passion of our Lord gives us something to say to the not-so-great days. Jesus saved us from them. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and from heaven He heard my voice, but He didn't stay there. He descended to save. Our fortresses aren't the safe places that come and go or the heaven we hope for, but the Lord who goes into the unsafe places to die and rise to save. That's the thing about real comfort. It isn't a lack of bad things, but a presence of good things. A lack of bad things is just empty. The presence of a good so strong it overwhelms the rest and grants relief is true comfort. So Jesus descends from the heavens to save. Everything you're afraid of comes from sin, death, and the devil. Jesus conquered those. We don't have to run anymore. In your Baptism He has already united you with the victory over them. By His Word, He gives you strength to find comfort in the face of them.. He has equipped us with His strength, and even forgives us our sins where we fall short of using that strength. The gesima Sundays give us words of praise to sing to the God who won't stay on the mountain, because we can't stay there, either. Your fortress goes ahead of you and with you, so that wherever you are, your prayers will be answered. Sin, death, and the power of the devil lay defeated on the side. God has saved His humbled people. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Gone the past, unknown the future--Grace supplies my daily breath; Strong in Christ through death's dark valley, Firm and faithful unto death. ("All for Christ, I have Forsaken" LSB 753, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/12/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Friday of the Week of Transfiguration

Daily Lectionary: Job 7:1-21; John 4:7-26A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (John 4:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I tried to find Jesus comforting the sinner in this story. But I couldn't quite shake the feeling that He was heckling her the whole time. Every response she gives is biting. She comes to see He has power, but never really finds mercy for her sins, and nobody got any water to drink. Each time that she recoils and rebuffs and retorts, she really only shows how much she doesn't want to be there. Jesus isn't berating her. He's pointing to something bigger. There's living water here. It's free. It's for her. But she's still so beat down she can't see it. She has to work herself up every time she goes out in public. She hears what she is whenever she goes out. She's not Jewish enough. Not married enough. She would rather not go to that well anymore. She actually confesses it. Give me the water. I don't want to have to come here anymore. I don't want to be what they stare at and talk about. I don't want to be the object lesson to nice little boys and girls about cohabitation. Because the actual sin is the one thing she's the least willing to talk about. You get explanations with every response until the last. "Go, call your husband, and come here."  Jesus asked for water and never got any. He asked after her husband and never got an answer, either. Jesus asks after everything she needs and never gets it. She can't give it. But Jesus is there to do more than correct her. He's there to give. He doesn't wait until she feels appropriately sorry. Her biting answers toward Jesus say plenty about how she really sees herself. He just starts promising living water to bitter sinners. He's so blunt that the rest of us get as uncomfortable as the woman is. There's no condition. Because nobody is saved by measuring his or her sins. We're saved by Jesus, by the living water that comes from His side. For the sins you hide away, for the statistics you've become on purpose or by accident, for your guilt. . . Jesus died for you. Your sins are forgiven you. The abortions are forgiven. The attractions you struggle with are forgiven. Your browser history is forgiven. You are forgiven. You are baptized. You have the living water that Jesus promised. You are nothing less than what happened to you at this font. Clean. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, grant us in our Baptisms forgiveness of sins that never ends; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/11/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Silas, Fellow Worker of St. Peter and St. Paul

Daily Lectionary: Job 6:14-30; John 3:22-4:6"He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John baptized. The disciples baptized. Jesus baptized. It says so. Everyone gets a Baptism. Then someone started a fight over all that purification. At least we know that people's arguing over what Baptism is isn't a new thing. How old do you have to be? What if there's just a splash and not a dunk? Why not just run around town with a squirt gun yelling, "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"? Now the Pharisees are getting uppity and so maybe Jesus wasn't even baptizing? Except maybe He was? Or maybe it doesn't matter whose hand it was because it was always God's work. Hear John. He must increase, but I must decrease. That does a lot to explain what Baptism is. Baptism is not a work you do for God. It isn't an "I pledge allegiance to the Jesus." It's God's work for you. The question isn't whether or not Jesus actually baptized anyone. Jesus baptizes everyone. Sometimes He used John's hand. Sometimes Peter's. Maybe even sometimes His own, made flesh. But Baptism that bestows God's good Gifts always comes from the good Giver. A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given from heaven. So Baptism, given by the God from heaven, is for you to receive. You receive the forgiveness of sins, a new identity as God's child, and all of the life everlasting that comes with it. You decrease. Jesus increases in you. Old Adam drowns. New man emerges and arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. It changes the whole equation of salvation. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36). Now, salvation isn't tied to your obedience but only to the belief which clings to God in the water. Works of the Law can't save you. They can only damn you. It doesn't say "whoever believes and obeys." There's no room left for obedience in this equation since Jesus already saved you. The obedience that comes from this, and it will come, is just Jesus' increasing and your decreasing. Which also means there's no real need to measure it. He said, "It is finished." You're baptized. Believe this, and know you have eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In Baptism we now put on Christ--Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav'nly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/10/20226 minutes, 45 seconds
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Wednesday of the Week of Transfiguration

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: First CommandmentDaily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21You shall have no other gods. (Small Catechism: First Commandment)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This commandment shouldn't actually be that hard. There's only one God. He's literally the only God there is. There was a piece of fruit on a tree and we made a god out of that. The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was not God. But we imagined it was so that we didn't need Him anymore. It didn't work, but we've never stopped trying to get rid of the real God who loves us so we can chase after the fake ones that don't. This commandment is at the root of every other sin. We do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. If we did, we'd stop taking the good gifts He gives us and turning them into replacements for Him. This commandment might be at the root of our sinful desires, but the root of this commandment is that God actually wants to be God to you. He insists on being the God of sinners. He insists on giving you good gifts. He insists on calling you back to Him over and over. He tells us not to treat the things that can't save us as if they can. Don't trust in imaginary gods. Don't trust in creation as if it were the Creator. Don't trust in yourself to save yourself. None of that works. None of it needs to, though; He already has saved you. He bore the Cross to forgive your idolatry. He insists that you have no source of salvation other than Him. Trust only that. Love only Him.From there, even the "fear" part becomes understandable. Fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Fear doesn't just mean healthy respect. We downplay it because it seems like it doesn't go along with love and trust. Fear means that you realize you can't control God. That's the First Commandment all over again. The desire to control God is the desire to be God. To fear God is to recognize that we can't control Him, but to love and trust in Him is to recognize that we don't need to. He wants to be God to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O LORD God, dear Father in Heaven, You have given us the Law for our good, calling us to fear, love, and trust in You above all things. As we rejoice that You would insist on being God to us, help us to cast aside all idols and follow you alone, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. -Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/9/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Tuesday of the Week of Transfiguration

Today's Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21Daily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27; John 2:13-25And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter saw the uncontainable majesty of the transfigured Christ while a voice boomed from heaven, but calls us to trust in the Bible found in nearly every motel dresser. The Church has an authenticity problem. We want the experience on the mountain, not the Book in the drawer. So we go looking for the former. Mostly we come up empty and wander into the sanctuary more or less because we know we're supposed to, but we still have that mountaintop moment in our minds. We even try to copy it. We transfigure ourselves. Realize that every single person sitting in the sanctuary is fighting a secret battle that you don't get to see. Because we hide it. We change our faces, our clothes, and we pretend. We show up each week to a church that exists to forgive sinners and we pretend we're just here to love God. We pretend we're just fine. Authenticity? Nah.You transfigure yourself to look better, but what you really need help with is all the stuff you're trying to escape from. You hope to find that mountaintop where all of those things melt away, leaving you feeling close to God. . . but here's the thing. Peter was there, too. He said there's something more. You want to rely on the mountaintop, the experience, but then you miss the promise He speaks to you when your heart is broken no matter how much you fake a smile.  He calls us to trust the Word, not our feelings. The Word is for when nothing feels like it should. Even in darkness it shines like a lamp for you. You can go looking for the mountaintop, but God won't limit Himself to such a place. He wants to be where you're completely overwhelmed and doing your very best to hide it. He wants to come down from the mountain to save. He climbs down and bears the Cross for sinners in order to save them. The Word promises that this Cross on a far less majestic hill was far more glorious. It promises life to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Glimpsed and gone the revelation, They shall gain and keep its truth, Not by building on the mountain Any shrine or sacred booth, But by following the Savior Through the valley to the cross And by testing faith's resilience Through betrayal, pain, and loss. ("Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory" LSB 416, st.2)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/8/20226 minutes, 22 seconds
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Monday of the Week of Transfiguration

Today's Reading: Exodus 34:29-35Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21; John 2:1-12When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. (Exodus 34:29–31)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God sent Moses down the mountain to talk to His people, but they were afraid to come near and hear His ten words. Moses' face shone. He reflected the God who sent him. And the people were too unclean to stand before that kind of holiness. It's the thing sinners tend to do: We run from the Holy One. Like Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes after eating of the tree, the people of Israel hid from Moses. Like the people afraid to come near Moses, who spoke for God, we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come near Him. There's one common theme: It's the Law. Adam and Eve ran from the condemnation of the Law. The people ran, too. We cannot by our own reason or strength, love and trust a God of the Law. We can only fear Him. So there's another common theme: the Gospel. God called Adam and Eve out of the bushes and promised salvation. Moses called the people back and veiled his face. The Holy Spirit calls you by the Gospel, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps you. God sends preachers of the Gospel who promise that the Cross of Christ takes away Adam's sin. Israel's sin. All the sin. Your sin. The terror of the Law is veiled by the promise of the Gospel. Your sins are forgiven you. You have nothing left to hide. No reason left to run. Draw near to God and receive His Gifts. After all, He sent Moses down the mountain with ten words of gift to all of Israel, and to you. God insists on calling out sinners who are terrified of condemnation and speaking comfort to them. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all confess the Holy Ghost, Who, in highest heaven dwelling With God the Father and the Son, Comforts us beyond all telling; Who the Church, His own creation, Keeps in unity of spirit. Here forgiveness and salvation Daily come through Jesus' merit. All flesh shall rise, and we shall be In bliss with God eternally. Amen. ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 954, st.3)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/7/20226 minutes, 17 seconds
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The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Matthew 17:1-9Daily Lectionary: Job 3:11-26; John 1:35-51And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. (Matthew 17:8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For just a moment, Peter didn't have to look at Jesus, who looked like everyone else, and perceive that He was God incarnate. He saw the transfigured Christ. He didn't have to imagine what the victory over death would look like. He saw Moses and Elijah. He didn't have to wonder if he had made a huge mistake in promising to follow the guy who just said that He was going to be killed, only to be raised on the Third Day. The voice from the sky boomed down; this was actually a good idea after all. Everybody wants that stuff. It's to the point where it has a name: the "mountaintop experience." The church has responded, either by trying to grant it by changing worship, or by trying to convince you that wanting to see what Peter saw is a sin and shows lack of faith. Words like "comfort" are only thought about, never felt. Neither view is right. We can acknowledge why we want the mountaintop experience without either bowing to the desire or running from it. We want to feel safe. We want to confront the doubts we all struggle against. We want something concrete so we can hope without wavering. Maybe we are given the Transfiguration so we can see what happens when we get what we want. The disciples fell on their faces and were terrified. God doesn't grant comfort from on high. He does it by descending. Hope doesn't come from a one-time experience, but by constant promise. See what brought comfort to the disciples who were laying in the fetal position: Lifting up their eyes, they saw Jesus only. They didn't see a lesser God. They saw a God who would descend to be like them. To offer hope, not rooted in building a tent on a perfect mountain, but carved out of an empty tomb. In Jesus only, we have all the things they looked for. A God close by. The victory over death. Hope to confront doubt. Look to where Jesus has promised to be. Look to the Word. The Sacraments. Rise. And have no fear. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your beloved Son You confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of Moses and Elijah. In the voice that came from the bright cloud You wonderfully foreshadowed our adoption by grace. Mercifully make us co-heirs with the King in His glory and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Transfiguration of Our Lord)-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschDiscover new insights from each line of the Psalms in Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer. Read, repeat, and return to the Lord as you walk through all 150 Psalms. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/6/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Transfiguration of Our Lord (Psalm 84:1-2a, 4, 10-11; antiphon: Psalm 77:18b)Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1-3:10; John 1:19-34How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise. (From the Introit for the Transfiguration of our Lord)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine being where the people around always sang into your ears the promise that by Jesus' death for you upon the Cross your sins are all forgiven, your works have all been declared righteous in God's sight, and your life completely holy. Imagine being where the liturgy always pointed you to the Gospel like that, where the words of Holy Absolution were constantly spoken and preached, and Jesus' Body and Blood were ever present to eat and to drink as He promises, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Imagine that, and you'll understand what the psalmist is talking about in tomorrow's Introit. The world, on the other hand, convinced of its own righteousness, gathers together by its strength and choice only to talk about itself and its own works and to sing its own praises. It's enough to suck the air out of any room, and the faith out of any believer. It's why those who are in the house of the Lord are blessed.. Because no matter how broken and damaged we are by sin, how many times defeated by Satan, finding no refuge or help within, haunted by the past, frightened by the present, fearful of the future, in the house of the Lord we have in our ears again and again what calls us to faith, what gives and sustains and restores our faith: Jesus. Come what may in the world, we know what God has spoken, and what He has promised by the death of His Son for us. It's why being even just "a doorkeeper" at church is better than a thousand days anywhere else (Psalm 84:10). Seeing through all the lies, through all the smoke and mirrors of false promises and false hopes (1 Corinthians 15:19; Ezekiel 37:11-14), we get to hear again and again the truth, the real story, the final Word that God has spoken over us. And it's not us. It's Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer's ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, And drives away our fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole And calms the heart's unrest; 'Tis manna to the hungry soul And to the weary, rest. Dear name! The rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place; My never failing treasury filled With boundless stores of grace. ("How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" LSB 524, st.1-3) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
2/5/20226 minutes, 10 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week after the Epiphany

Daily Lectionary: Job 1:1-22; John 1:1-18"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Job certainly endured more than his share of pain and grief in his life. Yet through it all Job never blamed chance or fate, the devil or evil people, Mother Nature, or even himself and his own sin. No. Job received it all as from the hand of Jesus. That's what Job means when he says, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." God says, "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong."Job repeats his confidence in chapter 2: "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" Again, God says, "In all this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:10). Rest assured, then, there is no sin in daring to trust in Jesus like that."Oh that my words were written!" Job cries out in chapter 19. "Oh that they were inscribed in a book!  Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!" (Job 19:23-27)Job trusted everything about Jesus. He trusted that whatever his sins had earned from God would be forever answered for, paid for, by Jesus' death for him upon the Cross. He could live every day in the confidence that Jesus, his Redeemer, was in complete control. He could receive everything as coming from The Hand that was now forever holding on to him. So, he did.You, too. For all that your sin deserves Jesus also paid for with His death for you upon the Cross. And with the promise of the Cross now in His Word, in His water, and at His Supper, Jesus is promising you that He means you no harm in anything He allows or sends. He's got this. He's got you. And, as with Job, Jesus promises to never let go. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What God ordains is always good; His loving thought attends me; No poison can be in the cup That my physician sends me. My God is true; Each morning new I trust His grace unending, My life to Him commending. ("What God Ordains is Always Good" LSB 760, st.3)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
2/4/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To EveryoneDaily Lectionary: Zechariah 14:1-21; Titus 2:7-3:15The commandments. . . are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have probably heard it said that you can't love others until you first love yourself. That might sound cute and clever, but it's not all helpful and it certainly contradicts the conclusion of Calvary. The problem is not that we don't love ourselves. That's not why Jesus died on the Cross for us. The problem is just the opposite. We do love ourselves. More than anything. In fact, that's the very definition of sin.The Good News is that God has all the love for you that you will ever need. Jesus died on the Cross for you. He died for every last one of your sins, for all the self-love you have now and will ever be guilty of indulging. And yes, that's a lot to die for, but Jesus did it anyway. For you.And it gets better. For Jesus is there for you every day with the promise of His Cross in Baptism, now, washing you righteous in God's sight. He is there with the promise of His Cross in every Absolution and sermon you hear from your pastor. And He is at His Supper making sure the very definition of sin remains as far from you as the east is from the west. "For you, for the forgiveness of sins."Do you know what this means? It means there is never a time when God is not delighting in you, calling you His own, even declaring all your works holy in His sight. Even your hitting that snooze button for the hundredth time. Or brushing your teeth. Or doing homework. Or eating lunch. Or laughing. Or crying. Or whatever. Doesn't matter. God is amazed by it all now, by you now, because of Jesus.But, what about your sins? They are gone, died for, paid for, spoken away, washed away, fed away by Jesus as soon as they appear, and even sooner. Like I said, with Jesus God has all the love for you that you will ever need. That, then, is where you will find the courage, the strength, and the grace to turn to your neighbor with love. In fact, so overflowing is God's love for you, it can't help but spill over to others. That's what it's designed to do. And, yes, because of Jesus God is already smiling over it all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, help us walk Your servant way Wherever love may lead And, bending low, forgetting self, Each serve the other's need. ("Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way" LSB 857, st.1) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
2/3/20226 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-32Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 12:1-13:9; Titus 1:1-2:6When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, [Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. (Luke 2:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The next time we will hear about Jesus is 12 years down the road when Mary and Joseph return to the temple with Him. Calling it His "Father's house" then, Jesus amazes everyone with "His understanding and His answers" (Luke 2:49, 47). Today, it is Simeon who is amazed. "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).In his own arms at that very moment was Simeon's God, placing Himself under His own Law (Exodus 13:1-2) to do for us what we could never do for ourselves: to keep His law perfectly, without sin. Simeon knows "a pair of doves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24; Leviticus 12) will be just fine for this One. For here, in this One, in Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).Simeon also knew, in that moment, that he was holding the One you and I now hold in the "arms of faith." For this is the same Jesus given to us in Baptism, in the Absolution, in the preaching of the Gospel, and at the Holy Supper. It's the same Jesus who placed Himself under His own Law and kept that Law perfectly. Who suffered and died for all our sins on the Cross. Who now presents you and me holy and blameless to His Father in heaven, without sin, justified, heirs to eternal life.And that means, like Simeon, that you and I get to marvel now, too. For you and I, also, will die in peace now. Free from all our sins. Free from death. Free from wrath. Free from judgment. Free from hell. Free from having to save ourselves. For that is the salvation God has prepared for us, too, in the sight of all people, in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of our Lord)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
2/2/20227 minutes, 38 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Romans 13:8-10Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 11:4-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-18Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul certainly doesn't set the bar very high, does he? "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Who does Paul think we are? Sinners who are always offending God, justly deserving His now and forever punishment? I think we know the answer. We confess it every Sunday.The world, however, ignores this judgment. Convinced of its own righteousness, it looks to the Law for confirmation of its own righteousness in its own works and thinks it has found it there. Of course, to avoid the charge of being self-serving with the Law, the world talks about the Law as being a complex and sophisticated system of morality. How insulting to hear Paul say that it's not rocket science at all. It's just, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." The baptized know such love. For though we are lost and condemned in our own sin, Jesus comes to us every day with the promise of His Cross in Baptism, washing us, cleansing us, not at all harming but presenting us holy and blameless to His Father. He comes not to harm but to forgive in the Absolution and sermons we hear from our pastor. And Jesus comes not to harm but to save with His Body and Blood at His Supper, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Yes, Jesus knows exactly who we are. While such love may not fix or solve everything that is wrong in this life, including ourselves, it is the love God has promised and given you and me in this life. No, He has not promised us our best life here and now. But He has promised us His redeeming, forgiving, saving love in Jesus. And that makes love the one thing, the only thing, the baptized now owe all others (Romans 13:8). Fixing and solving is a God-thing, really. Even a Last Day sort of thing. A for now thing, a baptized-thing, is just to love: to forgive, to help, to pray for, to serve and point everyone, friend and foe, to Jesus and His Cross. There's no harm in that. Just love. Just more Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heav'n, to earth come down! Fix in us Thy humble dwelling, All Thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure, unbounded love Thou art; Visit us with Thy salvation, Enter ev'ry trembling heart. ("Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" LSB 700, st.1)  -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
2/1/20226 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Jonah 1:1-17Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 10:1-11:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-17But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's easy to conclude, when all you see is the storm, that God hates you, doesn't care, forgive, or want to help you at all but is only interested in your pain and suffering. If that's what you have concluded about God because of the storm you're in, the Book of Jonah has good news for you. Your conclusion is as far from the truth as the east is from the west.By tossing Jesus into the raging sea of His wrath and anger toward the sin of the whole world, God has promised that, while there may be storms all around you, there is no storm at all in His heart now when it comes to you. Your sin remains as far from you as the east does from the west. Since you are forgiven, God delights and rejoices in you. All the wrath and fury stirred by your sin has forever been silenced in Him, stilled by the blood Jesus shed for you on the Cross. Listen to Zephaniah 3: "The LORD has taken away the judgments against you. . . Fear not. . . The LORD God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by his love" (vv.15-17). And Isaiah 62:2-5: "You shall no longer be termed Forsaken. . . For the LORD delights in you. . .  And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." And Romans 8:31: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"It's easy to conclude, when all you see is the storm, that God is against you. But you'd be wrong. Jesus died for you. And the blood Jesus shed on the Cross for you now promises that in every storm you face God remains your loving, rejoicing, caring, forgiving, saving heavenly Father. In fact, His water, His Word and His Supper still promise you, through every storm, that will never change. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.When peace, like a river, attendeth my way; When sorrows, like sea billows, roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate And hath shed His own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul, it is well with my soul. ("When Peace, like a River" LSB 763, st.1,3)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/31/20227 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:23-27Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 9:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:1-26And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (Matthew 8:24)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ever felt like Jesus is sleeping on the job? Something really bad happens to you. The storm is raging. The winds are howling. The sea is unleashing all its fury. Then this goes wrong. Then that goes wrong. Then everything goes wrong. And your boat is now taking on water. At such times you, too, are crying out, "Save me, Jesus; I'm perishing!" Does He hear? Or, is Jesus sound asleep on the job? You're not the first to wonder. God's children have always struggled with fear and doubt. In the Book of Isaiah, God asks, "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God?'" God would speak to all our fears and doubts even then, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary" (Isaiah 40:27-28). Sending His own Son to suffer and die for you and for all the evidence of your unbelief, washing you holy and blameless every day with the promise of Jesus' Cross in Baptism, sending pastors to speak His pardon over you, feeding you today with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins," guess what? There is no perishing, now, for you. It's gone. No matter how dark the skies get, no matter how tossed about you may be in this life, no matter how much of the sea gets into your boat, there is no perishing for you, now. That's been defeated for you by Jesus, when Jesus perished for you on the Cross.I know there are times when it seems like Jesus is sleeping and not paying any attention. Today's Gospel promises that this is just your unbelief talking. Because the truth is, God sees you as holy now in His sight. His child. And as such, He loves you fiercely. Even in the storm. Especially in the storm. Because of Jesus. That's the truth. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/30/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Psalm 107:1, 8, 24-25; antiphon: v.28-29)Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 8:1-23; 2 Timothy 1:1-18Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow's Introit speaks of God's "steadfast love" (Psalm 107:1). That's what always holds and lasts. For while this world is constantly tossing us about like a stormy sea, filled with one upheaval after another, one thing remains constant: the promise God has forever tied to the death of Jesus on the Cross for you. You are forgiven. God declares you forever holy now in His judgment. You are an heir to eternal life.God has not promised you your best life here and now. If anything, He has promised that our here-and-now will be filled with upheavals, trials, and troubles of every sort (Acts 14:22; Matthew 6:34b). It's why tomorrow's Introit, like a lighthouse, points the way for you by pointing to Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross for you. Many Christians may even be singing, "When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in ev'ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand" ("My Hope is Built on Nothing Less" LSB 575, st.2).     Or, perhaps many will be singing, "Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me" ("Abide With Me" LSB 878, st.6).Either way, by Jesus' presence for you on the Cross, and by His presence for you today with the promise of His Cross in His water, in His Word, and at His Supper, God remains constant and steadfast in His goodness and mercy toward you, as well as His forgiveness and love. For what He has promised with the Cross, He will never take back.You may think, with all the upheavals all around you today like that stormy sea, nothing is solid, least of all the ground under your feet. But you'd be wrong. Today is just not that powerful. Nor is any upheaval or trial. God will not let that happen. Truth be told, Jesus be told, nothing is more powerful than the promise God has made with you on the Cross. It's a promise that still hushes the waves and calms the storm. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near With His cheer; Never will He leave me. Who can rob me of the heaven That God's Son For me won When His life was given? ("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/29/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Romans 12:16-21Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 6:1-7:14; Romans 16:17-27Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil. (Romans 12:16c-17a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems like the smart thing to do. I mean, someone wrongs you, you wrong them back. Right? If they speak evil of you, you speak evil of them. Meet hatred with hatred, pushing and shoving with pushing and shoving. After all, if you aren't looking out for you, who is? Right? To all that, you can hear Jesus saying, "O you of little faith" (Matthew 6:30). And He is right. Thinking I am alone in this world, with no one to look out for me but me, I often take matters into my own hands, only to end up lashing out at others. Yes, such little faith.     You, too? Repent, because those thoughts aren't true. You are never alone in this world. That our flesh insists on believing otherwise is just evidence of the unbelief still tucked away in our hearts. That's where all our sin comes from, "O you of little faith."Good News: The antidote is not you, but Jesus. For every proof of the unbelief you and I were born with and that will be with us all the way to the grave Jesus answered for by His sacrifice upon the Cross. All the evidence of our unbelief lies forever buried now beneath His death for us upon the Cross. You are holy to God. You are His child. You are forgiven everything. God's gracious presence and happy smile are with you now and forever. Jesus' water, Word, and Supper promise you this.So, you think it smarts when others hurt you? Guess what? It smarts God even more, because you are His dear child. He's got this. He's got you. And He will never let go. If others mean you harm, and God allows it, it's only because God is using it to accomplish a greater good for you, or for others, that you can't see right now (Genesis 50:20). Trust Him on that. If others refuse to live in peace with you, fine. You can do the honorable thing by leaving the whole business, and any vengeance, in God's hands and continuing on with the greatest work of all: love (1 Corinthians 13:13). For how does good overcome evil? The Cross. That's how. That's always how. Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear. From sorrow, toil, and pain, And sin we shall be free And perfect love and friendship reign Through all eternity ("Blest Be the Tie That Binds" LSB 649, st.3,5)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/28/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Exodus 33:12-23Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33"And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." (Exodus 33:19b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They had lost every right to call themselves God's children. In fact, the taste of the golden calf, which Moses had them melt into a beverage and drink, was still in their mouths when God spoke these words. They had worshiped the golden calf, calling it their god, giving it the praise and glory for their rescue from Egypt. In wrath, God swore He would disown them. "And the LORD said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them'" (Exodus 32:9).Moses steps into the breach by reminding God of His promise to redeem His children from all their sins (Exodus 32:11-14). For it is only that faithfulness, God's continued, forever faithfulness to Jesus and the Cross, that saves sinners from all their sins. It is the only reason God does not wipe out sinners , but continues calling them, even today, even you, His own.This is who God is. Unpack His Name, and what you get is the promise of the Cross. Jesus will carry all of your sin to its logical conclusion for you. He, not you, will be disowned by God when He suffers and dies for you on the Cross. His sacrifice now defines you before God. You are holy. You are forgiven. You are redeemed, for God's faithfulness will always be greater than your sin.Like we often do, Moses wanted to pry deeper into the mysteries of God. But as with Moses, God simply tells you the mystery that you need to know. He points you to your Baptism, where with His Name God promises you the daily cleansing and mercy of Jesus' Cross. He sends you pastors to absolve you and to preach Christ crucified to you. He even gives you Jesus' Body and Blood at the Holy Supper, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins."And the only mystery you need to know is known: God's faithfulness is your joy, your confidence before God. Because God's continued faithfulness to the Cross and its promise is, and always will be, your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus has come as the mighty Redeemer. See now the threatening strong one disarmed! Jesus breaks down all the walls of death's fortress, Brings forth the pris'ners triumphant, unharmed. Satan, you wicked one, own now your master! Jesus has come! He, the mighty Redeemer! ("Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure" LSB 533, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/27/20226 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Romans 15:1-13 "And say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Has come near" does not capture the full sense of the word that Jesus uses. "Has arrived" or "is present" says it better. It's what Jesus is telling His early "pastors" to teach and preach in His Name. Every leper cleansed, every sick person healed, every blind eye and deaf ear opened was a sermon in itself that said, "God and sinners are reconciled, now, in Jesus." Sins are forgiven. Judgments erased. Death defeated. Lives restored. Eternity promised.Glad tidings to all, even to Titus who, unlike Paul and Timothy, was a Gentile. He was from Greece which, according to Jewish tradition, made him part of the "70 nation" world that surrounded Israel. By sending out the 72, Jesus is showing us that it really is the whole world God is embracing in His Son (John 3:16). A co-worker of Paul's and friend to Timothy, Pastor Titus was now preaching and defending this kingdom's Gospel from the pulpit (Titus 1:3,9), the font (Titus 3:4-7), and the altar (Titus 3:10, 15). And the kingdom's Gospel is this: The kingdom isn't just near to us in these places. It is with us in these places. For Jesus is promised to us, is with us today, in these places. "Peace be to this house!" (Luke 10:5) That's the kingdom's embrace you are promised at the font in Holy Baptism. It's the Jesus you hear from your pastor in every Absolution and sermon he speaks. It's the peace given you at the Supper with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins."No matter the trial or burden you are facing, then, or the sin you must own up to, God is not rejecting you by sending you Jesus. He is owning you. He is claiming you. He is forgiving and embracing and reconciling you to Himself, setting you free from all your sin and from all your trials. And promising you a Day, even an eternity, to prove that to you. A forever Father in heaven who will never let go.That's peace. And it's not just "near to you" with Jesus. It's with you, with Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/26/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Conversion of St. Paul

Today's Reading: Acts 9:1-22Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23"Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine." (Acts 9:15a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord has a funny way of choosing, doesn't He? He finds an unbeliever, His harshest critic, His biggest enemy, an infamous persecutor. And says, "Here's my guy!" On what basis does God choose us? Certainly not on the basis of the Law and its works. No, God does not choose you because you love or believe in Jesus, any more than He chose Paul that way. Yes, you do love and believe in Jesus. But as with Paul, that doesn't come first. Jesus comes first. Jesus always comes first. And second. And third. And last.Don't look at it as though you are saved because you love Jesus. You love Jesus because you are saved. It's the same with believing. You're not saved because you believe. You believe because you are saved. You don't come first. Or second. Or third. Or at all in the matter of salvation. Only Jesus does.Think Jesus, then. Think the Cross. Think Baptism. Think the preaching of the Gospel. Think the Holy Supper. Leave you, the sinner, out of it, because it is not at all on the basis of the law and its righteousness that God chooses for you. It's all by His grace (Romans 3:23-24), by His love (1 John 4:10, 19), by His choosing (John 15:16).When Paul was baptized, "Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes" (Acts 9:18). Smile at that. For while it is debatable whether Paul ever regained his physical eyesight (Galatians 4:15), he now had the converted and clear eyes of faith. God chooses us, chooses Paul, chooses you, chooses me, chooses sinners now, because of Jesus. And only because of Jesus. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). Those are Paul's words to Timothy and to us. They remind us that it's all Jesus. Always Jesus. Only Jesus. That there is no surer ground for us, no surer confidence before God, than Jesus. Only Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Conversion of St. Paul) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
1/25/20226 minutes, 42 seconds
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St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

Today's Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-16Daily Lectionary: Joel 3:1-21; Romans 12:14-13:14Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. (1 Timothy 6:15a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Flee. . . pursue. . . fight." With such language, you might think Paul is talking about kickboxers in an octagon or wrestlers at WrestleMania. No. He's talking about that fighter in the pulpit, your pastor. Yes, your pastor is a fighter, too. Why? Because he's just like you. Let me explain. Like you, your pastor struggles every day with doubt and despair over and against the promises of God. "Am I forgiven?" "Am I His?" "Does God care?" "Can I trust, in spite of everything I know, that I am holy and righteous in His sight, His child, an heir to eternal life?" Believe it or not, your pastor is a lot like you. But as your pastor, your pastor also knows that a happy answer can never be found in us (Romans 7:18), in our prayers (Romans 8:26), our works (Isaiah 64:6), our choosing (John 15:16), our love (1 John 4:10), our desire, or anything else that is ours (Romans 9:16). The answer lies outside of us, in Jesus. That is what makes the faith worth fighting for. The faith is not about some Jesus in us, but about the Jesus who is outside of us. The Jesus for us on the Cross. The Jesus for us in the water. The Jesus for us in the Word. The Jesus for us in the Supper. For this is the Jesus who saves, who brings us to the Father holy and righteous. This is the Jesus who calls us to faith, and keeps us there (2 Corinthians 13:5). Not the Jesus in us, but the Jesus for us.Does God care? Am I forgiven? Holy and righteous in His sight? An heir to eternal life? Don't listen to your heart. Listen to the faith, for Baptism, the Absolution, and preaching of the Gospel, and the Supper all say, "Yes!" That is the faith every pastor should be fighting for. And today, we give thanks to God for Timothy and for all pastors fighting "the good fight of the faith." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(Collect for St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/24/20226 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:1-13Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:18-32; Romans 11:25-12:13"I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 8:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A great theme during the Epiphany season is that the Gospel is for everyone. It's why we sing, "Joy to the World." Not just to some, but to the world. No one is right with God because they are different somehow, or better than others. Not even you. You're not in with the Almighty because you responded the right way and met all of God's promises with faith. Or because you have this work or virtue in you that sets you apart from others and declares you to be God's child.No. Jesus would rather we identify with the leper at His feet who, because of his present condition, has no claim at all on God. His only hope is that God lays claim on him through Jesus, no matter what. Jesus would want us to identify with the centurion who also knew how unworthy he was. "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:8).Faith does not say, "Look at me, God. I've got what it takes." Faith knows it has no merit, no value or worth of its own to count on. It's why faith says, "Look at Jesus, God. He's all I have to count on. In fact, He's Your claim on me, God. Your promise of love and forgiveness for me, no matter what." As rare as that may seem, Jesus calls that faith. Are you concerned that there's nothing in you, from you, about you--no quality, virtue, or work--that sets you apart from the damned, that gets you in with God or qualifies you for His forgiveness and favor? Fear not. For under orders from God in heaven to bring His goodness and mercy to all on earth, Jesus is God's favor on you. He is God's claim on you. "Joy to the World."Don't let anyone tell you faith means anything less--as if faith isn't so great. Faith does not mean the leper, the centurion, or you. It just means Jesus. How great is that? Like I said, a great theme of the Epiphany season is that the Gospel is for everyone. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany)  -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/23/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany (Psalm 97:1, 10-12; antiphon: v.6, 9)Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17; Romans 11:1-24For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have a friend who had asthma as a child. He tells how, when he would suffer an attack in the middle of the night, his father would convert one of their bathrooms into a steam room by turning on a hot shower and closing the door. He would then hold him in his arms and gently rock him while saying, "Breathe." "That always helped," my friend says. "After that, I would always breathe a little easier."With all that is going on in the world today, it's easy to start thinking that you're suffocating. By pointing to Jesus, tomorrow's Introit encourages you to breathe. Everything is under control--His control. That's what it means for Jesus to be at God's right hand. That's theology, not geography. Politicians and armies do not rule. Plagues and viruses are not in control. Mother Nature does not reign. Nor does fate. Chance. The devil. Or anyone or anything else. Only Jesus does. Breathe.Even sin, our own sin, including the unbelief that whispers, "God is not in control!" does not rule. Seeing all of our unbelief and sin from the moment we were conceived to our final breath, God put it all on Jesus when Jesus died on the Cross for us. You are forgiven everything. You stand before God, now, holy and righteous, His child. And God will not allow anything in all creation to end in the suffocating of His holy and righteous children (Romans 8:28)."Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name" (Psalm 97:12). In other words, "Breathe." Live in the glad confidence that Jesus is always with you. He is not gone. He just hides His power sometimes behind this world's trials and troubles (Isaiah 45:15). But He's still there. And you are still baptized. Still absolved. Tomorrow you will hear again the promise that by the Cross of Christ God still declares you His concern, His righteous child. You will even eat and drink the Body and the Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." And though everything around you changes, God's promises never will. Breathe. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest upon His unchanging grace; In ev'ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. ("My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" LSB 575, st.2)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/22/20226 minutes, 41 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Daily Lectionary: Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. . . .Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. (Joel 1:13-14)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As the people of God gather today, the minister still takes the lead: "O almighty God, merciful Father." The rest of God's children then join in the cry, "I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment" (LSB, p.184).With the prophet, we, too, know that there's no point digging in our heels. While there may be no direct correlation between our sin and the trials and troubles we face in life (think Job), the trials and troubles we do face could never hold a candle to the trials and troubles, both "temporal and eternal," our sins say we deserve. The proper response among God's people to any trial, or to the locust plague Joel writes about today is not, "Why me, God?" As Luther's first of 95 theses teaches, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." In other words, the proper response is, "Thank You, God, for not giving me what I truly deserve, what my sins rightly merit. Thank You for giving all of that instead to Jesus, on the Cross, for me. And thank You for all the blessings You do give me."You will never find such faith by looking within. It's not born by mulling over your own subjective experiences. It is born of the Gospel. That is, it is given by God Himself every day in the water and promise of Baptism. By God as your pastor absolves you and preaches the Gospel to you. By God with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Faith is yours as the Gospel is yours. As the Gospel promises, everything that is yours belongs to the Cross now, and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to you, now. There's your faith. Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My soul, now praise your Maker! Let all within me bless His name Who makes you full partaker Of mercies more than you dare claim. Forget Him now whose meekness Still bears with all your sin, Who heals your every weakness, Renews your life within; Whose grace and care our endless And saved you through the past; Who leaves no suff'rer friendless But rights the wrong at last. ("My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker" LSB 820, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 
1/21/20225 minutes, 55 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Romans 12:6-16Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23; Romans 9:19-33  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty. (Romans 12:15-16a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. COVID. Mask mandates. Vaccinations. Earthquakes. Fires. Hurricanes. The Taliban. Afghanistan. Wars. Rumors of wars. Critical Race Theory. The border. China. Russia. Defund the police. Cyberattacks. Global warming. I could say, it's all going according to plan (Matthew 24:6-14). Still, there's enough fear going around, it can get anyone lost inside themselves. What to do? Here's what to do: Listen to your pastor. Listen as he speaks the words of Holy Absolution to you. Those words were purchased for you by Jesus' death for you on the Cross. Listen as he preaches the Gospel to you. Jesus was crucified for you, erasing the distance between you and God. Listen as he points you to your Baptism, where Jesus daily preserves your status before God as holy and righteous. Listen as he brings you the Body and Blood and says, "For you, for the forgiveness of sins." Pray the liturgy. Sing the hymns. Go home again with the peace of God given you in the Benediction.Your heavenly Father never asks you to pick yourself up by your own bootstraps. He knows you can't. He knows you are a child. But He also knows you are His child. It's what the Gospel is for. It's why God not only gives you the Gospel, but also leaves the Gospel with you. The Gospel is not only for eternal life, it's for this life as well. For with the Gospel, God not only frees and brings you to Himself, He frees and brings you to your neighbor. That's what Paul is writing about today. Let God play the role of God, while you play the role of neighbor. He's got this. With those who rejoice, rejoice. With those who weep, weep. He's got this. With those who fear, point to the hope God has promised all of us in Jesus. He's got this. Abhor evil and cling to the good. He's got this. In tribulation, be patient. And pray. He's got this. Bless, don't curse. He's got this. Find a way to outdo others in showing love and honor to all. He's got this. And, best of all, through thick and thin, He's got you, too. That's the promise of the Gospel. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ, our human likeness sharing, Heaven's love on earth portrayed; Christ, the Shepherd, tending, caring, In His death our ransom paid: Christ, the Savior, Christ the Servant, Be your love in us displayed. ("Christ, Our Human Likeness Sharing" LSB 847, st.1) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/20/20226 minutes, 30 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To WidowsDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29; Romans 9:1-18The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. (1 Timothy 5:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At the time of Luther, the church was saying that there were works to get to, super-duper good works, in order for you to be declared good in God's sight. Pray the rosary so many times each day. Pray to the saints. Join a monastery. Put enough money in the offering plate to make God Himself take notice. Do the penance prescribed by the priest. Make a pilgrimage to Rome. On and on went such lists. And if all you did was go to work, change diapers, wipe noses, raise a family, provide for your children, bear with the sins of others? You were never going to be declared good enough in God's sight. Not in this life, anyways. Make it to purgatory by being at least "good enough" in the eyes of the church, and your sufferings there would do for you what Jesus' Cross here never could, according to that teaching: declare you, a sinner, holy and righteous in God's sight.Luther knew better. The Gospel taught him better. Jesus' death for the sins of the whole world has already declared you good in God's sight. Righteous. His child. An heir of Paradise. There are no works, ordinary or super-duper, for you to get to in order for those declarations to be true for you now. Jesus' death upon the Cross for you makes that true for you now. His Word promises it to you. Your Baptism seals it for you. The Supper celebrates it for you.And that makes even the most ordinary works you do extraordinary now in God's sight. Even just a prayer? Yes. For by the death of His Son for you upon the Cross, God has you so wrapped up in His redeeming love that there is never a moment now when He isn't delighting in you. Even if "all" you can muster is a quick prayer. Or a diaper change. Even then. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sin, disturb my soul no longer; I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus' cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood? Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I've traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with Me! ("God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It" LSB 594, st.2-3)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/19/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Confession of St. Peter

Today's Reading: Mark 8:27-9:1Daily Lectionary:  Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Romans 8:18-39And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." (Mark 8:29) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Peter properly says, "You are the Christ" (Mark 8:29). But because man is always trying to squash Jesus into his own scheme of things, Jesus "strictly charged them to tell no one about him" (Mark 8:30). Jesus would tell us about Himself and what it means for Him to be the Christ for us. And what a telling it is. "And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected. . . and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31). Man thinks he can save himself. Jesus thinks man must get out of the way. "For whoever would save his life will lose it" (Mark 8:35). Man thinks he can give his own death in return for his life. Jesus responds, "What can a man give in return for his life?" (Mark 8:37) With his mind set "on the things of man" (Mark 8:33), what is Peter thinking? That a faith trusting its own work and merit is how best to follow Jesus? At the very least, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). Nobody really wants to be ashamed of herself and her own righteousness. What we must all learn, however, is that such a cross, or such despair of self, is actually godly and wholesome. It frees us to abandon our confidence in ourselves and trust in Jesus alone. Not cheerleader Jesus. Dead Jesus. Risen Jesus. Not life-coach Jesus. Word Jesus. Water Jesus. Supper Jesus. The Jesus who takes the fruit and promise of His Cross and gives it to us as our own. Who would even bark, "Get behind Me, Satan!" to any voice trying to get in the way of His going to the Cross for us.No, you are not the source of your confidence before God. Jesus is. The "FOR YOU" Jesus whom God sends for Peter and you. The beaten, dead, and risen Jesus. These are the things of God. And they are for Peter. And they are for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ. Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no one else; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Confession of St. Peter)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/18/20226 minutes, 12 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 33:12-23Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 39:1-10, 17-29; Romans 7:21-8:17Yet you have said, "I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight." (Exodus 33:12b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you know that you've found favor with God? When you're popular and everyone likes you? What if they don't, and even friends betray you? Is it when you are healthy and strong? What about when you are sick and weak? Is it when you are rich? What if you are poor? How do you really know you have found favor with God? Beware of the devil's preachers. They love pointing away from the Cross. Rather than teaching you to hide yourself in the promise of Jesus and His sacrifice for you on the Cross, they teach you to ignore all that and instead to look at yourself and your circumstances. After all, they know the plans God has for you--that you will be popular, liked by all, healthy, strong, and rich in this life. Fall for that, and you will end up hating God when those plans don't work out. Remember, Moses was a sinner, a murderer, even. Yet Moses found favor with God. Look at Moses and his circumstances, and you'd never believe it--sinner that he was, exiled from his homeland, wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, not even being allowed to enter the Promised Land. But don't look there anymore than you would look at yourself or your circumstances to see if you have God's favor or not. Instead, like Moses, listen to God's promises to you. "I know you by name" (Exodus 33:12). That's the promise God makes to you every day in Baptism, tying you to the promise of Jesus' sacrifice for you on the Cross. "My presence will go with you" (Exodus 33:14). That's the promise God makes with Jesus' Body and Blood at the Supper, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." "And I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14) is the promise God makes with you in every Absolution and sermon you hear from your pastor. How do you know that you've found favor with God? Hide yourself! Hide yourself in Jesus. All eyes on His Cross. Because whatever your circumstances, Jesus' death declares you to be holy to God, His child, an heir to eternal life. That's the favor God has promised you in this life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure: Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r. ("Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me" LSB 761, st.1) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/17/20226 minutes, 24 seconds
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The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: John 2:1-11Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 38:1-23; Romans 7:1-20On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. (John 2:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus could have chosen anywhere for His first miracle. The Jordan River or the Red Sea. A cemetery or hospital. The temple in Jerusalem. The wilderness or some mountain top. But Jesus chooses a wedding where a man and a woman are brought together and declared one.You say you and God are like Mars and Venus? Or maybe oil and water? You don't mix? You're always questioning God? Doubting His Word? Convinced someone, or something else, is in control? You don't fear God's threats or trust His promises like you should? You are often unfaithful in your calling as a son, daughter, student, or neighbor? At times you are even angry at God? Well, you are no different than I am, then.Good News, fellow Martian: Just like Jesus' birth, just like Jesus' death, just like Jesus' Resurrection, and ascension, and Word, and water, and Supper, Jesus' first miracle promises you that you and God are together, now and forever. Declared to be at one with each other, in Jesus. For all that Mars and Venus, or oil and water business? Yeah, God knows all about the unbelief and sin in us that separates us from Him. That makes us all damnable sinners in His sight. But here's the Good News: God put that on Jesus when Jesus went to the Cross for you. He became the Martian, the sinner, the "you" for you. And His blood now covers it all.And to teach you to trust this Good News, Jesus adds His Word to water in Baptism today, preserving your union with God as holy and pure. All God sees when He looks at you now, in Jesus, is His blameless and righteous child. Jesus even adds His Word to bread and wine, making sure the wedding feast continues at the Supper: "Take, eat; take, drink; My Body, My Blood, for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Sounded crazy when Mary told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." But it worked out well for everyone, didn't it? It will for you, too, as Jesus tells you with His first miracle. "Fear not. Trust Me. You and God are one now, in Me. Together now, forever." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany)  -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/16/20228 minutes, 38 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Psalm 66:1-5, 20; antiphon: Psalm 66:4; 92:1)Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow's Introit calls out at four times the promise of the Gospel, that "all the earth" is included at the Cross, that "all the earth" has been scooped up by God and reconciled to Him by the blood Jesus shed for all upon the Cross, and that "all the earth" belongs to its rightful Maker again--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."Come and see what God has done" (Isaiah 66:5). That is the essence of true worship. God does not want to be worshipped by our showing Him works in exchange for His love. All we can offer God, even with our "righteous deeds," are sins (Isaiah 64:6). That's a harsh judgment, not shared at all by the world around us. Nevertheless, it is the judgment of God's holy Law (Romans 3:23). God wants to be worshipped by your seeing and receiving the works He does for you. He sent Jesus to the Cross for you, with all your sins. Jesus died for you, for all your sins. Jesus rose for you, with all of your sins answered for in His death for you upon the Cross. Now Jesus comes to you in His Word, in His water, and at His Supper with all the promise and blessing of His Cross, declaring you holy in God's sight, His child, an heir to eternal life.And while it may seem a huge overstatement when tomorrow's Introit cries out, "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you," don't be fooled by what you see all around you. I know, it doesn't look that way and it seems that God has been left out of the picture. But you and I also know this: "All the earth" is included at the Cross, has been scooped up by God and reconciled by the blood Jesus shed for it, and it belongs to its rightful Maker again. That means even the craziness and evil of this world must, and will, serve only the plans and purposes of your heavenly Father. What Gospel! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world's remotest races, Upon whose weary faces The Sun looks from the sky, Shall run with zeal untiring, With joy Your light desiring That breaks upon them from on high. Lift up your eyes in wonder—See, nations gather yonder From sin to be set free. The world has heard Your story; Her sons come to Your glory; Her daughters haste Your light to see. ("Arise and Shine in Splendor" LSB 396, st. 3-4)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/15/20226 minutes, 20 seconds
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Friday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Luke 2:41-52Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:33-37:14; Romans 5:1-21And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. (Luke 2:51)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stunning. The One who gave the Law places Himself under the Law, even under the Fourth Commandment. Why? For you, "to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:5). That's the promise you received in your Baptism (Galatians 3:27).Stunning. Jesus places Himself under the Law to do for us what we cannot, and will not, do for ourselves (Romans 8:7). He will honor His father and mother. He will obey them. He will be submissive to them. He will keep the Fourth Commandment, and all the other commandments, perfectly. He will live His life in such a way that His own Law could never accuse or condemn Him. And yet, it did. For you. Stunning. For 12-year-old Jesus would one day take His life and sacrifice it for you on the Cross. It's where the Passover sacrifices in the temple were all pointing--to Jesus, to His Cross, to the sacrifice by which you at age 12, and every age before and every age after, are reconciled to God, and promised your spot in the Father's house. In the place of sacrifice at age 12, Jesus was already thinking about you.And Jesus still is thinking about you. In Baptism, Jesus washes you every day with the promise of His Cross. In the Absolution and sermons you hear from your pastor, He is still speaking His sacrifice over you. And at the Supper, with His Body and Blood, Jesus still makes sure that when His Father looks at you, all He sees is another Law keeper: "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Stunning.And while you may feel like beating yourself up for the times you have been the cause of your parents' distress, take comfort in knowing even Jesus' parents were once distressed over Him. If Jesus could be so misunderstood, don't be surprised that you can be, too. Remember that God has already declared you holy and His, because of Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Within the Father's house The Son has found His home, And to His temple suddenly The Lord of life has come. Lord, visit Thou our souls And teach us by Thy grace Each dim revealing of Thyself With loving awe to trace Till we behold Thy face And know as we are known Thee Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Coequal Three in One. ("Within the Father's House" LSB 410, st.1, 5-6)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/14/20225 minutes, 53 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Joshua 3:1-3, 7-8, 13-17Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 36:13-28; Romans 4:1-25Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. (Joshua 3:17)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever asked yourself, "Why is my Bible so heavy?" Jesus. That's why. The Holy Spirit just can't contain Himself. He keeps putting Jesus here and there. Out in the open. Under every branch and leaf. Again and again, verse after verse, you will find Jesus.Our reading begins, "Then Joshua rose early in the morning" (Joshua 3:1). Why do we need to know when Joshua rose? Think Jesus. For Jesus, Joshua's New Testament namesake, also rose early one important morning--the morning that He led us across the river we call death by dying for us, our death, on the Cross. We are told that "at the end of three days" they sent officers throughout the camp (Joshua 3:2). Why do we need to know it was "after three days"? Again, think Jesus. For it was on "the third day" (Luke 24:7) that Jesus rose from the dead for us, forever sending the bright beams of resurrection life throughout the camp of all the baptized.In the beginning, middle, and end of our reading we get the phrases "passed over" (Joshua 3:1, 16), "pass over" (v.14), and "passing over" (v.17). Again, think Jesus. For with all your sin on the Cross, God's wrath has nowhere else to land but upon Jesus. God's wrath passed, is passing, and will forever pass over you now.Your Bible is so heavy because the Holy Spirit can't help Himself. He can't stop talking about Jesus. He wants you to hear that Jesus is the "dry ground" your Baptism promises will be under your feet every day. That Jesus is the "dry ground" God puts under you with every Absolution and sermon you hear from your pastor. That Jesus' Body and Blood, given you at His Supper, is the "dry ground" upon which you have already crossed, and will always cross, the muddy Jordan, untouched by its death (John 6:54). Our Joshua has arrived. And like Joshua of old, our Joshua will safely lead us across the Jordan into the Promised Land of eternal life. It's why God sends Jesus. It's why your Bible is so heavy. For you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come you faithful, raise the strain Of triumphant gladness! God has brought His Israel Into joy from sadness, Loosed from Pharaoh's bitter yoke Jacob's sons and daughters, Led them with unmoistened foot Through the Red Sea waters. ("Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain" LSB 487, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/13/20226 minutes, 27 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To YouthDaily Lectionary: Ezekiel 34:1-24; Romans 3:19-31Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:5-6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Under the discipline of "those who are older," God's hand can seem quite mighty at times. Add to that the burden and pressure of all the other things life throws at you, and that hand seems even mightier.Through it all, trust that hand. It bears you no harm at all. God's hand poured out all its harm on Jesus when Jesus humbled Himself and carried your sin to the Cross for you (Philippians 2:4-11). All that is left in God's hand, now, is forgiveness and love for you. Through it all, then, trust that hand. God is training you as a Father (Hebrews 12:7-11) to live each day according to His promises, not according to your surroundings. He's teaching you to find meaning and life not in what could be, but in what actually is. God is disciplining you, as His child, so that you learn to find courage and strength not in your circumstances, but in His Word alone. What has He spoken to you in His Word? What has He promised you? Jesus. That's What. That's Who. Jesus on the Cross for you. Jesus in Baptism for you. Jesus in Absolution and sermons for you. Jesus in the Supper for you. Jesus on the Last Day for you. Jesus, to forgive and to save you all the way through. It's okay not to be the one in charge, because the One in charge is God Himself. He's the maestro. We are the orchestra, His masterpiece. I know. Sometimes, you don't like the sound of the music. I get that. He gets that, too. But, don't ever forget this: By sending Jesus to the Cross for us, God has reconciled the entire band to Himself. And that includes you. God knows where you are. He put you there. He knows what you are going through. He's there with you. Give it time. For the time will come when God raises you up to see that His goodness and mercy were always there. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What God ordains is always good: He is my friend and Father; He suffers naught to do me harm Though many storms may gather. Now I may know both joy and woe; Someday I shall see clearly That He has loved me dearly. ("What God Ordains Is Always Good" LSB 760, st.4)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/12/20226 minutes, 23 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 33:1-20; Romans 3:1-18For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. (1 Corinthians 1:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How insulting. Imagine your pastor walking out on Sunday morning and addressing your congregation like Paul addresses the Corinthians here, going so far as to call the majority "foolish," "weak," "low and despised," and even "not noble" (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). How rude. Right?The story is as old as Cain and Abel. You can read in Genesis about the accomplishments of their families. Cain's has all the high achievers. Earth is clearly their home. Abel's? It's as if his people are pilgrims here, strangers and aliens. Their thoughts seem to be elsewhere.   With his offering, Cain was shocked when God didn't recognize his amazingness. In contrast, Abel trusted that God would remember the coming sacrifice of His Son on the Cross for the sins of the whole world, including his own. Heaven is clearly his home.There is a Cain in all of us, sticking his chest out, imagining that God's got the best pickup team of all time since he has us on His side. The old Adam within doesn't always have a tail and a pitchfork. Sometimes he sports a halo and wears a crown.Repent of that Cain within. And repenting, hear the promise and joy of the Gospel again: "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).    Not because of you, but because of God--His doing, His water, His Word, and His Supper--you are in Jesus now. That is, you are in God's wisdom now, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. You are saved not by the aid or help of grace, but entirely by grace. Insulting? Sure. But for the "foolish," the "low and despised," who have only sins to offer God? What good news! Luther says he needs to hear the Gospel every day, because he forgets the Gospel every day. Great confession! Because it's not our smarts, our grip, or anything about us that saves us. It's all God. It's all grace. It's all Jesus. Call that our shame, fine. We call it our boast. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy works, not mine, O Christ, Speak gladness to this heart; They tell me all is done, They bid my fear depart. To whom save Thee, Who canst alone For sin atone, Lord shall I flee? ("Thy Works, Not Mine, O Christ" LSB 565, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/11/20226 minutes, 40 seconds
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Monday of the First Week after the Epiphany

Today's Reading: Isaiah 42:1-7Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32; Romans 2:17-29"I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:6-7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What if I told you that God has a picture of you on His refrigerator in heaven and it makes Him smile every time He passes by it? What if I told you that God sees no sin at all in your past that diminishes that smile? That you are completely holy and righteous in His sight, even right now? What if I told you that God promises you nothing will change His mind about you tomorrow, that this same judgment will be yours all the way through to the Last Day and beyond?I know. "That's not true for me," you say, "because you don't know me." At least, not like God does, right? Well, that's my loss, not God's. Because here's what you're forgetting: God promises never to deal with you apart from the prism and promise of Calvary. That's the promise He made to the whole world the day Jesus suffered and died for us on the Cross. It's the promise He made with you personally the day you were baptized. And it's the promise He keeps putting into your ears with every Absolution and sermon you hear from your pastor and every time He prepares His Table before you with Jesus' Body and Blood. "For you, for the forgiveness of sins." You are the prisoner whom Jesus sets free every day, from every sin. You are the one Jesus brings forth from the darkness. Your blind eyes are the eyes God opens by making Jesus His forever promise to you. And even if you are "a bruised reed" right now, or a "faintly burning wick," God always promises you Jesus: He's got this, now. He's got you, now. And He's never letting go. That's the covenant, the promise, that God makes with you in Jesus. And He's not at all discouraged about it. It's why, because of Jesus, He smiles every time He passes His refrigerator. Your face is on it, after all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand; I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home. ("Precious Lord, Take My Hand" LSB 739, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/10/20226 minutes, 15 seconds
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The Baptism of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Matthew 3:13-17Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32; Romans 2:17-29John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (Matthew 3:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John thinks man should be the confidence of his own life before God. Jesus thinks He should be. John thinks if there is to be forgiveness, it must be because of our own works. Thinking from above, Jesus knows that if there is to be forgiveness, it must be up to His works. It's why Jesus is baptized today.And John does not say, "We were beginning to wonder about you, Jesus, and whose side You are on. Thanks for clearing that up for us." Jesus knows that Baptism is not something we do for God, but something God does for us. It's for the forgiveness of sins. It's why John balks at the thought of baptizing Jesus. But Jesus is baptized because God sent Jesus for us, to be  our righteousness for us. It is why Jesus answers, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Jesus will sacrifice His own sinless life for you on the Cross. It's why He places Himself into the water, today. For you. For in the water, Baptism washes Jesus and all His righteousness onto you as it washes you and all your sin onto Him. That means, if heaven stands open to Jesus at His Baptism, it stands open now to you at yours. It means that as the Spirit descends and remains on Jesus, and the Father smiles and says, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," these same treasures belong to you in your Baptism. So, when sin gets the better of you, and you don't measure up, and you wish you were a better Christian, make the sign of the Cross and remember your Baptism into Christ. You are not your own confidence before God. You are not your own righteousness with God. Jesus is, for you. And guess what? God can't imagine a better righteousness than that. So smile. Your Baptism promises that God is always smiling on you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Baptism of our Lord)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/9/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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Saturday of Epiphany Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the Baptism of Our Lord (Psalm 89:1, 26-28; antiphon: Liturgical Text; Psalm 89:20)Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 3:12-27; Romans 2:1-16I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. (From the Introit for the Baptism of Our Lord)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday came the happy cry, "Arise, shine, for. . . the glory of the LORD has risen upon you" (Isaiah 60:1). That's because for God's children there is always much to do every day: learning to confess our own sins, trusting the promise of Jesus' Cross in our Baptism, in His Word, and at His Supper, helping to lighten the load a little for those around us with the good works we can do for them. And before we even give a thought to any of it, God has already declared all of it, and you, holy in His sight. "Arise, shine, for. . . the glory of the LORD has risen upon you!" This is why, like tomorrow's psalmist, the baptized will gather in the house of the Lord and sing not of their steadfast love, but of God's. In the liturgy, the hymns, and the prayers, our mouths will echo the forgiveness and the salvation God has spoken to us in the Absolution, preached to us in the sermon, and delivered to us at the Supper. Like tomorrow's psalmist, the baptized will confess that it is the forever faithfulness of God that makes Jesus "the Rock" of our salvation (Psalm 89:26).        The psalm from tomorrow's Introit is all about Jesus. "He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation'" (Psalm 89:26). Hear Jesus crying this for you, as He is conceived and born for you. Hear Him crying it, for you, as He lives for you and as He suffers and dies for you. Hear Jesus crying this for you as He rises from the dead for you and ascends "to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" (John 20:17). Hear this cry every day in your Baptism. Hear it tomorrow in the Invocation, in the Absolution and sermon, in the Supper and Benediction. For this cry is now your cry, too. From Jesus' lips to yours lips, all the way to the Father's ears.  And because the Father always hears Jesus, rest assured, He always hears you, especially when it's the words of Jesus that are on your lips. It's the promise of the Gospel. "You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation (Psalm 89:26). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Take my voice and let me sing Always, only for my King; Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee. ("Take My Life and Let It Be" LSB 783, st.3) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/8/20226 minutes, 14 seconds
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Friday of Epiphany Week

Today's Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 1:1-14, 22-28; Romans 1:1-17Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Up and at 'em!" my father would call out from the doorway as I tried desperately to catch a few more Zs. But Dad wasn't having it. It was Saturday. There were chores to do. Things that needed to be done. "Up and at 'em!" came the cry, at the crack of noon. For years, I wondered what in the world "Adam" had to do with Saturday mornings. I didn't realize, until years later, Dad was saying "at 'em," not "Adam." Still, with a grin on his face, born no doubt more of the pain on mine than over any confusion over who "Adam" might be, Dad cried out, "Up and at 'em!" Sometimes it was just, "Rise, and shine!" Either way, I was nowhere near ready to rise and "whatever," especially on Saturdays. "Come on, Dad. There's nothing in me, from me, about me that wants to. Can't you just leave me alone, Dad? At least until I feel more like being at 'em or rising and shining"?Dad didn't cry out to me because he knew how bright and cheery I was, especially on Saturdays, but because he knew, even then, that I was his. It's the same with God in today's reading from Isaiah. He knows our sin, and all the darkness and burden our sin, and the sin of the world, has brought. He also knows there is nothing in us, from us, or about us that wants to "rise and shine." But He also knows that we're His, now, no matter what, because that's the promise of the Gospel.That's the promise of Jesus' sacrifice for you on the Cross. It's the promise Jesus washes onto you every day in your Baptism, speaks to you through your pastor every Sunday, and feeds you with at His Supper. God will even claim you again with Jesus on the Last Day. So for now? You got it. "Up and at 'em!" For you are not your own light anymore. You are not your own righteousness, or hope, or brightness, or anything else with God. Jesus is. Jesus always is. And that's mighty Good News, especially on those "Saturdays." "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Arise and shine in splendor, Let night to day surrender. Your light is drawing near. Above, the day is beaming, In matchless beauty gleaming; The glory of the Lord is here. ("Arise and Shine in Splendor" LSB 396, st.1) -Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/7/20226 minutes, 19 seconds
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The Epiphany of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:1-12Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 66:1-20; Luke 3:21-38When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (Matthew 2:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why not rejoice with "exceedingly great joy"? Though they came from so far away, the wise men were certainly included in the angelic announcement made at Jesus' birth: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).   Rejoice, all of them. And, rejoice, you, too. For God scoops you up with the birth of His Son and includes you, too, in that promise. Here, in this Child, is God's answer to all of your sin, whoever you are. Here, Jesus, is God's answer to your own unbelief. Here is God's answer to all the darkness and misery of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's sin and unbelief. For here, in Jesus, is the Good Shepherd who "lays down His life for the sheep" (John 10:11) that they, the wandering and unimpressive, now have eternal life. It's no ordinary joy, then, that God splashes onto you every day in your Baptism. It's "exceedingly great joy." It's Jesus joy. Jesus is born to live for you, perfect faith in God and perfect love for neighbor, He not only sacrifices for you on the Cross, He now washes it over you every day in your Baptism. Your past? Holy in God's sight. Your present? Holy. Your tomorrow? Holy. Your last day? You guessed it--holy now in God's sight. So great is this joy. No, this is no ordinary joy. It is exceedingly great joy. So great, God gives you a pastor to deliver it to you every Sunday in the Absolution and in the preaching of the Gospel. So great, God even prepares a Table of this joy with Jesus' own Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." No matter the distance, then, no matter how far away you feel from God, the star, the wise men, the Cross, and the Word, water, and Supper of Jesus all announce: "Fear not. The promise is for you, too. Always for you, too." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Epiphany of our Lord)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/6/20226 minutes, 21 seconds
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The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, to Employers and SupervisorsDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 65:8-25; Luke 3:1-20Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. (Ephesians 6:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," wrote Lord Acton at the end of the 19th century. Lords know about power. In fact, the definition of lord is "one who wields power, authority, or influence." It can also be a verb that means to wield power in a domineering way. Lord Acton recognized the problem that comes with lordship--you tend to lord it over people. It's a common human trait. Power tends to go to your head. Once you get a little taste of it, you want more and more. Jesus once said to His disciples, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them" (Matthew 20:25). The way of the world is to exercise lordship in a domineering way. "It shall not be so among you," Jesus continues. "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26–28).In the upside-down, topsy-turvy kingdom of God, lordship means becoming a servant, a slave, and to give your life for the sake of another. The nature of God's kingdom, then, impacts the way that Christians act as masters or lords. Masters and lords must not threaten—that's wielding power. Instead, they should serve. Masters and lords are not authorized to take from those they manage; they are placed in a position of authority to give. Even the most powerful masters and lords on this earth must admit that they are at best middle management in light of the lordship of Jesus. He is the Lord of lords and every lord on earth derives his name and office from Christ. Servant, slave, and master alike all benefit from our Master in heaven, who shows no partiality, but gives His life for the benefit of all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Dear Father in heaven, You are the Lord of lords and Master of all, and You show no partiality. Thank You for removing the threat of punishment by the grace given us in Your Son. We confess that we love to lord our power over others, and for that we need Your forgiveness. Give us hearts willing to serve, even as we have received from Your Divine Service. For the sake of Jesus. Amen.-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/5/20225 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Eleventh Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-19Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 64:15-65:2; Luke 2:41-52If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's not always fun being a Christian. Sometimes it's embarrassing. Sometimes people make fun of you. Sometimes they insult you. They may even raise their hands in violence against you. In the first centuries of the Church, Christians were routinely punished with death. In the ancient world, execution was not by lethal injection, but by sword, by saw, by lion, by cross, and by pyre. Christians today rarely face such inventive executions, thanks be to God. But we behave as if even the slightest insult against our faith is a sign that God has abandoned us. We strike back with bitter words and insults of our own, the spirit of the world resting upon us.For as long as the Name of Christ has been around, people have insulted those who bear that Name. But in Jesus' inaugural sermon on the side of the mountain, He inverts the insult. Far from being a curse, Jesus declares insults for His Name to be a blessing. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11–12).We can bear insults and even injury for the sake of Christ because He bore insults and injury for our sake. No matter how vicious or inventive the insult, it all ends up as blessing because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. He is Baptism's gift, who guarantees that all suffering turns to joy, death turns to resurrection, and insult turns to blessing.But it's still not easy to bear insults. It's not easy to suffer. So we pray. For ourselves. For others. For those who must bear insult and so much more for the sake of the Name of Christ. But we take heart that Jesus acknowledges every insult and every injury as His own. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Comfort, O God, with Your Holy Spirit all who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity. Grant courage and steadfastness especially to those who suffer for Your name's sake that they may receive and accept their afflictions in the confidence that You will acknowledge them as Your own. Amen. -Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/4/20225 minutes, 45 seconds
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The Tenth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Genesis 46:1-7Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:1-14; Luke 2:21-40I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again. (Genesis 46:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is everywhere. "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24). He was in Canaan. He was in Beersheeba. He was already in Egypt. Yet He says to Jacob, "I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again." God fills heaven and earth, but He promises to be with Jacob and his family and his descendants in a special way. He will lead them on their journey into Egypt and back out again. The latter promise isn't fulfilled until about four centuries later, though. It is indeed God who leads His people out of Egypt in a visible, tangible, and powerful way, clothed in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. The Lord Himself leads His people Israel from Egypt's slavery back to Canaan's promise.As the Lord leads Israel down to Egypt, His presence is not as spectacular. Yet it is no less tangible. Jacob's journey is connected to sacrifice. "So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night" (Genesis 46:1–2a). The sacrifices were the ministry of the Old Testament. Each animal offered on each altar demonstrated that God Himself was with His people in a unique way. God Himself went down with Jacob and his family in the Office of the Holy Ministry. God is indeed everywhere, Martin Luther once observed. But He is not everywhere for you. God fills heaven and earth. But that's not yet good news. Perhaps God is present to judge, punish, and avenge. His presence in the pillars of fire and cloud was most certainly not good news for the Egyptians who found themselves drowned in the sea. The sacrifices of Jacob show how God is present for you. He is present to sacrifice Himself. He offers Himself on the altar of the Cross as the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. And He does it for you. Life is a journey from birth to grave. Jesus Himself makes that journey. But death is not the end of that journey. "I will also bring you up again," He promises. In death and in life, Christ is with you and for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.While I am a pilgrim here, Let Thy love my spirit cheer; As my guide, my guard, my friend, Lead me to my journey's end. ("Come, My Soul, with Every Care" LSB 779, st.5)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, ILAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/3/20225 minutes, 54 seconds
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The Second Sunday after Christmas

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-23Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 62:1-12; Luke 2:1-20And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nathanael asked Philip (John 1:46). Philip had just told him that he had found the fulfillment of Moses and all the prophets in Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nazareth was quite a surprise. It wasn't a very prominent city. No great deeds were done there. It wasn't Jerusalem, the city of kings and the temple. It lacked the history of Bethlehem. In fact, Nazareth was never even mentioned in the Old Testament.So what prophecy is Matthew referring to? He doesn't give a specific prophet or a specific reference. Biblical scholars have proposed several answers to this riddle, but one stands out. In Isaiah 11:1 the prophet writes, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit." The Hebrew word for "branch" is netzer. The image is of a dead tree with new life growing from an unexpected root. Sounds a lot like Nazareth.The foundations of Israel had become bankrupt. The political and spiritual institutions that God had given His people were not just ineffective, they were actively turning people away from God. John, who baptized, who was the last prophet of the Old Testament, preached, "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). But off to the side, away from the center, a new Branch rises from the stump. Jesus was likely labeled "Jesus of Nazareth" as a term of dismissal or even derision. But it's a Name that perfectly describes His benefits. The Branch from Nazareth is planted on a dead tree on the outskirts of Jerusalem. But from this Branch grows the fruit of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Everything good comes from Nazareth. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday after Christmas)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/2/20225 minutes, 33 seconds
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Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Today's Reading: Luke 2:21Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 61:1-11; Luke 1:57-80And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we begin each of these Reflections in the Name of Jesus? In one of the first sermons in the New Testament Church, Peter declares, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Names can designate and differentiate, names can describe and denote, but only the Name of Jesus saves. Jesus' parents didn't pick out His Name for Him. "He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (Luke 2:21b). When the angel delivers the Name, he also delivers the Name's meaning. "Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins'" (Matthew 1:20–21). The Name of Jesus literally means, "The Lord saves." While this Name was reserved for the Son of Mary and Joseph before He was even conceived in the womb, it's not officially given to Him until a week and a day after His birth. Names and circumcision go together ever since God changed Abram's name to Abraham and gave him circumcision as a sign of the covenant He made with him. But there's also something more significant about the Name of Jesus and His circumcision: The eighth day of His life outside the womb was the first day that He shed His blood. His circumcision is a prelude to the Cross. The salvation that Jesus brings is salvation from sins, "and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22b).The Name of Jesus is given to us in Baptism. Baptism moves us into His Name, and being in His Name we receive all the benefits of that Name. The Lord saves His people from their sins by shedding His blood. So, "whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus! Name of priceless worth To the fallen of the earth For the promise that it gave, "Jesus shall His people save." ("Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love" LSB 900, st.3)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
1/1/20225 minutes, 33 seconds
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Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Today's Reading: Luke 12:35-40Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 60:1-22; Luke 1:39-56Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. (Luke 12:37)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Happy New Year! The 365th day of 2021 will soon be ending. 2022 is just around the corner. While 2021 had its joys, many people will be glad to put it in the history books. Here's to a new and brighter future!Do you plan to stay up and wait for the clock to hit midnight? When I was a kid, it was a thrill to be able to stay up late and be a part of the festivities. In my teenage years and in college, midnight was often when evening plans began. Now that I've put quite a few New Years in the rearview mirror, I'm lucky If I can stay awake to watch the ball drop on the east coast before I fall asleep. Waiting for the New Year to arrive should also remind you that as Christians, we also wait for Christ to arrive. While we know that the New Year comes at midnight, the coming of Christ is different. "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Luke 12:40).Something strange happens when the Son of Man comes, though. In any other situation, the household waits up for the master so that they can serve his needs. But Jesus turns the tables upside down. "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37). The master serves the servants! This is how things work in the upside-down, topsy-turvy kingdom of heaven. It's worth the wait. But then again, you don't really have to wait. The Master gives you a little preview of His return every Lord's Day as you recline at His altar and He serves you His Body and Blood. Watch. Wait. And prepare for the Master's return by going to His altar. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, guard and guide Thy members, Fill them with Thy boundless grace, Hear their prayers in ev'ry place. Fan to flame faith's glowing embers; Grant all Christians, far and near, Holy peace, a glad new year! Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness, Christ has done away with sadness! Hence, all sorrow and repining, For the Sun of Grace is shining! ("O Rejoice, Ye Christians, Loudly" LSB 897 st.4)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/31/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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The Sixth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Luke 2:33-40Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 58:1-59:3, 14-21; Luke 1:26-38And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. (Luke 2:40)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Can God make a rock so heavy that He can't lift it? If God can do anything, He can certainly make a rock that is exceedingly heavy. But if God can do anything He could lift it. We're stuck. Either God can't make the rock or He can't lift it--and then God can no longer do anything.But questions like this are from the devil. "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" (Matthew 4:7). It is not our place to tell God what He can or can't do. It's not our place to put God into a paradox from which He cannot escape.God does the paradox His way.Luke 2:40 reports one of the most paradoxical events the world has ever seen: "And the child grew and became strong." This Child, who was also God, grew and became strong. This Child, the Lord of heaven and earth, who can move planets with His voice, grew and became strong. Presumably at some point before He became strong, He encountered a rock that He could not lift."Kenosis" is the term that describes how Jesus set aside His divine power in the Incarnation. It comes from the Greek word that means "to empty," as it says in Philippians 2:6–7: "Though he was in the form of God, [He] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." The irony is that by making Himself unable to lift the rock, the Son of God shows that He can indeed do anything--including suffering and dying for humanity's sins. The Child Jesus grew and became strong, but His strength is measured in weakness. Likewise, the Child was filled with wisdom, but His wisdom is measured in foolishness. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25). God could do anything (including making a rock so heavy that Jesus couldn't lift it when He was a boy). But God chooses to do the Cross. The Cross is strength in weakness and wisdom in folly. But He does it. He does it for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Abide with richest blessings Among us, bounteous Lord; Let us in grace and wisdom Grow daily through Your Word. ("Abide, O Dearest Jesus" LSB 919, st.4)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/30/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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The Fifth Day of Christmas

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To WorkersDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-13; Luke 1:1-25Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:5–8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Work. Everyone's got to do it. Not everyone likes it. Some people detest it. And then there are some who do incredible amounts of work in order to avoid work. But work is not itself bad. God works. "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done" (Genesis 2:2). God likewise made man for work. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). But Adam inverted this scheme. He worked where he should have rested and harvested fruit when he should have been hearing God's Word.Sin breaks work. Instead of working for the good of creation, we want to work to please God. Instead of resting to receive God's gifts, we relax our efforts when our neighbors truly have needs. Sin turns work upon its head.But to this broken world of work, God speaks His Word. "Bondservants, obey your earthly masters. . . as you would Christ. . . rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man." Works done for others are works done for Christ! Whether you are a servant bound to a boss or a free person bound to your neighbor's needs, your works benefit the world around you. God sanctifies work once again with His Word.And this allows us to relax before God. "Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord," not in the way of rewards or karma, but that God also sends workers for your good. Through the work of others, God also blesses you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.With the Lord begin your task; Jesus will direct it. For His aid and counsel ask; Jesus will perfect it. Ev'ry morn with Jesus rise, And when day is ended, In His name then close your eyes; Be to Him commended. ("With the Lord Begin Your Task" LSB 869, st.1)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/29/20215 minutes, 46 seconds
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The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-18Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 52:13-54:10; Matthew 2:13-23Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son." (Matthew 2:13–15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Emperor Caesar Augustus reportedly once said that it was better to be Herod's pig than his son. That's because Herod executed several of his own sons to prevent them from taking power away from him. So it's really no surprise that when he got wind of a baby born to be king, he turned to violence once more. The Holy Family could have gone anywhere outside of Herod's reach for safety, but the angel directed them to Egypt. Perhaps Joseph was familiar with Egypt and even knew some people there who would let him lay low with his wife and newly born Son. But God certainly knew Egypt. That's where He sent His son Jacob for safety during a famine. And there, Jacob became a great nation. But a time came when Egypt's safe haven became an oppressive prison. So God called the sons of Jacob out of Egypt by His servant Moses.The story of salvation echoes throughout history. God called His sons out of Egypt in the Exodus and He calls His Son Jesus out of Egypt. Both calls are surrounded by death, however. The flight from Egypt and the flight to Egypt are both initiated by the deaths of sons in the final plague and the martyrdom of the innocents. Even though Joseph found safety in Egypt for the Child, His death really was inevitable. The martyrdom of the Holy Innocents bears witness to the death of Jesus.But just as God raised His Son from Egypt, He also raised Him from the dead. And because Christ is risen, the Holy Innocents will also rise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Ah, what availed King Herod's wrath? He could not stop the Savior's path. Alone, while others murdered lay, In safety Christ is borne away ("Sweet Flowerets of the Martyr Band" LSB 969, st.3)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/28/20215 minutes, 27 seconds
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St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

Today's Reading: John 21:19-24Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 51:17-52:12; Matthew 2:1-12This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John wrote many things, including several letters and the book of Revelation. But many scholars of the Bible place John's Gospel at the very end of the apostolic era, and consider it perhaps the last book of the New Testament to be written. In the final years of his life, John sets down the life of Jesus one final time. His Gospel is different from those of colleagues Matthew, Mark, and Luke. As an evangelist, John is depicted as an eagle because his Gospel soars with rich theology. The story of Jesus could have been written in many different ways. In fact, John himself testifies, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25). But why did John write these things? And how do we know that his testimony is true?John wrote the things that he wrote for a reason. "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30–31). John writes for faith and life--faith that Jesus is the Christ and God's Son, and the life that comes in His Name. And we know that his testimony is true because it's not just his testimony. "He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth--that you also may believe" (John 19:35). He writes this just after he reports the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' side when He died. The water and the blood testify with the Spirit (1 John 5:7–8). The testimony of John is the testimony of God. For you. For faith. For life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Merciful Lord, cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church that we, being instructed in the doctrine of Your blessed apostle and evangelist John, may come to the light of everlasting life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for St. John, Apostle and Evangelist)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/27/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Stephen, Martyr

Today's Reading: Acts 6:8-7:2, 51-60Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:22-26; 50:4-51:8, 12-16; Matthew 1:18-25But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can't get one day into the season of Christmas without rocks flying. Yesterday was a day of joy, of glory for God, peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Today men grind their teeth in a rage at the message of Jesus. It's perhaps the second starkest contrast in the Church's entire year of grace. Jesus is born and then Stephen is martyred.The Greek word "martyr" means "witness." A martyr is anyone who bears witness about anything and the content of their testimony is their "martyria." Eventually the term martyr took on a more specific meaning to denote anyone who bore witness to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus unto their own death. Their blood was the witness that they bore. Martyrdom was common in the early years of the Christian Church.Stephen's martyria is one of the longest in Scripture. You should read the verses in between Acts 7:2 and 7:51. Stephen rehearses the history of Israel, then demonstrates that it all was a prelude to Jesus. Yet God's work is met with resistance every step of the way. Stiff-necked people always resist the Holy Spirit. Stephen preached the Law and it enraged his opponents. But what got him killed is the essence of his martyria. "And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'" (Acts 7:56). It's interesting to note that every week in the creed we confess that Jesus sits at God's right hand, but Stephen specifically says that Jesus is standing. This should remind us of the starkest contrast in the Church's entire year of grace. One Friday Jesus hangs on a tree until He is dead. And then on the Third Day after that, He stands again. That's what resurrection means--the dead man stands up again. And so Stephen's martyria is not a witness unto death, but a witness unto life--the life that we have in Christ. Stephen will stand again. And so will you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, in the midst of our sufferings for the sake of Christ grant us grace to follow the example of the first martyr, Stephen, that we also may look to the One who suffered and was crucified on our behalf and pray for those who do us wrong; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for St. Stephen, Martyr)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/26/20216 minutes, 8 seconds
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The Nativity of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 2:1-20Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-18; Matthew 1:1-17"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14 NKJV)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A peculiar choir gathers in the field outside Bethlehem. Angels gather before an audience of shepherds and sing a new song, for the Lord has done a marvelous thing. Their hymn of three parts praises the birth of Jesus and what it means for God and for us."Glory to God in the highest." Glory is revelation. The glory of God in the Old Testament was the visible manifestation of His presence in cloud and fire. But as the first chorus of the angels' hymn reverberates through the countryside, God makes Himself known in a new way. No longer wrapped in fire and clouds, the shepherds can find Christ the Lord wrapped in swaddling cloths. The flesh of a newborn baby is glory for God. The One who reigns in the highest has made Himself known by descending among the lowest."And on earth peace." Jesus was born in a time of relative peace in the world. But peace on earth is often maintained by force and threat of violence; the world is always on the edge of war. The peace that comes with the birth of Jesus isn't worldly peace, however. Since Adam's sin, humanity has been at enmity with God. The only solution for this war was for God's Son to cross enemy lines, to Himself become a man, and to suffer the violence that a ruler thought necessary to keep the peace. But by suffering violence, Jesus brings peace on earth. "Peace be with you," is the message of the resurrection (John 20:19). "Goodwill toward men!" How does one please God? A mountain of good works won't begin to please Him; even our best works are like a pile of dirty rags. All our works are stained by bad intentions and inherited sin. But Jesus, the Son of the Virgin, earns His Father's pleasure by His obedience. "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased," declares the Father's voice from heaven (Luke 4:22b). The same voice that declares God's goodwill at Jesus' Baptism also declares you to be His beloved son or daughter, and that He is pleased with you for the sake of Christ."Gloria in excelsis Deo." Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Gloria in excelsis Deo. ("Angels We Have Heard on High" LSB 368, st.3)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/25/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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Christmas Eve

Today's Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 44:21-45:13, 20-25; Revelation 12:1-17 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In his book on Christian doctrine, St. Augustine writes that there are two kinds of signs: natural and conventional. Natural signs are those that have a relation of cause and effect, such as smoke signifying fire or a paw print in the mud pointing to a particular kind of animal. On the other hand, conventional signs do not have any intrinsic relation to the things they signify. They point to ideas or feelings or theology. In fact, this page is filled with conventional signs. Words mean things because the shapes of the letters of the English alphabet signify certain things when they're arranged in a certain order.But signs are not always clear. Sometimes signs are ambiguous: They could mean one thing; they could mean another thing. They could mean several things at once or nothing at all. Signs need to be interpreted properly. If you've ever been misinterpreted, you know how frustrating it is when you mean one thing and someone thinks you mean another. God also gives signs. He gives natural signs, like a beautiful sunrise to signify His majesty and glory. He also gives conventional signs, like the Holy Scriptures. But His signs are often misinterpreted. So sometimes He gives a sign that is neither conventional nor natural. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The Lord Himself provides the sign and the Lord Himself provides the interpretation. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)" (Matthew 1:22–23). The meaning of this sign isn't just an idea or a feeling or even theology. It's God Himself. The unconventional and unnatural sign of the virgin conception and birth signifies that God Himself is now with us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We praise You, Jesus, at Your birth; Clothed in flesh You came to earth. The virgin bears a sinless boy And all the angels sing for joy. Alleluia! ("We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth" LSB 382, st.1)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, ILAudio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/24/20215 minutes, 46 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Philippians 4:4-7Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:25-44:20; Revelation 11:1-19The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5b-7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You may have already realized that I did not start where you thought I might. I skipped vs. 4, and I suggest you read it after we are done. The true hope Paul has, that allows him to be so content in every situation, (Philippians 4:11), is in this Gospel good news promise: "The Lord is at hand!" It means that what He promises is here, right now, for you.Today is the "day before," the day before the day when God put flesh on a long-standing promise. Emmanuel will come! God will take on flesh and blood and dwell among us. The Prince of Peace will bring what His Name describes. "The Lord is at hand" to calm our anxious hearts. About 18% of the United States is on medication for anxiety. Many more limp along without treatment. We worry, fret, and fear. The cares of the day, the season, our health, and family concerns keep us up at night. How is your anxiety level just two days before Christmas? Anxiety is not new. Since sin came into the world sinners have been anxious. Jesus addresses anxiety directly in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6). Likewise, Paul directs our anxious lives to hope and peace: "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything." Did you notice how Paul did not direct you to the self-help section of the bookstore in order to decrease your stress? He simply and calmly says, "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything." Jesus brings peace.For three years Jesus preached and healed and brought peace. He calmed an anxious wedding host who ran out of wine. He slowed anxious Martha from her frenzied serving. And with the completion of His work on the Cross, He forgave you and reconciled you to God. Your past is forgiven. It died with Jesus on the Cross. The Lord is at hand. You are forgiven. The cares of today are not unknown to our omniscient (all-knowing) God. That is why He makes promises to you. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now go read vs. 4. That is the result of living in the peace and forgiveness of Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wait, then, in quiet confidence, Your anxious thoughts at rest. God knows your needs before you ask And works for what is best. ("Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord" LSB 771, st.3)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/23/20216 minutes, 24 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To ChildrenDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:1-24; Revelation 9:13-10:11Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise),"that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." (Ephesians 6:1-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about why your parents want you to obey them?  Yes, on a very small level it's because they are tired of hounding you and reminding you again and again to do the things they ask. But there is a much, much, bigger reason. Your parents want you to obey them because there is a promise from God waiting there for you. God has given you so many gifts. He has made you His own child in the waters of Holy Baptism. He has forgiven you at the cost of His own dear Son Jesus, who died on the Cross for all the times you have rolled your eyes or talked back to Mom or Dad. He has promised to guide you by His Law, so you see your salvation in Jesus alone. God has given you parents who are a good and precious gift to you. Your parents have a very important role to fill. God has put them in your life to stand in His place. They are not to be God but to teach you and love you like God does.Your parents are standing in for God to help you do your first vocation, your first job; that of their son or daughter. Just as you "fear, love and trust in God above all things," you are also to love and listen, honor, and obey your parents. They are there to show you the love of God by bringing you to the Divine Service, where God gives us His good and precious Gifts and where we hear His promises preached. When that early Sunday morning wake-up call comes, it is because your parents want the best for you, because they want God's Gifts given to you. They want you to see how God provides life for you, health for you, daily bread for you. They bring you to youth group and confirmation class in order to ground you in an unchanging promise that will carry you through when your world is rocked because of your sin and the brokenness of others. Even though you might not agree with your parents, they are a gift from God to you, to teach and shape you. They want you to receive God's eternal gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen."You are to honor and obey Your father, mother, ev'ry day, Serve them each way that comes to hand; You'll then live long in the land." Have mercy, Lord! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.5)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/22/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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St. Thomas, Apostle

Today's Reading: John 20:24-29Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 42:1-25; Revelation 9:1-12Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27-28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is a week after Jesus has risen from the dead and beaten our old evil foe of sin, death, and the devil. The disciples have locked themselves in again for fear of the Jews. Thomas is with them this time. On the first resurrection morning he was someplace else. Jesus' first words to them, both on that first resurrection morning and now a week later were the same: "Peace be with you." Jesus' words to them were more than a polite greeting. Peace was a fact, a sure and certain reality. From the moment Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30), and gave up His life as our sinless sacrifice, we all have peace with God. Even Thomas.Thomas' situation was far more serious than "doubting." He was unbelieving, rejecting Jesus and the gifts He brings. So Jesus does what He does so well. He calls unbelieving sinners to Himself. Okay, Thomas, here is what you need. Touch my hands; touch my side. And then Jesus said this: "Do not disbelieve but believe."  With a word Jesus spoke faith into Thomas. Saving faith is not a product of physical evidence. It is not a product of human reason or the will of man. In what Dr. Luther wrote about the Third Article of the creed we confess: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him." Jesus calls unbelieving sinners to Himself. His means are simple. He speaks, we believe. Paul reminds us, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). Saving faith is believing what Jesus says. He said we are forgiven, and we are because He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He said all who die in the faith He has given will rise again, because He was the firstborn of the dead. He said to Thomas, "Believe," and Thomas did. Believing in Jesus, as Thomas did, always produces fruit. Jesus called Thomas from death to life and Thomas confessed, "My Lord and my God." Jesus says, "Believe and be baptized," and we are connected to Jesus' death on the Cross. Jesus says, "Call on Me," and we pray, and He answers, giving comfort and peace. Jesus says, "Take and eat and drink," and we are forgiven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  We may not touch His hands and side, Nor follow where He trod; But in His promise we rejoice And cry "My Lord and God!" ("We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight" LSB 720, st.2)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/21/20216 minutes, 29 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-19Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:18-41:10; Revelation 8:1-13I 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. (Deuteronomy 18:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If there was anyone who spoke the Law of God to His people, it was Moses. At God's command, Moses was the Lawgiver. God wrote it with His fiery finger on Mt. Sinai and Moses carried it down to God's people. There were other faithful prophets like Aaron and Nathan, so why was Moses better? Why did God say, "I will raise up a prophet like you?" Moses interceded for his people. They were afraid of God's harsh Law and did not want to deal with God directly, so Moses stood between them and God. Moses delivered God's people. Moses stood before Israel's captor, Pharaoh, and spoke for God. "Let my son go, that he may serve me" (Exodus 4:23). God used Moses to put the Passover in place, where blood and a lamb would defend His people from death. God used Moses to lead those same people to the Promised land. This prophet will be hard to beat.We are in the fourth week of Advent. Very soon we will celebrate when the sinless Son of God took on frail flesh and blood and was born into our world. In the manger in Bethlehem the greater Moses will be swaddled. This greatest Prophet will also intercede for you. Because of your sin, God's wrath should destroy you, but there, between you and the wrath of God, is Jesus, the greater Moses, intervening on your behalf. This greatest Prophet hangs on the Cross for you. The Law that damns sinners is fulfilled completely by the greatest Prophet and then graciously gifted to you. The greater Moses, Christ the Lamb of God, delivered you from your death sentence.Jesus is the greatest Prophet and the greatest Priest. He offered Himself as the greatest sacrifice. His blood shed, once for all, forgives you every sin of commission and omission. Jesus our great High Priest does not point us ahead to a future Savior. He fulfilled the Passover just like he fulfilled the Law of God, for you, dear saint. His blood shed. His body given to you, and you are forgiven. Jesus is our great Prophet, greater than Moses. Jesus is our great High Priest, offering Himself as your total and complete sacrifice. In just a few days we remember again that Jesus is our great High King, born to serve, love, and forgive you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.His wondrous works and ways He made by Moses known, But sent the world His truth and grace By His belovèd Son. ("O Bless the Lord, My Soul" LSB 814, st.6)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/20/20216 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: John 1:19-28Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:1-17; Revelation 7:1-17And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." (John 1: 19-20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I love Advent. I love preaching about John the Baptizer preparing the way of the Lord and preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John knew who he was. He knew his purpose was to point to the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He did not try to ride on Christ's coat tails. He did not try to carve out a higher place for himself. John was confident about two things. He said, "I am not the Christ" and he knew he was not worthy to untie the strap of Jesus' sandals. A very wise pastor once told me there are really only two things one needs to know to be a faithful pastor. The first is that there is one God who forgave your sins through His Son Jesus on the Cross. The second, and most important is, that you are not Him! When we keep that in mind things are easier. Pride often gets us into trouble. Taking pride in your work or your family is a good thing. But pride takes a dangerous turn when we elevate or trust in ourselves. Check out the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. Jesus said of John, "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John" (Luke 7:28). That is high praise! And yet John did not let that accolade go to his head. John preached repentance, and he preached the Law, so people would see Jesus as their only hope and Savior. John, being the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of the New, knew who Jesus was. Savior, Redeemer, the perfect and complete sacrifice for your pride and arrogance. He also knew his own sin. He was not worthy to untie Jesus' Converse. John's boldness in preaching and pointing was not to elevate himself. It was to open blind eyes to the reality of sin and death. His preaching pointed to a long hoped-for promise of a Messiah. His preaching brought comfort, comfort to all like us who know our sin and cling confidently to our Savior, His Cross, and our forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/19/20216 minutes, 5 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Advent (Psalm 19:1, 4-6; antiphon: Isaiah 45:8a)Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10; Revelation 6:1-17The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Advent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I live in an area that is not affected by light pollution. One of the great joys I have is looking up at the night sky. On a cold January evening, when the days are short, it is easy to see the Milky Way. Science estimates that between 100 and 400 billion stars hang in our little corner of the night sky. They also want to date the birth of the Milky Way back millions or even billions of years. The psalmist writes "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." So, which is it? Millions and billions of years or "and God said" on the fourth day? If you have ever thrown a pot, or built a birdhouse, or created anything, you know the created does not rule the creator. The clay does not say to the potter, "I prefer two handles, not one." The creator creates and the created receives. The hands of the potter form and shape and fire, and the pot receives its shape and purpose. Since the fall of man, we the created have been giving orders to the Creator. Not six 24-hour days but millions and billions of years! When the created mimics the role of creator, the created will always be empty and unfulfilled. That is why created mankind, who refuses to live under the reign of the Creator God, continually pushes for change. They seek purpose, security, and independence from the eternal enemy of death. Looking up at the Milky Way, or at the majesty of a mountain waterfall clearly shows us that there is a creator. Looking at the way God dealt with Adam and Eve after they sought to be like Him shows us His mercy. He did not give them what they deserved. He gave them a promise. He gave them, and us, a Savior. Looking at the Cross of Jesus we see our benevolent and gracious Creator offering His only begotten Son as the total and complete payment for our sin. The Creator creates. He speaks creation into existence. He speaks words of forgiveness and peace to you through the blood of the perfect sacrifice, His Son. We, the created, receive. We live in His peace and promise. We have joy and purpose as we declare His glory and care for His First Article Gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Voices raised to You we offer; Tune them, God, for songs of praise. Hearts and hands we bring in tribute For Your gifts through all our days. Alleluia! Alleluia! Triune God, to You we sing! ("Voices Raised to You We Offer" LSB 795, st.1) -Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/18/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Daniel the Prophet and the Three Young Men

Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 33:1-24; Revelation 5:1-14Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 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.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." (Daniel 3:16-18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you were confirmed, you were asked, "Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?" And you answered. "I do, by the grace of God." You are in good company. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not use the same words but made the same confession. Daniel and these three young men lived in rapidly changing times. They lived in the disappointments and temptations of exile. Golden idols with the threat of death if they did not bow down demanded a faithful confession. Ordinances that demand you pray to King Darius were in direct conflict with faithfully serving the one true God whom Daniel and we serve. Our world is rapidly changing as well. "Woke" and "cancel culture" push hard to have you bow down to their will. Pressure to achieve and perform push us to conform to the will of a broken sinful world, sacrificing faithfulness to our faithful God. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful. They worshiped God. Their confession did not waver. Even when they looked into the lion's den or stood at the mouth of the fiery furnace, they did not worship false gods. They did not give in to fear. Their confession was, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us." Our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who has served us first, is able to deliver us. Every enemy, defeated. Every sin atoned for by "the Son of man," and His kingdom shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13). The fear that tries to paralyze and silence our faithful confession cannot withstand the baptismal identity which God has given you. You are a child of God, faithful and forgiven. Your confession is the same as Daniel and the three young men. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.                                 I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; Within His wounds I find a stay When Satan's pow'r assails me; And by His footsteps led, My path I safely tread. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way. ("I Walk in Danger All the Way" LSB 716, st.5)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/17/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 32:1-20; Revelation 4:1-11At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. (Revelation 4:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Can you imagine seeing what John saw?  In a divine vision John is brought into the holy throne room of God. The throne in the center is where Jesus sits. He has ascended from His work on earth. He is exalted. His humiliating work of the Cross, His death and the grave are done. He has honored His Father's promise to send us hope. He has crushed Satan's head and completed His divine work (Genesis 3:15). He is completely and totally alive and victorious. We are redeemed, forgiven, and justified by His blood as a total and complete sacrifice for ALL sin, for your sin. The angels shout, "Holy, Holy, Holy," just like in the vision Isaiah saw (Isaiah 6:3). The glory!  The majesty! It is almost too much for words to describe! John was taken into this heavenly throne room to give absolute hope that God will triumph over sin, death, and the devil. There is hope and it is for you.   What John saw can seem like a distant dream for us. We are here in the world that is fiercely divided. A difference of opinion divides you and your BFF. The culture pushes against everything you hear in church. If you disagree with your teachers or professors or are bold enough to say, "That is not true," you become a target. Fear not, dear saint. There is hope! Real, physical hope, for you, here on earth!When you gather for the Divine Service, our victorious Lord brings hope to you. You hear the result of His Calvary victory for you when your pastor pronounces the forgiveness of all your sins. You are fully free and forgiven. You hear God's Word preached to you, and it points you to the Cross where Jesus beat every enemy, for you!  We sing what John heard the angels sing when we sing the Sanctus: "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might." When the pastor lifts the Body and Blood of Jesus up, in, with, and under the bread and wine, and says, "The peace of the Lord be with you always," we have hope!  Jesus is lifted up from death's dominion. Jesus is lifted up into heaven and is sitting on His throne waiting to return. And then, hope comes to you. Take and eat; this is the Body of Christ. Take and drink; this is the Blood of Christ for you, for your forgiveness, for eternal and everlasting hope! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see, Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, Perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity. ("Holy, Holy, Holy" LSB 507, st.4)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/16/20216 minutes, 10 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To ParentsDaily Lectionary:Isaiah 30:27-31:9; Revelation 3:1-22Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I remember the look well. I had said something to one of our kids that was insensitive and rooted in anger. I knew better, but the argument had exhausted my patience and I answered with a statement I would never have let our kids say. My very next words were, "Please forgive me; that was wrong." The look from our child was one of astonishment! Instead of being told, by me, to ask for forgiveness our child was being asked to forgive me. For the first time our child began to put together the idea that we all--parents, children, family, and friends--receive and give the forgiveness won for us by Christ on the Cross. The Fourth Commandment, "Honor your father and your mother," might seem to come from the top down in its application, and to some extent it does. It is the head of the household's responsibility, given by God, to teach this to the old Adam in our children. It is also the head of the household's responsibility to hear and heed what Paul writes: "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Dr. Luther is very clear. At the beginning of each of theSix Chief Parts is this directive: "As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household." Your parents should be the primary faith teachers for you. Let's face it: Not all parents do a good job of this. Sometimes our anger gets the best of us. Sometimes when the hard questions are asked, we don't have a good answer, and we get defensive. Sometimes we simply fail in this part of our vocation. You are forgiven! Remember that. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger," is a clear reminder that we need the forgiveness that freely and lovingly flowed from Jesus' hands and head. The rest of that verse, "but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord," is Gospel for parents and children. Even though we sin and fall short of the glory of God, we are not disqualified from teaching our children. We are forgiven completely by Jesus. Even though we are not perfect teachers, the Holy Spirit continues to equip us. Our children learn by what we teach and what we model. We receive forgiveness and we give forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Oh, blest that house; it prospers well. In peace and joy the parents dwell, And in their children's lives is shown How richly God can bless His own. ("Oh, Blest the House" LSB 862, st.4)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/15/20216 minutes, 3 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:15-26; Revelation 2:1-29This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever read your school's student handbook, or an employee handbook from work? They are not page turners, that's for sure! They are dry, dull, and lead to despair. The handbook has one purpose. It clearly shows the rules. It shows the law. Any infraction of the rules and you are out. The handbook's purpose is three-fold. It seeks to identify who you are. It seeks to define what you are to do. And it lays out consequences when you forget your identity or responsibility. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4 may sound very much like a student handbook. Our identity is "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." Our responsibility is to be "found faithful." And the consequences for our failure, the consequence for our sin, is the judgment of God. If you read Paul's encouragement to the apostles through the lens of the Law only, it will lead to despair. We are not faithful. No student, no employee, no sinner is ever completely faithful. Because of that we should be found guilty, suspended, or fired.Now look at your identity as God intended it to be seen. Not based on what others say about you. Not on your perceived keeping of the Law. Look at your identity through Jesus. You are a servant and steward. You have been bought back from certain and eternal death by the blood of the sinless Lamb of God shed for you on the Cross. You are an adopted child, into a holy and loving family, through your Baptism. Your identity is not based on you at all. It is not based on your success or your failure. Thank God! Your identity is rooted in the magnanimous love of God for you. In your Baptism you were brought into the Priesthood of all believers.  A steward reflects the will and wishes of the Master. As stewards we are merciful even as our Father is merciful (Luke 6:36). We forgive as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:12). We love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Through Gospel eyes, which see Jesus on the Cross atoning for all your sin, you do not fear God's judgment. He judged Jesus for you. All your unfaithfulness, all your sin was placed on Jesus and died on His Cross. You are forgiven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Spirit, water, blood entreating, Working faith and its completing In the One whose death-defeating Life has come, with life for all.("Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying" LSB 597, st.6)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/14/20216 minutes, 13 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:15-30:14; Revelation 1:1-20Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to herthat her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's handdouble for all her sins. . .   (Isaiah 40:1-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It was the first week of school at Concordia Nebraska. I was in the commons visiting with the food service manager and I asked, "What's on the menu?" He said, "Mac and cheese, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Comfort food. These incoming freshmen need something to make them feel at home when they are not at home." We all need comfort because we are not at home. We're here, sinners, in a broken, sinful world. Broken relationships leave us bitter and untrusting. Sinful, lustful thoughts drive us to steal the gifts of the Sixth  Commandment. The world around us sings a siren song of selfishness and life without suffering. Sin always has consequences, and when the weight of my sin comes crashing down on me, I expect the worst. My guess is you do the same. That is how this broken world works. You get what you deserve without mercy. But that's not how our good and gracious God works. God's Word does what it promises. God's Word is formative. It accomplishes what it says. "Comfort!" Comfort is what it promises. Jesus on the Cross, forgiveness of sins and peace are what it delivers.  God's people didn't do anything to earn or merit God's favor. Quite the opposite. They chased false gods, and they rebelled against His authority. Completely broken, without any hope, and God gives Jerusalem "double for all her sins." Not double wrath or punishment. Not double death or eternity in hell times two. Double gift from a tender and forgiving God. He sent us Jesus who died and rose again. He gives us grace and mercy! Forgiveness and peace! Comfort and joy! Our risen Savior gives us the greatest comfort food ever as His Body and Blood are put into our mouths. Take and eat, take and drink for the forgiveness of ALL your sins. We are not at home yet. One day soon we will be with the Lord. Sin will be done. Hell will be sealed. Until then, rest in His comfort and promises for you today. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The gifts Christ freely gives He gives to you and me To be His Church, His bride His chosen, saved and free! Saints blest with these rich gifts Are children who proclaim That they were won by Christ And cling to His strong name. ("The Gifts Christ Freely Gives" LSB 602, st.1)Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/13/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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The Third Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Matthew 11:2-11Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:1-14; Jude 1-25Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them."  (Matthew 11:2-6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why did John send his disciples to Jesus? Some say he did what any great teacher would do, he sent his students to find the truth. He sent them to be catechized by Jesus. Others say that John was struggling himself. He had been in jail for a year. He was almost certain his life would end there in prison. He had questions, questions for Jesus. A lot of ink has been spilled trying to answer the question of why John sent his disciples. The answer is probably a combination of both. The important thing is not why John did what he did, but what did Jesus do in response? Jesus directed John's disciples, and John and us to look at the evidence. "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." Jesus did not direct them to look into their hearts, or at their own emotions. He directed them to see Jesus' authority over disease, dysfunction, doubt, and death. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we vacillate, daily, between a sure and certain hope in Jesus' atoning death on the Cross and saying, "Are you the one to come, or shall we look for another?" Daily we find our hope in what Jesus has done. Our blind eyes read His "Good News" and see His Cross and empty grave. That gives us His peace. Daily our old deaf Adam is drowned when we make the sign of the cross. Through our Baptism our ears are opened by His Spirit to hear His life-giving words of forgiveness for all our sins, including sins of doubt, worry, and fear. Daily our future death would try to rob us of our sure and certain hope. Jesus was in the grave first. It could not hold Him. It cannot hold you.   Your hope is not in "why." It is in what Jesus has done for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent)-Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher is pastor of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, Black Hawk, SD. He is also the vice president of Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/12/20216 minutes
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Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday in Advent (Psalm 80:1, 3, 14, 17; antiphon: Isaiah 62:11b; 30:30, 29)Daily Lectionary:  Isaiah 28:14-29; 1 John 5:1-21Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! (From the Introit for the Third Sunday In Advent)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever restored anything, maybe an old car or a house or even a piece of furniture that has seen better days? If so, you know the hours that it can take. Restoring old furniture can be a lot of work. Scraping off layers upon layers of old paint. Sanding creases, grooves, and scratches. Smoothing out the finish and finally whipping on a new coat of finish. Yes, time and effort are needed in order to make that which is old, dirty, and broken into a revived thing of beauty. Restoring things takes effort and dedication, and throughout the process, the item in question does nothing to help. Wood and metal just stand there dead and lifeless, waiting on the hands and the keen eye of the one who restores in order to bring them to life again. The writer of Psalm 80 knew that only God can restore the brokenness of mankind. This is the cry of the psalmist in the Introit for today. The writer wants the Lord God to restore His people. He wants the rough edges sanded down, the old crackled paint to be removed, the scratches and blemishes to be made like new, and finally for a new finish to be put on the people. Sinners always need to be restored, and it is only God who can do these things. The Lord delights in His chosen people; they are His creation. It is the desire of the Lord to shine forth with a face filled with grace and mercy. He wants His people to be made new. It is only by the work of God that we who are dead, lifeless pieces are brought to life once again. Jesus brings us to life. His atonement has brought us salvation. In Baptism we are covered with Christ's righteousness, and the old, sinful stain is removed so that we are made right with God. What a great gift we receive all the days of our lives! Now, because of Christ, God's face shines upon us. He looks down from heaven and sees Jesus, and we are restored saints, children of God, waiting for the coming of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, thank you for the restoration that you give to us each and every day in the waters of Baptism. Help us always to be mindful of the gifts we receive from your bountiful hand and continue to order our lives to your praise and glory. Through Jesus's Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/11/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:20-27:13; 1 John 4:1-21In this the love of God has made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the World, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The love of God is made known to us by the coming of Jesus. During the season of Advent, we prepare for the coming of the Messiah. In John's first epistle, we read about true love, the love that your Father in heaven has for you. God loved you in that He sent His only Son into this world of sin. Jesus is the clearest picture of love that we will ever see. His life, His actions, His words, His miracles--everything that He did on earth proclaimed the love that He has for us men even though we did not deserve this love.All of us were dead in our sins and enemies of God. We were the most unlovable people you could ever imagine. Our nature is selfish and filled with sin. As children of wrath, we love ourselves first. We hate one another, and we most certainly do not love God. Without a Savior we could never be right with God. Our sins have condemned us, and left on our own, we would be in hell.Jesus knew that without His love we would never love one another and we would never love God. So He willingly gave up His throne and came to earth. Born of the Virgin Mary, Christ came out of the womb, born in the same way as all men. Yet He was unique, for He came into this world without sin. Loved by His Father, He loved perfectly in return. Doing the will of Father, He set out to fulfill the Law by loving the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength and by loving His neighbor as Himself. Jesus went to the Cross, suffering all shame and facing the divine wrath of His Father on account of sin. Jesus suffered in our place and paid our price. Jesus died for you. Jesus' love flowed down in the blood and the water. His love brought forth life and salvation to all who believe. The love Christ had for you kept Him on the Cross, and His sacrifice was accepted. Jesus died. However, the grave could not hold Him, and because of His love for you, the grave will not hold you either. This is the love of God--sinners receiving life and salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, thank you for making known to us true love in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/10/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Romans 15:4-13Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:1-19; 1 John 3:1-24 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever wondered why the Old Testament was written? All those pages of names and actions of people who rebelled against God? Now once in a while, we read about a fairly good guy--maybe an Abraham, Moses, or David--but more often we read about a Cain, Samson, or Ahab. Books of the Old Testament are filled with life stories of men and women who knew the truth. They heard the voice of God in the wilderness. They saw the pillar of fire. They had eaten the bread of heaven. The prophet of God had come and had spoken to them, yet they kept right on falling into sin. Why were all these sinners written about in the Old Testament? Why did God choose to share with us the stories of all these imperfect people? Well, in the book of Romans, Paul tells us that Scripture was written so that we might have instruction, encouragement, and hope. The Bible has pages upon pages of instruction so that we might see what God requires of us. The Bible is filled with the stories of men and women who failed to listen to God so that you and I might see that we are in good company because we, too, fail to listen to the Lord. The pages of Holy Scripture are filled with the encouragement of the grace, mercy, and long-suffering love of God. For God so loved the world that even before the fall into sin, He planned to send His Son to redeem us from all our sin.The pages of Holy Scripture are written so that we might have hope. In the Bible we receive the glorious message of salvation. We learn that Christ came, took our place, and suffered our punishment. Jesus died on the Cross to forgive us and all those sinners in the Old Testament who had faith and trusted in the Lord. Instruction, encouragement, and hope--these are the reasons that the Holy Spirit caused the men of God to write the Bible. What a great gift we have received by the hand of God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Holy and most merciful God, who by your Word has taught us the truth of who we are and what we need. Continue to pour out your grace and mercy upon us so that we might live for you. In Jesus's Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/9/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, to WivesDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14-25:12; 1 John 2:15-29 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther continues to list out the duties that those who are in Christ are called by God to do. Under the category of wives, Luther simply points to Paul's letter to the Ephesians where Paul writes that wives are to submit to their husbands.When many people hear the word "submit," they immediately get upset. How dare someone tell a wife that she should yield her power and authority to her husband! However, the Greek word that is translated "submit" means that the wife, through the working of the Holy Spirit, will put herself under obedience to her husband in the same way that she is under obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. For just as Jesus is the Head of the Church, and His Bride put Herself under His leadership, so the wife does for her husband.Now the idea of placing oneself under the authority of someone else is hard for our sinful flesh. All of us want to be the boss. We want to be god and do what we desire. There are many times in the life of the Christian that we do not want to submit to Jesus and what He has written in His Holy Word. Instead we struggle and fight, trying to find a way to ignore the parts of Scripture we don't like. However, Scripture cannot be broken, and we all must repent of this sin. We must turn away from our failings and learn to submit ourselves to Christ, the Head, and to ask His forgiveness. Humbling ourselves, we confess our sins, and Christ forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.In order for marriage to work in a God-pleasing manner, the wife is called by God to submit to her husband. In doing so, she is simply doing the task that God has given to her. So also, all Christians are called by God to submit to Christ, to place ourselves under His authority, and to listen to all that He has spoken to us. When we do this, we are living as God has called us to live, and this is good and pleasing to Him.  For as we submit to Christ through faith, we are freely given His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, help us all to submit to the authority that you have placed over us. Forgive us when we fail and continue to guide us into the way of all truth. In Jesus's Name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/8/20215 minutes, 41 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Malachi 4:1-6Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:1-13; 1 John 1:1-2:14"But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." (Malachi 4:2a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The prophet Malachi was told by God to proclaim the coming judgment of the Lord. On that day, the Lord would come with great glory and might, and the arrogant and all evil doers would be set ablaze. The day of the Lord was a day of judgment for the sins of the people. This day of the Lord came to the nation of Israel when the holy city Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. This day will also come on the final day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. On that day all people who have lived on this earth will have to stand before the Judge and give an account of all that they have done. Can you imagine the feeling of dread and fear that will arise as the sins of a whole life are laid before the unrelenting gaze of the perfect Son of God? For those without Christ, it will be a day of great sadness. Their sins will condemn them. They will be judged and cast into the fires of hell to spend eternity under the wrath of God. However, for all those in Christ, this will be a day of great healing. Malachi tells us that the sun of righteousness will arise with healing. Our sins will be no more because the blood of Jesus will cleanse us. This healing was bought for you on the Cross when Jesus, the true Son of righteousness, gave up His life willingly. He died so that you might be forgiven. You and I need never fear the Day of Judgment because on that day we will stand before the judge and hear that we are forgiven. Then we will be welcomed into heaven along with all believers because of Jesus's sacrifice. What a great gift that has been given to us through faith! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, I do not deserve a glimpse of heaven, and I am unable with my works to redeem myself from sin, death, the devil, and hell. Nevertheless, you have given me your Son, Jesus Christ, who is far more precious and dear than heaven, and much stronger than sin, death, the devil, and hell. For this I rejoice, praise, and thank you, O God. Without cost and out of pure grace you have given me this boundless blessing in your dear Son. Through Him you take sin, death and hell from me, and do grant me all that belongs to him. Amen. (Luther's Prayers)-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/7/20215 minutes, 33 seconds
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Nicholas of Myra, Pastor

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 14:1-23; 2 Peter 3:1-18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you were to look at the stories that surround the birth and life of Nicholas of Myra, you will very quickly begin to think, "What a great man!" If one can believe the tales, during his Baptism as an infant, he stood in the baptismal font for three hours on his own in reverence to the Holy Trinity. Then he refused to drink milk from his mother on Wednesdays and Fridays until after evening prayers so as to begin a life of fasting in honor of God. Later on, Nicholas cast purses down chimneys so that a poor man's daughters might have dowries. According to the legends, Nicholas was a saint his whole life. So it should not surprise us that he eventually became modeled into Santa Claus because of all the gifts he would give to those in need.Nicholas's life story seems a bit far fetched, and perhaps not all of the stories are true. But what is true is that Nicholas, the archbishop of Myrna, was a child of God, and throughout his life he grew in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. His life and all the great things he did were not for his own glory. Instead, all that he accomplished pointed to the faith that he had received from the Holy Spirit. Nicholas was a sinner just like you and I. He died, and his death testified to the fact that he failed to perfectly keep the Law. Nicholas needed Jesus and the gift that He purchased by His innocent suffering and death on the Cross. Nicholas needed Christ to forgive him of all his sins.Now years later we celebrate the life of Nicholas not because of who he was, but because of what the Holy Spirit led him to do. This man is a saint just as you and I are saints, but not because of our works, not because of all the great things we accomplish, but because of Christ our Savior. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Father in Heaven, we give thanks for the examples that you have given to us in the saints who have gone before. We ask that you continue to lead us to do good works so that we might also reflect Your glory and share the message of Christ with those around us. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/6/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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The Second Sunday in Advent

Today's Reading: Luke 21:25-36Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 2 Peter 2:1-22"Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As the Day of Judgment draws near, the world in which we live will become even more chaotic. There will be signs and wonders. We will have wars. There will be storms and plagues. The earth will quake, and the whole world will be in turmoil. At this time, there will be many people in this world who will be terrified. The life they once knew will be coming quickly to an end, and even the heavens will be shaken. During a situation like this it would be easy for us to run around in a panic, to throw our hands in the air and give in to fear for what is about to happen. It would be a natural thing to do because deep down, we know that all this is happening because of us and our sin. Sinners will always face judgment, and, as we have learned, the wages of sin is always death.However, Jesus tells us that on that day when the Son of Man comes in a cloud and with great power and glory, we are not to fear. Instead of being sinners terrified by what we have done, you and I are to lift up our heads and look to the heavens because on that cloud comes our redemption. What a great comfort this is for us! You see, the great Judge who is coming on that day into this world is Jesus, our redemption. He alone paid the price necessary to save us from our sins. His blood shed on the Cross has brought us forgiveness, peace, salvation, and everlasting life.No longer do we need to fear the Day of Judgment. On that day we will not see an angry judge; instead you and I will see and hear the voice of our dear Shepherd. He will say on that day, "Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest."So we watch and wait, gathering together as the Body of Christ, encouraging one another through songs, prayers, and by the Word of God. We're staying awake until Jesus returns, and He will come soon. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent) -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/5/20215 minutes, 34 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday in Advent (Psalm 25:4–5, 21–22; antiphon: v.25:1–3a)Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 10:12-27, 33-34; 2 Peter 1:1-21Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday in Advent)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you are out walking in the woods, you want to find a clear path. Without a path, the way can be treacherous. Branches, brambles, and loose stones cause you to stumble and will impede your progress. Tripping and sliding with every step, you are in real danger of twisting an ankle or breaking a leg. After a while, you grow weary of all the work. Then you become discouraged, and in the end, you wonder if it is really worth the effort. However, if you are walking through the woods on a deer trail or a man-made path, the going is much easier. A path that has been traveled over and over is smoother. The branches are pushed back, and loose stones are not in the road. As a young boy, King David was a shepherd, so he knew the importance of a good path in the wilderness of this world. In the psalms, David tells us that there is one path that will lead us out of every trouble.The path that we need to follow is the path of the Lord. Only God can teach us His path. In the pages of Holy Scripture, we have a path that leads us through the wilderness of this land. On this path there is truth, life, and salvation. By following this path, we walk through the valley of the shadow of death and into the true light of heaven. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, you have been brought to this path. All who believe in Christ and who have received by faith the sacrifice that He offered by His death on the Cross have received the salvation of the Lord. Because of Jesus we will never be put to shame, for He leads us into the way of His truth and onto the path of life everlasting. David asks that the Lord would make known to him His ways and to teach him His paths. We also need to make this request each day to the Lord. God promises to lead us on His path, and this path can be found in the pages of Holy Scripture and in church where we hear and receive all the Gifts God has for us. In the preaching, in Absolution, and in the Lord's Supper, we receive all that we need to support us as we walk on the path of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Help us, dear Lord, to continue to walk on your path. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
12/4/20215 minutes, 29 seconds
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Friday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Romans 13:11-14Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11; 1 Peter 5:1-14For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wake up! He is coming! He will be here soon! Get ready! The days of Advent pass quickly, and soon Jesus will be here. Christmas is in 21 days; will you be ready? The Church is always in a state of tension. Eagerly awaiting the coming of the Savior, we recognize that "salvation is nearer to us now" than ever before. Each day that passes on this earth is a day closer to when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. It is on that day that we will see our salvation face to face.What a day of great joy that will be, for no longer will we live in a land of darkness, a land filled with sin and death. Given a new heavenly body perfect in every way, all who are baptized and believe in Christ will receive everlasting peace because of His death on the Cross. Living in the new heavens and earth, we will no longer struggle with the things of this world. Until that time, however, we will daily continue to struggle against our own sinful flesh. Because of the faith we have been given by the Holy Spirit, we are called by God to walk properly and live as forgiven sinners. Children of God, you and I must fight against the passions of the flesh. We cannot do it on our own, so we return each and every day to our Baptism. There we drown the old Adam and put on the new man in Christ. Then we go forth speaking and acting as God intends us to, keeping the commandments of God, living in the forgiveness we have been given.This time of waiting passes quickly, but we have preparations to make. Things must be done. Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ means we must return each day to the pages of Holy Scripture. It is there that we read, mark, learn, and take all the things God wants us to know and to do to heart so that we might live in the light of Christ while we await His return. Our salvation is near. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, Hurry. Do not delay in bringing the blessed day when the hope of happy redemption will be fulfilled. For this reason you have ask us to pray: Your kingdom come. Since you have so commanded us to pray, give us grace and help to pray diligently, firmly believing that we shall finally come to such glory. Amen. (Luther's Prayers)-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.
12/3/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week in Advent

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-8Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 8:9-9:7; 1 Peter 4:1-19The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 27:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord promises that He will raise up from the righteous branch of David a King who will reign with wisdom and justice. Unlike earthly kings who are selfish, fallible, and unjust, this King will be perfect. His kingdom will have no end, and people will come into it from the ends of the earth. Oh, what a great day for God's people! No longer will they fear those around them. No longer will there be bloodshed, pestilence, and war. This King shall set up a wall around His people that no one can breach. Naturally, the people look forward to that day. They want to know when it will come and who that King will be. In grace and mercy the Lord tells Jeremiah the Name of this great King: The Lord is our righteousness." What a title. God is telling His people that the King will come one day to lead and save them. This King will, by His very name, point out the truth. In the "Formula of Concord" we confess, "Christ alone is our Righteousness, who is true God and man, because in Him the divine and human natures are personally united with each other." Jesus is the true King for whom the people of old have waited for so long. It is the same for us today. During the season of Advent, we await the coming of the Lord. The days pass, and the anticipation builds as we all wait for Christmas. The day that the Child born of Mary was laid in the manger is the day that "the Lord is our righteousness" came into this world.Our sin has destroyed our relationship with the Father and has made us His enemy. You and I can never make ourselves righteous before God. It is only because of the true King and the sacrifice that He offered on the Cross that we are made right. Jesus is true righteousness for all mankind. Without Jesus, no one can ever be right with God, for Christ alone has died and been raised for the forgiveness of all our sins and has brought us into His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, we give thanks that Your righteousness has come into this world of sin. We pray that you would send forth Your Gospel into a world that needs to hear about the King. Continue to guide and direct us by your Holy Word so that we might remain alert until you return again. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen. -Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.
12/2/20215 minutes, 38 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To HusbandsDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 7:10-8:8; 1 Peter 3:1-22Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Colossians 3:19)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther lays out Scripture passages that point out the duties Christians are to follow in their daily lives. This list has different categories for the stations or vocations that you might find yourselves in. There are two Bible verses in the section which pertains to husbands. The first one is 1 Peter 3:7, where husbands are told to be considerate of their wives and to treat them with respect so that their prayers might not be hindered. This is important because if a husband is sinning against his wife, then his prayers will be frustrated; one caught in sin is less likely to talk to God. In the second verse (above), Paul tells husbands to love their wives. The English says, "Do not be harsh," but this does not get to the point Paul is trying to make. The Greek word means "make bitter." Scripture is telling husbands that the way they treat their wives will cause wives to react in certain ways. If the husband is rough or rude, then the wife will become sharp and cruel in response. This will lead to sin and to a damaging of the relationship that God established. Husbands must guard their words and pay attention to what they say. When they fall into sin, they must repent and ask Christ and their wives for forgiveness.A marriage will only work well if it is undertaken with love, repentance, and the forgiveness that Christ has earned on the Cross. At the same time, these words are important for all people. The way we treat others affects them, and it can cause them to react. As children of God, you are called by God to love your neighbor, to show him the love and forgiveness that God has given to you. As you do this, you are bearing witness to the love of Christ that is in you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Oh God, our dwelling place in all generations, look with favor upon the homes of our land. Embrace husbands and wives, parents and children, in the arms of your love, and grant that each, in reverence for Christ, fulfill their duties You have given. Bless our homes that they may ever be a shelter for the defenseless, a fortress for the tempted, a resting place for the weary, and a foretaste of our eternal home with You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is the pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.
12/1/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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St. Andrew, Apostle

Today's Reading: John 1:35-42aDaily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9; 1 Peter 2:13-25The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35-36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist's job was to point the way to Jesus, and he was good at his job. In John's Gospel we read about the calling of a disciple of John, Andrew, who heard the Word and followed it. The name Andrew means "manly" or "valor," and throughout his life, he accomplished many physical things. A fisherman by trade, he worked with his whole body, and this training helped him when he was called to be an apostle. Andrew's job was to proclaim the message of the Gospel and to bring people to Christ. Right from the beginning, he did just that. The Gospel of John tells us, "He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah'" (John 1:41). This drive to bring people to Jesus filled the life of Andrew, and he continued to go forth into all the world to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world. Eusebius, a church historian, writes that Andrew went as far as Kiev, which is now in the Ukraine, in order that people might come to a knowledge of the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. According to tradition, Andrew died after being tied to an X-shaped cross in Greece.We remember Andrew this day because the Body of Christ should always remember and give thanks to God for the people He has called to share the Gospel of Christ. The apostle Andrew was a blessing to the Church and to the people of God, for the Lord used this simple fisherman to proclaim His message into the ears of people who were lost in sin and needed a Savior. The Holy Spirit used Andrew, and He uses us today. As believers in Christ, we go to church and receive the Gifts God gives to us through preaching, teaching, and the Sacraments. These things fill us up and lead us to share the message of Christ. In so doing, the Holy Spirit works through us to proclaim the Good News to those still in darkness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All praise, O Lord, for Andrew, The first to welcome You, Whose witness to his brother Named You Messiah true. May we, with hearts kept open To You throughout the year, Confess to friend and neighbor Your advent ever near. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 517, st.5)-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/30/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Noah

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 5:1-25; 1 Peter 2:1-12By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about how long it took Noah to build the ark? While we don't know for sure, many people guess that Noah was working on the ark for about 100 years. Day after day, this righteous man of God worked to build a huge boat without a storm cloud in sight. Hours upon countless hours of sawing, sanding, nailing, and covering with pitch. Years of ridicule and taunting by people who could not understand why he would waste his time or energy building a boat for a God whom they did not listen to and whom they could not care less about. Years passed, and Noah continued to build.What kept him going? Why did he go out every day to that boat and continue to build? The author of the book of Hebrews gives us the answer: It was all because of faith. Martin Luther writes, "Faith is a living bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it." This was the faith Noah had; he trusted in the word of God and did what God commanded.Now we know that Noah was a sinner just like all people born on earth. His calling by God was based not on who Noah was but solely upon grace and divine mercy. The Holy Spirit filled Noah with an active and living faith. It was a faith that trusted in the promises of God, including the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the One who died on the Cross to save us from all our sins. God used the ark to save Noah and his family from the flood that destroyed the earth. Today God uses the Church to protect you from this world and to keep you afloat in the floods of life. The Church is the Holy Ark that helps the people of God receive the Gifts God has given to us. Through preaching, teaching, and the right administration of the Sacraments, the Lord God strengthens our faith and protects us in this world of sin. So it is good that we remember Noah, a man of God and an heir of righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and eternal God, continue to help us live by faith, trusting in your righteousness for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/29/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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The First Sunday in Advent

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. . .  (Matthew 21:4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we begin the season of Advent. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word "advenire," which means "to come," and for the next 25 days, the Church will be preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. Preparing takes time and lots of hard work. Just like cleaning the house must be done before the arrival of a special guest, things need to be done over the next few weeks as the Church prepares for the coming of Christmas. Advent hymns are sung, a wreath is put up, and candles are lit. In our lives we should also set aside time to prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of Jesus' birth. A good way to do this is to spend more time in the study of Holy Scripture and in prayer. On this, the first Sunday in Advent, the Gospel lesson relates the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus the King rides on a donkey, and, with great celebration, enters the Holy City so that He might die on the Cross for us and for all our sin. We must never forget that this was the purpose for which He came to earth. In the Gospel of Matthew you will often read, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet." In fact, Matthew points it out to us 16 times, and he quotes the Old Testament 68 times in order to drive home the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The promise made long ago in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve that a Messiah would come has now been fulfilled.Matthew, moved by the working of the Holy Spirit, wrote down these things so that we might prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ. All has been fulfilled in Christ. As we begin our Advent journey, we look forward to the celebration of Christ's coming because this Child comes to fulfill prophecy. He comes to fulfill the Law perfectly. He comes to suffer and to die in our place. He comes to bring peace between God and man. What a great gift given freely for us! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy Power, O Lord, and Come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/28/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Saturday of the Last Week

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame. (From the Introit for the First Sunday in Advent)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Like the Last Sundays of the Church Year, the season of Advent provides time for us to be trained in patient waiting. The Sundays just past taught us to patiently wait for the return of Jesus in glory. The Sundays of Advent will teach us to patiently wait for the Incarnation of Jesus. This time of waiting is characterized by increased devotion to the hearing of God's Word and to prayer. And in that hearing and praying our trust in the Lord is renewed. We lift up our souls to God, our only confidence, for we have no trust in anyone else. He is our only hope and salvation. We may have many enemies--the world and the devil himself, and even our own flesh--but they will never exalt over us because God is with us in the flesh of Jesus. Those who give in to the enemies, who abandon trust in God will not succeed. They will be ashamed. God spare us from such foolishness! In Christ, we wait on the Lord and trust in Him, and not in ourselves, so we will never be ashamed. We trust in the Lord, so we cling to His Word and hear what He has to say. He shows us His commandments, the way to live, and greater still that He sent His Son to take our human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In that flesh He would bear our sins to death on the Cross in order to remove our shame and silence our enemies. In faith we wait for the Lord. We trust in God for salvation all the more. The Lord is truly good to sinners like us. He instructs and leads us throughout our lives by His Word. Despite the attacks of enemies without and within, God leads us in His paths of love and faithfulness. He promises never to abandon us, but to be with us always, even to the very end of the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Amen.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/27/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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Friday of the Last Week

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See the Tree of Life growing in the heavenly city along that river and the golden street? Life in all its fullness is pictured with the twelve-fold fruit the Tree produces each month the year around. Even its leaves are filled with healing. "No longer will there be anything accursed" (Revelation 22:3). This takes us back to the radiant pureness of the Garden of Eden, the first Paradise. Genesis 2 describes the river that watered it. And in its midst was the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Through Satan's deception and Adam and Eve's sin, the curse of death came into the world. Our first parents rebelled against God's love and ate from the forbidden tree. Death reigned and that curse was passed down to all humanity. For everyone who does not continually do everything written in the Law is cursed. But on another tree many centuries later, the Son of God hung nailed to the Cross. He became the curse in our place. And by His death, He undid the curse of Adam's sin. The Scripture declares in Galatians 3, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13). "No longer will there be any curse," God declares. The blood of the Lamb that stained the tree of the Cross removes sin's curse. You have been washed clean and made ready to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life in Paradise restored. Death is undone. Life flows from the throne of the Lamb. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Now from the tree of Jesus' shame Flows life eternal in His name; For all who trust and will believe, Salvation's living fruit receive. And of this fruit so pure and sweet The Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood The tree of life with ev'ry good. ("The Tree of Life" LSB 561, st.4)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/26/20215 minutes, 27 seconds
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Thursday of the Last Week

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To the world and our faithless eyes, the Church often looks like a hot mess. From our view She is not much of a Bride, but more like a schizophrenic bag lady on a city street. But that is not how God sees His Bride, the Church. She is spotless and radiant, having been washed by water with the Word (Ephesians 5:26). That's the view that John received in the Revelation and that he shares with us. The Bride, the Lamb, the new Jerusalem, are all revealed together as one glorious reality. The wondrous news is that the vision also describes our future. The Lamb is Jesus who was slain for our sins and the sins of all the world. The new Jerusalem is our eternal dwelling place. But how can we be sure of all this? Because God says so. You can count on His Word. Earlier in the vision, John heard these words: "'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also, he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment'" (Revelation 21:5-6). It's all a gift, God's free gift to you. You are a member of the Bride of Christ. You have been washed clean by the water and the Word. Are you thirsty? Drink up. Drink from the spring of life-giving water that He offers you free of charge. Come to the Supper of the Lamb and feast on Christ's own Body given and Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. The world may continue to mock the Bride, but we rejoice in Her and give thanks that God, in Christ, has counted us worthy to be one with Her. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Bride of Christ, rejoice; Exultant raise your voice To hail the day of glory Foretold in sacred story. Hosanna, praise and glory! Our King, we bow before thee. ("O Bride of Christ, Rejoice" LSB 335, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/25/20215 minutes, 26 seconds
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Wednesday of the Last Week

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The catechism reading for last week was directed to those who serve in civil government.This week the target of Luther's admonition is those who hold the holy office of citizen. Luther utilizes one text from Holy Scripture to address rulers but five for those who are governed. Rulers are to remember that their rule is really a stewardship of God's care and order for society and the world. The governed are reminded that those who rule are a gift from God. Receiving the gift of civil government moves the faithful  to pray for those who rule. Praying for everyone obviously means that we exclude no one. This was not an easy thing for those first Christians to do. They saw their friends and family dragged into coliseums throughout the Roman Empire where they were tortured and sacrificed. Instead of calling for Christians to revolt, Paul urges those Christians to pray for the very leaders who persecuted them. We hesitate to pray for politicians who are revealed to be corrupt and immoral in both their public and personal lives. But there is a very good reason for us to pray even for unbelieving, immoral rulers: so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. That peace serves the Gospel. Leading peaceful and quiet lives allows us to speak the Gospel of peace to all. We quietly tell people that their hope is never in man or the rulers of men. We speak the truth that salvation is found in no Name other than the name of Jesus. We bring people to the preaching of the Word and the washing of water and the Word. We teach that the Body and Blood of Jesus is truly present for forgiveness of sins in the Holy Supper. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, as You have established all temporal authority for our blessing, to reward the good and punish those who do evil, bless those who hold public office in our land that we may live in peace with all godliness. Teach us to honor and respect those who hold office and to receive them as gifts of your gracious hand. Uphold all in public office, that they may execute their duties faithfully and diligently, in the fear of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/24/20215 minutes, 55 seconds
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Tuesday of the Last Week

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Thessalonian Christians were confused about the end. Some thought that Christ had already come, and they had missed it. But the apostle Paul reminds them that the Last Day will be so unmistakable that no one is going to miss it. Others thought that those who had died already were lost, that you had to be alive on the day Christ appears. Paul reminds them that the Last Day is resurrection day when all will rise, and believers will be joined to Jesus for all eternity. Paul reminds them that they are not in the dark about the return of Jesus. They are prepared by the Word and promises of God. And to remain watchful and ready for the return of Jesus, Paul encourages them to remember what God has granted them for that day. "But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation" (Ephesians 6:14). They need not fear the great and terrible day of the Lord. For God has not destined them for wrath, but to obtain salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus who died for their sin, would come again in mercy. This is our confidence as well. The uncertainty of life in the dying world can be very troubling for us. We are tempted to doubt and fear all the time. The end is lived in confidence, not fear. It is looked for with expectation, not terror. It holds the promise of resurrection and life for those who trust Christ's salvation. Christ has made you ready for His return. He declares you to be children of light, having been made so by the Light of the World. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abr'ham's bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing;  And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep Until thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me, That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My savior and my fount of grace. Lord, Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, And I will praise thee without end. ("Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart" LSB 708, st.3)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/23/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Monday of the Last Week

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. . . 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." (Isaiah 65:17,19a)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah saw the vision God placed before him. Nearly 700 years before Christ came, God lifted his eyes to the Messiah in whom he could delight. It was a time not unlike our time. The people around Isaiah rejected God. There were plenty of struggles in life and worries of the world to catch Isaiah's attention. People were so bad that Isaiah had to wonder how long it would be before God had enough. Isaiah knew God would punish the people all the while keeping His small group faithful to Him. To these believers God spoke words to lift them past the present struggles to the delight of the coming new heaven and new earth. "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth." This is the work to be accomplished at the end of all time. It is a remarkable place, the new heavens and new earth. There the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. People who carry with them the horrors of death and the pain of sickness, all the shameful things we have done and encouraged. All the ways we've been sinned against or led others to sin. Those things won't come to our minds again. And there the sound of weeping and distress will be no more. There won't be stillbirths or babies who die after a short time in life. People won't pass away suddenly. Accidents won't end lives, because there will be no more death. All the celebrating of life we have done by the side of a departed relative will be completed as we realize the delights of the new creation. These are promises that we take on faith now but are guaranteed for us by the death of Jesus and His resurrection from the grave. One day we will see it all clearly on the holy mountain of the Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Sweet and blessed country, The home of God's elect! O sweet and blessed countryThat faithful hearts expect! In mercy, Jesus, bring us To that eternal rest With You and God the Father And Spirit, ever blest. ("Jerusalem the Golden" LSB 672, st.4)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/22/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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The Last Sunday of the Church Year

"And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."(Matthew 25:10-13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I remember as a child waiting for my dad to come home from work. The difference in the way I waited depended on how the day had gone. If I'd misbehaved that day and heard those dreaded words from Mom, "Wait until your father gets home," I'd be waiting with more than a little bit of dread. But if it had been a good day then the waiting was filled with joyful anticipation. As baptized people of God we wait for the Lord's return with joy, not fear. We are confident in His promise of the forgiveness of all our sins, for the Jesus who is coming soon is the same Jesus who died on the Cross for us to pay for our sins. The foolish virgins had no time for faithful waiting. They figured that they would be ready when the bridegroom came, and they took for granted that they had a place at the wedding feast. In their foolish figuring, they lost out. They hear chilling words, "I don't know you." For the wise virgins in the parable, the Lord's return doesn't bring panic or fear. They welcome the bridegroom with joy. The Lord's return comes with deliverance, with salvation. It reveals all that was won for us on Jesus' Cross but remained hidden to the world and known only by faith, even our life and salvation and the forgiveness of all our sins. This Gospel news enlivens our faith and we look with joyful anticipation for our Lord's return. By His grace alone we are counted as wise and well-prepared. As we await the return of Jesus on the day that ends all days, we receive His words with humble and wide-awake faith: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Come, Lord Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, absolve Your people from their offenses that, from the bonds of our sins which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon ourselves, we may be delivered by Your bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Last Sunday of the Church Year)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/21/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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Saturday of the Second-Last Week

O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (From the Introit for the Last Sunday of the Church Year)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The days of this world are numbered. That is a truth revealed to us in the Scripture readings for the last Sundays of the Church Year with their focus on the return of Jesus on the Last Day. The Introit for tomorrow, from Psalm 39, brings this reality home to us in a heart-wrenchingly personal way. It is an expression of David's anguish and a cry that comes from our lips, too. We don't know the exact circumstances David was facing as he wrote this psalm, but we can surely recognize the inner struggle he writes about. In verse 4, David cries out to God, "Lord, make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days; Let me know how fleeting I am." This is a psalm of lament. David prays out of his pain. He explains his feelings to God and cries out in despair.In this prayer, David moves from his inner struggle to the realization that his life is fleeting. David remembers that his hope cannot be found in any of his earthly circumstances or wealth; his hope is in the Lord. His early focus on worldly wealth and success faded away. He saw that God's forgiveness was his greatest treasure. "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools" (vv. 7,8). What a beautiful thing it is that the Introit for tomorrow delivers as the words of Psalm 39 are placed on our lips. As we see this present world passing away, God grants us an eternal perspective. Our hope is in the Lord who has saved us from all our transgressions by His own Cross death, and has given us a resurrection life that never ends. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; Arise, O Sun so longed for,O'er this benighted sphere. With heart and hands uplifted, We plead, O Lord, to seeThe day of earth's redemption That sets Your people free. ("Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers" LSB 515, st.4)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/20/20215 minutes, 20 seconds
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Friday of the Second-Last Week

Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared." (Jeremiah 38:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The false prophet Hananiah declared in the Name of the LORD that God would come to the aid of His people. The items that were stolen from the temple would be returned, along with the thousands of Judeans who had been captured and taken away--including the son of the king--within two years' time. On the surface, this sounded great! God had come to the aid of His people in the past, so Hananiah's words seemed very reasonable. And Jeremiah agreed! Yes, Hananiah--this sounds wonderful! I agree, and I wish that the LORD does so. But wait. Listen to what I say. Your prophecy, Hananiah, contradicts what the prophets before you, like Isaiah and I have proclaimed before. You, Hananiah--you say something else! The previous prophets promise God's judgment for your wickedness, and it is going to get much worse before it gets better (Jeremiah 28).  No one wanted to hear this kind of news, especially the king. And so, Jeremiah was tossed into a well and left to die. But it wouldn't be for Jeremiah to die on account of the rebelliousness and faithlessness of the people. He would be rescued from the pit and  would continue to preach God's wrath AND God's mercy. Centuries after Jeremiah's trials, God would send the prophet to end all prophets: His Son. Jesus would do what no son of Adam could do. He would obey the voice of the Lord. He would drink the cup of suffering. He would bear the sins of the world on the Cross and be buried in a cold tomb (Matthew 27:57-66). Now the prophecy of Jeremiah is fulfilled, and this message is spoken of us: "It shall be well with you and your life shall be spared." All thanks to Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You desire not the death of a sinner but that all would repent and live. Hear our prayers for those outside the Church. Take away their iniquity, and turn them from their false gods to You, the living and true God. Gather them into Your holy Church to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/19/20215 minutes, 24 seconds
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Thursday of the Second-Last Week

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:50–51)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Old Testament Divine Service the only way to enter into God's presence was within the tabernacle. The tabernacle was divided into two parts: the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Only the priests could enter the Holy Place and only a High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then just once a year. These two Holy places were separated by a thick veil. Early Jewish writings describe the veil of the temple as being four inches thick, and it took up to 300 priests to move it. The temple curtain was a preaching that the only access to God was through the mediation of the High Priest and the blood of bulls and goats. The death of Jesus marked the end of the sacrificial system and the need for the temple curtain. In the death of Jesus, and by His blood, a new and living way to God's holy presence has been opened for the whole world. "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:19-23). We have this access to God through our Baptism in Christ, the washing of our evil conscience with pure water. Each time we receive His Word of Absolution, hear the preaching of His Gospel, and feast on His Body and Blood, we are joined with Jesus in the heavenly places. This is the gift Jesus wins for us by His death on the Cross. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In ev'ry time of need, Before the judgment throne, Thy work, O Lamb of God, I'll plead,Thy merits, not my own. Amen. ("O Perfect Life of Love" LSB 452, st.6)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/18/20215 minutes, 19 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second-Last Week

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It was most likely that Nero was the Roman emperor when Paul wrote the letter to the Roman church. If you know anything about Nero, it should be this--he was an anti-Christ figure. He lived his life in complete opposition to everything that the Gospel of Jesus stood for and what Paul wrote about in his letter to the Roman church. Nero was selfish, sexually abusive, greedy, and violent. The Christians of Rome would feel Nero's wrath in the 60s when he would blame Christians for the burning of Rome, and a year later he would have Paul executed. This is the context in which Paul writes: "let every person be subject to the governing authorities."    Paul isn't arguing that the Roman government is worthy of being obeyed because everything they do is godly. Rather, he is arguing that the way of Christ is not to fight so that one side wins and one side loses, but rather to live differently so that all sides may be freed from the bondage of violence and death and sin. Paul is arguing for the living of a Christian life, in defiance to the Roman way of living, and for the acceptance of whatever punishment is dealt out for living as a disciple of Jesus. Our life of faith will always be cross-shaped and Paul would embody this himself in his imprisonments and ultimately in his own death. In the Table of Duties Luther uses Romans 13:1-4 to address those who rule. He will have something to say to citizens later. But here he would have those who occupy the holy office of governing authority recognize their responsibility as a servant of God for the sake of peace and good order. We include in the prayers of the Church petitions on behalf of those who rule. Rulers are given a great responsibility from God. They are to rule with the knowledge that God has placed them in their positions of authority. It benefits the Gospel when they acknowledge this, and the Church is enabled to continue to preach forgiveness of sins in Jesus for the life of the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Eternal Lord, ruler of all, graciously regard those who have been set in positions of authority among us that, guided by Your Spirit, they may be high in purpose, wise in counsel, firm in good resolution, and unwavering in duty, that under them we may be governed quietly and peaceably; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/17/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second-Last Week

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.(2 Peter 3:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you noticed that when you are anxiously waiting for something, like the Amazon Prime item you ordered just yesterday, it takes forever for that thing to arrive? In the reading today the apostle Peter points out to us that a person's perception of how long it is taking for the Lord to return in judgment is affected by that person's perspective. The one who mocks the faith thinks that it's taking way too long, and he uses that to argue that Jesus is never coming back and therefore that the Christian faith is nothing but nonsense. The believer has an altogether different perspective on this. Believers see the Lord's delay as a blessing and as an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel far and wide, so that the Holy Spirit might work through that Gospel to bring more to Baptism and to life in the kingdom of God. After Jesus completed the redemption of sinners by His perfect life and His innocent suffering and death, and after He proclaimed it in His resurrection from the dead, the Lord Jesus commissioned His Church to "go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15) or, more specifically, to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [He has] commanded [us]" (Matthew 28:19, 20). He who loves sinners so much that He laid down His very life for us all is, by the delay of His return, giving more opportunity for His Church to love others as He has loved us by sharing His Gospel with them. He is not slow in His return. He is gracious. And you are on the receiving end of that grace. "Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace" (2 Peter 3:14). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My Savior paid the debt I owe And for my sin was smitten; Within the Book of Life I know My name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, and Satan cannot threaten me; There is no condemnation! ("The Day is Surely Drawing Near" LSB 508, st.5)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/16/20215 minutes, 31 seconds
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Monday of the Second-Last Week

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13–14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As he lay in his bed in Babylon, Daniel received from the LORD an incredible vision of the Last Day. It included four strange and fearsome beasts, the fiery throne of the Ancient of Days (God the Father) and "one like a son of man" (God the Son) receiving dominion and glory over all the world. That name, "son of man" reminds us that Jesus shares our humanity. He's a descendant of Adam, the first man, by His incarnation in the womb of Mary. He is our Brother. He bore the sins of His brothers and sisters to the Cross and freed all the world from its sins by His death. But Daniel didn't see Jesus in His humility that night, but in His glory, coming on the clouds, standing before the Ancient of Days, and being given authority, glory, and power. The Son of Man reigns in victory. And this is what we are given to see of Jesus in these Last Days. This is our encouragement in these gray and latter days. Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil by His dying and rising. He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. When the books are opened on the day of His return, we will be judged as holy and righteous in Jesus. We have been joined to Jesus in our Baptism and "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). On that great and glorious day, we will join with the thousands and ten thousand times ten thousands in praise of the Son of Man whose kingdom shall not pass away. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God of God, O Light of Light, O Prince of Peace and King of Kings: To you in heaven's glory bright The song of praise forever rings. To Him who sits upon the throne,The Lamb one slain but raised again, Be all the glory He has won, All thanks and praise! Amen, amen. ("O God of God, O Light of Light" LSB 810, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/15/20215 minutes, 33 seconds
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The Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:37-40)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus tells us that He will come in His glory with an angel host and from His glorious throne he will make a judgment: sheep to the right and goats to the left. The sheep go into the eternal kingdom prepared for them before the foundations of the world. The goats go to an eternal fire. How the verdict is decided is what surprises people. The wisdom of the world says that bad people will get what's coming to them. You know, "karma." And the good will receive a reward. What shocks the world, and our old sinful selves is that the judgment Jesus will render on the day of His return is not based on what people do but on what they are. So, in the text for this day, it is only after the separation is completed that we hear about their deeds, good or bad. The sheep are called righteous. We know how the Bible speaks of righteousness: It is a gift along with that faith that receives it (Ephesians 2). The goats lack faith and therefore righteousness. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6), no matter how much good you do. But the faithful receive what has always been theirs since the foundation of the world--the kingdom. They are blessed by the Father. And that is your standing before God in Christ. You are declared righteous before God because Jesus served you. He came all the way down into our flesh and took up our sins in His own body on the tree of the Cross. Your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Your life in this world, and the good works you do, matter to those around you: the least and the lowly. And in the doing of those works, you do it to Jesus. Blessed are you by the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of the end of all things and the day of Your just judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with Your forever hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/14/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Saturday of the Third-Last Week

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil. . . Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. (Jeremiah 29:11a–12 )In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you are having a challenging day--a day when you get bad news, the internet goes down, or you can't find your way out from under a challenging project--you may forget that God has called you as His own by virtue of your Baptism into Christ, planned for your welfare and given you a future with hope. The challenge is that in the dark times, you may not see the hope. God sends the prophet Jeremiah to you and lifts your eyes from that hopelessness that may surround you. Hope is commonly used to mean a wish: Its strength, people believe, is the strength of the person's desire. That is always the wrong place to focus. What we find is that our own strength is never enough and our desires are ruled by the selfishness of sin. In contrast, the Bible presents hope as the confident expectation of what God has promised, and the strength of hope is in God's faithfulness. Jeremiah 29 is a letter to the people of Judah who are currently in exile. The whole letter is God speaking to the people through the prophet Jeremiah, telling them that, eventually, things are going to get better. God will keep His promises to them and ultimately to all humanity in His Son. Paul's letter to the Romans reminds us that hope is firmly rooted in God: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Romans 15:13.) And the hope, joy, and peace we have flows from the wounded side of our crucified and risen Savior. Hope isn't a matter of circumstances, it is the promise that God will sustain us when our days are filled with joy and peace or when they are terrible. Hope is the promise that Jesus will come again to judge the world and vindicate our trust in Him. Hope is like grace and faith: They are all promises that God has given to us in Christ as free gifts.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What God ordains is always good: This truth remains unshaken. Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, I shall not be forsaken. I fear no harm. For with His arm He shall embrace and shield me; So to my God I yield me. ("What God Ordains Is Always Good" LSB 760, st.6)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/13/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Friday of the Third-Last Week

Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. (Jeremiah 25:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jeremiah must have felt as if he was talking to himself. The people of Judah, to whom he was sent to preach, had a long history of ignoring God's Word. And they weren't about to listen to what Jeremiah had to say. He brought them the "promise" of exile and distress as God's judgment against their sin. They had a First Commandment problem, that is, they did not fear, love and trust in God above all things. Instead, when political and economic hard times came, they turned to pagan nations for help. Yet the Lord did not abandon his people. He continued to send them servants of His redeeming work, like Jeremiah. He issued a loving call to repentance. "Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds." They did not listen. God would "banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. [The] whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years" (Jeremiah 25:10-11). Yet God's promise to save Judah stood, and He would bring a faithful remnant home. We know that the promised answer to repentance is always forgiveness and mercy from the Lord. For the faithful of Judah that would mean a return to the land that God had sworn to Abraham and his seed forever. From those people would come the redeemer of the world, Jesus. Born of a daughter of the promise to Abraham, Jesus would answer for the sins of all in His death and resurrection. Hear the Word of the Lord, you, His saints. He loves you enough to call you to repentance and faith. He promises to answer with words of forgiveness. He will cause you to dwell in the land He has promised to all who love Him. He will bring you the promised land of eternal life and resurrection through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Grant us, O God, the strength and courageTo live the faith our lips declare; Bless us in our baptismal calling; Christ's royal priesthood help us share. Turn us from ev'ry false allegiance, That we may trust in Christ alone: Raise up in us a chose people Transformed by love to be Your own. ("Mark How the Lamb of God's Self-Offering" LSB 600, st.3)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/12/20215 minutes, 29 seconds
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Martin of Tours

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Born into a pagan family in what is now Hungary around the year A.D. 316, Martin grew up in Lombardy (Italy). Coming to the Christian faith as a young person, he began a career in the Roman army. But sensing a call to a church vocation, Martin left the military and became a monk, affirming that he was "Christ's soldier." Eventually, Martin was named bishop of Tours in western Gaul (France). He is remembered for his simple lifestyle and his determination to share the Gospel throughout rural Gaul. Our Lutheran confessions remind us that it is good to remember saints of old like Martin of Tours. We confess that "the remembrance of the saints is to be commended in order that we may imitate their faith and good works according to their calling" (Augsburg Confession, Article 21). A saint is not someone we go to in prayer so we can get a little extra favor in God's eyes or to get help in selling our house. A saint is one who has been made holy. This is what the Holy Spirit has done for you in Holy Baptism, where the flood of Christ's own blood has made you holy, right, and good before your heavenly Father ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB, 596, st.4). We remember and give thanks to God for the lives of the saints every Sunday in the Divine Service when we gather at the Lord's table with "angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven." Who is that company of heaven but the saints? After we commune, we sing the hymn of St. Simeon ("Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace. . . "). Next, we pray that the Body and Blood of Jesus would cause us to live "in fervent love toward one another." This is a prayer that we would regard and treat one another as saints. As Paul says, "So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). We give thanks to God for our brother, Martin, one with us in the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God of hosts, you clothed your servant Martin the soldier with the spirit of sacrifice and set him as a bishop in your Church to be a defender of the true faith; Give us grace to follow in his steps, that at the last we may be found clothed with righteousness in the dwellings of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/11/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third-Last Week

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It always seems a little dicey for a pastor to write about what the Small Catechism Table of Duties calls "What Hearers Owe Their Pastors." It's dicey because so much sin colors the discussion. Pastors feel that they are underappreciated and would welcome a few more digits added to their paychecks. They also know the Word of God directed to preachers, that they should not be lovers of money (1 Timothy 3:3). Hearers of the Word also struggle with their responsibilities as they look at the church budget and income statement and wonder if the good reverend couldn't get by with a little less. Life in the church is messy that way with sinner pastor and sinner hearer battling it out for the fiscal upper hand. So, what is the answer? We heard part one last week when God's Word detailed the responsibility that the pastor has toward those who gather to hear the preaching. Pastors are brought to repentance by those words and receive Absolution for their sin by the Word of Jesus. Part two of the answer is detailed in today's catechism reading. Faith receives the preaching of God's Word and the preacher, with thanksgiving. A physical act of thanksgiving is providing for the worldly needs of the preacher. The pastor is worthy of "double honor" not because of who he is, but because of his work. He labors in preaching and teaching. He works to bring the Word of God to you in the best and worst times of your life. You in turn give thanks to God for this gift by supporting the bearer of the Word. "The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:14). Rejoice in the gift that God has given through your pastor and rejoice in the opportunity to show Christ's love to him. In doing so you free him from the worries and cares of this life to continue his loving service to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Gracious God, You send great blessings New each morning all our days. For Your mercies never ending, For Your love we offer praise. Lord, we pray that we, Your people Who Your gifts unnumbered claim, Through the sharing of Your blessings May bring glory to Your name. ("Gracious God, You Send Great Blessing" LSB 782, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/10/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third-Last Week

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A recent Cornell University study on Americans' belief in an afterlife revealed that there has been very little change on this issue for more than 70 years. According to the study, belief in heaven has been true for over eight in ten people even since the late 1960s, while belief in life after death remains roughly in the range of seven in ten. That's the best that a "spiritual" world can give us, maybe an 80% chance that there is a heaven or even life after death.I don't know what a study of the Thessalonian church would reveal, but it seems from Paul's letter that they were confused. So, Paul sets them straight. He claims the highest authority for his words: Jesus. Jesus has died and risen again. His resurrection is the proof that the dead will rise and the confirmation that He has the authority to raise the dead on the Last Day. At the command of the Lord, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, the dead will rise. If we are around to see that, we'll follow them to resurrection glory. The same is true for all who live and die in Christ. Sin and death have been conquered by the crucified and risen Jesus. This is our greatest strength when we face the trials and terrors of death. We don't have a 70% or 80% chance of a resurrection to eternal life and a place at the Feast of the Lamb. We have a 100% guarantee from Jesus. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on the wayIn fear and tribulation O hear and grant our fervent plea: Come mighty judge, and set us free From death and ev'ry evil. ("The Day is Surely Drawing Near" LSB 508, st.7)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
11/9/20215 minutes, 20 seconds
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Monday of the Third-Last Week

And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" (Exodus 32:7–8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Well, that didn't take long. Moses had been gone a while, receiving from the LORD the Divine Service instructions for the people of Israel. While the LORD delivered specific instructions regarding the ways God would bless the people and put on them His holiness (Exodus 25-31), the people grew impatient and decided to fashion a god to whom they could offer sacrifice. What does it take for you to doubt the good and gracious presence of God? We churn out false gods as fast as we can. Our gods, "O Israel," are money, popularity, success at school or work, the approval of the world, and the fulfillment of every disgusting appetite of our sinful selves. God brought His heavy hand of judgment on the people by the sword and a terrible plague. What do we deserve for our idolatry? We who do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things? What do we deserve? "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). That is the just payment for our idolatry. But this is not what we receive. Here is the miracle of the Gospel: "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). One greater than Moses has come. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). Your idolatry is answered for in Jesus. Moses appealed to the mercy of God on behalf of the people. Jesus Himself intercedes for you now! You are not the object of God's wrath and anger. You are not outside the family of God but have been baptismally adopted as His own child. Return from your idolatry to the One who loves you to death in the death of His Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We implore You, O Lord, in your kindness to show us Your great mercy that we may be set from our sins and rescued from the punishments that we rightly deserve; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
11/8/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year

"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How many predictions of the end of the world have you lived through? I'm so old that I remember predictions from the 1970s and a false prophet named Hal Lindsey. Some other old folks will remember the Y2K scare of 1999. Isn't it funny how every generation can recall any number of false and deceiving prophecies of Jesus' return? I suppose I shouldn't describe faith-destroying teaching as "funny" but it is fascinating to see how the wicked one still sows confusion in the Church. That is Satan's old trick, to get the faithful to doubt the certainty of God's Word and move off into unsure speculation. Jesus does not leave us scratching our heads about the future or His return. It will happen, according to the time set by God the Father but the exact day and hour will remain unknown to us.What is knowable for us is that Jesus will return, and the world will not miss that return. "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:27). Christians live in the confidence that Jesus' word is sure. We can look at the world and its decay and recognize that the return of Jesus is drawing near. The day or the hour we will not know, but in the meantime, we will live by faith. Certainly, the signs of the end are all around us, including false christs and false prophets who seek to turn our attention from the sure promises of Jesus to wild speculations about the end. Don't listen to them or go after them. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). In faith, wait patiently for His return. You have nothing to fear. You are died for by Jesus and He will keep you firm in the faith until the end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, Your son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year)
11/7/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Saturday of the 22nd Week after Trinity

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!  Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! (From the Introit for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Why is the Internet so slow?" we ask when the webpage doesn't load in a nanosecond. "What is wrong with these people, how long does it take to make a Big Mac?" we grumble in the drive-through while waiting fewer than two minutes. The blessing of rapid technological advancement has made us an impatient people. This coming week in the Church Year will start the process of unlearning impatience. The Last Sundays of the Church Year give us the long perspective about our life of faith and teach us to wait in patient anticipation for the return of Jesus or our entrance into His eternal kingdom with our death. Psalm 31 is an insight into King David's concern about death, specifically his own death. We can all relate to David's concern in one way or another. We are confronted by death all the time. A tragic accident here, a heart attack there, and cancer consuming a loved one: It's all a preaching that this world and its inhabitants are dying. Amid death and its terrors, David prays with confidence, "In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame." And we, too, can have the same confidence as David because we know to be true what David could only take on faith: Jesus Christ has come to rescue this whole world from death. He does that in a remarkable way: He dies. He is consumed by the sins of the world on the Cross so that all who believe and are baptized receive salvation and eternal life. Jesus' bitter sufferings and death are the redemption price paid for you. Baptized into Jesus, you have a confidence that His work has rescued you from the guilt and shame of sin. His righteousness is credited to you and in Him you are delivered. We wait for the ultimate fulfillment of that promise with the return of Jesus in glory. . . or our own death. But we wait patiently on the Lord. He is our rock of refuge and a strong fortress to save. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Take heart, have hope, my spirit, And do not be dismayed; God helps in every trialAnd makes you unafraid. Await His time with patience Through darkest hour of nightUntil the sun you hoped for Delights your eager sight. ("Entrust Your Days and Burdens"LSB 754, st.3)
11/6/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Friday of the 22nd Week after Trinity

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is often much of life that seems incomplete. There is always some academic assignment or work project waiting for its completion. If we are single, we think that we would be finally complete with a spouse. If we are given a spouse, our sinful nature thinks that we could do with a better one. I suppose that is a byproduct of life in this sinful world. In this life there is always something left to get done, always something incomplete. We are invited to a different perspective in our reading today. We are let in on Paul's loving words to the Christians at the church in Philippi. His words are an encouragement for them. They may have been frustrated that the work of the Gospel wasn't going as well as they had hoped. Perhaps the discouragements of life brought about by their own sins or the sins of others were weighing them down. Paul reminds them that they are loved by God and by him! They are pure and blameless in Christ and "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11). Despite their uncertainty, God was indeed at work in them. He saved them by the righteous life and death of Jesus. He filled them with the fruitful faith that comes through Jesus Christ. And that is what God has done for you, too. Don't be discouraged, dear child of God! All the incompleteness of your life will be unknown on the day of your resurrection. On that day Jesus will say of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant. . . enter in the [resurrection] joy of your master" (Matthew 25:23). He has begun that good work in you and will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our wayIn fear and tribulation O hear and grant our fervent plea; Come mighty judge, and set us free From death and ev'ry evil. ("The Day Is Surely Drawing Near" LSB 508, st.7)
11/5/20215 minutes, 12 seconds
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Thursday of the 22nd Week after Trinity

With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? (Micah 6:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Of all the prophets identified as "minor" in our Bible commentaries, perhaps Micah is the "minorist."  You do know one famous line from this prophet, from the fifth chapter. "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2). And really, this one verse helps us understand our reading today. We know the fulfillment of the prophecy in Micah 5 is Jesus. He is the one born in Bethlehem of the woman, Mary, to be ruler of Israel. He ruled in humility from the Cross, thus fulfilling the ancient promise of a savior for all humanity. And He reigns in glorified humility at the right hand of God the Father. His is the sacrifice that pleases God. He offers up Himself in death for the sake of the sin of your soul. He executes God's justice by becoming the sacrifice for our sin under the burning wrath of God. He loves kindness and displays it in patient love toward us sinners. He walks humbly with God by way of His Cross. And all of this is credited to you by God's grace in Christ. So, Paul writes, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-9). You come before the LORD covered by the death of Jesus. His sacrifice is alone pleasing to the Lord. So you bow before the LORD as one who has been baptized into Christ and thus clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). You come to receive the fruits of Jesus' sacrifice at the table of the Lord with Jesus' own Body and Blood given into your mouth. You take heart that all the LORD requires of you has been done in Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord, you have raised me up To joy and exultation And clearly showed the wayThat leads me to salvation My sins are washed away; For this I thank you, Lord.Now with my heart and soul All evil I abhor. ("How Can I Thank You, Lord" LSB 703, st.3)
11/4/20215 minutes, 38 seconds
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Wednesday of the 22nd Week after Trinity

He [the pastor] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Table of Duties of the Small Catechism gives shape to the life of the believer. We are not left to make our own way in determining the contours of our holy orders and positions. Are you a pastor or do you know a pastor? The Table of Duties tells us what God says about the shape of that work as the Office of pastor or preacher. That is the focus in our Small Catechism reading for today. This Holy Office is defined by three passages of Scripture, all drawn from what are appropriately called "pastoral epistles." Paul reminds pastors Timothy and Titus of the great responsibility they bear as servants of Christ and of God's people. All three texts included in this section of the Table of Duties deal with unique aspects of pastoral work. First is an admonition to a life that is not characterized by open, public sin. Second is a warning against conceit (your pastors know that is their greatest weakness). And third is a reminder of the pastor's responsibility to faithfully use God's word to encourage all believers and refute false teaching. Humanly speaking, your pastor can do none of these things well, if at all. But thanks be to God that NOTHING rests in the person of your pastor. As John the Baptist said of his relationship to Jesus, Paul wrote of himself and all pastors, "But we have this treasure (the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments) in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Your pastor is as much of a sinner as you are. He needs the same forgiveness of Christ that he proclaims to you in the Absolution. And God gives that to him as freely as He does to you. Give thanks to God this day for your pastor. Pray that God would keep him faithful in his calling and safe from the snares of the devil. He needs such prayer. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, gave to His holy apostles many excellent gifts and commanded them earnestly to feed His flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and the people obedient to follow it that together they may receive the crown of everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
11/3/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Tuesday of the 22nd Week after Trinity

"So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:35)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yikes! The words of Jesus at the end of today's reading devastate my old sinful and self-righteous self. I know it is the same for you. We shouldn't be surprised that we will need to forgive others and receive forgiveness, too. Jesus embedded this truth in the prayer He gave for us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  As much as I'd like to soften Jesus' words about the consequences of withholding forgiveness from a fellow sinner, I can't. The words say what they say. Forgiveness between fellow believers in Jesus isn't an optional thing. It will be a necessary reality as long as we live in close proximity to fellow sinners. It may be that the hurts caused by sins done against us may take years to heal and we may need frequent confessions and Absolutions. The powerful words of Jesus move us to recognize that our life is sustained by the forgiveness that flows from Him to us in the word of Absolution, the remembrance of our Baptism, the preaching of the Gospel and our reception of the Holy Supper. Our debt of sin has been released in the flood of Jesus' blood. This alone is the reason we can forgive those who have sinned against us. We can forgive because God, in Christ, has forgiven us. So we are then called to forgive one another unconditionally and always. To refuse to forgive puts you in the position of the pitiless servant in Jesus' parable. To persistently refuse to forgive is to be unjust and wicked. It is to live in denial of the forgiveness given to you in Jesus. That is not how it shall be with you. Repent of your desire to withhold forgiveness to the brother or sister who desires it (or even if he doesn't). Receive forgiveness from Jesus, the forgiveness that He won at the Cross and delivers to you by Word and Sacrament. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
11/2/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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All Saints' Day

And he opened his mouth and taught them saying. . . "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:2,4)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Revelation to John, the apostle is given to see what we can now only trust to be real. He sees an ever-expanding vision of heaven starting with the throne of God, heavenly creatures, 24 elders, the Lamb who was slain, thousands and thousands of angels, and then an uncountable multitude of those who died but now live in Jesus. The vision John sees provides the fulfillment of Jesus' promise given in Matthew 5 and the words of the text today. "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted."   Some of you reading this devotion have experienced the deep sadness that death brings. Perhaps you've lost a grandparent or even your mother or father. It is a terrible thing to stand at the grave of a loved one and realize that they are gone from this life. We can be overwhelmed with grief. And then Jesus comes with His Word, "They shall be comforted." Our comfort is found only in Him. It was Jesus who went into death for us. He, who is our source of life, gave Himself to suffering and a crucifixion death for the whole world. On the Third Day He kicked in the gate of death and the grave by rising again and He brings the whole world with Him. You have been died for by Jesus. You have been baptized into His death AND resurrection. Those we remember today, who have died in the Lord Jesus, now rest from the craziness of this life and rejoice before the throne of God. They, and we, are comforted always and only in Jesus. "Christ has wiped away their tears forever; they have that for which we still endeavor. By them are chanted songs that ne'er to mortal ears were granted." "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical Body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for All Saints)
11/1/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Reformation Day

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:22–25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ask your non-Lutheran Christian friends what they would identify as the core of their faith. I'm confident most would answer, "Jesus," and God be praised for that! If you were to ask them to describe how someone might connect to Jesus, the answers may sound something like this: "You have to make a decision for Jesus," or "You need to invite Jesus into your heart and make Him Lord of your life."  That is confused language and distorts the beautiful Gospel proclaimed so clearly in the Word of God. "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28). The faith that justifies doesn't come by way of our heart-felt decision but as a gift. God diagnoses the condition of every human heart. "For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:22b-23). In another place, Paul describes our condition apart from Christ this way: "When we were dead in our trespasses, (God the Father) made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:4). We have been gifted with a rescue from our death with the news that we "are justified by grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). There it is! Your redemption and rescue from sin is in Christ Jesus alone! His death alone redeems you from the death penalty that your sin would merit. His resurrection guarantees your own resurrection of the Last Day and eternal life right now!  Faith, grace, gift, redemption are words that define our faith and describe how we are connected to Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God for His saving work! It's all from and in Him. No boasting our part. Grace alone. Faith alone. Christ alone!! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Reformation Day)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/31/20216 minutes, 2 seconds
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Saturday of the 21st Week after Trinity

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow the Lutheran church celebrates Reformation Day. The first Lutheran confessors were brave men. They lived in the confidence that the words of Psalm 119:48 were true. Were they to confess the truth of God's Word before the rulers of their age, they believed that they would not be put to shame. And what truth did they confess? How about this from the Introit for Reformation Day? "The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned."  We take our refuge in the redeeming work of God's only Son, Jesus. He has redeemed our life by exchanging His life for ours. His death on the Cross destroys the power of sin and death. In Jesus we are free from the shame and guilt of our sin. So, we might be tempted to do some fist-bumping over our great heritage as Lutherans. After all, we believe we get the whole salvation thing right--righter than anyone else. Yet it just might be time for a bit of garment rending and godly repentance. We, too, often take our Lutheran birthright for granted and allow the pride of self to gain the upper hand. We fear, love and trust in many things to the exclusion of God. In repentance and faith, we turn to that which is most sure. We confess with our forefathers in the faith, "Then what becomes of our boasting?  It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works?  No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:27-28). This gives us the confidence to stand and confess the truth like our spiritual fathers. We, too, have confidence to confess justification by faith, for Jesus' sake. And we will not be ashamed in the doing of it. "And take they our life, goods, fame, child, wife, though these all be gone, our vict'ry has been won; the kingdom ours remaineth" ("A Mighty Fortress is Our God" LSB 656, st.4). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/30/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Friday of the 21st Week after Trinity

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses was tired. Like a 120-years-old kind of tired. He had been a faithful saint and sinner servant of the LORD his God. From his leading of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, to Mount Sinai and the giving of the covenant, through the 40-year wandering in the wilderness, right up to the edge of the Promised Land of Canaan and the river Jordan. Moses would not be the man to lead the people of God into the land flowing with milk and honey. That would be the job of another saint and sinner servant named Joshua. Moses must give way to Joshua. Perhaps you know already that Jesus' Hebrew name is Joshua. Moses must give way to Jesus. The Law of God spoken through Moses serves to drive us to repentance and a sense of hopelessness in the face of our sin. Paul wrote, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20-21). Moses can take you to the edge of the Promised Land, but he can't get you to the other side of the Jordan. We need Joshua to do that for us. Jesus is our Joshua. He is true man, sharing the same flesh with Joshua, Moses, and you, yet was without sin. He took our sin upon Himself and died with it. His resurrection is the testimony of His saving work. Jesus is the perfect Joshua who carries us through the water of Holy Baptism and into the promised land of forgiveness and a life that has no end. Moses' words of encouragement to the people are glorious. He spoke of what he knew to be true. God is faithful to His promise to deliver and save. Hear His Word and take it to heart: Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of death and the devil for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.As true as God's own word is true, Not earth nor hell's satanic crew Against us shall  prevail. Their might? A joke, a mere façade! God is with us and we with God--Our vict'ry cannot fail. ("O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe" LSB 666, st.3)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/29/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." (John 15:16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Faith bears fruit. The fruit of which Jesus speaks is first the confession of His saving Word to the world and faith that prays with boldness and confidence. That fruit bearing cannot happen without life flowing from the vine. Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). So it was that Jesus chose Simon and Jude to be apostles. They would carry out their appointed task to bring the message of salvation in the Name of Jesus to many lands. Churchly tradition indicates that Simon and Jude travelled together as far as Persia (modern day Iran) proclaiming the Gospel all along the way. While in Persia they were both killed (martyred) for the sake of their confession of Christ. We don't know anything more about these two men. Perhaps that is the way it ought to be. We do know what is most important concerning these two. They were chosen by Jesus, filled with faith, and sent to bear the fruits of faith in this world. That is the best that can be said of anyone. It is what we can say about you!  While you do not share the unique apostolic calling of Simon and Jude, you do have a share in their Lord. It is Jesus who called you by His Word, most of you first in the watery Word of Holy Baptism. You were filled with faith and are continually strengthened in that faith as you receive His rich Word of forgiveness each day, and His Body and Blood on the Lord's Day. And you are sent to bear the fruits of faith in the places where God the Father sends you. Simon and Jude are pretty much anonymous saints. What a great thing to say of any Christian. We are nothing. Jesus is everything! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered among the glorious company of the apostles. As they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so may we with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St Simon and St. Jude)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/28/20215 minutes, 39 seconds
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Wednesday of the 21st Week after Trinity

But that person is worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."  (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In his teaching on worthy reception of the Sacrament of the Altar in the Large Catechism, Luther writes: "Whoever now accepts these words and believes that what they declare is true has forgiveness. But whoever does not believe it has nothing, since he allows it to be offered to him in vain and refuses to enjoy such a saving good. The treasure, indeed, is opened and placed at everyone's door, yes, upon his table. But it is necessary that you also claim it and confidently view it as the words tell you. This is the entire Christian preparation for receiving this Sacrament worthily." Faith receives what Jesus gives. It is as simple as that. Unbelief blocks the path of those gifts. Who in the world would refuse such a gift as Jesus' Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins? Well, your old Adam would. He would rather nurse and nurture his sin. He would prefer to withhold forgiveness from all those losers who have sinned against him. Along with the Pharisee in Jesus' parable in Luke 18, the old Adam says, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." Yet the "treasure indeed, is opened and placed at everyone's door."  Jesus died for the Pharisee and the tax collector alike. His desire is for the life, not the death, of sinners. So, Jesus comes for the broken and repentant sinners to rescue them. He feeds you with His precious Body and Blood and fills you with faith to receive that gift as the words tell you. To receive the Sacrament worthily is to trust the words of Jesus. Mistrusting the words of our Lord or trusting in our own righteousness makes us truly unworthy. God be praised that He sends the Word of the Law to bring us to repentance and the Word of forgiveness that brings us life. And best of all, thanks be to God that such forgiveness is placed in our mouths in the Holy Supper of our Lord! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lord Jesus Christ, life-giving bread, May I in grace possess You. Let me with holy food be fed, Your wounded hand now feed me. Though weary, sinful, sick, and weak,Refuge in You alone I seek, Give me Your grace and mercy. ("Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread" LSB 625, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/27/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Tuesday of the 21st Week after Trinity

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I spent eight months in the country of Afghanistan as a United States Navy chaplain. Nearly every day for those eight months I had to put on a 17-pound protective armored vest and a three-pound Kevlar helmet. Many times, I wondered if I could just dispense with wearing that cumbersome gear and lighten my load. But soon enough, the sound of enemy fire or the thought of my wife and three young children at home motivated me to hoist on that armor for another day. It would have been foolish to cast aside the protection that had been issued to me. I was given the armor to protect me from danger in a dangerous combat zone. So it is for you. Whether you recognize it or not, you are fighting on a great and terrible battlefield. The enemy is mostly unseen but nonetheless real. The spiritual forces of evil and Satan are constantly scheming to find a way to separate you from the Lord your God. You even must battle your old sinful self with its deadly desires. The great news is that you are not alone in this fight. Christ, the victor over death and the devil, fights for you. He lords His Cross, death, and empty grave over the evil one and He provides you with the armor to ensure your survival in body and soul. The armor comes from Him. You have the belt of truth, the Word of God. You wear the breastplate of righteousness: the righteousness of Christ that covers your sinful self. You have been given the Gospel of peace, that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).You have received the shield of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), the helmet of salvation, and the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. All these gifts are from God and are bestowed on you by God's grace in Christ. You are united to Jesus. You are baptized! His strength and might are yours (Romans 6:3-4)!  It is pure gift. You are safe and sound in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.So wield well your blade, Rejoice in its pow'rs, Fight on undismayed For Jesus is ours!Then in Him victorious Your armor lay down, To praise, ever glorious, His cross and His crown. ("Be Strong in the Lord" LSB 665, st.5)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/26/20215 minutes, 43 seconds
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Monday of the 21st Week after Trinity

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everything that is, was created by God. You must take this personally. You are not an accidental being. The God who by His Word spoke creation itself into existence and marked times and seasons, created you. Every part of your being is the creative work of God. Your mind, your emotions, your physical self, are all a gracious gift from God the Father. He says of you as He did of the created order, "very good."  However, our experience in this life is not always "very good." The rebellious sin brought into the world by the man and the woman has altered our reality. Our "very good" bodies betray us. We endure depression and anxiety. Cancers and viruses take away our loved ones in death. We sin daily in thought, word and deed, abusing others made in the image of God. Something must be done to reverse the downward slide into death that dogs all of humanity. The Son of God, through whom all things were made (John 1:3), the One who is God of God and Light of Light, came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man (Nicene Creed). The eternal Son of God suffered on the Cross and was buried in death. On the Third Day He rose again to bring resurrection life to all who believe in Him. You must take this personally, too. You have been joined to the death and life of Jesus in your Baptism. The God who created the heavens and the earth has given you a new creation in His Son, Jesus. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again (re-created) he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). You have been re-created by the water and the Word. Your sins have been died for by Jesus and the way to a never-ending life has been opened for you. In Jesus, God the Father once again speaks over you these amazing words, "Very good."  Yes, you are!  In Jesus you are very good indeed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We all believe in one true God, Who created earth and heaven, The Father who to us in love Has the right of children given. He in soul and body feeds us; All we need His hand provides us; Through all snares and perils leads us, Watching that no harm betide us.He cares for us by day and night; All things governed by His might. Amen. ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 954, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/25/20216 minutes, 3 seconds
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The 21st Sunday after Trinity

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Two miracles occur in the reading for today. The first is obvious: The son of an official is brought from the point of death by the Word of Jesus. The second miracle is seen by faith: A fearful father is rescued from his faithlessness. I'm sure the father of the dying boy didn't think much about his wobbly faith as he approached Jesus that day in Capernaum. He had faith enough to come to Jesus, yet he believed that Jesus could not heal his son without being physically present for him. Jesus sets him straight with a promise that only He can make: "Go; your son will live." With that promise echoing in his ears, the anxious and faithful father heads for home. On the journey home he hears the great news that his son is recovering. His trust in Jesus was confirmed and he and his whole household believed. The connection for us is clear. Jesus receives us gladly, even with our wobbly faith. We come to Him asking for humanly impossible things with the confidence that the One who can change water into wine and bring a young man back from the brink of death can rescue us. We have God's promise. Jesus said, "I am the living bread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51). We feast on Jesus by faith. We trust His Word when He says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). We feast on the Bread of Life each time we come to the altar and receive the very Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Supper. In the Supper Jesus grants us the forgiveness that delivers us from death. With His Body and Blood He says to you, "Go: You, son or daughter, will live."  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, keep your household, the Church, in continual godliness that through your protection she may be free from all adversities and devoutly given to serve You in good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 21st Sunday after Trinity)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/24/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr

After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name."  (Acts: 15:13-14)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James of Jerusalem, the brother of our Lord: What a turn around this guy did! If you read the Gospels you will come upon the occasional instances when Jesus is milling around His home country and His brothers try to stop by for a chat. Now this is not in order to catch up on times gone past, but it is because they think their older brother, Jesus, has gone crazy. And who can blame them? They grew up with this man who is now claiming to be the Messiah. I wouldn't believe my weirdo brother either.But at some point after the resurrection, James comes to faith. Paul mentions that Jesus appeared to James just like He did to Paul. And miraculously, James, just like Paul, was converted. Then God used James, this old doubter of His Son, to testify to the truth of His Son in the city of Jerusalem. James is given to be the head of the church in Jerusalem: We might call him a bishop.His most important point of business is to distinguish between the Gospel unto salvation and those pushing the works of the Law unto salvation. The Circumcision Party had been going around Judea and Galilee and all the known world pushing the works of the Law instead of proclaiming Christ. Their gospel was a gospel of "Make yourself worthy through the works of your hands and then you might be deserving of the things of Jesus."But James knew this to be rubbish, for how had he ever made himself worthy of Jesus? James had rejected Jesus throughout his whole earthly life and needed a special post-resurrection appearance in order to believe. There was no way that he was going to ever allow those pushing works-righteousness to obscure the Holy Gospel of Christ crucified. And so James hears Paul's testimony and the whole council agrees with him and Barnabas: Salvation is open, free and clear to the Gentiles, just as much as it is to the Jews.It is for James' stand for the Gospel that we give thanks this day. Christ Jesus is for all and there is no work of the Law needed to make oneself worthy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.May God bestow on us His grace, With blessings rich provide us; And may the brightness of His faceTo life eternal guide us. That we His saving health may know, His gracious will and pleasure, And also to the nations show Christ's riches without measure And unto God convert them. ("May God Bestow on Us His Grace" LSB 823, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/23/20216 minutes
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Friday of the 20th Week after Trinity

And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23c)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This seems to be a bit of a throw-away line. It doesn't make much sense in the context of the rest of Deuteronomy 21, other than the fact that it is indeed another law heaped out for the masses to fulfill. There is no real connection between unsolved murders and marrying the women whom you have made captive. And as for the direct tie to inheritance rights and how to treat a rebellious son, your guess is as good as mine.But if you read the Old Testament in the light of the New, if you have the lens of Jesus to peer through as you trudging your way through Moses and his first five books of the Bible, then throw-away verses like this tend to have a little more meaning to them.Paul seemed to figure this out. Or better said, the Holy Spirit apparently enlightened Paul in this matter and so he has gone ahead and enlightened us as well. In the third chapter to his letter to the Galatians, Paul is arguing against the works of the Law. For truly everyone is cursed by the demands of the Law. It lays out for us an impossibly difficult task: Just read all of Deuteronomy and tell me if you can pull it off.But Christ has freed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. That is what Paul says in Galatians 3:13. But he isn't just making up some new sort of theology. He is harkening back to Moses, to our text in Deuteronomy. Jesus is that dead guy who is hanging on the tree. And yes, He is the One who is cursed by God. Cursed by God because your sin and my sin is upon Him. Cursed by God because Jesus has become sin.And in this, we have faith and are saved. For faith is of the Gospel, not of the Law. Works are of the Law,  but we are saved by the Gospel, by faith in the Gospel, by faith in the Gospel of Jesus, by faith in the Gospel of Jesus hanging on the Cross for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Upon the cross extended See, world, your Lord suspended.Your Savior yields His breath. The Prince of Life from heaven Himself has freely given To shame and blows and bitter death.Your soul in griefs unbounded, Your head with thorns surrounded, You died to ransom me. The cross for me enduring, The crown for me securing, You healed my wounds and set me free. ("Upon the Cross Extended"  LSB 453, st.1, 5)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/22/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Thursday of the 20th Week after Trinity

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:19-21)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul lays out how it is we are to serve our neighbor, how we are to love them as ourselves. There are a lot of specifics at the end of Ephesians. Paul doesn't shy away from how the Christian, the New Man in Christ, is to act. As has been said many times before, the Law shows you what love looks like. You don't have to guess. You don't have to wonder how you are to love your neighbor. The Law will tell you.And one of the most foundational ways that we are to love our neighbor is by submitting or subjecting ourselves to them. Now, we don't like that word because it comes with the connotation of "less than vs. greater than," but that is not our Lord's intention.We submit to each other as the situation calls for it. God is the God of order and that means we all hold different vocations. That is good. That is exactly how it should be. Within a family there is a father and a mother, children and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and each member of the family fits under or over someone else. The same thing is true for your place of work or school, your sports teams or social clubs, or society in general. We are all given different vocations and we fulfill them accordingly.The one in subjection recognizes the authority that God has given to the one who is over him. And so we do not fight against that or despise it. We thank the Lord that He has created for us a life of order and not one of chaos.The one in authority also recognizes something; he has been given that authority, not so that he can be served, but so that he can serve those under him. The one with authority takes his cue from the One with all authority, Christ Jesus. He came as a servant to all, even being willing to lay down his life. So, too, do we serve our neighbor selflessly and lovingly.All of this is a good gift from above. And we always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He gives for our good and we receive His gifts with joy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Penitent sinners, for mercy crying, Pardon and peace from Him obtain; Ever the wants of the poor supplying, Their faithful God He will remain. He helps His children in distress, The widows and the fatherless. Alleluia, alleluia! ("Praise the Almighty" LSB 797, st.4)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/21/20215 minutes, 55 seconds
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Wednesday of the 20th Week after Trinity

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: "forgiveness of sins." (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is no parlor trick. Nor is it a simple meal of remembrance, as we would think about the word "remembrance."  For when God remembers His salvation, it is not just that He thinks back in time to the day of the Red Sea crossing or deliverance from Babylon or Good Friday. He is outside of time, so to Him such an idea of "remembering" doesn't even exist. When God remembers, or when He calls us to remember, it is an incorporation into the actual event of salvation.In the same way that the people were incorporated in the daily sacrifices of the temple (receiving the slaughtered animal's flesh, taking it home, cooking it, and eating it) so, too, are we incorporated into the sacrifice of the Cross. We don't just remember with our mind, but we remember with our mouths. We take and eat the Body of our Lord. We take and drink His Blood poured out for us.This is the way of our Lord. He gives with real blessing, real life, real Jesus, real forgiveness in and with real things. There is no remembering the Cross at communion that doesn't also include receiving the Cross. And therefore there is no remembering Jesus and His sacrifice in the Sacrament without receiving Jesus, His sacrifice, and all that He won on the Cross.And so, in receiving the Sacrament you receive the forgiveness of sins. With the forgiveness of sins you receive life and salvation as well, because with all sins forgiven, eternal life and eternal salvation are yours forever.How is this all possible? Christ your Lord said it is. And His Word is not just descriptive, it is prescriptive, it is creative. His Word gives exactly what His Word says. And so yes, when you participate in the Sacrament you receive the forgiveness of sins, and you receive Jesus, because He said so. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee and adore Thee, In thanksgiving bow before Thee. Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish Our weak souls that they may flourish: O Lord, have mercy!May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary, That our sins and sorrows did carry, And Thy blood for us pleadIn all trial, fear, and need: O Lord, have mercy! ("O Lord, We Praise Thee" LSB 617, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/20/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tuesday of the 20th Week after Trinity

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."  (Isaiah 55:1-2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The ways of the Lord are not our ways. His thoughts are not like ours. They are far above us: As the heavens are high from the earth, so, too, are God's thoughts and ways far above ours. And this is a good thing. Often we think about this lofty fact in the light of God's being so much bigger, so much smarter than us. We think of it in regard to His omniscience, the fact that He knows all things and can see the game play out, whereas we are stuck in the game and can't see more than two moves in front of us. While this is all true, of course, I don't think this is what Isaiah means.Isaiah tells us to come and buy wine and milk, come and purchase them both so that we can be content. And so we come, with money in hand; money that looks like our works, money that looks like our self-assured pride, money that looks like our lineage or our ancestry or anything else that pertains to the Law. We come prepared to purchase that which we need, for this is the way of our lowly thoughts. But what we buy looks nothing like wine, nor does it taste anything like milk. We don't seem to mind, for we are quite assured that what we have purchased for ourselves is--we think--far, far better than what God has in store for us.But our Lord's ways are so much different, so much higher. He tells us to buy, but without money, which means, of course, that we aren't buying anything. Instead, it is all a gift given. For when I don't bring anything to the table, but get the most exquisite meal anyway, that means the Lord is going about His higher work once again. Gifts for everyone! Free and clear! Bellies all full, sins all forgiven, death all dead.Come, buy the things of your Lord! You won't believe how great the deal is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, Thy boundless love to me No thought can reach, no tongue declare; Unite my thankful heart to Thee, And reign without a rival there! Thine wholly, Thine alone I am; Be Thou alone my constant flame.("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me"  LSB 683, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/19/20215 minutes, 43 seconds
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St. Luke, Evangelist

And [Jesus] said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves."  (Luke 10:2-3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus sends out the 72. It's kind of like a dry-run for Pentecost. The disciples are to go out and preach the message of peace to all they come upon. Peace for the sinner. Peace for the unrighteous. Peace for the enemy, the filthy, the unclean, the unworthy. Jesus sends His disciples out to do a job of peace-proclamation, for God's enemy needs to hear this peace, which means I do, too.Jesus sends out the 72 to every village and city that He is about to go into. Kind of like John the Baptist   preparing the road, making the path straight. But this, too, should show us something: Jesus always follows the proclamation of the Gospel. If the peace of the Lord is proclaimed to the people, that means that Jesus is there. For it is Jesus who is the Author of our peace.And here, too, we should make sure we understand the severity of this peace. For the peace from our Lord is not some hippy-dippy peace found in flowers and puppy dogs. It isn't some fake peace of unity, which is not a real unity because the two sides are still in opposition to each other. No, the peace of our Lord is a true and lasting peace that quells the war between God and sinners.Today, right here and right now, you have that peace. It is a peace proclaimed into your ears by simple little men who look so similar to the 72 in our text for today. These men are your pastors and they have been sent to proclaim peace to you. And peace sounds like forgiveness. Peace sounds like the Cross. Peace sounds like an empty tomb. Peace sounds like sin atoned for and death vanquished and the serpent's head crushed. Peace sounds like Jesus. And so, wouldn't you know it? Wherever God sends His pastors to proclaim His peace, Jesus is soon to follow. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Then raise to Christ a mighty song, And shout His name, His mercies tell! Sing, heav'nly host, your praise prolong, And all on earth, your anthems swell! All hail, O Lamb for sinners slain! Forever let the song ascend! Worthy the Lamb, enthroned to reign, All glory, pow'r! Amen, amen. ("O God of God, O Light of Light"  LSB 810, st.4)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/18/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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The 20th Sunday after Trinity

"Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find." And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. (Matthew 22:9-12)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes you worthy to attend the wedding feast? You'd better not think it has something to do with you. If you think that you've earned a place at the wedding feast then you will also think that the wedding feast is optional. Then it is no longer a gift; it is no longer a feast to enjoy, but a tedious chore that you can do without.But that is not what the feast is, and that is certainly not who the feast is for. Take a look at the guests who are in attendance. They were found among the main roads and out in the streets. They weren't looking for a feast to attend, but were probably expecting to go home and open up a can of Spaghettios. But there they are, both good and bad. Not a single one worthy, but all of them there.And a garment is given to the guests. Probably a soaking wet one, a white one, a Jesusy one, a baptismal one. This is what is given to the guests and this is what is given to you. What makes them worthy, what makes you worthy, is Christ. The wedding feast is free. It is a party open for all. The invitation is to come and eat to your heart's delight the good and rich food of the King which has been prepared for you.There is no good reason for unbelief, no good reason to not be at the wedding feast clothed in Christ. If you think there is, when confronted by the King, you will realize that all of your excuses are pointless and you will have nothing to say. But know for certain that this feast is for you. Know for certain that Jesus is for you. Know for certain that He is the One who makes you worthy. Know all of this for certain, and come and enjoy the wedding feast! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Lord, grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 20th Sunday after Trinity)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/17/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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Saturday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, his holy mountain. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. (From the Introit for the 20th Sunday after Trinity)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let us pray: Lord God, Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of our praise. You have made Your goodness known to Your Church, Your salvation is proclaimed among us, and we are to be seen as Your great and mighty city. Upon Your mountain the joy of all the earth is to be found. This mountain is known as Calvary and upon it can be found the Cross of Your Son. Upon this Cross You have established Your Church. And because of this Cross You have given to us a fortress that cannot be shaken.All the kings of the earth can rise against You. They can assemble their troops and ready their forces, but nothing can defeat Your Cross, and so nothing can defeat Your Church. Not even the gates of hell will prevail against Her. Your promise is that all Your enemies have been defeated in Christ. They may shout and shake their fists, but they will not be victorious. Soon they will all flee in terror, shriek at the coming of the Holy One who has defeated them. Within the confines of your Church may we dwell in safety, knowing that our enemies have no power over us.May Your steadfast love for Your people abound in Christ. Let us rejoice in Your salvation that You have won for us, that You give to us daily in the Gifts given here within the walls of Your Church. And may this Word of salvation reach out to the ends of the earth. May the Word of the Cross be spoken into the ears of our enemies. May those who are at enmity with You be brought to repentance and know that Jesus is for them.May this be the Church's prayer and may this be our cry of joy: That salvation is ours, but not ours alone. It is for all. You seek not the death of the sinner, but that all would come to the knowledge of the Truth. Let us live our lives within the safety of Your Church. May we know that She will not fall, that She will last forever and ever, that our children and our children's children will receive the same Christ as we receive!Guide us in the ways of your Son, O Lord, that our confidence may never be shaken. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O, then, draw away your hearts From all pleasures base and hollow; Strive to share what He impartsWhile you hear His footsteps follow. As you now still wait to rise, Fix your hearts beyond the skies!("Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense"  LSB 741, st.8)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/16/20215 minutes, 38 seconds
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Friday of the 19th Week after Trinity

"This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. …  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." (Matthew 13:13, 16)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The parable of the sower is often one of our favorites. We love to hear about the reckless sowing of the seed and how the sower scatters indiscriminately to the wind, letting the seed fall where it may. On the path, the rocks, the thorns, the good soil, the seed goes everywhere. What a wonderful example of how our Lord preaches His Word: He preaches it to all, no matter what.But perhaps the sinner in us loves this parable so much because we love to be able to look around and figure out what type of soil everyone else is. We, of course, are the good soil. Just look at us and our life. Isn't that obvious? But certainly not Matty, He must be the path where the birds have scavenged up all the seed. He's never stepped foot inside a church. And Sara, she has to be the soil with all of the rocks. She has no root. Her faith falters all the time, even at the smallest bit of suffering. And Tim? His is a thorny soil, for he would rather engage in the things of the world instead of the things of God. They are all the poor soil. But me? Well, just look at me. . . But look at me! I don't have the faith that I always claim to have. I like my sin and I'm scared of trials and tribulations and sometimes the devil snatches away God's Gospelly words of promise before I can ever even hear them. So where is my comfort amidst all of this? How can I be sure that I am the good soil when it is so obvious that I am the bad?Perhaps my comfort shouldn't come from deciphering which type of soil I am. Maybe, instead, the comfort should come from the fact that the Sower sows His seed to me no matter my soil. Maybe my assurance is in Him and in His Word. Maybe, just maybe, His Word will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it and He will make me to be the good soil for no other reason than for the sake of Himself. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Preach you the Word and plant it home To men who like or like it not, The Word that shall endure and stand When flow'rs and men shall be forgot.The sower sows; his reckless love Scatters abroad the goodly seed, Intent alone that all may haveThe wholesome loaves that all men need. ("Preach You the Word"  LSB 586, st.1, 3)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/15/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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Thursday of the 19th Week after Trinity

But [Jesus] answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (Matthew 12:39-40)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is the will of the Father? That He would break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh that does not want His Word to be taught in truth and purity and does not want that Word to be believed in faith.The sinner wants to see signs and wonders. The sinner tells God that he will believe in Him as long as God shows him a sign. But the signs that we want are always the wrong type of sign. We want to dictate to God the ways in which He should do things, the ways in which He should work and save and forgive. In telling God how He should be God, we are really just making ourselves god. It is the fruit in the Garden all over again. Sinners never come up with anything new; we always revert back to the original sin of wanting to be like God.But God has already done it all for us in Christ Jesus, through a bloody Cross and an empty tomb. Believe in that, believe in Him, believe that God has already done the work of salvation and He gives that salvation to you in His Word and through His Sacraments.  A  Jesus risen from the dead is all that you need. The problem is that the sinner who is confident in his own ways won't even believe in the words of a once-dead Jesus, come back from the grave.And so the sinner needs Jesus. He needs Jesus for it all: for life, for forgiveness, even for faith. For the sinner on his own can't believe in the things of an empty tomb and all that that means. So we pray that His Word is taught among us in truth and purity: free Gospel given to us without any merit or worthiness on our part. And we pray that His Spirit would bring us to, and keep us in, the faith as we hear this Word taught among us, so that we might hear Christ say to us, "You are My brother and sister." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Christ Jesus, God's own Son, came down, His people to deliver; Destroying sin, He took the crownFrom death's pale brow forever: Stripped of pow'r, no more it reigns; An empty form alone remains;Its sting is lost forever. Alleluia! ("Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands"  LSB 458, st.3)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/14/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Wednesday of the 19th Week after Trinity

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?These words, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," shows us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, pt. 3)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we eat and drink the Supper of our Lord? Well, first, because Christ has commanded it. But this command is not to be seen as law to be heaped upon us and to burden our conscience. It is a command of love from our gracious Savior who gives what He has promised to give, in the very way that He has promised to give it.On the Cross was where all sins found their end. Christ took them into His body and crucified them to that tree. His blood poured out upon all sins to cover them in a sacrifice that atones for them and washes them away. And so, the victory has been won on the Cross. It is finished! But the victory is not given to us at the Cross.We are temporal creatures who live in a temporal world with the things of time and space. Because 2000 years separate you from that Good Friday, you can't go back to the Cross to receive what Christ has won for you there. But Christ doesn't ask you to go back to the Cross. He doesn't ask you to go to Him. Instead, He comes to you. He places on your tongue the gifts of the Cross: His Body broken there for you, given to you here in time and space. And He pours down your throat the gifts of the Cross: His Blood poured out for you there, given to you here in time and space.How can you be sure that you have the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation? Because Jesus is in you. And not just, "in you" in some sort of mystical way, but in a real and tangible way, a touchy and feely way, a tasty and certain way. Take eat, His Body given for you! Take and drink, His Blood poured out for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy holy body into death was given, Life to win for us in heaven. No greater love than this to Thee could bind us; May this feast thereof remind us! O Lord, have mercy! Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain TheeThat Thy blood should bless and sustain me. All our debt Thou has paid; Peace with God once more is made: O Lord, have mercy! ("O Lord, We Praise Thee" LSB 617, st.2)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/13/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Tuesday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have a new life in Christ. That is the gift of your Baptism. Christ's Cross has been brought to you. His victory over sin, death and the grave has been splashed down upon you in the wet Word of the font. You have been buried into His death and raised to new life in His resurrection. This is who you are. It is done. You are a righteous, holy, justified, saint in Christ.And as such, sin has no place in your life. How could it? The ways of the Old Man are now dead to you. Christ has killed them. Nailed them through His hands and feet and buried them in the cold dead ground. Put away those old ways. Speak the truth, for that is who you are. Love your neighbor even as Christ has loved you, even when your neighbor has made himself to be your enemy. Absolve those who have sinned against you. Do it now! Do it today! Do not let the devil have any opportunity to breed hate and vengeance within you.But the Old Man is still alive within you. He wakes up each and every morning with the rising of the sun. That is why it is good to begin each day with the sign of the Cross and to remember your Baptism. For the Old Man still rages and must be put to death daily, hourly, minute by minute.It is a battle to be sure, but it is a battle that has already been won. That is the key to it all: The victory is yours! You have been baptized. You are of Christ. Of that, there is no doubt! His death on the Cross, His empty tomb, His ascension into heaven with all things placed under His feet, all of that has been given to you. You are washed and wetted and spoken clean in Christ. You are a New Man in Christ!And so when you fail in the things of the New Man, fear not. Return to your Baptism. Drown the Old Man once again. Receive the forgiveness of your sins. And live your forgiven life in Christ! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen."You shall not murder, hurt, nor hate; Your anger dare not dominate. Be kind and patient; help, defend,And treat your foe as your friend." Have mercy, Lord! "You shall not steal or take away What others worked for night and day, But open wide a gen'rous handAnd help the poor in the land." Have mercy, Lord! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands"  LSB 581, st.6, 8)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/12/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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Monday of the 19th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 28:10-17 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jacob is on the run. He is in fear for his life. He had tricked his father into giving him a blessing that shouldn't have been his. He had stolen from his brother (not once, but twice) something that belonged to him. He had made a mess of his life all because he found it impossible to stand in the promises of the Lord. The Old Testament is filled with scoundrels. The fathers of the Church are not the great and pious men that we sometimes think them to be. They all have their times of doubt. They all have their times of deep and egregious sin. None of them have fulfilled the Law placed before them. But they are all counted as righteous: not for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of Christ. The sinner in us hears the promises of our God and then goes about trying to make them our own. How foolish! We can't make these things our own. God is the One who has promised these things to us and so He is the One who is going to bring them to fruition. But the sinner always wants to give God a helping hand. The problem, of course, is that our "helping hand" always makes everything worse. We are all like Jacob in that way: God has given us the promise of life and salvation but we go and screw everything up. However, the Christian must not fear, even when he has turned his life into a giant mess. For we have a God who is faithful, even and especially when we are faithless. And so He still has the authority to bring about good, our ultimate good, our eternal good, even after all of the evil that we have brought upon ourselves. Fear not, fellow sinners! We have a Jesus who is greater than all of our sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen Yea, Lord, 'twas Thy rich bounty gave My body, soul, and all I have In this poor life of labor. Lord, grant that I in ev'ry place May glorify Thy lavish grace And help and serve my neighbor. Let no false doctrine me beguile; Let Satan not my soul defile Give strength and patience unto me To bear my cross and follow Thee. Lord, Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord In death Thy comfort still afford. ("Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart" LSB 708, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/11/20215 minutes, 28 seconds
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The 19th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:1-8 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19 "For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'?" (Mathew 8:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We need Jesus to be more than just a miracle worker, more than just some carnival barker who sells us snake oil medicine out of the trunk of his car, more than some magic genie who is ready to grant us three wishes in order to make our life a little better. The problem is, we don't realize that we need a Jesus who is better than all of that. "All of that" is what we want Jesus to be. And when He isn't, we get a little angry. We tend to not care all that much about the forgiveness of sins when temporal suffering and pain are at play. I can just imagine the look on the paralytic's face, on the faces of his friends who had lugged him all that way to see this miracle-man Jesus. For Jesus doesn't immediately heal him of his crooked legs and atrophied muscles. Instead, Jesus forgives the man's sins and tells him to take heart in that. My goodness! If that isn't the Theology of the Cross, I don't know what is! Jesus doesn't seem to be all that concerned about the temporal, at least not until the eternal is taken care of. We could have everything under the sun placed at our feet (health, wealth, popularity, a great future) but what is all of that when our sins are still upon us? Jesus doesn't promise us the things of temporal glory. We may very well receive those things from time to time. Then again, perhaps we won't. Maybe we won't be healed of that disease or our parents will still go through with their divorce or our boyfriend/girlfriend will still break up with us. We have no assurance of those things. The assurance that we do have is that we are forgiven. Our temporal life may be in complete disarray, but our eternal life is as sure and steadfast as a crucified Jesus and an empty tomb. And even through all of the trials and tribulations that we endure in this earthly life, the victory over them all is our victory in Jesus Christ and His Cross; for it is there that we receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and merciful God, of Your bountiful goodness keep from us all things that may hurt us that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish whatever You would have us do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 19th Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/10/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Saturday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 78:1-3, 4b; antiphon: Psalm 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14a) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42 We will tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. (From the Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is the idea of evangelism frightening to you? Why? I don't know many people who really love the idea of going around and telling strangers about Jesus. Are we even supposed to want to talk to random people about Jesus? Remember, don't talk to strangers... unless it's about Jesus? I don't know many people who do this. I think we're afraid of it. Perhaps the reason why the broad brush approach to evangelism is so scary is because it seems impossible. Of course, it isn't. The Gospel has been preached to the ends of the earth, which must have seemed absolutely insane to the apostles. How were they supposed to do that? Could they even have imagined that you and I would come to hear of the glorious deeds of the Lord, of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Maybe it wouldn't be so scary if we focused and thought about the next generation instead of a bunch of people whom we don't know. Fathers and mothers teach their children. Children learn and come to fear, love, and trust in the Lord above all things. Evangelism is accomplished primarily through your vocations. It may happen that someone you don't know asks you to explain the hope that you demonstrate, but more often than not, you will be called to give witness to your friends and neighbors. This is how many of us were brought to the faith. Fathers and mothers brought their sons and daughters to the waters of Baptism, to hear the Word, and receive the Sacrament. Friends and neighbors eventually are brought along, and the coming generations will all hear of the mighty works of the Lord. It has worked this way so far! After all, you and I have heard of the wonders that the Lord has done and we will not be the last. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/9/20215 minutes, 23 seconds
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Friday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23 "If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town." (Matthew 10:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How often have you worried about someone you love who does not believe in Jesus? It happens all the time. Fathers worry about their children's faith. You worry about your friends who do not love Jesus. I worry about people who have left the faith.Stop that right now. If you have spoken the words of Christ to the people you love, then you have done enough. If you have forgiven your friends in the Name of Jesus, it is enough. If you have borne witness to Jesus Christ in your words and life, then it is enough.We are not called to nag people into the kingdom of heaven, but rather to proclaim that it has come in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, I don't know anyone who has successfully been nagged into the faith. You're also not called to come up with new and fancy ways to argue people into the faith. That won't work, either.You've been called simply to tell the truth, which can be a difficult enough task in a world full of lies. But there's a funny thing that happens when you tell the truth and speak of Christ. Truth always prevails over lies. Lies fall away. Clever tricks are shown to be empty. Eventually the one doing the nagging goes away. But the truth sticks.If you tell the truth and speak of Christ, then you have nothing to worry about. If they reject these words, shake the dust from your feet and move on. They will not forget The Word of God has a way of taking root in the hearts and minds of people. Move on and stop being afraid. If they reject you, they are rejecting Christ. We've seen this before. He was rejected all the way to the Cross. He was denied and buried. Jesus is not worried, either. No, He is risen and His will is done. Do not be afraid. He is patient and wise. He knows what He is doing. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If God Himself be for me, I may a host defy; for when I pray, before me my foes, confounded fly. If Christ, my head and master, befriend me from above, what foe or what disaster can drive me from His love? ("If God Himself Be For Me" LSB 724, st.1)Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/8/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Thursday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. (Matthew 9:35, Evangelical Heritage Version) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Matthew 9 is a whirlwind of activity. As soon as Jesus finishes healing one person, someone else is begging for His mercy. In one instance, He is on the way to heal someone, and another person chases Him down, trying only to touch His clothes, and even she is healed. Jesus brings forgiveness and life wherever He goes. Death flees before Him. Do not be troubled by the apparent lack of miracles in our day. Remember that these people all saw and experienced great things, but still ended up nailing Jesus to a cross. You are not saved by miracles, but by grace through faith in Christ. I sometimes think of Jesus like the star quarterback, lifted on the shoulders of the crowd, who are just thrilled that He's done something amazing. I'm wrong. He was despised and rejected, even when He was doing these great things and forgiving sins. Matthew 9:24 says that they laughed at Him when He said that a dead girl was just sleeping. He knew the truth: that her death had been overcome. They laughed. A few verses later, He is accused of casting out demons by the ruler of demons. He did not win many friends, and most of the friends He did have ended up rejecting Him. And yet He continued to preach, teach, and heal their diseases and sickness, even though they rejected Him and nailed Him to the Cross to die, He still calls out for their forgiveness. He casts out demons and brings life. We have not always hailed Him as our king. Have you even laughed at Jesus? Have you mocked Him? He has not rejected you. He still comes to you. His Word is still given to you, poured upon your head in Baptism, sung into your ears through the church's liturgy, and given into your mouth in Holy Communion. Jesus will not give up on you. He has come to you, and you have life. That is a miracle. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/7/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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Wednesday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 2 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17 Where is this written? (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sacrament of the Altar is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ given for Christians to eat and drink. This is a strange thing to believe. It looks like mere bread and wine. All that we can see with our eyes and taste with our tongue is wheat and grapes. We like to believe what we can see, feel, taste, touch, and see. Unfortunately, our senses are not the final authority on reality. Things can be real that we cannot sense. Your home can be filled with poisonous gasses that you cannot smell. This is why you have CO2 detectors. Likewise, humans understand about 5% of what exists in the universe, while the other 95% is referred to as "dark." We just don't know how it all works, only that it somehow does. So we must have reasons for the things we believe, particularly when it comes to matters of the Christian faith. We can't just make up things or rely on feelings, or even on our senses. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul all tell us that Jesus says that this is His Body and Blood. John also speaks of it, but in different words that assume you already know about the Lord's Supper. The presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar has been the life of the Christian Church since Maundy Thursday, when it was first given. Why? Because our Lord Himself has given it to us. Make sure that your beliefs come from the Word of the Lord. Humans have believed all sorts of weird things over the centuries, many of which have proven to be harmful and even fatal. Many have strayed from the Lord's Word and were led to destruction. The Lord, through His Word, will keep you on the way of life and preserve you from death. Lutherans are sometimes criticized for putting so much emphasis on Holy Baptism, the Office of the Keys (Confession and Absolution) and the Lord's Supper. We only do this because Jesus has given these to us. We've kind of put everything behind Christ and His words. A man-made religion just won't do. It's got to come from the Lord. Ask the question! Where is this written? And if it is written, then we ought to believe it. The Word of God is trustworthy and true. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. His Word proclaims and we believe that in this Supper we receive His very body, as He said, His very blood for sinners shed. ("The Death of Jesus Christ, our Lord" LSB 634, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/6/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Tuesday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…(1 Corinthians 1:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have a bad habit of skipping Paul's greetings. Get to the point, my friend. We can pretend I'm so pious that I just can't wait to get to the good stuff. The introductions are always more or less the same. You shouldn't recycle material, Paul. It's lazy. When it comes to Corinth, I think maybe the introduction is the point. Read it. It doesn't sound like the Corinth that we hear about in the rest of the letter. This doesn't sound like a church divided. Full of sexual immorality, idolatry. Ignoring the widows in order to get drunk. Mishandling the Lord's Supper. Bragging about spiritual gifts to raise themselves above each other. Corinth is messed up. But Paul writes to the holy ones, sanctified in Christ Jesus. Because that's who they are. The thing that unites us across time and space, that lets Paul write an introduction to Corinth that sounds like the introduction to Galatia and Ephesus and Philippi, is the Gospel: grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Corinth is not known by the cesspool of sin, but by the God who promises to give grace, forgiveness, and peace. The testimony is confirmed among the believers there. Their sins are forgiven because Christ is risen from the dead. Because Christ gives them His Body and Blood to eat and drink. Because Christ unites them into one Body. The proof of Christianity isn't in our works, but God's. He joins us into fellowship across time and space into the mercy given by the Cross. The introduction is the point because God's Word does what it proclaims. It gives grace, mercy, and peace to them, and to you. That sustains us to the end. Guiltless. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia! Alleluia! ("For All the Saints" LSB 677, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/5/20215 minutes, 31 seconds
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Monday of the 18th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (Deuteronomy 10:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." No big deal, right? Look at all the great stuff God has done for you. You owe Him. Honestly, you owe Him more than He asks. He hasn't just saved ancestors. He hasn't just given you all you have in this life. He sacrificed His Son to save you. Repent. Repent, because it isn't God who would use His good works as leverage to extract something from you. It's you who use your works as leverage to demand from God. It's you who think your good deeds require recompense from your neighbor. God did not send His Son to die as a guilt trip. And more, it wouldn't have even worked. We are indebted to God. That's not in question. But it's like handing a 4-year-old a bill for room and board. They can't pay it. You can't, either. God doesn't want you to. He is not partial and takes no bribes. He just loves sinners. Even you, who can't hear His promises without thinking about leverage and paybacks. For even this, Jesus has died for you. You are forgiven. Not because you'll ever earn it, but because God loves you. He loves us so much that He wants to see orphans and widows and sojourners cared for even though they can't pay. He gives it all as a gift. That which He requires of you? He fulfills it for you in the person of His Son. He works it through you for the good of your neighbor. The Law demands more than we could ever give. But God provides everything the Law demands. That way your works aren't your praise. Your God is. He is the one who has accomplished all for sinners. Jesus paid everything for you. You owe nothing. Rejoice in Him who made you free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The royal banners forward go; The cross shows forth redemption's flow, Where He, by whom our flesh was made, Our ransom in His flesh has paid: ("The Royal Banners Forward Go" LSB 455, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/4/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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The 18th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29 Which is the great commandment in the Law? (Matthew 22:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees often tried to trick Jesus by asking Him questions that don't have good answers. Ask your dad which one of his children is his favorite. There's no good answer. So which commandment is the great one? Are there any of the Lord's commandments that are lesser or greater than another? We all have a little Pharisee in us. We all try to get around the Lord's Word here or there. You might think that this sin might not be too bad because it isn't one of the BIG sins. Right? Can you covet so long as you don't steal? Can you look, but not actually commit adultery? Can you just hate someone and speak against them without murdering them? That is a very dangerous game. Good news, though. Jesus doesn't play that game. He refuses to rank the commandments. Instead, He sums up the whole entire Law in two concepts: Love God and love your neighbor. That is all. You cannot itemize and rank your sins. You either love God and your neighbor or you don't. It is not as if Jesus came to die for the little forgivable sins, but not for the big bad ones. He came to deal with all of your sins, whether you think they are small or great. The truth is that all sin is committed for the same reason: that we do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. We let our idolatries run our lives, and so we commit all kinds of sins against God and our neighbors, precisely because God is not put first. So, when you find yourself asking whether or not one sin is worse than another, remember the Pharisees. Don't do that. Do not play that game. It leads to death. Repent of every last one of your sins, and see that Christ has died for every single one of them. All of the Law and prophets depend on this, for these all look forward to their fulfillment in Christ. He has come to forgive all sins, even the little ones. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, because without You we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 18th Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/3/20215 minutes, 41 seconds
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Saturday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Week after Trinity (Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12 Hear the prayer of Your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron upon your people. (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apocrypha is a collection of books written during the time between the Old and New Testaments. The number of books varies according to the particular publisher, but there are usually 15 to 20 in these collections. Martin Luther's landmark German translation of the Bible included the Apocrypha in its traditional "in between" place. Lutherans used these books until American publishers left them out of their English Bibles. These books aren't considered Holy Scripture, but they're useful. They have some pretty cool stories in them. You can read about a dragon being blown up with a bomb in Bel and the Dragon. You might even sing the beautiful Song of the Three Young Children during the Easter Vigil, which is the song that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego sang in the fiery furnace. The Apocrypha is used mainly in Introits or Graduals in today's Lutheran services. They're usually marked as "liturgical texts." Today's Introit uses one of these from Ecclesiasticus 36. This is a book of wisdom from a man named Jesus ben Sirach. It's really good. You should read it. For instance, this text today beckons the Lord to hear our prayers according to the blessing of Aaron. You've heard the Aaronic Blessing. It is given to you at the end of every Divine Service. "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you. The Lord lift His favor upon you and give you peace!" This comes from Numbers 6:24-26, when the Lord gave Aaron instructions on how to place His Name upon the people of Israel. Ecclesiasticus then prays that the Lord would see and hear us as people who bear the Name of the Lord. It is the Name of the Lord, tattooed upon you in this blessing, and in Holy Baptism, by which you are seen as righteous and holy. He has put His Name on you! This is why we begin and end everything in the Name of Jesus. The Lord looks with favor on those who bear His Name, which includes you, His beloved baptized saints. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You spirits and souls of the righteous, bless the Lord; you pure and humble of heart, bless the Lord; let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. ("All You Works of the Lord " LSB 931, v.11) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/2/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Friday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34 Do not be anxious about tomorrow. (Matthew 6:34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do Deuteronomy and the Sermon on the Mount have to do with one another? On the surface, it looks like these are very different writings. Our reading from Deuteronomy promises that the Israelites will defeat their enemies, while Jesus preaches that we should not be anxious because the Lord cares for us more than anything in all creation. Throughout history there have been various heresies which have claimed that the Old and New Testaments even have a different god, because so many things in them seem so unrelated, and even opposed to one another. Could the warlike God of the Exodus be related at all to the peaceful Jesus? It may be surprising, but these two readings are telling God's people the same thing: Don't worry, because the Lord is on your side. The Israelites are, yet again, face to face with enemies, and the Lord instructs them to have no fear because He goes before and after them. He fights for them. In the Matthew reading, Jesus speaks to people faced with different enemies, but enemies nonetheless. We are anxious and worried about all sorts of things. Money. Food. Homework. Degrees. Moab. Sihon, the King of Hesbon. Well, maybe not those last two. But you get the picture. God's people are always confronted with enemies. You will always be face to face with enemies of all sorts that seek to rob you of your peace. The Israelites were delivered from the hands of their enemies. They even triumphed over them! You are given victory over your enemies as well. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ have given you peace which passes all understanding. Death and sin will have no power over you. Be strong in the Lord. Do not fear what comes tomorrow, for the Lord is on your side. You are Israel, taken out of slavery to sin and death, brought through the Red Sea of Holy Baptism, and fed in the wilderness with the Word of God, and even with His miraculous meal, the Lord's Supper. He fights for you, so you may live in peace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Faint not nor fear, His arms are near; He changes not who hold you dear; only believe, and you will see that Christ is all eternally. ("Fight the Good Fight" LSB 664, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
10/1/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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Thursday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 1 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15; Matthew 6:1-15 It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sacrament of the Altar has many different aspects and dimensions and we speak of it using an assortment of names which all reflect these varied purposes. We can never exhaust this great gift which the Lord has left to us to receive, proclaiming His death until He comes again. Every single word we can say about this gift pales in comparison to this main thing: It is the true Body and Blood of Jesus. This is why it is called the Sacrament of the Altar. It is, of course, sometimes called the Lord's Table, which is fine, but to refer to it specifically as it relates to the altar confesses a certain thing: that this is the true Body and Blood of Jesus. An altar is a particular kind of table upon which a sacrificial victim is placed. An altar holds a body. This is the true Body of Jesus upon the altar in your church. This Body gives life. Other food that sustains our earthly life lasts a day or two. Eating the flesh of a cow, chicken, or plants of the earth will keep you alive for a while, but you'll have to eat again tomorrow. The life of the cow is given to you so that you would stay alive. Life really is in the blood. Unlike steaks or hamburgers, delicious as they may be, the Body and Blood of Jesus gives life that does not expire. His life is given to you in this Sacrament which is distributed from an altar. This life is eternal, for Christ is eternal. He is raised from the dead, and in the eating and drinking of His Body and Blood, you, too, are given eternal life, which means that you, too, will be raised from the dead. This is the gift that can only be given in the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and it is given to you. No representation will do. You need the real thing, because you need real life. Yes, this crucified and risen Jesus Christ, is given to you, bodily, in this Sacrament, that you would rise when He returns. And He will return, but until then, we will continue to rejoice and receive this precious gift of life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Thy body given for me, O Savior, Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed, these are my life and strength forever, by them my hungry soul is fed. Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood, be for my soul the highest good! ("Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior" LSB 619, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/30/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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St. Michael and All Angels

Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48 Nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus had earlier sent 72 disciples to go out and prepare His way. They were to go with very few supplies, announce the peace of God, and rely on the generosity of strangers for their wellbeing. This sort of thing seems fairly impossible before it happens, but is amazing when it does. The 72 returned, extremely excited and amazed by what had happened to them. Not only were their physical needs taken care of, but demons were also cast out in the Name of Jesus. They'd seen more than they thought was even possible. Perhaps the angels fought on their side? Jesus, of course, knew what the 72 would find on their missionary journey. He'd authorized them to stomp serpents and scorpions, and even the power of the enemy, and nothing would hurt them! Nothing! They were given authority over the devil, the world, and their own sinful flesh. And yet, Jesus tells them that this is not all about flashy exorcisms and healings. There's more to the Christian life than the immediately apparent miracles. The more important thing was for them to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. We live in a time where it seems that the snakes, scorpions, and the power of the devil are on the rise. Do we still have authority over these things? Most certainly, yes, we do. Demons have been cast from your life through the Word of the Lord. As you are splashed in Holy Baptism, the serpents and scorpions have quickly scattered from your path. And even more than this, your names have been written in heaven. Rejoice! The Revelation talks about the Book of Life which is held in heaven. Those whose names are written in this book are brought into the eternal city of God. Have you ever tried to board an airplane when your name is not on the list? You can't do it. The same goes for these names written in heaven. Because your name is there, you belong there. Whatever amazing miracles you witness throughout your life, rejoice first that your name is written in heaven. You belong with Christ Jesus, and ultimately nothing will hurt you, not even death. Rejoice! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Michael and All Angels) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/29/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Tuesday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Matthew 5:1-20 Bearing with one another in love… (Ephesians 4:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You are not alone. We are all in this together. These are not empty platitudes or meaningless slogans. This is the truth. We confess together that we believe in one holy, Christian/catholic, and apostolic Church. There are not many churches, but one, because there is one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism. This is the way it has always been and always will be. People sometimes mistakenly say that they were baptized Lutheran or Methodist. There is no unique Lutheran Baptism, because there is only one Baptism into Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church. This is why you do not need to be rebaptized if you move to a different town and join another congregation. Not only don't you have to be rebaptized, but you will find a family waiting for you. You will find a congregation of people who bear with one another in love. You will find people who will bear your burdens and love you. You can find a similar sort of unity in many places. Sometimes people pursue this unity and fellowship in sports or other activities. For instance, we find affinity with people who are fans of the same sports teams, or even just the same sport. Rugby fans have a natural fellowship based on a game that has been around since 1823. But when was the last time you found people who loved one another because of their love of fox tossing, chariot racing, or club swinging? Those sports have all vanished, but used to be very popular. We have something better and more permanent in Christ. The Church has been in existence since the beginning of time. By finding your unity within the Church of Christ, you are being established for eternity. Sports are good, but there will be a day when hockey and football are as popular as jousting is today. In fact, the unity which we pursue in other things is a product of the way that the Lord has designed us to love one another. Yet, it is a pale reflection of the unity we find in the Church. The Church is forever because Christ is forever. We bear with one another in this Church, through good and bad, wins and losses, ups and downs, and whatever life will throw at us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elect from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth; her charter of salvation; one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses with every grace endued. ("The Church's One Foundation" LSB 644, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/28/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday of the 17th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 25:6-14 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A word fitly spoken, depending on the price of gold and the size of your apple, is worth somewhere around $10,000. The average person uses about 7,000 words in a day. If these were all fitly spoken, you'd be raking in $70,000,000 a day. What makes such words so valuable? Fitly spoken words are so valuable because, like gold, they are rare. Unfortunately, I let my words run to and fro without much concern about whom they reach or what they do. "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me" just isn't true. Words can hurt, and even kill. Hurtful, slanderous, and murderous words are everywhere. Certainly they have come to you as well. You've also unleashed your own unfitly spoken words, too. Yet, the good words do come. Words of blessing and benediction flow from the mouth of the Lord, given through the Church, and your pastor. These words are worth more than their weight. They are worth everything. Hold onto them. Remember them. Speak them. These words are given to you in abundance, but sometimes are silenced and drowned by the carelessly spoken words which surround you. These valuable words will give you life. Remember, the Lord spoke creation into existence by a Word, and by a Word, He gives you life. The Lord's words do what they say. When the Lord says that you are forgiven, this means that you are forgiven. When the Lord places His Name upon you in Holy Baptism, this means that you are His. When the Lord says "This is my Body which is given for you," that means that He really is given, all for you. Talk is cheap and our words seem to carry little value. It is the Lord's words that are so valuable, which is why the Lord's words spoken through the Church are treasured above all things. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, Who has spoken creation into existence, Who speaks to us even today; guard our tongues against slanderous and hurtful words. Speak into us a love for Your words, which are more precious than silver and gold. Give us ears to receive Your glorious life giving words, which alone are spoken fitly. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Your incarnate Word, Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/27/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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The 17th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 14:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11 Friend, move up higher. (Luke 14:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes Jesus teaches us things that don't seem to have any immediate practical application. For instance, just a few verses before this parable of the wedding feast, He teaches that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which grows and gives a place for birds to rest. This is nice, but sometimes, He gives practical advice about how to live your life. I can tell you that this parable is applicable because this exact thing has happened to me. A friend had given a banquet and I sat at the head of the table. I began to eat, and within minutes, was asked to move. It was very embarrassing. I began, with shame, to take my place at a seat of lower status. If I'd just seated myself at any other place, I wouldn't have had this shameful experience. Don't sit at the highest place. Just don't. It wasn't fun. It isn't only about where you sit at a banquet, though. It's also about how you live your life in general. Don't go around thinking that you are the best of the best and deserve more than other people, and certainly don't act like you're worth more than others. The truth is that we are all sinners, and I'm the worst of them. Start there, and you can only be asked to move higher. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who are humbled will be exalted. This is a major theme of Luke's Gospel. The rich go away empty-handed and the poor have everything given to them. In Christ, the hungry are filled with good things. His ultimate humiliation on the Cross results in the most glorious exaltation of His resurrection. You don't need to think that you are better than anyone else. That won't get you anywhere, and it also isn't true. But you also need to know that the Lord reaches down to those who are in the low places to lift them up. He has reached His hand down to you, and speaks to you as if He is already a friend. In your Baptism, you've been lifted up as His friend. Friend, move up higher. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord and Master of my life, take from me a spirit of despondency, sloth, love of money, and idle talk. But give to me, your servant, a spirit of sober-mindedness, humility, patience, and love. Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, since you are blessed to the ages. Amen. (Collect for the 17th Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/26/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Saturday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 119:1-2, 5-6; antiphon: vs.124, 137) Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love and teach me your statutes. (From the Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord deals with you according to His steadfast love. This is love that does not fade or falter. This love does not depend on your condition or how you are feeling. The truth is that we might feel good about the Lord one day, and doubtful the next. Our plea then, is that He would deal with us according to His steadfast love, because ours just won't do the trick. Martin Luther, in his 1518 Heidelberg Disputation, wrote that "the love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it." The love that humans have for one another is usually based on some sort of quality that the other person has, and these can wax and wane over our lifetimes, causing our love for one another to increase or decrease. People sometimes fall out of love due to a change in another person. Are you fearful that the Lord might stop loving you if you can't keep up with His demands? The Lord's steadfast love does hold onto you because you have done enough good, but because you are enough in Christ Jesus. He did not find you and measure whether or not you fit the bill. He found you and loves you just as you are. He has created you, and He loves that which He creates. Isn't it great to be a creature? Paul speaks of this in Titus 3:5, that "He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." This is how the Lord has chosen to deal with you! He has come to you and loved you, and will not stop. There was nothing particularly loveable about you, other than you are you. You are His creation. Still not sure? He's baptized you, too, just in case you were wondering if His love might be for everyone else rather than for you. This love is most certainly for you, and is how He has chosen to deal with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, Your mercy will not leave me; ever will Your truth abide. Then in You I will confide. Since Your Word cannot deceive me, my salvation is to me safe and sure eternally. ("Oh, How Great Is Your Compassion" LSB 559, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/25/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; 1 Timothy 6:3-21 They ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. (Nehemiah 9:25-26) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nehemiah is a record of the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Israelites' exile to Babylon. They rebuild the city and her walls, but also restore faithful worship. As part of this worship and restoration, they confess their sins against the Lord. This chapter of Nehemiah is a very good confession. They recount all the mighty works of the Lord, which were then met with disobedience and rebellion. This is how you should confess your sins, too. Remember what the Lord has done for you, and how you rebelled against Him. He has given you all that you need, and yet you have gone looking for satisfaction elsewhere. There's no room for half confessions of things that aren't really sinful. The Lord wants to hear your honest confession. You are a sinner. The Lord forgives sins. You can be honest and open about your confession, as much as the returned exiles in Jerusalem were. The Lord is not out to ruin your fun with His Law. The Ten Commandments are actually good for your life, and if you followed them, you'd be happy. Our problem is that we think we've got something better. Did you ever notice that there are even two commandments against coveting? That means that the Lord really wants you to be happy with what He's given you! And yet, we rebel. We walk away from Him every day. We turn away from Him. We are Israelites ready for exile. That is good news, for the Lord never abandons His people. He will not abandon you. Turn back to Him. Repent and be restored. His Law is good. He is good. There really is nothing better out there than what He has given you. Your life will be better if you keep His rules. And when you do not keep them, He is always waiting to forgive you, for He never stops loving you. Give it a try. Make a good confession to the Lord who loves you and has given everything for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To those who help in Christ have found and would in works of love abound it shows what deeds are His delight and should be done as good and right. ("The Law of God Is Good and Wise" LSB 579, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/24/20215 minutes, 39 seconds
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Thursday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:13-21 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2 [Give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Well, that's a pretty big request, isn't it? We're really supposed to give thanks always and for everything? There's nothing that we shouldn't be giving thanks for? This is hard to believe, and perhaps even harder to practice. Think about all the awful things in the world! Are we really supposed to give thanks for suffering and hardship? It is easy to give thanks for money and nice stuff. But what about the difficult things? St. Polycarp, as he was being burned at the stake in the year 155, blessed the Lord and thanked Him that he was found worthy to share in the cup of Christ. He did not pray for immediate deliverance from his afflictions, but gave thanks that the Lord had already provided the escape. Quite simply, nothing can harm you if you are in Christ, not even persecution. You can give thanks for everything all the time in the Name of Jesus Christ. The key here is to give thanks in the Name of Jesus. Apart from Jesus, life is meaningless and full of suffering. Without Jesus, your life ends in death and that is that. But your life is lived in the Name of Jesus Christ. This Name was placed upon you in Holy Baptism, and Jesus goes where His Name is placed. Think about the life of Christ. His family rejected Him. He was stricken, smitten, and afflicted. He was betrayed by His friend and abandoned by His disciples. He was put to death in His early 30s in the worst way possible. If that were all, it would have been a meaningless waste. But Jesus did not stay on a Cross or in a grave. He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father! So yes, you can give thanks for everything all the time, no matter what. Try it. You cannot die and you cannot be harmed. The Cross of Jesus has been given to you, and with His Cross comes resurrection. This is a difficult teaching, but so is the Cross. Yet, this is all we've been given. Give thanks. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, by the patient endurance of Your only-begotten Son You beat down the pride of the old enemy. Help us to treasure rightly in our hearts what our Lord has borne for our sakes that, after His example, we may bear with patience those things that are adverse to us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/23/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Wednesday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Office of the Keys Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; 1 Timothy 5:1-16 Confession has two parts. (Small Catechism: Office of the Keys) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The entirety of the Christian life, and life in general, is summed up in this little phrase: Confession has two parts. That's it! I bring my sins to Jesus and Jesus forgives me. I contribute nothing to my salvation except my sins, which are forgiven in the Name of Jesus. I bring death and Jesus brings life. We often make the mistake of thinking that our life should be lived perfectly, when really it is meant to be lived in forgiveness. I am not perfect, but Jesus Christ is, and His perfection is given to me. The Church practiced confession in a very different way prior to the Reformation. There used to be three parts to confession: contrition, confession, and penance. It was believed that you had to feel really bad about your sins, and then do something in order to earn the Absolution. Most often you would just have to say a bunch of prayers or go to church. It is even taught in some places today that you can earn Absolution simply by walking through a particular door at a particular time. We humans are very good at inventing ways to get rid of our sins, but these methods look past and away from Jesus. If my forgiveness depends on my level of feeling bad about my sins or how many prayers I can say in order to earn Absolution, I'll never feel bad enough or say enough prayers. My sins are much worse than I think they are, and the mercy of Christ is much more than I will ever truly know it to be. Make no mistake, your sins are taken away from you by Jesus. He forgives you all your sins. This is why you have a pastor. Jesus Christ wants you, personally, to know and to receive the gifts that were won on the Cross. And so He has sent you a pastor to speak for Him. When you hear your pastor pronounce forgiveness, it is as if Jesus Christ is speaking to you. Pastors aren't God, they just speak for Him. What Jesus says goes, and He says that you are forgiven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Though great our sins, yet greater still is God's abundant favor; His hand of mercy never will abandon us, nor waver. Our shepherd good and true is He, Who will at last His Israel free from all their sin and sorrow. ("From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee" LSB 607, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/22/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16 "Follow me." (Matthew 9:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Follow me." Two words. That's all Jesus said to Matthew. There's no complicated plan. There aren't twelve steps or even six chief parts. I've seen some schemes for salvation that seem very difficult to even interpret, what with all of the steps, stairs, and degrees. I'm fascinated by the fact that Jesus just says these two words. He doesn't explain much. The same sort of thing happened with the other disciples, too. Jesus just called them. He did tell Peter that he will be fishing for men, but even that did not reveal very much. I don't think they knew what they were getting into when Jesus called them. He just called them, and they followed. Did you know what you were getting into when Jesus called you to follow Him? Who could have known, when the water was splashed upon you and the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit placed upon your head, where this would all lead? Following Jesus might lead to persecution, trials, tribulations, and all sorts of seemingly nasty things. Following Jesus also might lead to an incredibly satisfying life lived with faithful people and family surrounding you. Or both. You really can't know. All you can know for sure is that if you follow Jesus, you will go where He has gone, and He will not leave you behind. Ultimately this means that you will follow Jesus into death and resurrection, for this is where He has already gone. You cannot be defeated. You have been called to live. Matthew got up from his tax collection booth and began to live, following Jesus. You have been called to truly live and follow Jesus, too. Who knows where it will take you? Matthew could not have known then what we know now; that he would follow Jesus, compose the first account of the life of Christ, and that millions of people would come to salvation through these words. Wherever your life in Christ takes you, it is all lived in Christ, so it will be good. Let the adventure begin! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we may also follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Son, one God now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/21/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Monday of the 16th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16 Then [Elijah] stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again." (1 Kings 17:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord's business is resurrection. A prayer to the Lord for a resurrection is sure to be heard, for this is what He has shown that He is about. Elijah doesn't try to comfort the mother with empty words. There's no "He's in a better place" or "At least you had him for these years." She is angry, and rightly so. Death can indeed cause us to be angry. It just isn't right. You were not created to die. Mothers should not have to bury their children. No one should have to bury anyone. You were created to live. And so, the Lord's business is resurrection. We brought death upon ourselves, and the Lord has seen fit to reverse our foolish and tragic actions. Our addiction to sin has earned death for all of us. Each and every single last one of us will die because we are all sinners. Sometimes the Lord gives us a taste of the world to come a little bit early. Elijah knew that the Lord would raise the dead, and so he stretched himself upon the child three times while crying out to the Lord. This seems bizarre, but it is not so different from what has happened to you. The Lord has touched you in Holy Baptism, stretching Himself over you, marking you as one ready to receive resurrection when the time comes. The Lord touches you in Holy Absolution, again marking you as a pre-resurrected saint. Sometimes your pastor may even lay his stole over your head when Absolution is given. The Lord comes to you, and gives His Body and Blood to you in the Holy Eucharist. This may all look as strange as if old Elijah had stretched himself over us. And yet, touch is how the Lord has come to us. He has touched you, and set you aside to receive your life again. It has been given back to you already, and one day, you will sit up from a grave, and be given back to your Mother, the Church. That's the Lord's business. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, let at last Thine angels come, to Abr'ham's bosom bear me home, that I may die unfearing; and in its narrow chamber keep my body safe in peaceful sleep until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me, that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, my Savior and my fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, and I will praise Thee without end. ("Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart" LSB 708, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/20/20216 minutes, 7 seconds
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The 16th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 7:11-17 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20; 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15 And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." … And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." (Luke 7:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People sometimes say silly things at funerals. We don't often have the right words to say when someone dies. Death is too big of an event and our language fails. How can we properly express our sympathy and grief to the bereaved? I've buried dozens of people during my several years as a pastor, so I've heard people say all sorts of foolish things. I'm still not sure what we should say at funerals, but I know a bit about what we should not say. "Don't cry" is probably the worst thing that you could say. Death is the enemy! How could we not cry and feel sad when someone we love has died? Jesus Himself weeps at the tomb of His friend Lazarus! Sorrow is natural and grief is actually quite healthy, so long as it is not given over to despair. You do not need to deny the tragedy that has occurred when someone dies. What shall we do with our friend Jesus then? Was He wrong? I do not advise any of you to use His words at a funeral unless you can do what Jesus can do. He comes to the saddest woman in the world, and tells her to stop weeping. This seems ridiculous. This is how things will go with Jesus. It is nearly unbelievable. Not only does He command the sad mother to not weep, He then speaks to the dead son. "Arise!" Jesus does uncommon and seemingly foolish things all the time because He can follow through on them. The dead young man hears the words of Jesus, sits up, and begins to speak! Jesus tells the mother to stop weeping because He is going to raise her son from death. Our world will be filled with weeping on account of death until Jesus comes again, touches us, and speaks to us. Be assured that this will indeed happen. Your ears will hear the voice of Jesus, as clearly as you already have in Holy Baptism and in the preaching of the Word, and you will be raised from the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, we pray that Your grace may always go before and follow after us, that we may continually be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 16th Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/19/20215 minutes, 41 seconds
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Saturday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 86:1, 7, 12-13; antiphon: vs.3, 5) Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; 1 Timothy 1:1-20 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you imagine that the words of the psalms come out of Christ's mouth, you might hear the words in a different way. For instance, Psalm 86:1 becomes a reminder that our God in the flesh identifies with all who are poor and needy in this world, even as in Luke 7 He will sympathize with the grieving widow at Nain and His compassion will restore her son to life. (But more about that tomorrow.) The King of the universe and Son of David could have chosen to be born in a palace. Instead He was born to a poor newlywed couple in a lowly manger. As an adult, He would say, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head," (Luke 9:58). Why did He suffer through being poor and needy? For you. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Yet He knew His suffering would be only temporary. Even though insolent men rose up against Jesus to end His life, as David wrote prophetically of Christ in Psalm 86:14, the Son was confident that He will glorify God the Father's name forever. And because the dead cannot praise the Lord (so it would be impossible for Him to do that forever if death ended Him), the Son of God went into Good Friday trusting that God would deliver His "soul from the depths of Sheol" (Psalm 86:13), raising Him from the dead on the Third Day. God has baptismally put you into Christ, and so He puts these same words into your mouth. He who gave David the confidence to know that he would glorify God forever in the resurrection even after David died now puts that confidence into you. On that great Day, you will no longer suffer the weakness of divided loyalties as you do now when your sin messes up your faith. The Lord will raise you, body and soul, to be perfect and whole. And then you shall mean it when you say, "I give thanks to you, O Lord, my God, with my whole heart." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Thou hast died for my transgression, All my sins on Thee were laid; Thou hast won for me salvation, On the cross my debt was paid. From the grave I shall arise And shall meet Thee in the skies. Death itself is transitory; I shall lift my head in glory. ("Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious" LSB 548, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/18/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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Friday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18 That the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. (2 Chronicles 36:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jerusalem is no more. God had tried to get through to His people. "But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against His people" (verse 16). God knew that the only thing that would work was to bring the Chaldean King and his army to Jerusalem for war and destroy it in 586 BC. When other kingdoms suffered a defeat like this, they were gone. Game over. However, God still had plans for His people. He promised that the Savior of all nations would be born from this nation. And so, by grace, He raised this nation from death back to life again after their Babylonian captivity, just as He promised in Jeremiah 29:10: "I will fulfill to you My promise and bring you back to this place." The prophecy from Isaiah 45:1-7 about this time is very amazing. Not only does the Lord name Cyrus specifically as the restorer of His people over a century before the Persian King was born, He also refers to Cyrus as being God's anointed, despite the fact that the man was a foreign pagan. Remember, God commanded His priests to anoint prophets, priests, and kings. And there are also the prophesies of the Anointed One, which in Greek is Christos, or Christ. Just as 2 Chronicles 36:22 reports to us, God fulfilled His promises in Isaiah 45 to give military success and political power to King Cyrus for the sake of God's chosen people Israel--and for your sake! As God says prophetically to Cyrus in Isaiah 45:5-6, "I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other." For among those who returned to the Promised Land with the help of Cyrus were ancestors of Jesus, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. While guiding world history, Christ directed the servants of His Church to go out into all the world and find you, teaching you to know Him as the only God, so that by the forgiveness of your sins, you could live in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/17/20216 minutes, 1 second
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Thursday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Colossians 3:1-25 Josiah died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:24) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O King Josiah, what have you done? You just displayed wonderful devotion to the God of Israel by reforming the religion of your people. But now you are like all the other sons of David as you fell into great sin. You died because you did not listen to God. In many and various ways He commanded you not to go to battle Neco. The Lord warned all the kings of His people not to join foreign wars and alliances. The prophetess Huldah foretold that after your death, the curses of disaster would fall upon your kingdom (2 Chronicles 34:22-28). And God commanded you through Neco himself to let his troops travel from Egypt to fight the Assyrian king. But Josiah, you would not listen! You do not get to disobey God's Word just because it comes from a person you do not like. Why did you leave us to lament your death? Why did you need to prove your Descendant will be correct when He says, "All who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52)? Josiah was a great and faithful king who served God's people. Most of the time. Just like his ancestor David, he was not perfect as He broke God's commandments. Yet there will be a Son of David who comes to be our perfect King. He will never sin as He reforms and restores His people to God by forgiving all the commandments that they break. The people of His kingdom will also grieve at the death of this Son of Josiah. On the night of the greatest Passover, unlike any other Passover ever held before or after it, when the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world gets ready to be slaughtered on the altar of the Cross, just before He is betrayed, He will say to His disciples, "You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy" (John 16:20). He could promise what Josiah could not because Jesus knew the resurrection was coming after His death. For Him, and for you. And so what our Lord promised the disciples is now a promise Your Savior gives to you: "You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:22). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, and be Thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. ("O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" LSB 357, st.7) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/16/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Wednesday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Confession Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11, 14-33; Colossians 2:8-23 What is Confession? Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. (Small Catechism: Confession) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the beginning, God spoke: Let there be light. And all of creation bent itself to His will. It was good, for a little while. Not so much now. Sin breaks stuff. Maybe we can point fingers at Adam or Eve (it was Adam’s fault) and say that wasn’t your fault, even if it is your burden. The truth is, those words that sling blame don’t fix it. They can’t change creation for the better, just lament the state of it. God still speaks with words that accomplish something, not just for Adam’s sin, but also for yours. Now He uses your pastor. "In the stead and by the command of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins." And all of creation bends itself to His will. Your sins are forgiven before God in heaven. And it is good. With words He reshapes creation. He’s not done talking. It’s good, because you’re not done sinning. That’s not ok. Your sin breaks stuff, too. It leaves you wrecked with guilt. It leaves you alone. It leaves you set against the people you’re given to love, and the people given to love you. Understand that the words you use to sling blame, to excuse your sins, to justify yourself, and to accuse your neighbor don’t fix anything. They can’t change creation for the better, but still do plenty to make it worse. So we hear God speak words that grant peace. He absolves your sins through your pastor. He absolves your neighbors’ sins, too. He even lets you speak the words “your sins are forgiven you” that point to the place where all sin was brought to nothing. We point to the Cross and say Jesus forgave us there. He spoke: "It is finished." Sin isn’t allowed to destroy anymore. What our sins break, He promises healing for in the resurrection. It is very good. Today, we have to wait in the world broken by our sin, but we wait for the resurrection already started in Christ who burst from the tomb. We wait for something already begun. And while we wait, we wait with words that shape creation to what God promises it to be. And it is good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words which absolution give Are His who died that we might live; The minister whom Christ has sent Is but His humble instrument. ("'As Surely as I Live,' God Said" LSB 614, st.6)
9/15/20213 minutes, 31 seconds
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Holy Cross Day

Today's Reading: John 12:20-33 Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Colossians 1:24-2:7 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." (John 12:27-28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus could ask the Father to save Him from the hour of His suffering and death. But then you wouldn't be saved. No one would. If Jesus is spared suffering and death, you won't be. Your sins will be yours and the eternal judgment of God upon you will be just. But Jesus didn't come to bail on us. He came to go through with it. To walk the lonely road of suffering and death for sinners. For you. For the world. If He goes the way of trial and mockery and thorns and cross and death, then you are saved. His death is your salvation. But there is more. "Father, glorify your name." How is God's name glorified? Exalted? How is God most God? When He's saving sinners. When the Father sends His Son for you. When the Son willingly undergoes that suffering and death for you. But the glory doesn't end on Good Friday. It's not snuffed out with the last breath of Jesus. He rises again on the Third Day. Jesus hasn't just taken care of sin. He's taken care of death. And by taking care of both of those, He's taken care of you. Taken away your sins. Given you eternal life. Your Baptism, the Absolution, the preaching, the Body and Blood--all of these are the glorious gifts of a Savior who has put you above Himself, who has done what needed to be done in order to make you right with your Creator. Jesus accomplished it. He didn't shy away from it or run. He faced it head-on and now “it is finished.” Your salvation is a done deal. God has glorified His name when He put it upon you and called you His dear child. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Merciful God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, was lifted high upon the cross that He might bear the sins of the world and draw all people to Himself. Grant that we who glory in His death for our redemption may faithfully heed His call to bear the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Cross Day)
9/14/20212 minutes, 55 seconds
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Monday of the 15th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:25-6:10 Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 32:1-22; Colossians 1:1-23 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Bear one another's burdens? Carry someone else's overstuffed backpack? Listen to someone else's problems? Help somebody else with their problems? You've got enough to worry about with your own mix of school, work, and family challenges. How can you have time for someone else's problems and troubles? Plus, the Bible says that Jesus fulfilled the Law, so what's with this "fulfill the Law of Christ?" Oh yes, Christ DID fulfill the Law. Even the Law that says you're supposed to love your neighbor! He fulfilled it, not only by doing it, but also by bearing the full measure of its judgment upon sinners when He suffered on the Cross. Your sins are forgiven. The Law of God no longer can condemn you. But there is another law. It's the Law of Christ by which He, bearing the burden of our sins, teaches us to bear one another's burdens. This is not a Law given for YOUR benefit, as if you could work your way to heaven! That's taken care of by Jesus! No, this Law is for the good of your neighbor. Your parents, your brothers or sisters, your friends, coworkers and classmates--THEY need your help. They need your help bearing the burdens of their work and lives and struggles, too. After all, it's why the Lord has rescued you. It's why He has baptized you and made you His own, so that you will belong to others in serving them. It's why He absolves you of your sins, so that you will not hold the sins of others against them. It's why He lives in you by His Body and Blood, so that you will be knit together with others in the Body of Christ, where you learn to love and serve others. Oh, you won't always do a good job. You'll try to bear someone's burdens and end up dropping them on their foot! That's why we live in Christ, to be forgiven for what we mess up and to have Him do in us what we would never do on our own. Or, to put it another way, the Christ who has borne the burden of your sins now bears the burdens of others--through you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; My ev'ry act, word, thought be love. ("Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" LSB 683, st.2)
9/13/20212 minutes, 49 seconds
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The 15th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:24-34 Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. (Matthew 6:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Right from the start, Jesus gets to the heart of our problems. It is a First Commandment issue: "You cannot serve God and money!" When greedy hearts try to prove Jesus wrong, they only deceive themselves. Their devotion to money and possessions stops them from fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. The worship of money is often an uncertain anxiousness that acts as though life is only good when I have what I consider enough stuff. The Large Catechism says, "Those who have nothing doubt and despair as if they knew of no god at all. The desire for wealth clings and sticks to our nature all the way to the grave." The highest worship of God is faith, to look to Him in our time of need, to trust in Him with the confidence that He is a loving Father who knows what we need (6:32) in both body and soul. "The Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:14). Consider the lilies of the field. They do not have bank accounts nor insurance policies. They have to compete with weeds and rocks, drought and floods. And even when they do survive it all, their beauty lasts only a few days before their flowers fall. Despite their temporary and delicate nature, God clothes them with glory. You, however, He has created not to be temporary, but to live forever with Him. If He provides in such wondrous ways for the lilies, don't you think He will put even more effort into providing for you so that you arrive there? For you are worth more to Him than the lilies or the birds, so much so He gave up His own Son to have you. Your worry over money is a waste. It does not produce anything good. It cannot even add one single second to the length of your life. But what you cannot do, God has done. He adds eternity to your short life through the death of Jesus. He baptismally clothes you with the robe of Christ's righteousness so that He doesn't see the ugliness of your doubts underneath. He gives you to eat of His Body and drink of His Blood shed for the forgiveness of your false beliefs. In His Son, you seek and find God's Kingdom and righteousness for you forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 15th Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/12/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Saturday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 15th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 86:4, 6, 15a, 16; antiphon: vs.1a, 2b, 3) Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. (Psalm 86:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As the internet or TV might have already reminded you, today is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. When these horrific events happened, I had only been a pastor for 2 months. I clearly remember waking up to the terrible news and thinking, "The seminary never prepared me for this!" Not that I was angry with my professors--no one expected that attack. (The military never thought an airstrike could come from inside US borders, so the fighter jets went unarmed to intercept the terrorist-controlled planes. They had no time for weapons to be loaded.) Thankfully, God granted comfort for my anxious thoughts. Eventually I realized that though He had never used my professors to address the specifics of the unimaginable terror of 9/11, the Lord had worked through them so I would be ready to serve as pastor in the days and weeks that followed. Just as they had taught me, I prayed while I searched the Scriptures to find words of comfort for God's people who were overwhelmed by grief. Psalm 86 could certainly have been one of those passages. Here in our time of trouble David leads us in prayer to our God who is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (verse 15)--a loyal love that is no mere feeling that runs hot and cold, but a love that gives up His own Son for us. We ask the Lord to help us not because we deserve Him to rescue us (because we don't), but we ask Him on account of His grace in Christ Jesus (verse 6). You might be overwhelmed by some personal problem or one that affects a lot of people. You might be troubled by something you are responsible for, or by something you have no control over. Or maybe you know someone else who is facing these situations. Instead of obsessing over the obstacles that confront you, fix your eyes on the Lord. Because of His steadfast love for you in Christ, He will not ignore your prayers nor fail to act for you. He is the God who took the terrible tragedy of the crucifixion of His Son and made it to be a blessed salvation for you. Trust that now He will work good from the troubles you need to pray about. In His time, He will gladden your soul (verse 4). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, this I ask, O hear my plea, Deny me not this favor: When Satan sorely troubles me, Then do not let me waver. O guard me well, My fear dispel, Fulfill Your faithful saying: All who believe By grace receive An answer to their praying. ("The Will of God is Always Best" LSB 758, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/11/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; Philippians 2:12-30 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s always tempting to cherry pick. It’s a big book. Grab a little here and there and you can make the Bible support anything. It’s a bad sign when the book you believe to be the Word of God is quoted by the KKK. This is how that happens: They cherry pick, taking away the context and narrative, and by doing so, take away the truth. It’s called idolatry. Idolatry is using God’s words to parrot your own instead of letting yours respond to His in joyful liturgy. Idolatry is using a book that expresses God’s will of salvation as a place to find bumper sticker slogans that express your own will. In doing so you lose any word from outside of yourself that would actually speak from God to you. And with it, any help, answer to something you didn’t already know, and any comfort He wishes you to have. But idolatry is chiefly found in exactly what Paul won’t let stand by itself: the idea that we must work out our own salvation. Full stop. If that’s all there is, fear and trembling won’t be an issue. So he keeps going. It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Not your words. His. Not your will. His. Not your works. His. For you. Through you. His good pleasure is found here, in working out your salvation apart from you, but also through you at the same time. He won your salvation apart from you on a Cross thousands of years before you were born. That was even His fear and trembling as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that this cup might pass from His hands. He delivered your salvation to you in time and space in the waters of your Baptism. He sustains you in this salvation by faith. He supplies you through His Word that expresses His will. And now it’s your salvation even though He won it, and even the fear and trembling become no longer a place to find worry over salvation, but a place where the old idolater is drowned each day as the Lord raises the new man to live before Him in righteousness and purity forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen Thy will be done, O LORD, that old Adam would daily drown and the new man arise, that the Cross which redeemed us would be made to be the source of our hope, joy, and salvation, through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
9/10/20213 minutes, 33 seconds
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Thursday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 6:1-23; Philippians 1:21-2:11 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Martin Luther said, "The world is like a drunken peasant. If you lift him into the saddle on one side, he will fall off the other side." As Christians, we know that by nature we are selfish little monsters who do not want to help others unless we get something good out of it. Repeatedly we have heard the Bible command us to fight those impulses and care for other people without thought of reward. The sinful nature pushes us to "fall out of the saddle" one way by lying to us that we have loved the right people enough and God does not expect more from us. Or, or it uses an evil conscience to pound us until we fall the other way because we have not cared for others every moment of every day. Despair overwhelms us in this case over how much of a failure we think we are. Philippians 2:4 defends that well-meaning Christian from this false belief. It does not say that you must only take care of the interests of other people. Rather, Paul specifically says you need to deal with your own needs, and also the needs of others. It is like when the airplane flight attendants tell parents that in case of emergency, they should put the oxygen mask on themselves first and then help their children. An even better example is that of Christ, who humbled Himself to become a servant to us in His life and death on earth. Even when He became obedient to death on the Cross, Jesus looked after the worldly concerns of His mother Mary as He told John to take care of her (John 19:27). And yet, there were times when Jesus looked after His own interests, like when crowds wanted Him to heal their diseases, but He purposely went off by Himself to pray, rest, or eat. The unbelieving world thinks, "If I do not look out for myself, nobody else is going to do it." Christ was able to die for our salvation because He trusted that God the Father was looking out for Him. As sinners, you and I will not balance helping ourselves with helping other people correctly. But the same God who highly exalted Jesus in the resurrection now looks out for your interests by grace for the sake of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord of glory, You have bought us With Your life-blood as the price, Never grudging for the lost ones That tremendous sacrifice. Give us faith to trust You boldly, Hope, to stay our souls on You; But, oh, best of all Your graces, With Your love our love renew. ("Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us" LSB 851, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/9/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
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Wednesday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, pt. 4 Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 5:9-27; Philippians 1:1-20 What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Where is this written? St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Small Catechism: Baptism) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Return to your Baptism!" Before I was a pastor, I heard my Lutheran professors say this in class, my pastor preach it, and I read it in Lutheran magazines and books. I knew it was right to do, but what does it mean? Obviously they were not telling me to time-travel back to when the water went across my head and watch it happen, though that could be kind of cool to be able to do. But I was not entirely sure what they meant by it. Luther gives us answers. In the Small Catechism, he says that you return to your Baptism by daily contrition and repentance. In the Large Catechism, he writes, "Even though someone falls from [Baptism] and sins, we always have access to it so that we may again subdue the old creature. Repentance, therefore, is nothing else than a return and approach to Baptism, to resume and practice what has earlier been begun but abandoned." Ok, so to return to your Baptism is to repent, but what does that mean? It is not simply regret or a frustration with facing consequences. 2 Corinthians 7:10 refers to that as a "worldly grief [that] produces death." Godly repentance that leads to life is a whole different mindset. It is both sorrow over your sin AND it is faith in Christ's forgiveness. The word "repent" is from a Latin word that literally means "to re-think." You are now thinking in a different way about the sin you did AND about Jesus who died to take away that sin of yours. The Hebrew word for repentance means "to be turned." So it is not that you are turning yourself around, but your Savior God is turning you away from your sin and toward Him again. As long as you live in this old world with your sinful nature, each time you return to your Baptism the Lord will have an abundant amount of forgiveness there for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful Lord, cleanse and defend Your people united to You in Baptism by Your sacrifice. Give us grace to receive the fruits of Your cross and daily follow in Your way; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/8/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tuesday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:16-24 Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:48-5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Well at least you don't have to say, "The devil made me do it." No, Paul explains why you think what you think, say what you say and do what you. Your sinful nature is at war with the new creation in Christ. Your sinful flesh fights against the Spirit and so you know the right thing to do but don't do it. It's why you don't love God and your neighbor like you should. Now understand something: If you were on your own, your flesh would win. You don't have the free will to choose to love God and others. You are born into the slavery of sin and were it not for Christ, that's all you would do. But you have been given the Holy Spirit. Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead and sent the Spirit into the world wherever His Gospel is preached. You have that Spirit by your Baptism into Christ and because you hear God's Word preached and taught. And the Spirit isn't just there to be a cheerleader so you can overcome your sinful nature with a little nudge or push. No, the Spirit is there to remind you that this victory over your sinful nature has already been won. The Spirit is there to stand you before God as holy and perfect in His sight, not a sinner at all, because of Jesus. Your flesh hates that. It hates that it can't do whatever it wants and so it tries to anyway. It hates the news that it will be once and for all gone some day and so it rebels. But know this: Your sinful flesh is done for. Even when it gets the best of you in this life, its works have been wiped out by the blood of Jesus. And the fruit of the Spirit is. . . well. . . fruit, meaning you don't have to come up with it yourself. The Spirit grows and cultivates it in you by His Word and working. That means that your whole life is under the care and direction of the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to keep you in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you, O Christians lest the foe destroy you; For Satan has designed your fall. Wield God's Word, the weapon glorious; Against all foes be thus victorious, For God protects you from them all. Fear not the hordes of hell, Here is Emmanuel. Hail the Savior! The strong foes yield To Christ, our shield, And we, the victors hold the field. ("Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You" LSB 668, st.1)
9/7/20212 minutes, 58 seconds
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Monday of the 14th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 4:10-23 Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:8-22, 32-37; Ephesians 5:15-33 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. (Proverbs 4:11-12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Having a holiday today (for most of us) is nice, but tomorrow we have to go back to the routine. Both church and school are starting to be busy again. Some of you have already been in classes for a few weeks while others have your first day tomorrow. Sunday School, confirmation classes, and church meetings are resuming after a summer break. At some point this month or next, I will be already dreaming about what I want to do next summer. Maybe you are happier being busy, or maybe you are like me and will miss the slower pace of life. Speaking as a father to a son, God tells us through the author of Proverbs that He guides us in the way of wisdom, describing it as a roadway of righteousness. Proverbs 4:12 reminds us that as we travel with the Lord, no matter whether the days are easy or packed full of work, He watches over us and keeps us from stumbling. Note that the wicked have it as their goal to make other people stumble (verse 16). Unfortunately for them, because they are outside of Christ's light, they cannot understand that their own sin causes them to stumble (verse 19) until they finally fall into hell. Even after you have received salvation from Christ, you still could choose to go back to the path of the wicked, but you must not do it (verse 14)! Why would you want to get tangled up in sin again? The way Proverbs 4 describes the wicked person who is obsessed with and controlled by their evil sounds like what Jesus says in John 8:34: "Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." However, you are free because the Son of God this very moment releases you from your guilt by the forgiveness He won for you on the Cross. He is the light of the world (John 8:12) who shines upon you to shatter your darkness, brighter and brighter until you get to the Last Day (Proverbs 4:18), when the busy schedules of this world will be done. And you know the way to get to that Day of rest and gladness in the Resurrection, when there will be no more darkness. Jesus is the Way. And the Truth. And the Life. Even though you die, you shall live forever in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord of all creation, give us wisdom in all things, that we may rejoice in all that is good and be defended against all that is evil; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/6/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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The 14th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 17:11-19 Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:19-25; 4:1-7; Ephesians 4:25-5:14 "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus DIDN'T say, "How come no one except the foreigner came back to say 'Thank you?'" This isn't about good manners, as if the Lord is offended because the other nine lepers didn't say "Thank You." No, to "give glory to God" means something other than just acknowledging God's gifts. True, we should be thankful to the Lord for all things. But to give Him glory means much more. To give God glory means to RECEIVE what He has for you. It's a bit ironic that to GIVE God glory means to GET something from Him. What is that something? "Go your way, your faith has saved you." Jesus isn't telling the leper that his leprosy is gone. That already happened. No, Jesus is teaching the leper that his trust in Jesus is not misplaced. The leper knows that Jesus has healed him and is the only one who can give him salvation. So he wants to be where Jesus is. Then Jesus pronounces salvation upon this Samaritan, an Absolution in which he is declared clean before God in all ways. The Old Testament says a leper has to show himself to the priest. What does the Samaritan do? He comes back to Jesus because he realizes Jesus is the only real priest there is. The High Priest. The One who can make him and all people clean. Jesus' perfect life and His suffering and death cleanse us from every stain of sin. In Baptism He pronounces us clean and by His Body and Blood He says that He has saved us and we "depart in peace." The Samaritan leper teaches us what it truly means to give glory to God: not to simply tell God how great He is over and over but to receive the gifts He has for us in and through His Son. It is the greatest glory of God to save you and bestow that salvation upon you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, keep Your Church with Your perpetual mercy; and because of our frailty we cannot but fall, keep us ever by Your help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the 14th Sunday after Trinity)
9/5/20212 minutes, 43 seconds
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Saturday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 84:1-2a, 4, 10b, 11b; antiphon: vs.9-10a) Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 2:1-18; Ephesians 4:1-24 How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (From the Introit for the 14th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does your soul long for the courts of the Lord? Or would you rather sleep in on Sunday morning? Do your heart and flesh cry out for the living God and His Word? Or do the other things that you have going on--your sports or friends or parties or whatever--come first and then church if there's time left over? How can we pray these words of the psalm when we don't really mean them? We know we SHOULD want Christ's gifts most of all, but we don't. Good news! The words of the psalms are always first of all of Jesus' words! Jesus longs for the courts of the Lord, to be with His heavenly Father. Even when He was a boy, Jesus was hanging out in the temple where God's Word was being taught. Jesus loved nothing more than His Father's Word. And it's His love of the Father's Word that brought Him to earth in the flesh to die for sinners who could care less about His Word. Jesus is the Word made flesh who dies on the Cross of Calvary for those who have so many more important things to do than hear God's Word and receive His gifts. When you go to church tomorrow, you're not going because you are trying to get all hyped up and really excited for God's Word. You might be happy to go to church tomorrow. You might be grumbling the whole way there, wishing you were back under the covers in your bed. But when you go, what the Lord has for you is not a program to get you all charged up for Him. Rather, He has gifts for you. There in the Divine Service, the Lord will cover you with Jesus, who loves the Father's Word. The Lord will announce that your despising His Word is forgiven. The Word Himself will fill you when you eat and drink His Body and Blood. There, filled with Jesus, you will learn to truly love and rejoice in the gifts that Christ has for you, because the One who lives in you is Jesus, who always loves the Father's Word. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. I love your kingdom, Lord, The place of your abode, The Church our blest Redeemer saved With His own precious blood. ("I Love Your Kingdom, Lord" LSB 651, st.1)
9/4/20212 minutes, 39 seconds
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Friday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Ephesians 3:1-21 And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elijah’s hiding in a cave waiting to die. Something happened that gets passed over too often. Elijah forgot how to be disappointed. Because he forgot how to hope. We all have those corners of our heart left abandoned, where hope has died. It's easy to rush past Elijah in the cave. Still, I don't even want to know how many people have that abandoned little corner of their heart where their hope in God died. It's not that they think He doesn't exist, but that they don't believe they can depend on Him. They may have gone without for a bit too long. They might have waited for Him to avenge them or to answer muttered prayers. Fix what's broken. Plenty of folks looked. And they did not find God. Elijah is on the mountain looking for God, too. He's afraid for his life. He's got nothing left. Everything he fought for fell apart. There's no getting back what's gone. So God revealed Himself. Not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the low, whispering Word. The reason so many of us have given up hope is that we look for God in places He isn't. It's a trick the devil uses to grind down hope. Even fallen, sinful man loves to put hope in the wrong thing. It's called an idol. The way to kill it altogether is only from one place. So Satan points us to where God isn't (and never promised to be) and asks, "Why isn’t He there?" And he makes more sense than we want to admit. Those are the places we wish He would be. They are the places that make us feel safe. Powerful. Fulfilled. Happy. God is not in the power of the government's protection, not in hearing the personal testimonies from famous people that say our religion isn’t horrible. God is not in the size of the bank account, or in the cookouts, or the days at the lake. He is not in the power of the earthquake or the vengeance of the fire. If that’s the God you're looking for, I understand why it's hard to swallow the foolishness I ask of you. Trust some invisible guy who, if real, and if powerful, let you get into that mess to begin with? Never mind that He warned you, "Thou shalt not," and you sinned and did it anyway. Confess and hear Absolution. Come, lay yourself bare so I can say, "In the stead and by the command of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I forgive you this and all your sins." And what? Now it's just. . . ok? And why? Because it's what your parents believed? Because you were raised in this church? This is hard enough on a good day, much less when you're sick, scared, or alone. When hope is being ground down. "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe." That has to come from somewhere else. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the low, whispering Word of Christ. And He still speaks. What are you doing here? Why are you hiding? Why are you afraid? You're not as alone as you think. God would not limit Himself to your good days or your good attitude. He passes by Elijah, whispering words of peace and hope, and He passes by you, too. Not to rush past, but to dive into the valley of the shadow of death, that hope would live where there rightly should be none. If you have the same dead corner of your heart where hope has died, know that God will not abandon you. He can save us without those things we think we need. He went without them, too. He entered this world and took on human flesh. Human need and human want. Even human sin. He bore the attacks and the lack and the sufferings and the pain. But more, He did it for you. Because of all the places we look for God and don’t find Him, He does insist on being near to you. He just wants to do it in a way that endures. The cross. The empty tomb. Hope lives with our Lord, even hidden in caves, alone and afraid. Hope stands even as so much crumbles around us, because Christ crumbled with us and then He rose again. He carved a path through the dark, through the tomb, and out again. To this day the Church stands to repeat these words, not because the world needs another institution, but because of all the times we've buried the last bit of hope in something in the world. Because God wants a place for you to collapse when hope runs thin, when questions get hard, when light seems gone. Because we need something to believe that actually saves. That wipes away tears, that drags us through when everything else gives out. That whispers hope to us that even death cannot destroy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful Father, by Word and Sacrament You have created Your Church in our world to be a caring family. Grant Your comfort to those who live in loneliness. Help them to find a place of healing and pleasant fellowship among people faithful to You. Amen.
9/3/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Thursday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:15-22 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ephesians 2:1-22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You’re imprisoned under sin. That’s you in yourself. That’s every single man, woman, and child who's ever lived, is living, or will live. That’s just who we are, in ourselves, without faith in Jesus. What imprisons you under sin? The Scripture does, God’s Word of Law does. He condemns what you do: how you bug your sister, make your teacher, coach, or your parents mad, fail your friends, or continue to mistreat the people you don’t like or who’ve wronged you, even though Jesus says to love them. (God hates all this stuff.) All those actions would be bad enough! But it’s not just what we do. It’s who we are! Conceived sinful. Born sinful. We live sinful lives. And we die sinful deaths. It’s what sinners do. And to sinners, sinners who act out their sinner-ness against those around us, well, the Lord God, the Creator of the universe, says, "Guilty! The sentence is 'physical death and eternal damnation.'" That’s God’s Law against every single person ever. His Law does this because God is holy, righteous, true, and just. But He’s not just speaking it to make you feel bad about yourself, so that you’ll finally get your act together and be a good person to be saved. No, that won’t work. (It hasn’t worked yet, has it?) He says you’re guilty in yourself and your actions, “so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” He makes that promise. You’re saved because of Jesus. In Jesus there’s mercy. Mercy not because of you. Mercy in Jesus. Jesus alone. Jesus alone for you. Jesus took your guilty sentence. (See, God’s Law was against every single person ever.) All your yucky sins and sinfulness became His. He claimed it all as His own. You get all that He is--perfect and eternal righteousness. All yours in Holy Baptism, received by faith, trusting in Jesus. The Law is true towards our sinner-ness, apart from Jesus. But you believe in Jesus, you’re baptized in Him. So you have to be innocent, forgiven! Jesus died your death and rose again for your justification, your “innocent verdict.” And that’s what you are in the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Law reveals the guilt of sin And makes us conscience-stricken; But then the Gospel enters in The sinful soul to quicken. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live; The Law no peace can ever give, No comfort and no blessing. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.8)
9/2/20213 minutes, 54 seconds
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Wednesday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, pt. 3 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19; Ephesians 1:1-23 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. (Acts 2:38-39) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I was 11 years old, I went with my best friend to his Baptist Bible camp. I had a good time most of the week. (I mean, it was not as good as an HT Conference, but nothing is!) The last night there, one of the counselors told me that since I was baptized as a baby, I should decide to be baptized again so that it would be more meaningful rather than something my parents chose for me. I came home with a brain swamped by questions. Had my parents made a mistake and done things wrong? Did my Baptism mean anything since I didn't choose it? The worst question of all was wondering what would happen if my parents or pastor found out that I was questioning my Baptism! I (WRONGLY) imagined it would go badly for me, so I kept my questions to myself, which only made things worse. Thankfully God knew how to rescue me from these doubts without my asking Him to. During confirmation classes about two years later, Pastor Rauschek and Mrs. MacLain used the Scriptures and the Small Catechism to teach us the answers to all the questions I was too afraid to talk about. I learned that Baptism means what God says it means. It is a life-giving water, rich in grace no matter when it happens in a person's life. My parents had made no mistake getting me baptized about a week after I was born. Again and again the Scriptures rejoice over all the things that God does in Baptism and really does not say much about what you and I do there! He unites us to Christ's death and resurrection (Romans 6), gives us a new birth from above (John 3), washes away our sins and pours the Holy Spirit into our hearts (Titus 3). Best of all, God's promises in Baptism are for adults and for children (Acts 2). And there is nothing I could do to make it more meaningful than that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus' cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood? ("God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It" LSB 594, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
9/1/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Tuesday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:8-15 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, "Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you." (2 Chronicles 28:9, 11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. About three centuries after David had united the kingdom of Israel, we turn to 2 Chronicles to find it is split into two. The Northern Kingdom of Israel has just won a civil war as brutal and bitter as the worst sibling rivalry. The writer of 2 Chronicles pulls back the curtains of heaven to let us know that God is directing history. The Northern Kingdom's army is His tool to discipline King Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah. The Lord wants them to repent of their false worship, which even goes so far as to include child sacrifice to pagan gods in 28:3. Yikes! The victorious warriors are all excited about the wealth of slaves they are bringing back home. But then Obed, the prophet of the Lord, gets in the way of their victory parade. And the situation completely changes as these soldiers suddenly have compassion for their captives. Not only do they free them from slavery, but they actually give us a great example of living out the Fifth Commandment (and Seventh as well), helping and supporting their neighbors in every physical need before bringing them back to their families in Judah! How on earth is such a change of heart possible? It's not. Not with man. But with God all things are possible. As the Lord sent His Word down from heaven through the mouth of His servant Obed, it worked repentance into the soldiers' hearts. Just like when Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh. Just like when your pastor or a fellow Christian speaks God's Word to you and it works to create and strengthen your faith in Christ, the mighty warrior of the Lord, who has freed you from your captivity to sin and clothes you with His righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, in Your deep compassion You rescue us from whatever may hurt us. Teach us to love You above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/31/20215 minutes, 23 seconds
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Monday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 10:21-37 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24 Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Context is pretty important. What are the facts surrounding the situation? "Mom, can I use the car this weekend?" "What needs to happen before I let you drive?" "My room needs to be clean." "You got it--do this and you get the keys." If this conversation happened when I was a teen, the condition of my room meant I would not get the car until long after the weekend was over! I probably would have tried asking, "Exactly how clean does it need to be?" Jesus sounds like He is saying that a person can do good works to get themselves into eternal life. "Do this and you will live." Context helps us to understand why Jesus says this. The lawyer asked Him a Law question, so Jesus gave the man a Law answer. And the Law starts to do its work on the man like a mirror, showing him that he had not lived a life that is clean enough to inherit eternity. He tried to justify himself by limiting the neighbors he needed to love, and that was when Jesus described a perfect standard of love in the good Samaritan--a standard the lawyer knew he could not live up to. Neither can you. Nor can I. However, the Gospel message is that Someone completely different and foreign from us has. While keeping His life perfectly clean, Christ found us after sin and death had beaten the life out of us. He showed us mercy by taking up our burdens and paying for our healing not with silver or gold, but with His precious blood and innocent suffering and death. By His death, you inherit His eternal life for free. Now you and I go and do likewise in having compassion on those around us, not because we can save ourselves, but because this is the way we start over and live again in the life of Christ after He has saved us by His mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Law reveals the guilt of sin And makes us conscience-stricken; But then the Gospel enters in The sinful soul to quicken. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live; The Law no peace can ever give, No comfort and no blessing. ("Salvation unto Us has Come" LSB 555, st.8) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/30/20215 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:42-12:19; 2 Corinthians 7:1-16 The king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:27-28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Poor John the Baptist was trying to do God's work of preparing the way for the Lord. Yet we see that it lands him in jail and gets him killed. Look at evil King Herod Antipas behind it all, getting away with it as he is free to do whatever his heart desires. This is one of the many ways that sin and Satan work on us, drawing our attention to what works in this world so that we think doing the right thing will hurt us and temptations will have no consequences. But that is an illusion. Appearances can be deceiving. Herod is not free. He is a captive slave to his lusts. After getting half-brother Philip's wife Herodias to be his own, he refuses to leave his adulterous marriage behind when John calls him to repent. His sexual urges control him so that he cannot even say no when Herodias and Salome make their grisly demand for John's head on a platter. Mark reports that then Herod's guilty conscience had him terrified that Jesus was actually John the Baptist come back from the dead to get revenge. In the end, Herod Antipas loved his life and lost it all. John, however, is completely free in the place where all tears are wiped away. Sin can no longer hurt him as he rests from his labors in heaven with the Lord. And even before his execution, John was free because the Holy Spirit filled him. Neither his own sin nor other people's opinions controlled him. He preached so people would receive God's freedom from the sins that were controlling them through the forgiveness of their sin. Now John lives, even though he died (and even though he sinned before he died), all because Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by His death. And so He took John's sin away. And Jesus takes your sin away, too. You are free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You gave Your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death. Grant that we, who have died and risen with Christ in Holy Baptism, may daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Martyrdom of John the Baptist) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/29/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (Psalm 31:1, 3, 5; antiphon: Rev. 7:14b) Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26; 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5 ends with beautiful Gospel words explaining how the Father has graciously reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus. Chapter 6 picks up with a warning not to receive that grace in vain. The Gospel is a precious gift from God, assuring us we are reconciled to God apart from anything we can do. It is all an unearned gift. But there is a right way to receive a gift and a wrong way. The correct way is to show gratitude and appreciation, to thank and praise God for what He has done. The wrong way is to take the gift for granted or disregard it as nothing special. Paul warns the Corinthians, "Don’t receive the precious gifts of God that way, instead, cherish what you have been given. Show gratitude and honor for the One who has blessed you" Paul goes on to talk about how he honors God for the grace he has received by faithfully carrying out the mission of the Church. He takes seriously the notion that the time is limited and the time is now to proclaim the Gospel. He also makes sure he is not a stumbling block or obstacle for anyone coming to Christ. Paul knows that he cannot cause anyone’s salvation (that is the Holy Spirit’s work) but he also knows that a scandalous life on his part will hinder the Spirit’s work. In the last section, Paul warns the Corinthians: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Note that Paul is not saying, "Have nothing to do with unbelievers." Christians are to be salt and light to the world. We are to interact with unbelievers, especially as we share the Good News of Jesus. Yet, he is cautioning Christians against collaborating with unbelievers in a way that will cause Christians to be influenced toward unbelief. Being ungrateful and letting ourselves be influenced by those who don't believe in Christ are ways we often receive God's gifts in vain. Thanks be to God that He renews our faith with the gifts of His pulpit and altar, and keeps us in our baptismal grace unto eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ the eternal Lord. Whose promise hear we claim, Whose gifts of grace are freely poured On all who name Your name; With thankfulness and praise We stand before Your throne, Intent to serve You all our days And make Your glory known. ("Christ the Eternal Lord" LSB 829, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/28/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5 overflows with spiritual treasures! Paul begins by comparing our human bodies to tents. Tents are fun for a little while, but they aren’t a permanent home. They aren’t built to last. That is what happens to our bodies and that is why Christians "groan," longing to be in our true heavenly home. As our bodies break down we are ever more mindful that real life awaits us as God intended it from the beginning. Life without pain and suffering, sorrow and tears. Life in heaven that never ends! With this perspective, a Christian does not have to fear death. With Paul (and so many Christians through the ages) we can say, "I would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." Of course, that choice is not ours to make. The Lord decides when our time is accomplished on this earth. Until that day, each of us is to make it our goal to be about the Lord's business. For Paul, that meant being a missionary. For you it may mean something else entirely. Whatever callings you have, as son or daughter, sibling, friend, neighbor, classmate, employee, coworker, student, church member, citizen, God gives you opportunities to love and serve those He has placed around you. That is the best way to make use of the time God gives you before He calls you home. In the final section of chapter 5 we find some of the most beautiful and clear Gospel words in all of the New Testament: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them." And, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Commit these words to memory. Recall them often! These words tell us how God saves us. The action is all from Him to us. The Father sends His Son; the Son gladly goes and takes our place as sinners. Though He is God, He becomes a man. In His suffering and death, He gets what we deserve so He can give us what we could never deserve: forgiveness of sins and life everlasting in heaven. It is a glorious exchange. Christ takes what is ours (sin and death) and gives us what is His (righteousness and life). And the result is perfect reconciliation with God that will never end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. He undertakes a great exchange, Puts on our human frame, And in return gives us His realm, His glory and His name, His glory and His name. ("Let All Together Praise Our God" LSB 389, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/27/20216 minutes, 1 second
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Thursday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 "So we do not lose heart." (2 Corinthians 4:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Proclaiming the Good News of Christ in the first century AD wasn’t easy. Teaching God’s Word meant facing resistance, hostility, and persecution. Paul says that he and his companions were afflicted in every way. In such an environment, it would be tempting to change the message to make the Gospel more appealing. If you made it fit in with the popular culture, then no one would take offense and you wouldn’t have to suffer. But Paul called this "disgraceful underhanded ways," and he refused to "practice cunning or to tamper with God’s Word." Paul would not compromise truth for his own convenience. But wouldn’t compromising result in more people knowing Jesus? Not really. Giving people a watered-down, false version of Jesus isn’t going to put them on the path to salvation. Further, Paul explains that if the Gospel is veiled, "It is veiled to those who are perishing," that is, to those who are lost in sin and deluded by Satan, for "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:3). How similar things are today! While most Christians are spared physical persecution, we who by God’s grace have been called to believe in Jesus still face a lot of hostility and mockery. We, too, encounter unbelievers blinded by the god of this world. In such an environment it would be easy to give up on evangelism and say, "Why bother?" Paul tells us the answer: Just as God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, so He will raise His Christians and bring us into His presence, "so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:15). Why proclaim the Good News if you may have to suffer? Because the end result is worth it! Grace will extend to more people, thanksgiving will increase, and all of this will bring more glory to God. So, no matter how bad things get, Christians don’t lose heart. "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Christ, our true and only light, Enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear Your voice And in your fold with us rejoice. ("O Christ, Our True and Only Light" LSB 839, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/26/20215 minutes, 41 seconds
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Wednesday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 2 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 What benefits does Baptism give? (Small Catechism: Baptism) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lutherans understand just how important Holy Baptism is. As Luther explains in the catechism, "[Baptism] works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this. . ." Baptism is no symbol or representation of something else, it is itself a means of grace. That is, Holy Baptism channels the blessings of Christ’s work--forgiveness, liberation from death and hell, even eternal life--to the person being baptized. What benefits does Baptism give? It gives to sinners what none of us deserve but all of us need! But notice to whom this is given: ". . . to all who believe this." This is important to note, because there are some who think of Baptism as a spell that is cast or ritual that is performed which guarantees that you will go to heaven. That’s not how it works. If it worked this way, we might as well open the fire hydrant on the street corner, spray everyone who passes by with water, and shout the Trinity at them! Baptism doesn’t work this way because the gifts it bestows are only received by faith, the faith that God gives and sustains through His Word and Sacraments. For example: A child is baptized, but is raised in an anti-religious home. He doesn’t believe in Jesus or look to Him for salvation. In fact, he scoffs at the fact that he was baptized, because he thinks it is nothing but a silly superstition, or something his grandparents thought was important, but that he never cared about. This man’s Baptism won’t benefit him. It's not because Baptism doesn’t work and deliver that man salvation in Christ, but because that man hasn’t only rejected Baptism, he has rejected Jesus Christ. On the other hand, if he trusted in Jesus and looked to Him for salvation, he wouldn’t despise his own Baptism and all the blessings offered therein would be his. There is no automatic guarantee that if a person is baptized, that person will be saved. Unbelief negates the blessings offered in Baptism. This works the other way, too. People wonder about the unbaptized. Since Baptism works salvation, can the unbaptized be saved? Just as rejecting Christ can negate a person's Baptism because of a lack of faith, so also a person who has faith in Jesus, yet never has the opportunity to be baptized, will not be condemned. An example is the thief on the cross. Put simply: Lack of Baptism does not condemn, but despising Baptism does. Because you have been given the gift of faith and were baptized, you are marked as one of His own. All the blessings Jesus won for sinners--forgiveness, salvation, and life--are truly yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/25/20216 minutes, 8 seconds
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St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Today's Reading: Luke 22: 24-30 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-16; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17 "Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves." (Luke 22:26) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today the Church remembers St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles. Legends abound about him, but little is known for certain, even his name! Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels all mention Bartholomew, often in connection with Philip. But no Bartholomew is mentioned among the apostles in John’s Gospel. There, we encounter Nathaniel in connection with Philip (John 1:43-51). The thinking goes that Nathaniel, which means "gift of God," was this man’s first name, while Bartholomew, which means "Son of Tolmai," was his title or family name. When we move beyond Bartholomew’s name and into his life, the information is even more difficult to sort out. Some stories have been written about this saint, saying that he traveled as far as India and took the Gospel to a group in Bombay. Another tradition has it that he and Thaddeus brought the Gospel to the kingdom of Armenia. These two are recognized as the patron saints of Armenia. That legend also makes the well-known claim that Bartholomew was skinned alive and beheaded, something which has been portrayed by many artists over the centuries. Yet another legend states that Bartholomew went to Ethiopia. We just don’t know. What is the reason for all these legends surrounding St. Bartholomew and the rest of the Lord’s apostles? It is likely because people have wanted to invent an association between their group and someone famous. They wanted to believe that someone who knew Jesus personally and was one of His insiders, also had some kind of connection with them. People still do this today. If you have a friend who has ever met a celebrity or a famous or powerful person of some kind, they have likely told you (and everyone else they know) all about it! Jesus wanted His chosen twelve to know that power and glory were not what they were to be looking for. Instead, He taught that the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are those who appear to be least on earth, for they are servants. We may feel like the least important person on earth, but through our Baptism into Christ, we are exalted and made perfect before God. That makes us free to be a servant to others as we rejoice in this truth that remains. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, help us walk Your servant way wherever love may lead And, bending low, forgetting self, Each serve the other’s need. ("Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way" LSB 857, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/24/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Monday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Isaiah 29:17-24 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 3:1-15; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22 "Is it not yet a very little while. . ." (Isaiah 29:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the great themes of the Bible is something called the Great Reversal. This idea is that one day a great transformation will take place: The low will be lifted up while the mighty and proud will be brought down. Mary’s song, the Magnificat that we sing in church, is a great example of this. So is this passage at the end of Isaiah 29. The prophet here speaks to what God has in mind to do for His people in a "very little while." The deaf shall hear. The blind shall see. "The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel." If all of this sounds familiar, it is because Jesus defined His own ministry in these terms (Matthew 11:5). What’s more, the enemies of God’s people will come to nothing and there will be no more scoffers among His faithful. No more jaded and sarcastic "believers" who roll their eyes and doubt God’s promises. Only sincere and devout followers of God. In addition, the usual failings of those who make false claims about their enemies and deny justice to the righteous will be cut off. Their power will be taken away. But what about the lifting up of God’s people? How will they be changed? They will not be ashamed, but because of God’s working among them, the children of God will rightly praise Him. "They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob [Jesus] and will stand in the awe of the God of Israel." Even those who have wandered off from the fold will repent and listen again to God. All of this sounds amazing! We can’t wait for this transformation to take place. But when will it finally happen? How long, O Lord? This great transformation began in the ministry of Jesus. His work of healing and restoring and encouraging showed what God has in mind to do. The removal of sickness and sorrow was a foreshadowing of what is to come. Even now, the Holy Spirit continues His work of changing hearts and leading people to a right faith in God. In this fallen world we catch glimpses of wrongs being righted and God’s people rightly praising. But ultimately, the Great Reversal will not be fully realized until the old has passed away and Christ comes again and makes all things new. Jesus’ work has already ensured that this will happen. His sacrificial death for our sins and His mighty resurrection from the dead assures us of the victory. The conclusion is certain. It’s going to happen. Just a little while. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, quickly! Many of us are waiting. Not one of us will be disappointed. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/23/20216 minutes, 1 second
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The 12th Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Mark 7:31-37 Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." (Mark 7:37) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I had a friend who was born with severe hearing loss. He was totally deaf in one ear and had extremely limited hearing in the other. His first language was sign language. In his teenage years he received a powerful hearing aid that would allow him to barely hear. It was a miracle that opened up a new world for him, and yet, communication with him was still difficult. I didn’t realize how difficult it is for the deaf. I certainly didn’t when I was a teen. So please understand, the deaf miss out on more than just hearing your favorite music. They miss out on a lot of communication with people, even in their own families. As a result, I think some deaf people feel cut off and alienated, and this is in a time when modern technology and sign language exists. No such language or technology existed in Jesus’ day. I can only imagine that back then, the deaf felt like total outsiders, unable to communicate. But Jesus communicated with them. Because of His great compassion and love for others, it was Jesus’ joy to help those in need, including those who could not hear. In Mark 7, Jesus restored the gift of hearing and speech to someone who never heard a word before and would have been unable to speak on his own, but for the working of God. That is what this miracle showed, namely, that Jesus was the Son of God. He was the one the prophets had talked about, the one God promised to send who would restore sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. This is also why the people who witnessed this miracle were "astonished beyond measure." They knew they were in the presence of the Messiah. Whether you are deaf or can hear quite well, since you are a Christian, God has given you the ability to hear Him. Like a shepherd who leads His flock with the sound of His voice, the Lord Jesus speaks to His Church through His holy Word. Whether you literally hear the Word or read it on the page, Christ guides and leads you. He leads you to Himself. To safety, eternally, in the Kingdom. One day, you, too, along with all His saints, will be astonished and amazed when you are perfectly restored and all your sins removed. You will not be cut off from God or from any other believer again, but you will unite in praise of the One who redeemed you and restored God’s holy and perfect image in you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The gifts are there each day The holy Word is read; God’s children listen, hear, receive, and they are fed. ("The Gifts Christ Freely Gives" LSB 602, st.4a) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/22/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Saturday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the 12th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 70:2b, 4a, 5b; antiphon: vs.1-2a) Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15-35; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay! (From the Introit for the 12th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 70 expresses a prayer that sooner or later, every believer in God has prayed, namely: Help! It is the most basic and often the most sincere and heartfelt prayer. David had his sworn enemies, both foreign and domestic. He had conquered rivals within Israel and many kings and armies from other nations as well. The number of men slain by him and the armies he led was easily in the tens of thousands. As a result, there were a lot of people out to get him. People who, as he put it, "delighted in my hurt" (Psalm 70:2). Some might think that a man like King David wouldn’t need any help taking care of his enemies. Remember how quickly he dispatched Goliath? But David seemed to understand that whatever success he had in battle was only a gift from God. When people tried talking him out of fighting Goliath, he told them, "The Lord. . .will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:37). During the pre-battle trash-talking, David told Goliath, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down" (1 Samuel 17:45-46). David didn’t trust in his own strength, but in all his battles, He relied on God, his help and deliverer. You probably haven’t had anyone actually plot to kill you, and hopefully, you never will! Yet, you can still relate to the need to be rescued from your enemies. Have you had kids put you down in order to build themselves up? Have they said unkind things against you and posted it online for all to see? Teenagers can be cruel and downright vicious. While going through these situations is no fun, take heart, and cry out to God for help. In fact, the Lord God Almighty has already delivered you from your greatest enemies: sin and death. Jesus, the Son of David, fought Satan and defeated him. He gave Himself up for you on the Cross, and His victory over the grave in His resurrection is complete and final. Now all who are in Him are delivered and will be forever. Therefore rejoice and be glad in Him and say evermore, "God is great!" (Psalm 70:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Seek Him alone Who did atone, Who did your souls deliver. O seek Him first, All you who thirst For grace that fails you never. In ev’ry need Seek Him indeed; To every heart He will impart His blessings without measure. ("Seek Where You May to Find a Way" LSB 557, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/21/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Friday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 12:1-25; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 Now concerning spiritual gifts. . . (1 Corinthians 12:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Miracles? Prophecy? Healing? Tongues? Really? Paul wrote about this subject a number of times. It seems he had to clear up a lot of confusion. His point in this passage is simple. He wants his readers to know that all Christians have gifts but not all have the same gifts. The Holy Spirit, "apportions to each one individually as he wills" (1 Corinthians 12:11). Like the parts of a body, each part has a different purpose, but all parts function together for the good of the body. So it is with spiritual gifts and the Church: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7). In the earliest days of the Church, in order to help the spread of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit gave spectacular gifts to the apostles that are not often seen today. You can read all about this in the book of Acts. Some Christians today still claim to speak in tongues and perform miraculous healings. Maybe they can. After all, the Spirit gives as He will. Yet, it is also true that there are a number of frauds and deceivers out there who pretend to have spiritual gifts in order to make money. Jesus even warned against believing in false christs and false prophets performing great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). God has certainly given you your gifts and abilities; what are they for? How can you use them to serve your fellow Christians and your neighbors wherever you go? These are good questions for you to ask throughout your life and especially as you finish up school or head out of your childhood home for more school at a university. How can you take what God has given you and use it for good and in service to the Church, your family, and everyone you will interact with for the rest of your life? I don’t know what unique gifts God has given you, but I do know that if you are a Christian, you already have the greatest gift of the Spirit. You confess Christ as Lord, which no one can do apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. You have been given faith in Jesus. Along with that faith comes the blessings of forgiveness, salvation, hope, and life without end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The gifts Christ freely gives He gives to you and me To be His Church, His bride, His chosen, saved and free! Saints blest with these rich gifts Are children who proclaim That they were won by Christ And cling to His strong name. ("The Gifts Christ Freely Gives" LSB 602, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/20/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Thursday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I imagine that in Paul’s day, if some pagan asked him, "Why are you still following that Jesus guy? Wasn’t he killed as a common criminal?" his response would be, "Because He didn’t stay dead!" The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without it, there wouldn’t be any Gospel to proclaim and there wouldn’t be any Christians, as Paul himself says in 1 Corinthians 15:14. Jesus paid for the sins of the world with His innocent death on the Cross and then in glorious victory, triumphed over death and the grave by rising from the dead. This is the very heart of the Christian Gospel and Paul says this Gospel which Christians receive, and in which they stand, is also saving them. 1 Corinthians 15 is Paul’s great chapter on Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He starts off by stating he "delivered" what he "received." This means that when he learned what God had done for the world in Jesus, he couldn’t keep it to himself. He had to make this news known. But it also means that he was passing on a tradition. The opening words should sound similar to the Nicene Creed: "And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures." Scholars believe verses 3-7 are an early Christian creed that Paul may have received and passed on to the Corinthians when he was their pastor. The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures" is repeated, meaning, "Jesus died and rose again, just as it was foretold by the prophets." He also goes on to provide a list of witnesses of the resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection was not something just a few people claimed to have seen. It was not something "done in a corner" (Acts 26:26). Such a miraculous and world-changing event needed witnesses and as Paul explains, hundreds of people had seen the resurrected Christ. You have also received this Gospel and by it you are saved. Hold fast to the Good News that according to the Scriptures, Christ died and rose for you and for your salvation and by His grace, He has brought you to believe and will give you eternal life in His kingdom.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ, the Alpha and Omega, Christ, the firstborn from the dead, Christ, the life and resurrection, Christ, the Church’s glorious head: Praise and thanks and adoration And unending worship be To the Father and the Spirit And to You eternally. ("Christ, the Word of God Incarnate" LSB 540, st.6) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/19/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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Wednesday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 1 Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:18-20; 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:16 What is Baptism? (Small Catechism: Baptism) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you answer this question? Luther’s answer is a good start: "Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word." But let’s be a bit broader. What is a baptism? Simply put, baptism is a ceremonial washing. Christian Baptism is the kind of washing Christians do as Jesus commanded us. Before Jesus instituted Christian Baptism, there were different kinds of religious washings, some commanded by God in the Old Testament. For example, someone with a skin disease needed to wash their clothes, shave their hair, and bathe before they could be clean and return to the community (Leviticus 14:8-9). John’s baptizing in the Jordan River is another kind of ceremonial washing. This one was a baptism of repentance to prepare sinners to receive Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What is Christian Baptism? Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surely I will be with you always even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). To this day, we follow His command and baptize in this Name, trusting His promise to always be with us. We also keep baptizing and teaching together. A Christian is not only baptized, or only taught, but a true Christian disciple of Jesus is made through baptizing and teaching. Let’s offer another kind of answer to our question, "What is Baptism?" It is a precious gift, a great comfort, and a profound mystery as God works through it to make me His own. It assures me that for Jesus’ sake, my sins are washed away and I have been united with Christ and made an heir of His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, Gave my full redemption price. Do I need earth’s treasures many? I have one worth more than any That brought me salvation free Lasting to eternity! ("God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It" LSB 594, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/18/20215 minutes, 31 seconds
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Tuesday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 4:1-15 Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22 So Cain was very angry. (Genesis 4:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We’ve all been angry and we know we will be again. But also know this: When you are angry, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you but you must rule over it" (Genesis 4:7). Cain, the first murderer, killed his own brother in anger. The details are missing. Some suggest Cain did not know what he was doing, but simply let his anger go unchecked and before he knew it, his brother was dead. In the emotional state of anger, we are vulnerable and easily tempted. But as God said to Cain: The anger is against you and you must rule over it. That is why it is important for us to know what is really worth getting upset about and what you should and should not do when you are angry. A lot of anger is completely unjustified. We let some things bother us way too much. Perhaps when you feel yourself getting angry you can stop and ask, "Why am I so upset? Is this really worth it?" Cain’s anger was brought on by envy. His brother brought a better sacrifice and the recognition Cain wanted went to his brother. We can relate whenever the thing we were hoping for went to someone else. These things are disappointing, but not worthy of rage. But without God’s help, we cannot rule over sin. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, we can struggle against sin and rule over it. Not perfectly. Not every time. But, Lord willing, we can rule over it long before our actions lead to horrible and irreversible consequences. Some things are worthy of anger. Even Jesus was angry, though it was tempered by compassion (Mark 3:5). The Bible tells us God’s wrath is stirred up over sin. It has to be. Yet this is the glorious mystery of the Gospel: God punishes our sin by sending Jesus to pay our debt with the result that God’s wrath does not remain on us sinners. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:8-9) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/17/20215 minutes, 27 seconds
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Monday of the 11th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 18:9-14 Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector illustrates the principle found throughout the Bible: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 29:23, Matthew 18:1-4, Luke 1:52, 14:11, James 4:6,10, 1 Peter 5:5-6). Jesus presents two characters we easily recognize: the ultra-conservative, far right religious type and the extortionist. As Jesus begins the story, most people would assume He would hold up the religious Pharisee and condemn the greedy tax collector. But Jesus does the opposite. He describes a Pharisee who only wants to tell God how good he is and a publican who knows and feels his guilt. The contrite sinner is justified, while the arrogant prude is not. As religiously serious people (you’re reading a devotion after all!), we easily relate to the Pharisees. While their religious adherence was exemplary in many ways, they could be self-righteous and unloving. This particular Pharisee’s problem was spiritual pride, thinking himself so good that he didn’t need God’s grace. The tax collector, on the other hand, knew his sin and knew he needed God’s mercy. The tax collector was an outcast of society. So imagine someone today who is like him. The drug user? That creepy guy who’s really into porn? The girl who sleeps around? The kids struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation? You get the picture. Substitute them for tax collector and you get the modern version of the story. The point is, even those who have made terrible choices and have a life full of obvious sins can humble themselves before God and receive His grace. But those who are spiritually proud will not receive the Savior, because they do not understand that they need saving. Whether our lives more closely resemble the Pharisee or the tax collector, we get in trouble when we think too highly of ourselves. As Luke explains: We dare not trust in ourselves and treat others with contempt. The goal is to trust in Jesus (not in ourselves) and treat others with love and mercy, because in Jesus, God has so loved us. Sinners who look to Jesus are justified--and not just the really religious sinners, but even the really bad ones, too. God’s grace really is that amazing. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me. Died that I might live on high, Lives that I might never die. As the branch is to the vine, I am His and He is mine. ("Chief of Sinners Though I Be" LSB 611, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/16/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
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St. Mary, Mother or Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-55 Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 5:1-25; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we considered what it means to magnify the Lord and today we see the best known example of it. When Mary, the Mother of our Lord, met with Elizabeth, her cousin, and they shared with each other what God was doing for them, Mary’s praise erupted. In words we all know and have probably sung many times, she said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. . ." Today is the feast of St. Mary, Mother of our Lord. It may strike some as strange that Lutherans would acknowledge a festival to the Virgin Mother, Isn’t devotion to Mary more of a Roman Catholic thing? They even address prayers to Mary using some of the words of this passage: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" The fact is, Roman Catholics over-emphasize Mary. They have made too big a deal of her role in the salvation of man. Sadly, she has become for some a distraction and an idol. This has resulted in many Protestants going too far in the other direction, so that they would never want to recognize a festival for St. Mary. When God sent His Son to take on human flesh and save mankind, He chose this woman to bear and raise Him. We also know that Mary was a devout follower of Jesus. Unlike so many disciples, she did not abandon Jesus when He was crucified, but she stayed until the end (John 19:26-27). She also was among the first believers after His resurrection (Acts 1:14). For all Mary’s faithfulness and the way God used her in His plan of salvation, we should remember her and honor her. And the way to do that best, is not by praying to her--God forbid! She herself would not want any such thing. However, we can join her in her praises of God and we often do whenever we sing her song. In the Magnificat, we join with Mary in praising God, and rejoicing in "my Savior." It is not a song about Mary, but it is about our gracious God who lifts up the humble and has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. It is about a God who keeps His promises and fulfills His Word. It is a song we can join in singing to make great the praise of our God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Remember, Lord of life and grace, How once, to save our fallen race, You put our human vesture on And came to us as Mary’s son. Alleluia! ("O Savior of Our Fallen Race" LSB 403, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/15/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Saturday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord (Psalm 34:2-5; antiphon: vs. 1) Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! (From the Introit for St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever shared a meme with a friend? Sent them a picture or a quote or forwarded a post or a tweet? Of course you have. We do this because some things are too good to keep to ourselves and we enjoy them more when we share them with others. That’s the kind of thing David is talking about here in this psalm. David is proclaiming what God has done for him, and he doesn’t want to keep it to himself. He wants all to join in the praise. "Magnify" literally means to enlarge or make great, but figuratively it means to praise or extol, that is, to make God greater by telling others what He has done. As a pastor, I have prayed with people in desperate times, when death was near, or some tragedy occurred. I have seen firsthand how fervent prayer to God brings peace and takes away fear. Most of us have been in such a situation (if you haven’t already, trust me, you will.). At such a time, when God answers our prayer and delivers us from some evil, it is only natural that we feel grateful. We may even express that gratitude to another. But how often does our gratitude bubble over like David’s? In other words, have you ever been so moved by what God has done for you, that you can’t stop yourself from sharing with others what He has done? Why is it so easy to share a funny meme or post on Instagram, yet not so easy to magnify the Lord? We know that we have plenty of reasons to magnify the Lord, the greatest of which is that He sent us His Son to redeem us from sin and defeat the devil. Jesus has opened the Kingdom of heaven to us, and the Holy Spirit has called us to faith and made us heirs of heaven. All Christians thank God for this tremendous and gracious gift. Today, make it your goal to magnify the Lord. Tell someone else how grateful you are to God for blessing you and filling you with hope and see if sharing this with someone else also increases your joy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tell how the Father sent His Son to save us. Tell of the Son, who life and freedom gave us. Tell how the Spirit call from every nation His new creation. ("Rise, Shine, You People" LSB 825, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/14/20215 minutes, 33 seconds
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Friday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24 It is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Because Christians are counter-cultural on sexual matters, you might be tempted to believe the lie so many people tell, namely, that Christians are uptight when it comes to sex. Maybe you’ve heard people suggest that we are a bunch of backward, sexually-repressed prudes? In yesterday’s reading at the end of 1 Corinthians 6, we heard Paul’s strong words: "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." Given statements like this, no wonder some think Christians have a negative attitude toward sex. But in chapter 7 it becomes clear that Paul has more to say on the subject. As chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians teaches, sex is not bad, but it belongs in the proper context and that context is marriage. Then as now, people had all kinds of practical questions when it came to living out the Christian faith. Should I get married? Is divorce okay? Should I get remarried? So, Paul gives counsel in this chapter and it is measured and reasonable. Throughout, he honors marriage as a good gift from God that allows the only God-pleasing context for sex. He is not a prude but he knows how powerful the sex drive is and the kind of unintended and painful consequences that come about from unrestrained sex. That is what he is trying to save people from. And that is what we should always keep in mind when we consider God’s laws. God’s goal is not to repress us and deprive us of pleasure, rather, His desire is for us to live good and faithful lives. To have loving and godly families that create safe homes for children to grow and thrive. In short, God’s laws are meant to spare us the awful consequences of sin and instead bless us and the coming generations. Of course, no matter how hard we try, as long as we are in this flesh, sin is always present along with its painful consequences. Only one man could live a life in the flesh without sin, and this He did to bless you forever so that when this life is over, you will live in a new resurrected flesh without any shame, sorrow, guilt, or tears. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord if You are not the builder, Then the house is built in vain, For a home without Your presence Shall without true love remain. Yet when You within a marriage Come and dwell with grace divine, There You will the empty vessels, Changing water into wine. ("Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing" LSB 860, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/13/20216 minutes, 3 seconds
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Thursday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 28:3-25; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 1 Corinthians 6 is so on point for our current day, that the Holy Spirit could have inspired it to have been written last week! The writer begins by talking about Christians taking each other to court. Then, as today, some people would see any grievance (even with a fellow Christian!) as an opportunity to get a lawyer and make someone pay. Paul strongly condemns this as unrighteous and then goes on to cite more examples of unrighteousness, including many sexual sins in particular. He goes there because Corinth was known for being a sexual sewer. Every kind of sexual sin going on today was happening then. There is nothing new under the sun. So, the apostle addresses the sins of his day and teaches. His words have much to say to people today. But these are not the only sins that condemn those who commit them. Any sin a person clings to and refuses to repent of can separate him from God. It’s not that God is unwilling to forgive certain sins, but rather, that the sinner who clings to his sin refuses God’s forgiveness. And here is the proof that God forgives the sexually immoral and all other kinds of sinners: After listing these sins that lead to condemnation, Paul writes, "And such were some of you." (Note the past tense.) The Christians at Corinth hadn’t always been Christians. Some of them had left behind broken lives and very sinful behavior. What happened? Who changed them? Paul explains, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." God brought them to trust in Jesus. They were baptized and united to Christ. They were now children of God and no longer slaves to sin. By paying for their sins with His innocent life, Christ set them free for all eternity. Therefore, their past sins no longer identify them. They are no longer idolaters, homosexuals, drunkards, and the rest; they are now baptized into Christ and find their identity in Him. You also are a baptized child of God, a Christian who has been reborn. Your past repented-of sins no longer define you because Christ took your sins on Himself and paid for them with His life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. My sins are washed away; For this I thank You, Lord. Now with my heart and soul All evil I abhor. ("How Can I Thank You, Lord" LSB 703, st.2b) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/12/20216 minutes, 3 seconds
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Wednesday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Conclusion Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 Amen, Amen means, "yes, yes it shall be so." (Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, Conclusion) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians are taught from a young age to conclude prayers with this word. That isn’t required, you know. Sometimes, when the person leading the prayer has rambled on in different directions and you aren’t even sure what was prayed for, you might not want to say, "Amen!" When you say, "Amen," to a person’s prayer, it means you signify your agreement. It’s as if you are saying, "That’s right! God, please let it be so!" When we pray on our own, we can also say Amen. But how can we be sure about our prayers? Sometimes, when we are desperate, hurting, or unsure, we sense the need for prayers, but the words escape us. Paul says that at such times, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with "inexpressible groanings" (Romans 8:26). To be honest, I’m not sure what that is. I don’t literally groan when I pray. (And I wouldn’t admit it if I did!) We don’t have to guess, though, because our Lord has given us a prayer that gives comfort and solace. It is the prayer our Lord Himself taught His disciples to pray. Many of you could say these words before you even knew what they meant. Hopefully, you now say this prayer regularly. You can say it with confidence. As Luther explains, "I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us." Not every prayer deserves an "Amen" at the end, but the Lord’s Prayer always does. It covers all the bases. We begin by calling on the Name Jesus gives us the right to call God: our Father. We pray for the things that tend to His glory: for His Name to be holy, His kingdom to come, His will to be done. Then we acknowledge that all we have is just a gift from Him. We express our need for forgiveness. We pray for help and protection to stand firm in the face of trials and to be delivered from evil. Because of who taught it and what it says, this prayer is always the right prayer to pray, and in response to it we say with all confidence, "Amen! Amen! It shall be so!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe that what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word we say, "Amen, O hear us, Lord!" ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.9) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/11/20215 minutes, 55 seconds
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Tuesday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 9:30-10:4 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:23-44; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (Romans 10:3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I used to wait tables when I was in college. Every once in a while something strange would happen: I would bring the bill to the table and one guy would insist that he pay it, and then, just as insistently, the other guy says, "No way! I got this." Most of the time the issue resolved quickly, but sometimes it escalated into an argument, each one refusing to let the other pay for him. Who wouldn’t want a free meal? Why try so hard to refuse another’s generosity? The apostle Paul knew something about why. He knew that some people are determined to earn things themselves and can’t accept a gift. In Romans 9, Paul is writing about salvation and why so many of his fellow Jews would not believe in Christ as God’s perfect righteousness for us. Think of it! Christ gives Himself for us. He pays the debt of sin with His life. There is now no reason for anyone to be condemned. Trust Him! Look to Him for salvation and you will have it! All your sins are covered and He wants you to receive what He purchased for you with His own blood. Christians respond with faith that says, "Amen! Yes Lord! You covered me with Your robe of righteousness. Unworthy though I am, You have had mercy and greatly blessed me. For all You have done for me in Jesus, thank You, thank You, thank You!" This is the way faith responds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, for some It is too much to admit they are sinners. Like two guys in a restaurant fighting over the bill, some just don’t want to feel like they owe anyone anything. That’s why so many Jews, after generations of legalism and ingrained works-righteousness, rejected the idea that they weren’t good enough, that they needed righteousness to be given to them by another. Like so many, theirs is the way of pride, not humility, and that’s why they refuse the meal. They don’t want to receive a gift. Even if He is the Son of God. By God’s grace through the Holy Spirit, you have responded to the kind invitation in faith. God has brought you out of the ignorance and pride of unbelief and enlightened you with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The humble heart and lowly God raises up on high; Beneath His feet in terror the haughty soul shall lie. The heart sincere and right, That heeds God’s invitation And makes true preparation It is the Lord’s delight. ("Arise, O Christian People" LSB 354, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/10/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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Monday of the Tenth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 8:4-12 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? (Jeremiah 8:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ever hear of backsliding? It's when someone tries to get right, but keeps messing up and failing again. Maybe you’ve heard the expression, "one step forward, two steps back"? That’s backsliding. Israel turned away in "perpetual backsliding," so the Lord tells the prophet to address this problem. What were Israel’s failures this time? Jeremiah gives many examples in today's reading. The men who thought they were wise rejected the Word of the Lord. (v.9) leading the Lord to decry them: "From the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely." The people of Israel were ignorant and corrupt and did not listen to God’s Word. And so, they were backsliders. But here’s the thing: You are, too. Every believer has experienced backsliding. Our faith walk is never in a straight line. We all make missteps and sometimes slide back. When this happens, we need to repent, to turn and correct course. We need to hear God’s Word again and, like wandering sheep who hear their shepherd, be led back to God through His Word. Listening to God helps us in our walk. He gives us strength to resist temptation. Still, we cannot conquer all sin in this life and so, backsliding and the sorrow and shame over sin that inevitably follows is the frustrating experience of all Christians. But that is far from our only experience. Christians also know love, joy, peace, hope, contentment, wisdom, and more, because in Christ we know our sins are taken away. He has removed our guilt and shame. One day, we will be fully restored and sin will be no more. Only Jesus could walk a perfectly straight line. He is the only man who never needed to repent. And Jesus has already come and walked that perfectly straight line, pressing forward, never back, all the way to the Cross. He came to live a perfect life for us and to die an innocent death for us. His life and death, and victory over death, give life and salvation to all who believe in Him. So keep listening and following. When you backslide, repent and return to God’s Word and rejoice again in the grace of our Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Herald, sound the note of pardon Those repenting are forgiv’n; God receives His wayward children, And to them new life is giv’n. Sound the trumpet! Tell the message: Christ, the Savior-king, is come! ("Herald, Sound the Note of Judgment" LSB 511, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/9/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 19:41-48 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16 "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it. . ." (Luke 19:41) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus is filled with love for Jerusalem. That is why He weeps. Jesus knows that in a generation, the city and its temple will be destroyed. Jesus prophesies, and every painful detail comes to pass. It came to a head in 70 AD. Romans were harsh occupiers and the Jews were rebellious; but when taxes were refused and Romans were killed, it was one rebellion too many. The Roman General Titus led several legions of troops against Jerusalem around the time of Passover. Consequently, Jews from all over Israel were in Jerusalem for the feast and would get caught in the siege. At first, the Jews fought valiantly, holding the city for months. It seemed the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from this vastly superior force. But resistance only infuriated the Romans. Eventually, they broke through the city walls and their bloodlust was unstoppable. The soldiers ruthlessly slaughtered and looted. Even Titus couldn’t control the chaos. When it was over, the temple was burned to the ground, the golden items in it were pillaged, hundreds of thousands lay dead, and the city for which Jesus wept lay in utter ruins. Jesus wept. He knew the same people who had rejected God’s prophets, would soon be refusing the Son shouting, "Crucify Him!" Jesus knew their refusals would not be tolerated. Eventually, God curbs evil and punishes the wicked. Even so, knowing all this would play out, Jesus wept, but He did not turn back. He continued to His Cross to die for all, even the evil and ungrateful people for whom He would pray, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). God does not delight in the death of anyone. That is why He sent prophets to warn, to give people a chance to repent. God still sends messengers to warn His people, to preach and teach, and to draw us to Himself. God warns against the evil that comes about whenever we get caught up in sin. He wants to spare us from the awful fallout. He doesn’t want us to suffer. Some heed His warnings, many do not. Jesus wept but still headed to His Cross. He knows we are sinners. But His love and compassion outweigh His anger and frustration. Even when we have to suffer the consequences for some sin we have committed, God does not forsake us. He is still on our side, filled with love for us and wanting us to be blessed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure, unbounded love Thou art; Visit us with Thy salvation, Enter ev’ry trembling heart. ( "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" LSB 700, st.1b) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/8/20216 minutes, 5 seconds
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Saturday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 55: 1, 4-5, 16; antiphon: vs. 16a, 17b, 18a, 22a) Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:24-42; 1 Corinthians 1:1-25 I call to God, and he hears my voice; he redeems my soul in safety. (From the Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalmist says that God is near enough to you to hear your voice. He is close enough to carry your burdens and sustain you. It sounds great, but plenty of Christians still collapse under burdens too heavy to carry. Plenty cry out to God and don't hear an answer. Fear and trembling come upon them, and horror overwhelms them. The Lord promises to save, but if you don't know where to look, the promises seem empty. His will is not to hide when we need mercy, but become all the more apparent. This was never meant to be a secret, a riddle, or some kind of inner peace that you have to achieve. Where you look for God in days of trouble matters. There is a place He has promised to be. You won't find Him anywhere else. It is where He redeems your soul. In the darkest of times you'll find God on the Cross for you. To look elsewhere is usually to come up empty. Sometimes God works in great power. Sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes your enemies fall. Sometimes they don't. But God always works in great weakness. God becomes man, and He bears the Cross to save those who can't save themselves. He conquers sin, death, and the power of the devil, not by strength, but by weakness, so that those who can't find strength to go on can find God to carry them. It's easy to find God in our trials. He's right where He said He would be. He's a God who can save even in weakness. Cast your burdens on the Lord. Then look to where He bears them upon the Cross. That way we can call our salvation finished even while we still feel fear and trembling. The answer to the prayers of burdened Christians is "It is finished." The path forward is through the grave and back out again. The hope that surpasses all understanding is that Jesus sustains you by a victory won in weakness. You wear that victory in your Baptism, which isn't a promise that nothing bad will happen to you. It's a promise that nothing bad that can happen to you will keep you in the grave. No burden put on you can stop you from rising, and nothing you can ever do can stain the white robes of salvation you already wear. God has redeemed your soul in safety. In the Name T of Jesus. Amen. But God had seen my wretched state Before the world's foundation, And mindful of His mercies great, He planned for my salvation. He turned to me a father's heart; He did not choose the easy part But gave His dearest treasure. ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/7/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Friday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:1-23; Acts 28:16-31 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:30–31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The end of Acts seems anticlimactic. Paul is under house arrest in his own rented house, awaiting another trial. He preaches to the Jews who live in Rome. Some believe. Some don't. So he keeps doing it. It lasts for years. There's no "mission accomplished" parade. There's no grand finale. Just another sermon each day. It's been going on ever since. Paul was eventually martyred, but others were sent to take up his words and continue to preach. The day-to-day preaching of the Gospel seems easy to forget in a world that looks only for the next conflict, the next bit of breaking news, or the next bit of excitement. Yet this is what God used to save countless souls. Paul preached the same as Isaiah, and the same as your pastor today. When it goes on for years, and hearing people still don't understand, it's easy to grow frustrated. It's easy to wonder if God is actually working at all. It's easy to assume that God has moved on, that He left the Jews for the Gentiles, and our generation for another yet to come. It is not God's will that any be damned. It's easy to tell, first because Christ died for all the world, and second, because by the power of the Holy Spirit, these people are sent as preachers. Isaiah was sent to the unbelieving of Israel. Paul was sent to the Jews. We are given pastors. All proclaim God's Word, not of their own will, but His. He insists that His Word be spoken, even when people will reject it, because He wants none lost. Over and over, He pours out His Word, and bit by bit, more believe. It seems anticlimactic, but this is how God chooses to work. He speaks through ordinary men called pastors. Baptizes through ordinary water. Feeds you with His Body and Blood through ordinary bread and wine. The active thing is the easiest to miss: His Word. God's Word is still among us. Thanks be to God that it is at work to save. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. May God bestow on us His grace, With blessings rich provide us; And may the brightness of His face To life eternal guide us, That we His saving health may know, His gracious will and pleasure, And also to the nations show Christ's riches without measure And unto God convert them. ("May God Bestow on Us His Grace" LSB 823, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/6/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Thursday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 19:1-24; Acts 28:1-15 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:12–13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you look at the sinners, the rebelling Israelites, the Pharisees in the Scriptures, and you don't say, "Wow. . . that's me," then you are not a Christian. These are God's own words. Christ says, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). If you don't see yourself as one of the sinners, one of the sexually immoral, or those who put Christ to the test, or those who grumble over the Word of God and His chosen leaders, Christ did not come to call you. If you are not one of these sinners, the Church isn't for you. Christ isn't for you. We're supposed to identify with the side that God is mad at, not with Him and the righteous ones. He tells us that's why these things were written down for us. "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction." These things are here as examples for us. We're supposed to identify with them. We're supposed to see the consequence of our sin. We're not supposed to like it. There are parts of the Bible we won't like. They're supposed to upset us. We're upset because we're starting to realize that we're sinners. The things we have done, the things we do, and our sin inherited from Adam are all the exact opposite of God. In these examples, we see what happens to these people whose actions and words strike so close to home. Twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. They were destroyed by serpents. Destroyed by the Destroyer Himself. Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall. Paul never promises that God won't give you more than you can handle. God gives you His Law, which you clearly can't handle. He does, however, provide the way of escape. It isn't that we can just escape being sinners. It's that we can escape the destruction such sin brings. We can escape and take refuge under a powerful promise. God is faithful. When we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. When we repeated the sins of our forefathers, God bore the wrath Himself upon the Cross. God is faithful. He provides the way of escape. That way is Jesus, who bears the Cross for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord, when we fall or go astray, Absolve and lift us up, we pray; And through the Sacrament increase Our faith till we depart in peace. ("Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain" LSB 865, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/5/20216 minutes, 19 seconds
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Wednesday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Seventh Petition Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 18:10-30; Acts 27:27-44 But deliver us from evil. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Seventh Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's dark down here. There's a lot of evil in the world. It's one of the rare places we can agree with the atheists. The difference is that we can find an evil one, the devil, stirring the pot. We can label the roots of so many of the evil things men do to each other in the Ten Commandments. Even if you don't know the name of it, though, the prayer stands. We want to be free from it. Deliver us from evil. Deliver us from everything that works for our harm under the kingdom of Satan. We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven. If you make this a future event, Christianity becomes nothing more than a race to the end, which is why so many Christians talk about life in heaven more than life today. If you see God delivering you from evil everywhere His name is hallowed, everywhere His kingdom is manifest, and everywhere His will is done, there can be comfort today, too. You were delivered from evil where God brought you His Holy Name and given You His Holy Spirit. You can find deliverance from evil in God's Church. Here, your sins are forgiven, and you are given an identity not rooted in shame and vice. Here, you are tied to the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting in a way that even the prince of this world cannot undo. Here, you are kept safe and secure until at last you join the Church triumphant at rest. In all of it, the comfort lies in the source of deliverance, not the distance you happen to be from the evil. God remains the source of every good, even in the face of death. He has already worked a blessed end for you upon the Cross, that even in the darkest of days when evil seems to pervade everything, you can look to your victory in Christ's death and find certainty that you are already delivered. The difference between the Church triumphant and the Church militant, the saints in heaven and the saints on earth, isn't that one has been finally delivered and the other is still waiting for it. All of us are delivered from evil, it's just that some of us who are at rest can see it a little clearer. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. From evil, Lord, deliver us; The times and days are perilous. Redeem us from eternal death, And, when we yield our dying breath, Console us, grant us calm release, And take our souls to You in peace. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.8) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/4/20216 minutes, 20 seconds
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Tuesday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9; Acts 27:9-26 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. (1 Samuel 17:51) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You are not David. Your challenges are not Goliath. This is not a promise that if you just believe enough, you'll conquer anything you put your mind to, no matter how big it is. That's called works-righteousness. We don't do that here. Be honest with yourself. Nobody prays that they would be weaker so that God's strength would be magnified. We want to be superheroes. We want to be the one who conquers. We want to overcome challenges. We want to be Goliath. That desire has to die. This isn't you vs. the world. This is true God against false gods. Christ against my idols, like power, wealth, and might. Only the true God can stand. The false gods will all turn to dust eventually. You are not David. Jesus is. He kills Goliath, your sin, the death-bringer. He doesn't do it as we expect, in an epic end game battle with cameos and powerful music. He doesn't grab a mythical weapon used by mighty beings in an awe-inspiring moment. He doesn't watch too many movies. He overcomes not by strength, but by weakness. Christ, the Son of David, conquers sin on the Cross. Goliath died. Old Adam died. Sin died. Jesus won by weakness. Death is swallowed up in victory. Then He cuts off Goliath's head with his own sword. Death is destroyed by death. Christ's death undoes your own. Our hope becomes centered not in superhero movies and idolatrous might, but in a weakness that overcame the strength of the world. It scattered the forces of darkness. It undoes the accusations of the evil one. Point to the Cross, where your David, Christ, overcame your sin, Goliath. The evil warrior is fallen, and nobody can stand behind him and threaten you. The head becomes the trophy, the mark that death was destroyed by death. It's why we cling to the crucifix. We hang them on our walls and wear them on our necks. This is our trophy, because our sin was brought to nothing there. We are old Adam, slain Goliath, and we are the new man. United to Jesus in death. United to Him in resurrection. The Cross is our hope and trophy. Christ has conquered, and you get the spoils. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Morning Star, how fair and bright! You shine with God's own truth and light, Aglow with grace and mercy! Of Jacob's race, King David's son, Our Lord and master, You have won Our hearts to serve You only! Lowly, holy! Great and glorious, All victorious, Rich in blessing! Rule and might o'er all possessing! ("O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright" LSB 395, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/3/20216 minutes, 35 seconds
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Monday of the Ninth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 22:26-34 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47; Acts 26:24-27:8 With the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. (2 Samuel 22:27) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To know God by the Law alone is to know a tyrant. It's a picture of a God who waits in heaven for the chance to send people to hell. He comes across as distant to those in need and only present to punish. Using the word "Father" only twists the knife. It isn't just an adversarial relationship. It's a hopeless one. That kind of bitter hopelessness only twists sinners even further in upon themselves. With the crooked you make yourself seem torturous. To know God by the Law and the Gospel is to know a Father. With the purified He deals purely. With the blameless, He shows Himself to be not a tyrant, but blameless. It isn't that God isn't so bad if you happen to be so good. The Law which shows us our sins wasn't given as an obstacle to overcome. It's just reality. Sin breaks stuff. That's not okay. You don't have to like it, but as we are bent in on ourselves, loving our sin more than our Lord, we can only see a game to be won or a tyrant to overthrow. That's not a battle you're going to win. God is bigger than you are. His way is true. We just happen to be on the wrong side of that. But He does not sit in heaven waiting to damn. He descends into the pit to save. He is a shield for those who take refuge in Him. He makes you blameless by taking your sins upon Himself to bear the Cross for you. He makes you pure by the waters of your Baptism that give you an identity in His mercy, not in your works. The Law will either drive us to the grave or to the Gospel. God does not want us lost in the darkness of death. He is your lamp that lights up your darkness. He is the shield that protects you, even from yourself. God is the One who has made your way blameless. That way is the Cross. He bears the torture your sins warrant. He insists on being a refuge, not to the good, but the sinners. To know God as good isn't to know yourself to be good first, but to hear the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins, and the light that shines in the darkness. It is to know Christ crucified for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life's desert dreary, Savior from the world above: Often have Your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner's fall; Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all. ("Jesus, Refuge of the Weary" LSB 423, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/2/20216 minutes, 11 seconds
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The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 16:1-13 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19; Acts 26:1-23 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. (Luke 16:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's easy to take a look at God's Law and assume that we're more loving than He is. We take a lot of pleasure in assuming we're more loving than God Almighty, except then we get really upset that life's not fair. We look around at who gets hurt. Punished. Who sits alone. Who loses everything. And who gets a freebie. It's not just that it isn't equal. If we were really concerned with that, we'd give what we have to the people who don't. It's more that it isn't fair. Some of the ones getting way too much are sinners we don't like. But God commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. By shrewdness he means theft. The manager makes his retirement at the master's expense. He trades on his name, his wealth. What's the master going to do? Just ignore it and demand the original amount? He'll look like a tyrant. He'll be forced to be generous. But God seems pretty pleased, too. What if He actually wanted to be generous the whole time? What if God was even generous to sinners? Not by pretending they're not sinners, but by loving them anyway. Ignoring sin is not the same as forgiving it. I can ignore the sin of those I love. It's harder to actually call it what it is and love them anyway. It's easy to love your friend when he hurts other kids: Just don't care about the other kids. God knows all the ways sin breaks stuff that we don't want to see. He calls it horrible and loves you anyway. God calls right "right," and wrong wrong," but then forgives sinners out of mercy, not by pretending there are no debts to pay, but by paying for their sins Himself. This is what kind of God we have. He's not concerned with fair, just with love. Mercy. Forgiveness. He gives it to you. We trade in dishonest wealth here. Unfair mercy. We didn't earn it. It's not about what we deserve. It isn't about how sneaky the steward was, but how merciful and generous the master is. This is what the unrighteous manager trades in. He expects mercy and is commended for it. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let Your merciful ears, O LORD, be open to the prayers of Your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please You; through Jesus Christ, You Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
8/1/20216 minutes, 21 seconds
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Saturday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 54:1-3, 7; antiphon: vs. 4-5) Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 16:1-23; Acts 25:13-27 For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. (From the Introit for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalms are of little present worth if you can't pray them along with David. When you reduce Sunday school stories to history or trivia, your prayers will falter when you actually need them to do something more than thank God for stuff. These words given to David are shaped by the Holy Spirit, and that same Spirit passes them on to you. These are godly prayers, even if they aren't cheerful. They're full of desperation, fear, and a plea for vengeance: in short, all the stuff Bible trivia teaches us to pretend we don't feel. You have these feelings. The psalms give you a place to put them. God gives you the psalter so you can pray along with David. The psalms are of little present worth if David can't pray them with Christ. David's desperation and fear are met with the promises of the Lord to help, but the true comfort of the psalms is not a far-off answer to present enemies, but a present God who suffers even these for us. Christ prays these words, too. He prays for those who plot against Him and who scourge Him. He prays upon the Cross for a victory over the last great enemy, death, and He is delivered through it for you. He is risen to look in triumph on sin, death, and the power of the devil. That Christ prays these psalms, too, means God isn't just Someone who answers prayer, but Someone who becomes the answer to our prayers. He connects His suffering to your redemption. He joins His death to your life. His all-atoning sacrifice gives us not only words to pray, but boldness with which to pray them. What can our enemies do to us when we are already joined to the resurrection? David prays the psalms and the help is already there, even as ruthless men seek his life. These aren't merely the journal entries that correspond to David's story. They're inspired words that transcend time because God joins these prayers to Himself. The names of the enemies might change, but all of them come undone when Jesus becomes both the helpless and the helper upon the Cross, upholding our life even as He loses His own. David's answer is in the crucified and risen Lord. So is yours. They're prayers Christ prayed for us all, so that David can find comfort in them, and so can you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Christ, You walked the road Our wand'ring feet must go. You faced with us temptation's pow'r And fought our ancient foe. ("O Christ, You Walked the Road" (LSB 424, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/31/20216 minutes, 15 seconds
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Friday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Acts 20:27-38 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 15:10-35; Acts 24:24-25:12 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul writes to pastors, overseers of the flock, about the dark days to come. Wolves will come and will not spare the flock. Some pastors will speak twisted things. Paul was leaving and wouldn't see them again on earth. Paul was martyred. Even to the faithful, he has to insist that he did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God to them. That's because there are parts of it that folks didn't want to hear. He may not speak with happiness, but he speaks with confidence. The Church on earth wasn't promised a cheery existence. Despite what people tell you about how much better things used to be, there were no glory days. There really never have been. The generations of Christians just had different dresses to put on the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. That's the reason Paul's so confident. Those three enemies that always seem like they're on the verge of defeating us were already vanquished on the Cross. This isn't about Paul. This isn't about those pastors. This isn't about you. It isn't our job to keep the Church going. This is about the Word, which is able to build up and give the inheritance of the holy ones. Confidence comes from the promise of Christ, not from today's circumstances. Paul lists all sorts of things that will assault Christians. In the face of them, the Word is still able to give that inheritance to them. Nothing else can do that, so nothing else can stand. The Church has already been obtained by the blood of God. If She has the Word, She need not be afraid. That's why it's so important to be steadfast in the Word. Paul insists that he declares the whole counsel of God, not just the parts people want to hear. The whole counsel, even the scary truths about the world, even the Law that condemns each sinner. The whole counsel calls us not to seek help and hope in that which cannot stand, but in that which gives the inheritance, and so gives true comfort. Yes, you are a sinner. Yes, Christ died for you. You will be near the Cross. It will hurt, but it will save. It has already defeated the enemies who scare you. These might be dark and latter days, but the Word that still builds you up gives you the inheritance that cannot be taken from you. In the Name T of Jesus. Amen. May glorious truths that we have heard, The bright sword of Your mighty Word, Spurn Satan that Your Church be strong, Bold, unified in act and song. ("Lord Jesus Christ, With us Abide" LSB 585, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/30/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 14:47-15:9; Acts 24:1-23 "Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." (1 Samuel 15:3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Context matters, especially in the Old Testament. The Israelites weren't meant to have a king. They insisted on having one anyway, to be like all the cool nations. God warned them. If all the other nations jumped off a bridge. . . Nevertheless, they persisted. God gave King Saul as punishment to Israel. It probably doesn't feel great to be the human embodiment of punishment to an entire nation. He's in over his head. He usually tries to do the right thing, but he does it the wrong way. It's the same for us with the Law. We want good intentions to count, even though we make a mess of everything. The Amalekites had a history with Israel. They picked off the weakest of the people as they left Egypt, nipping at their heels, taking the ones who couldn't defend themselves. They were a plague upon the people of Israel that God promised Moses He would blot out. And scene: Samuel speaks to Saul. "Thus says the Lord, kill them all." And not just the men, but the women and the children, too. Also the animals. Devote everything of the Amalekites to destruction. Saul shows mercy to the Kenites. He doesn't spare the women and children, but he keeps their stuff. He kept Agag their king alive, and kept all the best animals. He wanted to use those animals as a sacrifice to the Lord. While their king watched, humiliation style. The prophet Samuel is furious. This is not what was called for. Because God doesn't glory in destruction, even of the wicked. He will not take sacrifice from the blood we spill upon each other. He doesn't want anyone devoted to destruction. He sends His Son for that, for you, for all. That is to be the sacrifice. There can be no salvation in any other place. As terrible as these things are, recognize the picture they paint. There is destruction apart from the Lord. The Amalekites insisted on not only being apart from God, but on preying upon His children. If they lived, wealthy, until age 100, what would still happen? We are given a physical picture of the spiritual condemnation apart from Jesus. He warns even as He protects His people. Don't be apart from Jesus. No sacrifice but Jesus can cover your sin, but that sacrifice has already been made for you. It is enough to save and protect you. Recognize what happens here as horrible. Being apart from Christ is horrible, but being under Him is salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Not all the blood of beasts On Jewish altars slain Could give the guilty conscience peace Or wash away the stain. ("Not All the Blood of Beasts" LSB 431, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/29/20216 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wednesday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Sixth Petition Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18; Acts 23:12-35 Lead us not into temptation. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Sixth Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. After "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," God teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation." I wonder if it's to remind us that Christian life isn't linear. You can take the Fifth Petition and run in a straight line one of two ways. The first is the idea of onward and upward. "I'm forgiven and now I build and that only goes one way. Constant improvement until perfection. Until I basically don't sin. Christian life is only measured in progress." The second is continuing straight on in what we were doing in the first place. "Since I'm forgiven, might as well keep sinning. Shall we sin that grace may abound. . . " then quick, stop reading before it says, "BY NO MEANS." Since I know I'm forgiven I'll just do whatever I want. "Don't worry about who your sins hurt, don't worry about the God who calls you to strive against those desires. Christian life is measured only in freedom to do whatever I want while yelling stuff about grace." Both are wrong. You're given this petition so you remember not just that you're forgiven, but that you're still in a bad spot. There's temptation there. So we pray, "Lead us not into temptation." It's not onward and upward or right on in sin. It's death and resurrection. Over and over. We are constantly in need of the Cross' forgiveness, and constantly strive to live in the resurrection's freedom from sin. We constantly beg to be free from temptation because we're constantly falling into it. It's war against old Adam, but it's fought in Christ, not in you. So even while we pray, we find comfort that He already won the victory. There is no comfort in beating the drum of the Law or in claiming that your actions should have no consequences while everything else falls apart because you keep doing dumb stuff. There is comfort in the Lord who tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory. We pray that we would see the victory we already have in Christ and cling to Him until we see it face to face. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lead not into temptation, Lord, Where our grim foe and all his horde Would vex our souls on ev'ry hand. Help us resist, help us to stand Firm in the faith, a mighty host, Through comfort of the Holy Ghost. (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.7) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/28/20216 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the Eighth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:16-29 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 12:1-25; Acts 22:30-23:11 "Am I a God at hand," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?" (Jeremiah 23:23) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are preachers who aren't sent by God. The word for them is "false." Preachers who are sent don't just tell you about God. Anyone can do that. Preachers speak for Him. They speak from the mouth of the Lord. He has words He wants you to hear. He doesn't want them lost to people who claim to speak for Him. He doesn't want to be known by words that aren't His. He doesn't want to be spoken for. He wants to speak. It's no less ridiculous than the God who speaks out of the sky, but it might be harder to believe. There aren't a lot of voices speaking from the sky claiming to be God. There are lots of preachers, though. Determining the real ones from the false ones seems important. Jeremiah seems to leave us with a simple test. False preachers preach to itching ears. Itching ears want to be affirmed, not repented. If your preacher never says anything to make you feel like a sinner, he's false, or you need to listen more closely. If you're a preacher and can do this stuff without offending anyone, you're doing it wrong. The Word breaks rocks into pieces. Sent preachers speak for God, so the words they speak agree with the rest of Scripture. True preaching does not build up those who despise the Word of the Lord, but it saves those lost to their sins. Simply put, real preachers preach the Cross for sinners. Don't worry about false preachers. God seems to be plenty focused on them. He'll handle them. Pray you're not one of them. Don't listen to them. Listen to your sent one. Cling to the Word. It promises a God close at hand. He is not just a God who the false preachers can't escape from. He's a God who will be near to you. He's a God who insists you hear His Word and promise. He insists on being the one who cares for you. He insists on being near to you in this way, to comfort, to forgive, and to save. Where your preacher speaks, God is near to help you. The Word breaks the rock into pieces. It breaks down sinners, but it does more. It crucifies the Rock, which is Christ. It forgives sinners. God has words that forgive you, and He sends you a preacher so He can tell them to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The sower sows; his reckless love Scatters abroad the goodly seed, Intent alone that all may have The wholesome loaves that all men need. ("Preach You the Word" LSB 586, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/27/20216 minutes, 1 second
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St. James the Elder, Apostle

Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 10:1-27; Acts 22:17-29 "But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." (Mark 10:40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sons of Thunder don't know what they're asking for. "Let us sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left, in your glory." I guess their nickname makes sense. It sounds like they want to be tag team champions of the world. They want the glory to be revealed in terms of power, not mercy. But the Son of Man is glorified on a Cross for sinners. To be at His right hand and His left in His glory is to be crucified with Him. That was an honor bestowed to thieves. It was prepared for them. Sounds terrible, until you consider what it means. It was prepared for them that they would hear mercy right from the Lord's mouth. It was prepared that they would hear a sermon at the right hand of God. Paradise was prepared for at least one of them, too. They deserved to die because of their sins, but God prepared it so that they would receive mercy, even if He had to die between them to give it. The Sons of Thunder would have hard lives that looked like Christ's. That was prepared, too. Eventually, they would drink from the cup of suffering. But it was prepared that Jesus die for them first. That way they're not alone in it. They were already brought through it. They were baptized, not just into Jesus' pain, but His death, and so also His resurrection. You were, too. Do you not know that in Baptism, we are united with Him in His death? We will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His, too. The Sons of Thunder went to death in boldness, not because they were the greatest tag team duo to grace the squared circle, but because they first received the gift of life. It was prepared for them. And it was prepared for you. You drank from it, too. In Baptism, you died with Jesus. In Baptism, you rise with Jesus. You might suffer more yet, but you are already raised with Him. Focus on the mercy, and know He'll bring you through that, because He already died to accomplish it. It is prepared. That shapes authority, too. Authority is a burden to the Christian. It's not about power, but mercy. It's not to be served but to serve. Authority is a gift. These are the places God has prepared to serve you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  He brings me to the portal That leads to bliss untold, Whereon this rhyme immortal Is found in script of gold: "Who there My cross has shared Finds here a crown prepared; Who there with Me has died Shall here be glorified." ("Awake, My Heart, with Gladness" LSB 467, st.7) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/26/20216 minutes, 23 seconds
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The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 7:15-23 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 9:1-27; Acts 21:37-22:16 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. So I know we're the grumpy church. It's what others say about us. It's what our own members say about us. We're too picky. Unloving. We can't get along with anyone. We can't even compromise. Why does it matter? Because it would be easier if we would just relax. Major in the majors, get along. Believe it or not, I don't have fun being the grumpy pastor. I'm not entertained by having folks mad at me. I'm not encouraged by my own members' grumbling. I hate it. The thing is, if someone says 2+2 is 4 and someone else says 2+2 is 5, they can't both be right. If someone speaks visions of their own minds and not of the Lord, they are wrong. Here's the thing: They're not harmless. Wolves are in sheep's clothing, not other sheep. Wolves devour the sheep. "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in heaven." It's not about how much you can accomplish. Prophesying, casting out demons, even doing great wonders is not enough. The will of our Father in heaven is that we believe. That's it. Hear the true Word and cling to it. It really saves. If it's going to be good, virtuous, if it's going to have any chance of helping us in this mess of a world with the mess of our problems, it has to be true. We can't expect to be saved based on a lie, not even a soothing one. And there are false prophets out there, dressed in sheep's clothing, telling soothing lies, who inwardly are ravenous wolves. Their lies do not save. Good trees make good fruit, and bad trees make bad fruit. even if it's done in the Name of Jesus. You don't expect grapes from thorn bushes. You don't expect good fruit from a bad tree. You don't expect salvation from a false preacher. The bad trees are cut down and burned. The only tree that matters is the Cross. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13). The good fruit of the Cross is forgiveness. All other trees will be cut down and thrown into the fire. There is no other Name by which men will be saved. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Holy Spirit, our delight And source of consolation, Protect us from the devil's might Through Jesus, our salvation, Who by His death upon a tree Has rescued us from misery: To this we hold forever. ("All Glory Be to God on High" LSB 947, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/25/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
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Saturday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Eight Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 48:1, 3, 11, 14; antiphon: vs.9-10) Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 8:1-22; Acts 21:15-36 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! (From the Introit for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We recoil at a God who sits in judgment of our actions. It's so hard to reflect on those vulnerable moments of our past without explanations to go along with our mistakes. Those excuses are called self-justification. We want to add something to our actions to make them seem less wrong. An excuse. A blame directed at someone else. A reason why. We try so hard to justify ourselves that the idea of being judged skips right over terrifying and leaves us either despairing or furious. But it's not a question of if we will be judged. We confess it in the creed. On the Last Day, the Son will come again to judge the living and the dead. I didn't read anything about Jesus' taking into account our excuses, either. Still, we can't help it. We self-justify like we breathe. We dive into every awful day and insist that our explanations for what happened change what actually did happen. We're chasing after a favorable judgment. We're trying to find a way to hear the word "judgment" without cringing. That won't come from excuses. That will only come from the Gospel. Only within Mount Zion, within God's temple, do God's judgments become something other than a need to justify your sins. They become a source of joy. Within Mount Zion, we hear that the Lord's judgments were rendered against the Son upon the Cross. He has judged Him guilty of all your sin. He has judged you innocent, righteous, and holy. Your self-justifications are laid down, and your cross is taken up. Your excuses are cast aside for forgiveness. Let Mount Zion be glad! This is why we preach and sing in the temple. It isn't a chance to earn points with God that we can cash in for heaven. It's to tell, over and over, of the Cross where the judgment happened. Of what it looked like. Of whom it's for: you. You have been judged innocent. We think on that steadfast love. We praise His righteousness for us, and not our own. The Cross silences our excuses and leaves judgment as a hope and not a fear. This is our God, forever and ever. Never will you be judged. Always, Jesus is your justification. Let the daughters of Judah rejoice! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. He blotted out with His own blood The judgment that against us stood; For us He full atonement made, And all our debt He fully paid. ("The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord" LSB 634, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/24/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 6:19-7:17; Acts 19:1-22 And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." (Acts 19:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church needs constant teaching. Woe to those who think they've learned it all in confirmation! Imagine if the disciples who Paul met by Ephesus responded as we do today. "What do you mean Holy Spirit? I've been in this synagogue all my life and never heard of that." Also, woe to those who think theology is about winning arguments rather than teaching. Imagine if Paul replied the way stubborn clergy do: "I went to seminary. You didn't. I know better than you. We're doing it this way now." Instead, Paul taught. He catechized. For months. Then years. Miracles happened. Not just the healings from afflictions. Even greater. People believed. They were baptized in the name of the Triune God. They taught others. Even unbelievers were given hope. The doctrine of the apostolic faith is unchanging, but the visible Church on earth is always in the process of learning it. If you look around and see nothing but ignorance, rejoice, because that is daily being overcome by the patient teaching of God's Word. Also, relax, because this teaching is done by the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to create and strengthen faith. It's His to accomplish in His time. If you look around and find something you haven't learned yet, compare it to God's Word. Go back to your catechism. You might be a part of something wonderful, the spreading of the true Word of God and the strengthening of His kingdom. It happens slowly, sometimes over generations, but the Holy Spirit is at work wherever the Word is taught in its truth and purity. If you can't find these new teachings in God's Word and your catechism, reject them. The visible Church will have ignorance and schism until the Last Day. It will also have the Holy Spirit daily destroying those things with the light of the true Gospel of Christ. When things look bleak, don't look for miracles or an overnight growth in understanding. Just return to the Word, where the Body of Christ is always being built up. Rejoice that God has promised to accomplish this work, and that none given to Him will be lost. This is why God blessed you with a catechism, that you would return to the same teachings over and over. Don't put the book down after confirmation. Reread it, and year after year, God's Word will correct, reprove, and give hope. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Help us Your holy Law to learn, To mourn our sin and from it turn In faith to You and to Your Son And Holy Spirit, Three in One. ("Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain" LSB 865, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/23/20216 minutes, 21 seconds
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St. Mary Magdalene

Today's Reading: John 20:1-2, 10-18 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 5:1-6:3, 10-16; Acts 18:1-11, 23-28 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Part of me wants to focus on Mary's announcement. She gets to tell the disciples the good news. Christ is risen! It feels like a redemption story. From the often-assumed belief that she was the prostitute who worshipped at Jesus' feet (that woman isn't named in the Bible), to fiction about her marital status (not in the Bible at all), to her confusion of the risen Lord with a gardener (that one's in there), Mary Magdalene gets a lot of the focus, but rarely in a good way. We want her to turn her life around, and then share the good news. The truth is, we don't know the name of the prostitute who worshipped at Jesus' feet. A pope named Gregory the Great decided that it was this Mary. We know Jesus wasn't married. Fiction writers have decided otherwise. So much of what we want to believe about Mary Magdalene has to do with what people assume she did. Most of it is wrong. All of it misses the point. Jesus doesn't know her by her deeds or her past, but by her faith. He says something to her. "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." She has the same Father as the Son of God does. If you want to know who Mary Magdalene was, set aside myth and hold to the Word of God. She is a daughter of the Father. She is a saint by faith in Christ. It's true for you, too. You are not known by what people say about you, true or not. You are not known by your past. You are known by the same thing Mary is known by: your identity is a child of God. You have the same Father as Jesus and Mary. You are baptized. In this water, you are united with Christ just like Mary. You are an heir to the kingdom of heaven. You are so precious to the Son that He who redeemed you from sin and death only talks about you as His brother or sister. People talk. Most of them get it wrong. Christ is still risen. You are still baptized. You have a Father in heaven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We sing Your praise for Mary, Who came at Easter dawn To look for Jesus' body And found her Lord was gone. But, as with joy she saw Him In resurrection light, May we by faith behold Him, The Day who ends our night! ("For All the Faithful Women" LSB 855, st.11) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/22/20216 minutes, 4 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Fifth Petition Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 4:1-22; Acts 16:23-40 Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Fifth Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is one sentence we wish could be divided into two separate things. Having my forgiveness and my willingness to forgive others linked together is a damning thing. Still, Jesus is clear. In Matthew 6:14–15 He says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." It sounds like my grudge from the sixth grade is enough to undo my Baptism. It sounds like my heart is enough to undo the Cross. That's because looking in my heart for forgiveness never goes particularly well. Ask the kid I still don't like from middle school even though I can't remember his last name anymore. Forgiveness doesn't come from your heart. It comes from the Cross. Always. The forgiveness for your sins comes from the Cross, not from your asking for it. Jesus died 2,000 years before you could ask Him to forgive you. Faith clings to this forgiveness and finds comfort there. Forgiveness from the Cross addresses your heart. It works that way for your neighbor, too. Forgiveness for their sins comes from the Cross to address your heart. When we stop looking at the Cross for forgiveness, there's a problem. We pray in this petition that we would see our enemies the same way Jesus sees them. Died for. Either there's forgiveness for sinners or there's not. Saying there's no forgiveness for sinners isn't going to work well for you. Taking your grudges to the Cross and seeing that your neighbor's sins against you were so vile that He had to bleed to cover them is a gift. That is where your neighbor's sins are punished. That is where wrath is abated. Seeing that justice was done lets you see your neighbor as someone who doesn't owe you anything anymore. Jesus paid it. Forgiveness isn't about what we deserve. It's about what was given. You don't earn your forgiveness by forgiving others. Instead, you get to see the God who forgives whether you're angry or not and you can say, "Amen." This is true. I'm angry, but they're still forgiven. Lord, address my heart with comfort so that I can find peace in your Cross, forgiveness for my sins, and forgiveness for my neighbors', too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they may trouble us no more; We, too, will gladly those forgive Who hurt us by the way they live. Help us in our community To serve each other willingly. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" 766, st.6) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/21/20216 minutes, 13 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 6:19-23 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 3:1-21; Acts 16:1-22 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Only someone who has spent all their life under slavery can be set free and ask, "What do I do now?" If you don't know what freedom really looks like, how would you know what to do when you're free? Only someone born under the threats and coercion of the Law can imagine that "freedom" looks like Netflix and a whole tub of ice cream just because serving your neighbor can be hard sometimes. What do you really gain from the bottom of the ice cream tub? What hope is found in ignoring your problems to binge-watch junk? I am speaking to you in human terms, because of your natural limitations. You are free from the Law's demands. It cannot condemn you in Christ Jesus your Lord. You have the free gift of God, eternal life, purchased by His death upon the Cross. When you return to pet sins, Jesus still died for you, your sins are still bled for and forgiven. That's not the question. The question is "Do those things actually help?" When we get stressed or angry, scared or just bored, we go looking for hope in something familiar, and we return to the things that held us captive. Real hope is never found there, though. Christianity is not asking the question, "Can you do whatever you want?" Instead, the question is "Where is hope which endures?" Christ endured death and rose again. Hope in something that leads to holiness and eternal life. Hope in something that isn't just numb. Everyone's owned by something. Either we're owned by our passions and our sins and we're not free to rise above them and build something that's more than comfortably numb, or we're owned by the God who purchased us with His own life so that He can keep us and shelter us now and to eternal life. One leads to death. The other to life. The free gift of God, eternal life, is given only to sinners. It's given to you. You don't have to earn it. You're free from sin. Free from death. Allowed to ask, "What do I do now?" It's answered by the God who simply says, "Live." Live in the things that produce hope. Live in the Law of God, free from its curse, because you were made alive in the Gospel, which promises that hope is a gift, not an escape. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No son of man could conquer death, Such ruin sin had wrought us. No innocence was found on earth, And therefore death had brought us Into bondage from of old And ever grew more strong and bold And held us as its captive. Alleluia! ("Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands" LSB 458, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/20/20216 minutes
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Monday of the Seventh Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 2:7-17 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 2:18-36; Acts 15:22-41 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God made everything and it was good. He made Adam of the dust of the ground. Eve would be there soon. Very good. He put them in the Garden, full of every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Awesome. The Tree of Life was there. Dope! Also the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: If you ate from it you died. Good? God calls it good. The issue is we're pretty sure it's not. We consider the tree, at best, a test from the all-knowing God who would have seen this coming. When we don't like something God is doing, we figure He either messed up or is trying to test us. Because we know good and evil now, we just get the two mixed up, so our motives seem purer than the God we call holy. The tree was never a test. It was where God instituted His Church. This was for worship. It was the one place Adam could see God as bigger, and could worship the mystery of God. It wasn't there to hurt him and Eve, but to help them. To ward off the idea that they know more than God. To remind them to fear, love, and trust, and to give them a chance to practice it. The tree was good. The problem started when we decided it wasn't. Because if the tree isn't good, what do you think of the God who put it there? God knows more than we do. . . but what if we can't trust Him? Eve grew afraid of the tree and wouldn't even touch it. She explains it to the devil. Not "Don't eat it," but "Don't touch it. Don't even go near it." Except "it" is church. God knew it would happen. Adam's sins. Eve's. Yours, too. The Tree of Knowledge showed the problem, but not how to fix it and live. But that was never the job of that tree. Salvation was never a test. We fell by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but God saved us by the tree of the Cross. His intent was always to save and to love. This was never His backup plan. The Tree of Life was always a Cross. It just took a few thousand years to see the Son hanging on it. But it was always intended for Adam, Eve, and you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Now from that tree of Jesus' shame Flows life eternal in His name; For all who trust and will believe, Salvation's living fruit receive. And of this fruit so pure and sweet The Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood The tree of life with ev'ry good. ("The Tree of Life" LSB 561, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/19/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Mark 8:1-9 Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:17; Galatians 6:1-18 "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat." (Mark 8:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There's a difference between a father who spends time with his kids and one who avoids them by being at work. There's a difference between kids who get As and kids who get detention. There's a difference between the doctor saying there's a cure or telling you that you have only weeks left to live. All the world measures. It's how things work. Literally everywhere. And it's exhausting. It's depressing. Because I know which father I am. . . maybe better than a few, but still not great. You know which kid you are. We know because there are standards. We call it the Law. A picture of good. Anything less. . . just isn't. Everywhere else in the world we live and die by laws. Do enough. Be enough. Have enough. We see the shortcomings here just fine. Laws measure. They point out where things aren't enough, and so we do, too. So any miracle that defies the word "enough" catches our attention, like when Jesus feeds 4,000. It's so easy to miss the greatest part of it. Get lost in the details. In the numbers. In the crowd. In the miracle. It all flows from one thing. He had compassion on them. For all we measure here, we miss the point. We want to measure. How much do we need? Is there enough? You measure it on the Cross, where the word "enough" sounded like "It is finished." He shed His blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. Not portioned, but poured out for forgiveness. For you. The Law measures. The Gospel just gives. All your sins. You can interject that you don't need it because you just got that in Absolution. You're already baptized. Shut up. Here's more mercy for you. The Law says, "Do this." The Gospel says, "It is finished." Over and over again. It covers all sin. All shortcomings. All failure. There is no measuring here. We will be a Gospel church. Without His compassion we will faint along the way, but know that it is yours, it is boundless, and it accomplishes all that is needed. Gather up all your failure and sin and dump it at the Cross. For everywhere that you don't measure up, for every place you're insecure, for every place you compensate or bargain or cheat, there is mercy for you. Your sins are forgiven. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, whose never-failing providence orders all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly implore You to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things that are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/18/20216 minutes, 17 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 47:3, 6-8; antiphon: vs.1-2) Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 5:1-26 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's hard to sing praises to our King who puts all nations under our feet when we're not even happy with our own country. It would be a gift to the Church if we cared about false doctrine the way we care about the faults of the other political party. It would be a gift to your conscience, if you considered what it looked like when all things were put under Christ's feet, especially if you've been unhappy with the leaders God has given you at one time or another. "He worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:20-23). Christ rose from the dead and Pilate still ruled Jerusalem. Christ was risen when the Church hid in catacombs. Christ is risen when the president you'd never vote for is in office. All things are under His feet. If you can only imagine God being able to reign over nations you approve of, you'll have to discount most of Scripture, where even evil kings are used for God's purposes, not to build a utopia on earth, but to save sinners from the last great enemy, death. His kingdom is not of this world. Please. Stop responding with, "But what if we build it" and start saying, "Amen." If you want to see your God upon His throne, look to the ascension, not the 24-hour news. You can't find a country on earth where God isn't capable of forgiving sins. You can't find a leader on earth who can keep you in the tomb when God says "rise." Even where the Church faces persecution, the Word cannot be bound. Our prayers are not just for peaceful times, but for comfort in the knowledge that even if we've been unhappy with politics in the last few years, our God is still working forgiveness, life, and salvation. Christ is risen from the dead. All things were put under His feet. You are united with Him in this resurrection, so in the same way, all the nations are put under yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. And when in pow'r He comes, Oh, may our native land From all its rending tombs Send forth a glorious band, A countless throng, With joy to sing To heav'n's high King ("Before You, Lord, We Bow" LSB 966, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/17/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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Friday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 16:4-30; Galatians 4:12-31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. (Galatians 4:31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael of the flesh, by Hagar, his wife Sarah's slave, and Isaac of the promise, by Sarah. Full stop. Think about how humiliated Sarah had to feel giving her husband to her servant. She trusted God. He promised Abraham a child. She believed Him. She just figured she had to help. Ishmael, born of people trying their best. Your little league trophy lied to you. Trying your best isn't good enough. The flesh is humiliating. To stand before God based on what you can do is to live according to the Law. It is to live in slavery to what you cannot do, what you cannot be, what you cannot achieve. It is to exist in slavery to sin and death. Sinai is not a mountain of hope. It is not a promise of salvation. It is a bargain over earthly trinkets, and the inability to hope for something that outlasts them. But Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. You are free from the Law. You are free from slavery to the best you can do, to the strings attached. You are not a child of God based on what you can do or how you can help. You are a child according to the promise. You are a child of the Gospel. God has promised you adoption. A place of honor. A place not earned but given. A place for you. After all, you are baptized. This isn't about your contributing, but about God's delivering a promise.The forgiveness of sins. Rescue from death. Salvation. The hope of something that endures where everything else in this world fails. An identity apart from the humiliation of the Law, but in the glory God gives His beloved. This isn't a someday promise to finally receive when you leave this world. It's a now promise. It's a here promise. It's a for you promise. It's a Baptism. It isn't just heaven that's clothed in white robes. The Church militant wears them, too. The saints on earth are children of God. You have already been purchased from slavery, not with gold or silver, but with the holy and precious blood, the innocent suffering and death of Christ. Do not submit again to the yoke of slavery under the Law. Do not submit to the yoke of doing your best and the humiliation and death it brings. Live in the promise of freedom, given through your Mother Jerusalem, the Church, where God sustains you according to the promise. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the water, in the Word, In His promise, be assured: Those who are baptized and believe Shall be born again. Father welcomes all His children To His fam'ly through His Son. Father giving His salvation, Life forever has been won. ("Father Welcomes" LSB 605, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/16/20216 minutes, 17 seconds
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Thursday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 15:1-16:3; Galatians 3:23-4:11 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4–5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Law was our guardian. The lLw's job is not to love you, but to hold you captive. The Law can't make you hate sin, just punishment. The heart is still full of lust and evil and envy and hate. The Law can't make you love what God commands, only fear what happens if you don't. The Law can't give you a good conscience. The Law can't give you righteousness. The Law can't give you freedom. The Law can't give you anything. It can only demand. The Law is one thing. The Gospel is another. The Gospel cannot demand. It can only give. Christ gives you His righteousness, His holiness, even His identity. Now, you are no longer under a guardian, but sons of God, through faith, and heirs according to the promise. You are baptized. The Law doesn't own you or hold you anymore. It cannot speak to your conscience. That is the job of the Gospel. You have put on Christ, who is your righteousness. The Law doesn't cease to exist. It is still a reflection of the Law giver. The Law reflects the character of God. It shows how things are supposed to be. So for you, it shows what you are not. Christ was not born into the world to eliminate how things are supposed to be, but to set aright what sin broke. So He was not born apart from the Law, but under the Law. He allows the Law to hold Him captive. He suffers the wages of sin. He dies to forgive you all your sins. He redeems you from the Law that held you captive, and adopts you into His own family. This isn't so that you would hate the Law, but so that you would be free from it. We love the Law because we wear Jesus in our Baptism. He fulfills all the Law demands. Where the Lord is, there is freedom from the captivity of the Law. You are free from the curses of the Law. You are free from sin, free from death, free from terror. You are in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav'nly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/15/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Fourth Petition Daily Lectionary: Judges 14:1-20; Galatians 3:1-22 Give us this day our daily bread. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Fourth Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This petition, probably more than any others, drives us to prayer. We have daily needs we see going unmet. We somehow figure this petition is supposed to fix that if we just do it right. God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. If you don't pray, God still gives you daily bread. If you're evil, daily bread is for you. Prayer isn't currency. It's comfort. God doesn't give everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body only to the well behaved or the ones who pray enough. He gives it to sinners, even unbelieving ones. Because Jesus loves sinners. He loves you. He even loves the sinners who don't believe yet. He loves them enough to die for them. A grilled cheese falls under the same banner of grace as forgiveness of sins. God won't deal with you according to what you deserve, but according to His love for you. He would give good gifts for your good. All of it is an undeserved gift. And in this petition, He reminds us that it's okay to look in normal places for it. He gives daily bread through means. He could float said grilled cheese in front of you and make it glow in the dark. Instead, He gives you a grocery store. It's a freeing thing. Prayer isn't a way to make God work apart from means, but a reminder that He works through them, even fallen means. If God has promised to work through fallen sinners to provide daily bread to you, you can see and know that God is caring for you here. God doesn't need a sinless farmer to grow crops. He doesn't need sinless families to care for you. Yet this is exactly how God has promised to take care of you. He doesn't just do it for this life, but to drive you to the next. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Give us this day our daily bread, And let us all be clothed and fed. Save us from hardship, war, and strife; In plague and famine, spare our life, That we in honest peace may live, To care and greed no entrance give. ("Our Father, Who From Heaven Above" LSB 766:5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/14/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 6:3-11 Daily Lectionary: Judges 13:1-25; Galatians 2:1-21 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Romans 6:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Guilt is potent stuff. We drag it around behind us. We attach it to others. We let a singular event define us. The accident, the mistake, the divorce, the incident. The sin. Everywhere we go it follows us. It's on our minds. It's on everyone else's. We can't seem to go anywhere without being known as that guy. Or we might be her. . . you know the one. It's like that one little moment owns us. More people understand what it's like to be a slave to sin than you'd think. As hard as you struggle against it, as much as you want to put it behind you, it owns you, it holds you captive. It's like we come to church to set it down. Hear about the love of God, about forgiveness. Lay that sin on Jesus. Hear Absolution. Then, when church is over, pick it up again on our way out the door. How many times does someone have to confess the same sin over and over before they're finally forgiven? How many times before you can look at yourself in the mirror? How many times before you can look at your neighbor as anything other than undeserving of any good thing for their sin? The singular event that defines you is not your sin. It is your Baptism. You are baptized. Tied to a real Cross where Jesus suffered and died to forgive the sins that have such power over you. Tied to a real resurrection where you are free from those sins. Today, you are baptized. You have this identity today. That means there is actual salvation, not IF you manage to accomplish something yourself, but BECAUSE Christ has given you this gift. Your identity is not "sinner." You are a child of God. Be free from your past. That past was crucified with Christ. You really are forgiven. He bled and died for you. You're baptized and united to forgiveness. He is risen from the dead, and you are united to that freedom from the sin that's really gone. You are baptized. Reckon yourselves forgiven. Dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. When you can't forget your sin, remember your Baptism. Remember who you really are. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In Baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav'nly Father. ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/13/20216 minutes, 13 seconds
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Monday of the Sixth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Exodus 20:1-17 Daily Lectionary: Judges 7:1-23; Galatians 1:1-24 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Exodus 20:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is who your God is. Not just the first couple verses, but the whole thing. The Law is a reflection of the Law maker. In my car, there are 11 commandments. God gets His 10. I add one more. Thou shalt not listen to country music. It's a reflection of who I am: someone with taste. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. This is who your God is. The Lord who absolutely insists on being your God. There's no room for any others. He wants to be the One to care for you. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Your God has a name so powerful it has to be used with care, and He wants you to have it, to call upon Him, pray, praise, and give thanks. Your God wants to spend time with you, so He rests with you and gives you gifts on the Sabbath. Your God wants to work through sinners to love you, so He gives you parents worthy of the same honor due to Him. They sometimes fail to earn it. That never stops God from working through them for your good. He loves you so much that He wants you to have people to represent that love. Honor your father and your mother as gifts from Him. Life goes better that way. Sin breaks stuff. Your God loves life, and insists that you live. Nobody's allowed to kill you. Your God wants you to have a healthy marriage. He walls it off and demands it be defended. He wants you to have and keep your stuff. He values your name and gives it all the protection He gives His own. He even cares about your heart, and knows what will pollute it. He calls us out of sin because sin breaks stuff. He calls us toward that which builds up because He loves us. We don't listen. The Law shows us our sin. It shows us we're not God. We don't need to be. He is, and He brought Israel out slavery to Egypt and us out of slavery to sin and death. The Law paints a picture of God. The Gospel paints a picture of you. You are the one He saves. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Law of God is good and wise And sets His will before our eyes, Shows us the way of righteousness, And dooms to death when we transgress. ("The Law of God is Good and Wise" LSB 571, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/12/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:17-26 Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:25-40; Acts 15:6-21 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. But the Pharisees weren't villains who twisted fancy mustaches. They were men who thought family mattered. They stood for morality and the good of their people. They supported their church. They were the upright people you'd expect to see standing against the darkness of the day. They were the ones building something that would last another generation. But that wasn't enough. Their temple was torn down. Not one stone stood upon the other. Everything they fought for wasn't enough, not for this world, and not for the next. If doing better is the goal, they didn't do enough. It cuts deeper than the outward actions. It's about the heart. Hate is murder. Lust is adultery. If your identity is found in the Law, you're lost. If this is about what you do or feel, it's not enough. That's why Jesus starts by saying, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." The Law still stands, but the Law is fulfilled in Him. Your identity isn't from the Law, but is found in the Gospel. You are righteous. This identity lets you face the fullness of the Law without fear. You don't need to downplay it or excuse it. You don't need to justify yourself by abolishing the parts that would make you look like a sinner. Your sins are forgiven. You are in Christ. When the Son of God calls you holy and forgiven, the Law can't give you an identity. You don't need to work around the Law. Jesus fulfills it for you. The more you relax the Law to flee from what it would call you, the more you try to not need Jesus. If we could fulfill the Law perfectly, it wouldn't be that hard. To relax the Law is to point away from Jesus. To see the Law fulfilled and not relaxed one iota is to see Jesus. To teach the Law fully is to teach Jesus. To call on you to actually strive to do the same is to hope in Jesus. Be not afraid of your failure or your sin. Christ has fulfilled the Law. Christ has won your forgiveness. This is just who you are now. Righteous. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Your great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/11/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 28:1-2, 7; antiphon: vs.8-9) Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24; Acts 14:19-15:4 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. (From the Introit for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The tense matters. The Lord is the strength of His people. He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Right now. Today. I am helped. It started in the past. Christ was crucified for you. It's still true now. The tense matters because if you understand what God has done, and who God is now, it makes the things you're afraid of much less scary. The psalmist has real fears. Real enemies. Sometimes life falls apart in the kind of way that words can't really describe with appropriate language. I'm amazed at pious Christians who sit in the dumpster of what was and try to figure out whether or not it's a sin to wonder if God isn't listening, or how He answers. Digging through the damage sin does and looking for more sin doesn't actually fix anything. You have the feelings. Here, God gives you something to do with them. He gives you the tenses to answer them. The Lord IS the strength of His people. He IS the saving refuge of you. Right now. Today. You are helped. You have these fears. Bring them to the Lord. Recognize that, even as it was His job to do the saving before, it still is now. The things that leave you sleepless wouldn't have stopped Him as He dealt with David, nor will they stop Him today. You might be overwhelmed, but God isn't. He gives us more than we can handle, teaches us to curse any Hallmark card that says otherwise, then holds us in our Baptism while He handles it and drags us along. To pray the psalms is to realize that God isn't deaf to you. He's already worked to save. Praying them will help you to hear that God isn't silent, but has already given you a place to put your concern as He drags you along towards salvation. It's to meditate on everything God has done in the past, focus on His character, and realize that He hasn't changed, so the things that leave you rocking in the fetal position are faced by the God who shepherds you in mercy. He speaks about the thing you're going through as if you're already saved from it. Because you are. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. From God's joy can nothing sever, For I am His dear lamb, He, my Shepherd ever. I am His because He gave me His own blood For my good, By His death to save me. ("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/10/20215 minutes, 55 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24; Acts 14:1-18 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well. . . (Acts 14:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Miracles aren't the cause of faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. It wasn't the signs and wonders that made Jews and Greeks believe. It was what was spoken: the Gospel. Christ is risen from the dead. They did miracles, too, but that really only served to further the divide between those who believed and those who didn't. At Lystra Paul met a man who had faith to be made well. That doesn't mean he believed enough to earn a miracle. It means he believed enough to see it done. Miracles aren't a prize for believing enough. They're a down payment on the resurrection. Miracles are the undoing of the damage sin does. The resurrection is a good example. Miracles are from the same God who rose. Miracles are something we who by faith believe in the resurrection finally see where all the world doesn't. Only in faith will you ever see a miracle. Because a miracle is God working to undo sin. If you don't believe in sin, the miracle will always have a different explanation. From Pharaoh and his magicians to YouTube atheists of today, apart from faith, everyone finds an excuse. Some miracles are harder to explain. Some are just so common to us we're not impressed anymore. If you put this man from Lystra in a modern hospital he'd call that a miracle, too, not because of the means God used to heal what sin broke, but because he received it from the Lord. All of it points to the same. God wants sinners to be forgiven. God wants you to rise from death like His Son. God even gives miracles to the people who refuse to see them that way. He gives rain from heaven to good and evil alike. He provides daily bread for the ones He redeemed, not the ones who supposedly had enough faith to get more than someone else. The miracle here is that the apostles preached and pointed only to Christ. The people went from trying to kill them to trying to kill others for them. They pointed only to Christ. And by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit, people believed. They rose from death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! ("Thy Strong Word" LSB 578, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/9/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-15 Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31; Acts 13:42-52 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. (1 Peter 3:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?" For some reason we read that and assume there should be no answer. If we really love God, how can He let us suffer? Peter wrote that line to a church experiencing martyrdom. Turns out he'd die a martyr himself, crucified upside down. He made his defense for the hope that was in him upside down. On a cross. I don't think he's trying to make the point we think. We imagine that Christian witness is about power, intellect, charisma. "Look how that person found Jesus and got his life together." We imagine a witness apart from lowliness, humiliation, suffering. Nobody signs up for that stuff. We want a Christianity that makes our lives easier. It leaves us in the awkward position of trying to witness about a religion whose symbol is the Cross. When we imagine a Christianity apart from suffering, we imagine a Christianity apart from the Cross. When you flee from suffering you flee from the Cross. Peter calls suffering for righteousness' sake a blessing. As someone who hates paper cuts, that's discouraging. I don't want to hurt. Peter doesn't promise a religion apart from suffering, but He doesn't speak of a God apart from it, either. You will not find God in a place with no suffering. You find Him on the Cross for you. That doesn't just change how we see suffering. It changes how we see ourselves. Jesus didn't bear the Cross for those who were zealous for what is good. He bore the rCoss for the people who got what they deserve, who suffer for doing evil, for the sinners. For us. And that Cross names you forgiven. Righteous. I don't know if Peter had courage or cowardice upside down on that cross, but I know he's baptized. I know that afraid or not, God had already saved him. The upside down cross they put him on became a joke we tell each other. The world calls it satanic, but the Petrine cross is an ancient Christian symbol, a reminder that salvation is ours today no matter what they call us. God bore the Cross first, so that ours would be like His. We are the baptized. We don't stay dead. Here is your hope. Here is your defense. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise; The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise. The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng, Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song: "O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son, And Holy Spirit, Comforter--forever Three in One!" ("We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God" LSB 941, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/8/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Third Petition Daily Lectionary: Judges 2:6-23; Acts 13:13-41 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Third Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On behalf of the almighty Lord, thanks for the permission, I guess. . . Now the creator of heaven and earth who worked just fine without you can finally act. Who knows what would have happened without your help. Nobody actually believes that God is impotent to act without your permission. It's just we're wary of what we can't control. God's will is done even without our prayer. We pray in this petition that it be done among us also. We pray in this petition to remember that God's will being done is a good thing. God doesn't need your permission to do His will because He's stronger than you. This petition is a chance to remember that He's smarter than you. He can even understand how to work the fancy settings on your washing machine. If you can't do that, don't presume to know better than God. Oh, also, He's holier than you, too. He doesn't have to start church by saying "I, a poor miserable sinner," which means His will doesn't get tainted by sin like yours does. Thy will be done, because God's will is to be merciful to sinners. To you. The world is still full of things we don't understand. "Why?" isn't a super helpful question when the answer is so complex that only the maker of heaven and earth would understand it. This petition is a focus on the "who." Who is your God? The One who redeemed you by dying. The One who won't stand back from your distress. There are some parts of His will that He hides from you because you wouldn't understand, but even more so because you shouldn't have to trouble yourself with having to solve those problems. I don't make my kindergartener prepare dinner. I just tell her she's loved and then I feed her. So God points us to where His will is visible. Where He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh: on the Cross. Where He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die only to rise again: in the church. Here, God makes clear that His will is to save sinners like us. It's done even without our asking. We get to pray and find comfort that it's done among us also. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your gracious will on earth be done As it is done before Your throne, That patiently we may obey Throughout our lives all that You say. Curb flesh and blood and ev'ry ill That sets itself against Your will. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/7/20215 minutes, 42 seconds
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Isaiah

"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God doesn't play well with others. Put away foreign gods. He is a jealous God. It's not that He can't handle competition. He very clearly can. Look back at how He led Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Look at how He brought Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt. Look at what He did to their armies and the false hopes they had in themselves. He exposes the false gods for what they are. This isn't just an "our God can beat up your god in a fight" boast. This is why: Those false gods can't save the people who trusted in them. They couldn't save Pharaoh or Balak. They couldn't save Jericho or any of the various "ites," either. They don't have the power to save. As they stand against His people, it becomes clear. Those who would destroy the ones God calls blessed dash themselves to pieces. But that isn't what God is concerned about. Even this is about the forgiveness of sins. False gods only work in power, not mercy. The Lord works not only power that they can't, but mercy that they won't. The reason that He won't share you, that He absolutely insists that you serve Him and Him alone, is that no other gods forgive sins. They are law gods. Ours is the God who promises not just to save us from the world, but from ourselves, from our sins. He is the God who works in mercy to those He loves, and to you. We hear this, say Amen, and then try to mix the two. I want mercy from Jesus, but a little power from money, from fame, from popularity, from strength. "I love Jesus and." But the "and" at the end can't forgive your sins. When you mix the two together, you stop looking to God for mercy, because the "and" makes it all about power. The Lord becomes a means to an end. He did more than lead slaves out of Egypt through the Red Sea. He led them out of death through the forgiveness of sins. He died for us that we would live. As for us, we will serve the Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A righteous Helper comes to thee; His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress. The end of all our woe He brings; Therefore the earth is glad and sings. To Christ the Savior raise Your grateful hymns of praise. ("Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" LSB 341, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/6/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19:11-12 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elijah is hiding in a cave waiting to die. He forgot how to be disappointed, because he forgot how to hope. That's bad. Hopelessness is not natural. We were created to hope. God made us to worship Him, to fear, love, and trust in Him. Children are born trusting in their parents' voices. They look at the world in wonder and pretend to be the things we've long given up on. Hope only goes away painfully--by having it beaten and crushed and kicked until it's ground down to nothing. One of the hardest things in the world is to see children who aren't disappointed by their parents anymore. Elijah is hiding in a cave, not because he doesn't believe God exists, but because he doesn't think he can depend on God. The reason so many of us have given up hope is that we look for God in places He isn't. It's a trick the devil uses to grind down hope. Even fallen sinful man loves to put hope in the wrong thing. It's called an idol. So Satan points us to where God isn't and asks why He isn't there. That makes more sense than we want to admit. God is not in the power of the fire or the earthquake. The small whispering word doesn't seem too impressive. I cannot by my own reason or strength believe that God works in mercy and not in power. That has to come from somewhere else. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the low whispering Word of Christ. And He still speaks. What are you doing here? Why are you hiding? Why are you afraid? You're not as alone as you think. God would not limit Himself to your good days or your good attitude. He passes by Elijah, whispering words of peace and hope, and He passes by you, too. Not to rush past, but to dive into the valley of the shadow of death, that hope would live where there rightly should be none. There were great earthquakes and sham trials by firelight that pierced the darkness where they accused our Lord of blasphemy and worse, as Peter hid in the courtyard. There was wind that blew as it wished, and the gale of the crowd who cried for His death. But the words worth hearing were whispered from a Cross: "It is finished." He has died for you. The sun came back to the sky, the earth stopped shaking, but it's still finished. Hope. For Christ is risen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To hope grown dim, to hearts turned cold Speak tongues of fire and make us bold To shine Your Word of saving grace Into each dark and loveless place. ("Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide" LSB 585, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/5/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 5:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 10:1-25; Acts 11:19-30 . . . Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." (Luke 5:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We see the boat sinking and the nets ripping, so we figure we need to fix them. The Church is falling apart: If we don't do something it won't be here for long. How do we catch the fish? I know it's a miracle, but this still seems like it should be our job. Lure ‘em in. We need charisma. Programs. Something other than people too old and funny looking to be in TV commercials. This is what ego does. After making everything all about you, it looks in the mirror and realizes that's a mistake. The devil whispers to us our insecurities, our fears. The old Adam builds chapels to them instead of to God in the vain hope that those fears will leave him alone. We dump baskets of cash on the altars of our fears as offering, and then pray fervently that things won't look exactly like Jesus says they look. It's dark. It's late. We're tired. The boat is sinking and the nets are ripping. Of all the stuff we're convinced is wrong here, what makes it your job to fix it, and more, what makes you think God can't work until you do? You miss the point. God is present on a sinking ship. Let it be His job to catch the fish, keep the boat floating, and keep the nets from ripping to shreds. Disappear into the net. Not as worthless, but as one whom God intended to catch. He backs it up by action. You matter enough to bring Him to the Cross. You matter enough for Him even when your ego thinks it must get in the way. The Church is not a group of people burdened with a pyramid scheme. It is the sinners who have been dragged into the boat and kept in hope. It will stand, not because of us, but simply because God's Word calls it into existence from nothing and sustains it. "But at Thy Word" was and is enough. The nets are still ripping. The Church will be full of schism and suffering and sin and pain and fear, but it will hold because God spoke and still speaks. Even now, God works in a sinking ship to bring life to you and all whom He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies and keeps with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, the Church's head, You are her one foundation; In You she trusts, before You bows, And waits for Your salvation. Built on this rock secure, Your Church shall endure Though all the world decay And all things pass away. O hear, O hear us, Jesus! ("Lord Jesus Christ, the Church's Head" LSB 647, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/4/20216 minutes, 39 seconds
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Saturday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 27:1a, 11-12, 14; antiphon: vs. 7, 9b) Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28; Acts 11:1-18 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (From the Introit for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Only a prayer focused on the character and promises of God can pray the word "wait." "Wait" is not in the vocabulary of fear. Or need. Or threat of violence. When the focus of our prayer is our fear and not our God, "wait" doesn't work because we need help now. When our prayer can only be answered by our enemies disappearing and their plans coming undone, help isn't actually measured in the presence of a good God, just in a lack of evil around us. If your prayer can only be answered by a lack of evil, God will seem very silent. When God's silence in the face of these prayers sounds like you are being forsaken, pray Psalm 27. Each verse is a reflection on His character and ability to combat the fears and enemies that surround us. You have a gracious God, a God who gives good gifts. How could He not hear and answer? Your Lord is light and salvation. Who can undo what Christ has declared finished? The way of the Lord is also the truth and the life. It is a level path that enemies cannot make treacherous. So even surrounded by adversaries, false witnesses, and violence, we can wait in strength and courage, because we wait for the Lord. Even as we wait for Him, we start to see Him at work, not in the absence of evil, but working good in the midst of it. Prayer that focuses on God can find Him working where He promised to be, among and for sinners. He is with us in the valley of the shadow of death. He makes the rough places plain. He daily and richly forgives your sins. He richly and daily provides you with all you need to support this body and life. He defends you against all danger and guards and protects you from all evil. Start with His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, especially if you're having trouble seeing God's goodness simply because there's evil around. God's divine goodness and mercy was what put Christ on the Cross to win you a salvation that no evil could take from you. Prayer focuses on the character and promises of God. That means if we have to wait to be free of an evil, we can do so knowing with all certainty that we have already been given the victory over it, as surely as Christ is risen from the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Be still, my soul, before the Lord; On God in patience wait. God's love, unseen, surrounds your life; God's help will not be late. ("Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord" LSB 771, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/3/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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The Visitation

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-56 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 7:1-26; Acts 10:34-48 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. (Luke 1:50) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nobody likes it, but at least we understand when sinners get hurt by their sin. But what about when you can't figure out whose fault it is? The "church answer" is that the world was broken by Adam's sin. It's true. It just doesn't do much to address that hollow feeling in your stomach that comes from not being able to do anything about it. Or the anger from trying to believe in a God who says He can do something, but doesn't seem to. For all the talk about His love, His forgiveness, His miracles, things still look pretty much the same. This Christmas text doesn't seem helpful. Today, we step back to a Mary who would have gotten pregnant around the end of March in order to give birth around the end of December. She's pregnant and visiting Elizabeth, probably right around the beginning of June. The Visitation which we celebrate today is carried out by the same God who shaped creation with a Word. Even while being knit together in Mary's womb, He is on a mission to right what has been wronged. Mary sings it in the Magnificat. It's not about what's fair. It's about help for those wronged by sin. Mary sings hope for you. You. Wrecked one. Damaged by sin that goes so deep it's in the air we breathe and ground into the earth we stand on. You will find a God who looks upon those who are humbled and gives mercy. Who fills the hungry and helps His servant Israel. Those who are knocked down and scattered aren't getting their karma, this isn't economic redistribution. The difference between those brought down and those lifted up is one thing and one thing only. His mercy is on those who fear Him. His mercy is for you and all who believe. He sees you. Your struggles. Your humiliation. This mess referred to as "your estate." He regards you in mercy. John knows it and rejoices even as he, too, is being formed. God doesn't work by stepping back from creation to do something different, but steps towards you, whom He loves. What is wrong is made right again in bearing that destruction Himself upon the Cross and rising whole and new. In a world that doesn't look like it should--yet--we can know what's coming and sing Mary's hymn, too. Our souls magnify the Lord because even now while we wait, our Lord regards us in mercy, and He acts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. My soul now magnifies the Lord; My spirit leaps for joy in Him. He keeps me in His kind regard, And I am blest for time to come. ("My Soul Now Magnifies the Lord" LSB 934, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/2/20216 minutes, 17 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Romans 12:14-21 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:18-33 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. (Romans 12:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I can tell you something is a sin because it's in the Bible. Fine. If you want to know why, wait till it's been done against you. It's called wrong because it hurts. Sin breaks stuff. It's easy to see why something is a sin when it's done against you. It's harder when you're the one hurting others, accidentally or otherwise. We get so wrapped up in our passions that we lose sight of the damage we wreak, but when someone hurts us, things get cleared up real quick. It can leave you wanting a God who punishes others more than a God who forgives you, spending each day watching those who hurt you, waiting for them to get theirs. Sometimes they do, but more often than not it looks like they don't. Even if they do, it doesn't give you peace. If all you can really hope for in life is to see someone else hurt, you don't want peace for yourself, and you'll never get it, either. There's too much sin in this world to keep track of. Even more, it says something about the kind of God you expect. He says He treats all sinners the same. That includes you. Either He forgives you and those who sin against you or He doesn't. They're connected, even into the prayer we pray each day. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It's not God dangling your forgiveness in front of you for you to earn by coming up with something of your own. It's a reminder that all forgiveness, for you and for those who sin against you, comes from the same place: the Cross. Remember that Jesus died for your neighbor. "Vengeance is mine," says the Lord. He doesn't ignore what was done against you. He pays for it Himself on the Cross. There's nothing left to repay because Jesus has already paid the price. You can even go look at it. See the crucifix. It's God's justice for every pain caused by someone else, for every pain you held onto, and for every pain you've caused, too. Vengeance is the Lord's. He paid it to His own Son. He overcame evil with good. Start there, and there is a place for kindness and love for your enemy to be sustained, and even to grow. Bless those who curse you. Call them sinners whom Jesus died for. Heap burning coals on their heads. Show them the source of all that's pure. Show them the censer full of burning coal that touched Isaiah's tongue and put away all his sin. Show them what forgiveness looks like. Show him where it comes from: not your heart, but the Cross. That's forgiveness that overcomes evil with good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
7/1/20216 minutes, 22 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Second Petition Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6:5; Acts 10:1-17 Thy kingdom come. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Second Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We expect the kingdom of God to be separate from the world. God's kingdom must be a place where no bad things happen, where no sinners do sinful things, where we want for nothing. We figure we can pray this to hasten the Last Day. We try to imagine what it will look like. We lose sight of what the Word says. Jesus said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." At hand means not far away. Not someday. Here. Now. Where Jesus is. We don't pray, "Thy kingdom come," to help or encourage God to show up, but so that we would see that the kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, and we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. Then we can look at how it does come. God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. The kingdom of God is where the King is working. And God is working here for you. This petition calls attention to the fact that God doesn't need things to look perfect in order for Him to dwell with us. It points to the Lord who brought heaven to earth as angelic choirs sang of His birth, as He healed the sick and forgave the sinners, as He conquered death upon the Cross and rose from the grave, and as He feeds you with His Body and Blood to bring the same to you. The same God works where His Word is preached and He calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps the whole Christian Church on earth, daily and richly forgiving your sins, and the sins of all believers. This petition is a gift because it points to the places where God is already doing these things. That turns the prayer from a burden into a gift. Now you don't have to hasten God's kingdom. He's bringing it by His Holy Spirit where His Word is preached and His Sacrament is administered. You can know where it is and pray that it is given to you, too. You can find comfort in receiving the gifts. Now you don't have to imagine the resurrection to finally be near God. You can find Him brought near to you. The kingdom of heaven is at hand where the Holy Spirit works repentance by God's Word, that by believing it, you would find comfort in praying to Your Father in heaven, and have life in His only Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain And Your eternal righteous reign. The Holy Ghost enrich our day With gifts attendant on our way. Break Satan's pow'r, defeat his rage; Preserve Your Church from age to age. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/30/20216 minutes, 7 seconds
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St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles

Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-20 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 4:1-24; Acts 9:23-43 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who do you say that the Son of man is? We're still asking the same question. We're past the days when people haven't heard the name Jesus, but if you listen, you will hear that we all seem to be talking about someone different. Who do people say that the Son of man is? Some go for the high road and say He is just the example. He's the guy you follow when you feel bad about being bad. He helps you behave better until you don't want to be bad anymore. But most of the time He just ends up being the guy used to bash you over the head when you don't do what someone else wants you to. Some go for the low road and say He is a bigot. That He calls people sinners in a hate-filled book which does nothing but set the scene for hate crimes in the name of religion. Bigot-Jesus picks the sinners who sin differently than I do and says there's no forgiveness for them until they change, never mind that I've been here confessing the same sins week after week for years. Have you noticed a common theme yet? Grab hold of the Law, ignore the Gospel completely, then weaponize religion. It's what the people wanted from Elijah. It's what they wanted from John the Baptist and Jeremiah, who were ridiculed and hated by the world and the religious alike, not because they were wrong, but because they called everyone to seek mercy in the Lord, who not only calls sin wrong, but loves sinners enough to forgive them. But who do you say the Son of man is? This is not a "What does Jesus mean to you?" essay. That's where all of those other ideas went wrong. Not one is a confession of who God is, just speeches about how we'd use Him. You can try to use the Law, but you can only receive the Gospel. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It makes it look like everyone who hates Him was right all along. Yours is a God who bleeds. Yet He did it for them, and for you. He did it to forgive every standard you fell short of. Every demand of the Law. He died for every sinner who is sinking in despair and hate and pain. He did not wield a weapon, but took up a Cross. He did not come bearing only Law, but brought with it the Gospel. Yours is the God who gives mercy. Yours is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and you have life in His Name. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God, should take Our mortal form for mortals' sake! ("O Love, How Deep" LSB 544, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/29/20216 minutes, 13 seconds
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Monday of the Fourth Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 50:15-21 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17; Acts 9:1-22 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Genesis 50:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Joseph's brothers are afraid. What if life is fair? What if Joseph's mercy is for their father, but not for them? They know what they deserve. They beg him for mercy, and he weeps. Maybe he's remembering all he went through, or is still mourning his father. Maybe he's humbled. Maybe he's just heartbroken that his brothers still don't understand. That's the problem with speechlessness. It leaves us trying to understand the response based on our own feelings. It leaves us to fill in our own answers. We do the same before the Lord. Since His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, predictably, we usually get it wrong. God doesn't want us to fill in the silence on our own. Joseph, full of the Holy Spirit, answers his terrified brothers with a promise that comforts us all. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." He tells them the truth. They meant evil for him. Then He points to God, who has a power that nothing in all His creation has. God meant it for good. He took all of their evil and wove a web that would bring good out of it. That doesn't make the evil acceptable or justify those who commit it. Only the Cross can do that. But it highlights the God who will not leave us to the damage we do to each other and ourselves. He works good from our evil. Only God can take something already ruined and bring about something perfect. Look to the passion of our Lord. Evil everywhere, yet God meant it for good, that many people would be justified, kept alive through death, as they are today. The evil is still evil, but it cannot derail God's purpose: that many would be saved. You can see that in the Cross, too. Now evil is forgiven. You are forgiven.There are times we don't see what God is doing yet, and places He's speechless. It's okay to say that. We go first to the Cross, where God speaks. It is finished. You are saved. At the Cross we can understand the places He's silent. The greatest thing Joseph can tell his brothers is that they aren't the main actors. God is. It means God did this to Joseph. But again, we can find Him nearby--on the Cross. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Be of good cheer; your cause belongs To Him who can avenge your wrongs; Leave it to Him, our Lord. Though hidden yet from mortal eyes, His Gideon shall for you arise, Uphold you and His Word. ("O Little Flock, Fear not the Foe" LSB 666, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/28/20216 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 6:36-42 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24; Acts 8:26-40 "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you read it on its own like it's usually quoted, "Judge not lest ye be judged," is the only command that gets easier the less you care. The less you care about your neighbor, the less you care what they do. The less you care about God's Word, the less you care to talk about uncomfortable things like sin. It's the religion of today, but it's a lonely and bitter one. It can't cope with tragedy. It can't find the source of pain. It can't fix it. It can only lift itself up above someone else who broke its chief commandment. Thou shalt not judge. There is a second like it: Thou shalt not be a hypocrite. It's catching, even among us. We bring God's Word to bear whenever we notice something our neighbor can't do, so we won't get accused of judging them. We bring it to bear whenever there's something we can't do either, so we don't get accused of being hypocrites. The only thing we're showing is that we care more about what our neighbor thinks of us than what they're going through. This leaves nothing to offer anyone in pain. It speaks only to sinners, but never to victims. It lacks mercy. And that's the whole point of this. It begins with a promise. Your Father in heaven is merciful. You are of mercy now. Be merciful. It ends with a speck in your neighbor's eye. This is not a call not to ignore your neighbor in pain, but to help them, even if you have to confront your own sin and receive forgiveness for it first. Actually, that's a good plan either way. There is a log in my eye even as there is a speck in yours. The question is, should we leave it there and go on ignoring each other in pain, or should we talk about mercy? Don't worry about judging. Focus on mercy. Mercy comes from only one place. Jesus gives real mercy. Not just empty words. He backs His by deed and truth. He gives it only to hypocrites who hope in something greater than themselves. It's bad to be a hypocrite, but Jesus saves sinners. He bears the damage sin does and names you forgiven. He calls your neighbor forgiven, too. The more you deal with your neighbor as someone for whom Jesus died, the more peace you find in seeing his sins forgiven. Start with Jesus. End there, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/27/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 27:3-4a, 5; antiphon: vs. 1-2 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The young man had been taught the faith from the Bible and the Small Catechism. He'd stood before the congregation and confessed that faith as his own. He was confirmed and this verse was given to him as a blessing: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1) God made a promise to the young man. He Himself would be the light that would guide him through the world. He would give salvation to the young man by grace through faith in Christ. He would be a stronghold of peace and wisdom and protection all his life. And yet since that day the young man has never been in a church. It's sad that the promises he made were forgotten so easily. But far sadder is that this verse, and the whole of Psalm 27, conveys a promise that God spoke to the young man which he has never valued. No one could ever buy the blessing which God rejoiced to give him freely in Christ. The comfort that comes from this promise could have been with the young man every day of his life. Every time he came to church to hear more of God's Word and partake of the Supper, he would have come to appreciate more and more the light of Christ and His salvation. Lord, have mercy on him, and bring him back to the grace you gave him in Baptism and the promise he made in confirmation. Amen! Why share his tale? Because it is the tale of so many people. Do not forget the promise you make in your confirmation. God remembers. The Church remembers. So should you. But most of all, do not abandon the light and salvation that God gives to you in Christ. Today is a day to remember the salvation of Christ. Don't let it go by. The Spirit calls you to repent and believe. And to those who love a person who has forgotten their Savior: Don't give up hope. While there is yet breath, the Spirit calls to them to repent. Pray. Christ prays with you. All the Church does, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. (Your name), the almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you the new birth of water and the Spirit and has forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace to life everlasting. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/26/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The world has much to say to young people about who they are and what they should look for in life. In recent years, this advice has gone from bad to awful. Our country has closed its eyes to the fact that God made human beings male and female, and that He gives a man and a woman into marriage. When these basic truths are lost, life gets harder for those who believe in Christ. How do we live in light of what is good when our society willingly calls good evil, and evil good? Proverbs 31 speaks to us about what is true and valuable in life. The woman in this chapter is a believer in God. She's forgiven in Christ and He works in her to bear fruit in the good works she does for her family and neighbors. The wife described here isn't saved because she rises early to work and cares for her household well. She's saved by God's grace. No woman does all these things all the time. But this chapter is of great value because it speaks honestly about the type of good works that are available to a married woman. She cares for her husband and children (if God gives them). She works diligently in whatever vocation she has. She cares for the poor, and she instructs others using words of wisdom and kindness. A married life between a godly husband and wife is wise and beautiful. It provides tremendous opportunities to give and receive love. It helps protect you against the troubles of traveling through this sin-broken world. You'll rarely receive praise from the world for being a godly wife. But you will receive praise from the man whom you love and the children you share. Or you will receive praise from a wife who loves and values you as a husband. Proverbs 31 doesn't promise you things will work out in the way it describes. Not everyone marries or has children. But it does guide you to be a woman (or a man!) who trusts in God for salvation and serves her family in love. If you don't marry and have children, you haven't failed. The Proverbs 31 woman had several vocations where she served others in love. Christ is always your Lord and He strengthens you in whichever way He provides. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Then here will I and mine today A solemn promise make and say: Though all the world forsake His Word, I and my house will serve the Lord! ("Oh Blest the House" LSB 862, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/25/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:1-18 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. (Luke 1:76) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church has been celebrating the incarnation of Christ since the Gospel was first proclaimed (Genesis 3:15). After Adam and Eve sinned, God called them out of their hiding place of fear and shame. He promised to send a Messiah to rescue them from sin and death. The Seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. The promise of the Messiah is woven throughout the Old Testament, through the words of Moses and the prophets, and through the sacrifices and feasts the Jews were commanded to observe. Believers looked with hope and anticipation to the time when God would send the Christ. And ever since Jesus won His victory on the Cross, the Church has continued to celebrate the mystery of the incarnation. All year long we find events that remind us that the Son of God became man. From the Annunciation, Visitation and Birth of John, to Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and the Presentation, Christ our incarnate Lord is proclaimed. The mystery of the incarnation is so wonderful that we think about it all the time, just as our brothers and sisters did in the Old Testament. Today, we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, and we rejoice that his entire life was spent pointing to the incarnate Lord. When the angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus the Messiah, he told her that her aged cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Mary went immediately to see her. At the sound of her greeting, John the Baptist, yet in the womb, leapt for joy because his Messiah, Jesus, was present in Mary's womb (Luke 1:41-45). John believed in Jesus even before he was born, and proclaimed Him as Messiah even before he could speak. He did this all his life. Through his preaching and baptizing he called people to repent and be ready for Jesus. He still speaks that message to us today. On his birthday, we hear his joyful call to repent and believe in Christ, the incarnate Son of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/24/20215 minutes, 46 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, First Petition Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; John 20:1-18 Hallowed be Thy name. What does this mean? God's name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also. How is God's name kept holy? God's name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God's Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father! (Small Catechism,Lord's Prayer, First Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you could ask for anything in the world and be confident you would get it, what would it be? Before you answer, remember the old saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it." Receiving what you ask for can bring unintended consequences. Thankfully, Jesus guides you in the Lord's Prayer to pray for the best things possible. In the First Petition, you begin by asking for God's Name to be holy. This might seem strange, since God's Name is always holy anyway. But you're asking that God's Name will be holy in your life, in your family, and congregation. God makes His Name holy in you through His Word, the Bible. He causes you to hear it and understand it and believe it. He sends you pastors and teachers who explain it clearly. He gives you a good congregation in which to gather to hear Christ preached and to receive the Sacraments. In this petition you ask that God's Word would be given to you in its truth and purity. You're asking that no false doctrines would be taught, so that no one is deceived. You're also asking that you, your family, and your congregation would hear the Word of God and follow it faithfully, living according to what God says. And finally, you're also pleading that anyone who has fallen away from believing or living according to God's Word would be drawn to repent and believe again. And may the Gospel of Christ also reach those who have never heard the Word. Lord, have mercy! "Hallowed be Thy name." Rejoice in the teaching of Jesus and ask for this petition first. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your name be hallowed. Help us Lord, In purity to keep your Word, That to the glory of Your name We walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; All poor deluded souls convert. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above LSB" 766, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/23/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 25:1-22; John 19:23-42 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine you're on a nature hike. You're strolling down your favorite trail, taking in the sights and scents of nature. Suddenly you hear a loud ROAR down the path. You look up and see a lion prowling toward you. That would change your trek a bit, wouldn't it? Peter compares Satan to a roaring lion, seeking prey to devour. His prey is a baptized child of God. He hunts with temptations to sin, lies about God's Word, and persecution from the world. A Christian walking through this world cannot ignore Satan's roaring threats any more than a hiker can ignore a lion on the trail. When you were baptized into Christ, you were made God's child. You were marked by God as His own. He forgives your sins. He sends His angels to watch over you. You are redeemed by Christ the crucified. And Satan hates all of that. He hates Christ. He hates you. As you go through this world, it is vital that you remember this. But Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows how to deal with a lion. Look to Him to keep you safe from harm. First, be a humble sheep in His flock. Don't be proud and go running away from Him. Even when times are hard, follow where Jesus leads. He knows what He is doing. Second, look to Him for all you need. As a sheep bleats when hungry or thirsty, you can bleat to Jesus, too. Tell Him your anxieties. Trust that He cares and can help. Thank Him for His mercy even before the help arrives. Third, stay with the flock. You are not alone. The lion threatens all your brothers and sisters in Christ. You're all in this together. Together you hear God's Word, sing His praise, partake of the Supper, and help one another. You're much stronger when you go through trials with your church family. God is faithful and He will strengthen you. His strength will be a blessing long after the hardships are over. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; Within His wounds I find a stay when Satan's pow'r assails me; And by His footsteps led, My path I safely tread. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way. ("I Walk in Danger All the Way" LSB 716, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/22/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Micah 7:18-20 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22; John 19:1-22 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God is a just Judge and a forgiving Savior. God created a perfect world, but that world rebelled and turned to sin. He watches over all people and all things. He works to keep order and peace in the world through His Law. He judges those who are wicked, because He is a holy God and will not abide evil. As we walk through this broken world and endure the sins others commit against us, we understand how vital it is that God is just. It would be awful to have a God who didn't care. But God's justice is applied to all people equally. The just Judge applies the Law to all of us and we are found guilty. We have sinned against God and against our neighbor. For that we truly deserve both temporal death and eternal damnation. But God doesn't want to punish people. He rejoices to give grace and forgiveness. You can hear that in our reading from Micah 7. Israel had sinned badly. They lied about God's Word. They stole from the poor. They truly deserved the punishment God gave them. But that would not be the end of the story. God also gives forgiveness. "He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). God rejoices to give forgiveness! "He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love" (Micah 7:18b). But how can God be both a just Judge who holds people accountable for sin, and a gracious Savior who forgives sins? The answer is the Cross of Christ. Jesus willingly took the punishment for our sins. God's justice was fulfilled as Jesus died. But since Jesus had committed no sin, death could not hold Him once the punishment was finished. He rose again! All who believe in Jesus are forgiven by grace. God has punished Christ for your sins so that He can graciously forgive your sins through faith in Christ. Who else is a God like this? In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Since Christ has full atonement made and brought to us salvation, Each Christian therefore may be glad and build on this foundation. Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead, Your death is now my life indeed, For You have paid my ransom. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.6) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/21/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
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The Third Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 15: 1-10 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-20 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1,2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are two groups of people drawing near to Jesus. Jesus loves them both. The tax collectors and sinners (TC&S) have been alienated from God because of their sin but Jesus has called them. He has forgiven their sins and they rejoice in His grace. The Pharisees and scribes (P&S) are also there. They love the Old Testament. They know that Jesus is a great teacher, but they don't understand that He is the Son of God, the Messiah promised in the Law and the prophets. The P&S see Jesus eating with the TC&S. They fear that Jesus is condoning their sins. This fear makes them angry at Jesus. But Jesus isn't condoning their actions. He's forgiving their sins. He will pay for them by dying on the Cross. Their sins will be cleansed by His blood--and so will the sins of the P&S. The death of Christ is the only source of forgiveness in the whole world, but thankfully, it's available to all! Jesus wants the TC&S and the P&S to live together as one flock, one family in God. In these parables, He teaches them (and us) how to be one Church. The TC&S are the lost sheep and the lost coin. Jesus is the One who searches for them. If He doesn't find them, they will perish. The driving force of each of these parables is the great desire of the person searching for the lost thing. After the One who searches finds the missing treasure, He calls His friends and neighbors together. They're invited to rejoice with Him. But do they rejoice? The text doesn't give their response. Will the P&S join to celebrate with Jesus that He has found the people who were lost? Or will they stand in stony silence? Dear friend, remember two things. One: Jesus rejoices that He has found you, and you are His through repentance and faith. Two: Jesus also rejoices over the other people whom He rescues. Join Him in His joy, no matter what sins you or they have done. What Christ washes away is cleansed in truth. Christ makes you all one holy Church! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus sinners doth receive; Oh, may all this saying ponder Who in sin's delusions live and from God and heaven wander! Here is hope for all who grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive. ("Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" LSB 609, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/20/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 25:1-2a, 5b, 15, 20: antiphon: vs. 16, 18) Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday (Luke 15:1-10), we hear about how the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to hear Jesus. These were people who had done things that were truly wrong. They'd harmed people in their families, their community, and their congregations. They could not fix the hurt they had caused. People looked down on them because of the pain they'd caused. But Jesus welcomed them. He forgave their sins and healed their shame. They had sinned, but Jesus had taken those sins away. They could trust Christ to be their strength and their comfort. Our Introit for this coming Sunday is from Psalm 25. It describes faith in God from the perspective of one who depends on God to forgive his sins and heal his shame. It gives words so the heart can understand the kind of love that God alone can give. God gives this welcoming love to you. This psalm is given to you so you can pray it back to God. Your heart cries out to Him, "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins" (Psalm 25:1,2a). Christ Jesus is the kind of Savior who hears you and turns to you in grace. Jesus finds you lonely and afflicted and comforts you. He comes to you in your isolation when you've let down the people you love and let yourself down. He comes to you in the desolate place where your own thoughts about yourself are even more harsh than the things your worst enemies could say about you. He speaks another Word in that maelstrom of guilt and shame. Jesus speaks peace. He speaks forgiveness. He speaks love. And what He speaks is truly yours. Christ alone has the power to give this to you. He is God Almighty. His love isn't yours on condition of doing better. It's not yours because you will try harder to be good. No. He just plain forgives you. He loves you. He brings peace to you. And no one else can. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Perverse and foolish oft I strayed But yet in love He sought me And on His shoulder gently laid And home rejoicing brought me. ("The King of Love My Shepherd Is" LSB 709, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/19/20215 minutes, 38 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; John 17:1-26 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The world can be a confusing place for people of any age. You're introduced to opinions and ideas all the time. How can you evaluate them and embrace what is wise and reject what's wrong? How do you apply the wisdom of God to real life? The book of Proverbs is an ideal help--full of practical statements about how to live in a godly way. The more you ponder and remember them, the more the Holy Spirit uses them to guide you. Look at our reading for today. There are 15 verses. They're short and to the point. Some speak to the same topic, like verses 10, 17, and 23. They teach you that God values honesty. He notices even small business transactions to make sure they are just, and because God values justice, you can look to Him when you're wronged. Verses 18 and 25 teach you to contemplate what you should say so you don't speak rashly. Verse 13 teaches you to be diligent and work hard. Verse 19 warns you to watch out for people who repeat things that are told to them in confidence. If they tell you the secrets of others, they will tell other people your confidences, too. Verse 20 tells you how much God pays attention to the Fourth Commandment. Honor your father and mother, that it may be well with you. Then it flips the coin to show you the other side. Those who curse their mother and father will have their lights snuffed out and be in darkness. Verse 7 is related to that. A righteous man who walks in integrity passes a blessing on to his children. Give thanks to God for righteous parents who love God's Word. Strive to be a blessing to others as they have been to you. But remember verse 9! No one can say that they have made their heart pure. No one can say they are clean from sin by their own deeds. Not you. Not your parents. Not your pastor or teacher. The most important wisdom is that Jesus forgives your sins by grace. We repent daily of our sins, daily He cleanses us, and daily He leads us in wisdom and love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light our search is in vain. Invigorate our study of Your holy Word that, by due diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your holy faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/18/20215 minutes, 40 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 John 3:13-18 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28; John 16:17-33 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, the apostle John makes it clear that there are two groups of people in the world: those who hate their brother and those who love their brother. To which group do we belong? We are those who have been loved by Christ Jesus. He rescued us from our sin, from the hatred we had shown against God and our neighbor. He has cleansed us in His blood and given us new life in Baptism. We are no longer children of the world. We are children of God (1 John 3:1). He then sends us out to love our brothers. Sadly, the world is full of people who deny Christ and hate Him. As they hate Christ, they also hate those who are in Christ and part of the Church. Do not be surprised when the world hates you. This is the normal course of history. Fear not, for you are in Christ, He goes with you through this sin-broken world. He looks after you. He sends His angels to protect you. And you are surrounded by your brothers and sisters in Christ who help you. Stay close to Christ and to your family in Christ in your congregation. This is especially important as the troubles in our world grow! So how do we respond to the hatred of the world? Not in fear, for Christ is victorious. Not in hatred, for Christ loves and does not hate. Rather, we respond in love. We love our brothers and sisters in Christ and help one another. Sometimes we give help. Sometimes others help us. But our lives are marked by the love of Christ in deed and in truth. We offer love to those outside the Church, too. Never underestimate the power of God's love when shared with someone who has only known the darkness of sin and death! Sometimes our love is rejected. Fear not! There's tremendous strength in giving love when you are hated. Remember the power of prayer, as we ask God for justice and peace in the world (1 Timothy 2:1-4). The love of Christ gives great strength to the people of God. Sometimes we may forget that, but Christ will remind us of it, and it will be beautiful. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant us a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, a cheerful hope in Your mercy, and a sincere love for You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/17/20215 minutes, 36 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Introduction Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16 Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. (Small Catechism, Lord's Prayer, Introduction) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine for a moment that you wanted to show tenderness to a little puppy you had adopted. What would you do? You'd stoop down to it. Pick it up gently. Hold it close to you. Speak softly to it and pet it. And you would do all of this over and over again, so this helpless creature would learn to trust you, to look to you for good, and to rejoice in your care. How does God show you tenderness when He wants you to know that He is the One who has created you and cares for you? How does God show you tenderness when you have been adopted as His child in Baptism? How does God teach you to look to Him for good and to rejoice in His presence? He teaches you this in the Lord's Prayer. Your Father tenderly invites you to believe that He is your true Father and that you are His true child, so that you may ask Him boldly for the things included in the Lord's Prayer, which encompasses all that you need for this daily life. This prayer was given as a gift from God when you were baptized. Every time you pray it, you pray to your dear Father, along with Jesus, who taught it to you and prays with you, through the Spirit who draws you to faith. You pray for the things Jesus taught you to ask. You ask for them from the Father who promised to give them. You receive them by the faith the Holy Spirit has worked in you. Each time you pray this prayer, it's a miracle of the Holy Trinity into whom you have been baptized and by whom you have been saved. Your Father tenderly invites you to believe that you are His child by this new birth, so that you can come to Him with all the confidence of one who is saved by the grace of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Father, who from heaven above bids all of us to live in love As members of one family and pray to You in unity, Teach us no thoughtless words to say but from our inmost hearts to pray. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/16/20215 minutes, 17 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Proverbs 9:1-10 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The time we live in is filled with many confused people who think they are wise, but are not. The prevailing wisdom of our age is to reject the clear teaching of the Bible about what is true and false, right and wrong. Those who have rejected God's Word and His ways cry aloud to people to follow after them on the path they have chosen. You can hear their siren call in the government, schools, and streets. It's in much of the media and all over the internet. How can a young person today distinguish what is actually wise when there are so many voices shouting their own brand of "wisdom"? The book of Proverbs is a good place to start. It's filled with Holy Spirit-inspired wisdom regarding how to walk in a good way through this mixed up world. In Proverbs 9:1-12, you hear Wisdom calling out to you to hear her teaching and fear the LORD. She tells you the good you will get from her: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it" (Proverbs 9:10-12). In Proverbs 9:13-18 you hear a different voice: Folly calls out to you. She entices you to a life of sin that sounds sweet but leads to death. She calls you to forget God and come to her feast of pleasure. But the guests at her feast are already dead--they just don't know it yet. Proverbs is an exceptionally good book to read regularly. It calls you to fear the LORD. To respect that He is God and He is a just judge. To trust that He is merciful to forgive all who repent and trust in Christ Jesus for forgiveness. Proverbs teaches you to reject the dangerous things of this world that lead to death, and to trust in God, who leads you to life everlasting. . In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wisdom's highest, noblest treasure, Jesus, is revealed in You. Let me find in You my pleasure, and my wayward will subdue. Humility there and simplicity reigning, in paths of true wisdom my steps ever training. If I learn from Jesus this knowledge divine, the blessing of heavenly wisdom is mine. ("One Thing's Needful" LSB 536, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/15/20215 minutes, 29 seconds
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Elisha

Daily Lectionary: John 15:1-11 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." (2 Kings 2:9-10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 2 Kings 2:1-14 we read how the LORD took the prophet Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, accompanied by a fiery chariot. Elisha had been his assistant for many years. Before Elijah was taken up, Elisha asked for a double portion of the Holy Spirit, who had been with Elijah during his ministry. God gave that to Elisha, and he went on to serve as a prophet for many years. The courage and wisdom he had to do the work God gave him to do was there because of the Spirit. The blessing given to Elisha reminds us of Ascension Day, when the apostles watched Jesus ascend into heaven. Ten days later the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church to empower the apostles to be witnesses for Christ. The Gospel was preached and faith was created. People were called to repentance and were reborn in Holy Baptism. The Spirit caused the Gospel to spread, and He is still doing that today through the same Word and Sacraments. So as we hear about Elisha, and the strength the Spirit gave to him, we also thank God for the Spirit given to us in the Word and in Baptism. That same Spirit brought us to Christ and keeps us in Christ. He comforts us with the Gospel so that we learn what Christ taught and come to trust in Him. He strengthens us to serve others in the love of Christ, doing the vocations we are given in this world. Thanks be to God for the work the Spirit did in and through the prophet Elisha. Thanks be to God for the gracious work the Spirit does to bring us to Christ and keep us in Him always. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord God, heavenly Father, through the prophet Elisha, You continued the prophetic pattern of teaching Your people the true faith and demonstrating through miracles Your presence in creation to heal it of its brokenness. Grant that Your Church may see in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the final end-times prophet whose teaching and miracles continue in Your Church through the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/14/20215 minutes, 39 seconds
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The Second Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 14:15-24 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25; John 14:18-31 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" (Luke 14:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The LORD is our God who has created us. He provides all that we need to support this body and life--in the Lord's Prayer, we call this "our daily bread." The LORD our God redeemed us from sin and death. Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51). We need our daily bread in order to survive physically in this world. We need Christ, the Living Bread, to have peace with God in this world and eternal life in the next. In the Lord's Supper, our daily bread and the Living Bread come to us at the same moment. Jesus gave us the Sacrament so that we eat and drink His Body and Blood under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. This feast lasts forever. Christ gives it to His Church, and by His grace we will partake with Him at the marriage feast of the Lamb, which will never end (Revelation 19:9). Who could possibly number the blessings God gives us in the Lord's Supper? A person at the table in our reading today said, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" But Jesus responded with a warning we all need to hear. Most people in this world will reject the invitation to eat bread in the kingdom of God because they are too concerned about their lives in this world. People give excuses why they won't come to church or partake of the Supper. The things that distract them aren't bad, but they have made them more important than God, and that is bad. They forfeit a relationship with God, the giver of all good things. They don't care about the Giver, but they only want the gifts. So many people leave the best gift God gives on the table. Lord, keep us in your grace and call back to your feast those who have wandered. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/13/20215 minutes, 25 seconds
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Saturday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 30a, 49; antiphon: vs. 18b-19) Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23; John 14:1-17 The Lord was my support in the day of my calamity. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity comes from Psalm 18. It is a long psalm, so the Introit makes it accessible for the worship service, but do yourself a favor and read the psalm in its entirety. David wrote most of the psalms. This psalm was so important to him that it is also found in 2 Samuel 22. David celebrates here that God rescued him from the hand of Saul and from all his enemies. Over the years David had many enemies. Think about it this way: How many people in the world do you know who have been attacked by a bear? How about a lion? How about a 9-foot-tall highly trained, magnificently equipped, enraged warrior? How about an army of thousands of his friends? How about a king who is consumed with jealousy? And his whole army? But David was safe through all these attacks and more. He says,"The Lord was my support in the day of my calamity. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me" (Psalm 18:18b-19). This psalm is a beautiful one to read well and often because it gives you words to express thankfulness to God. You probably have never been attacked by a lion, a giant, or a king and his army. But this psalm still applies to you because it also speaks about Christ Jesus, and you are baptized into Him. David was the King of Israel, but so is Jesus. Christ came as the descendant of David, and He is enthroned forever. He is the King of the Jews who was falsely accused by powerful enemies and then hung upon the Cross. He defeated one who is greater than Goliath, when He crushed the serpent's head upon the Cross. He burst out of the tomb on Easter, never to die again. And He brings us with Him from death to life. In this psalm you join with David in praising the LORD as you thank Jesus for His victory that saves you. And you also thank Jesus, your Good Shepherd, that He protects you on the way through this hard world. Thanks be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In God, my faithful God, I trust when dark my road; Great woes may overtake me, yet He will not forsake me. My troubles He can alter; His hand lets nothing falter. ("In God, My Faithful God" LSB 745, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/12/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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St. Barnabas, Apostle

Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18; John 13:21-28 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyrus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:36-37) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we thank God for redeeming Barnabas by grace through faith in Christ! We praise God for all that He worked through Barnabas for the good of the Church. Barnabas teaches us to be strong in the Gospel and active in charity. Barnabas trusted in Christ. The apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which means "son of encouragement." He was generous with his gifts and used them to encourage others, as he did here, selling his field and giving the money to the apostles to support the work of the Gospel. Barnabas was bold. After Saul (also known as St. Paul) was converted to Christ, he came to Jerusalem to see the apostles. They refused to see him because they thought it might be a trap. But Barnabas brought Saul to them. and they learned they could trust Saul. When the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles in Antioch, the Church chose to send Barnabas to build up the new believers in Christ. Barnabas was known to all as "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith." He exhorted the new believers to be faithful to the Lord Jesus and not to abandon their faith when things got hard. Barnabas went to Tarsus so that he could bring Paul to Antioch, where they continued preaching and preparing for their missionary journeys (Acts 11:23-26). Think of how important it has been for the Church through the ages that Barnabas sought out Paul and supported him! May God bless the Church today with believers like Barnabas who encourage others in Christ, love the Word of God, and give charity to support the work of the Gospel! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the apostles and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/11/20215 minutes, 25 seconds
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Thursday of the First Week after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:22-36, John 13:1-20 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (John 13:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus was about to go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would be arrested. Then He would be tortured, falsely tried, and crucified. But before He went out to be the sacrifice for our sins, He got up from His dinner and girded Himself to wash the disciples' feet. One by one He cleansed them and taught them that as He has served them, so they ought to serve one another. Only the next day, Christ would be taken down from the Cross and prepared for burial. His body (and feet) were coated with the blood that poured from His many wounds. As His followers prepared His body with spices, they also gently would have cleansed away the blood that had caked around His feet. They washed the feet of the One who had washed them. From His nail-pierced feet, they tenderly cleansed away the very blood that cleanses us from our sins. Christ doesn't kneel before us and wash our feet as He did that night, but we have been washed in the blood that poured from His wounds, dripped down His body, and dried on His skin. That blood has washed us in our Baptism. In those waters, the Spirit washed us in Christ, joined us to His death, and we now live in peace with the Father. We bear the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are justified by His grace and adopted into His family, the Church. And in this holy Church, you turn to your neighbor. In your neighbor, you see someone else cleansed by Christ--another person loved by the same Savior who has loved you. You see your neighbor in need. In need of love and compassion and service in any of the thousands of ways that life brings. And now you understand the point of Christ washing the disciple's feet. Jesus serves you. Jesus serves your neighbor. Jesus invites you to serve them along with Him. Don't consider it beneath you to serve your neighbor. Instead, treasure the incredible lifelong honor of serving alongside Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus took the role of servant when upon that gruesome span, For all human sin He suffered as a vile and loathsome man; On the cross poured out like water to fulfill the Father's plan. ("Jesus, Greatest at the Table" LSB 446, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/10/20215 minutes, 38 seconds
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Wednesday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Third Article, part 2 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50 In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise up me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. (Small Catechism, Apostles Creed, Third Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John 12 is a helpful reading for our devotion today as we look at the explanation of the Third Article of the Creed. Jesus is reaching the end of His public ministry. He's taught for three years, performing miracles and signs that clearly show He is the Messiah. The Spirit has worked through His teaching to draw many to faith. Whenever the Gospel of Christ is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit accompanies it with power to draw people to faith in Christ and give them salvation. The Spirit calls people to faith, forgives their sins, enlightens them to understand the Gospel, and sanctifies them as they walk with Christ. But whenever Jesus taught or did miracles, some people hardened their hearts and refused to believe in Him. The Spirit brought the light of Christ to them, but they loved the darkness, so they were left in their blindness. This is a good warning to us all. Let us not despise the gifts of Christ! Thanks be to God that the gifts of Christ are still here for us all. The Word is here before you now. The Word will be proclaimed this Sunday. The forgiveness of sins is yours in Christ Jesus through the Means of Grace (the Word, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion). You can trust that He saves you by His grace. The Spirit who has drawn you to faith keeps you in the faith and showers upon you the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Christ. The Spirit does this all your life. He is faithful to keep you in faith until you are home in heaven. And on the Last Day, when Christ comes again, the Spirit who has given you life in Christ will raise you from the dead. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia! ("For All the Saints" LSB 677, st.8) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/9/20215 minutes, 28 seconds
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Tuesday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: 1 John 4:16-21 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; John 12:20-36a So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Faith is not easy. It can be hard to believe that God loves us as much as He does, because we know all the ways that we have sinned against God, against other people, and even against ourselves. We know we deserve punishment from God, yet He comes to us in love and saves us. 1 John 4 is a beautiful chapter because it tells us how God gives us His love in Christ. "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:9-11). Love starts with God because He is love. He made His love clearly manifest to you by sending His Son Jesus. He has brought you to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you may have life in Him. Jesus is the propitiation for your sins. He is the sacrifice that takes your sins away, so you have peace with God. It can be hard to believe that God loves you this much. But God is persistent! He strengthens you in faith through His Word, in your Baptism, and at the Supper. The Holy Spirit works through all these things to bring you the love the Father has given you in Christ Jesus. This is why we love others. This is why hating someone is not an option. Christ loves you and He loves the person you hate. He wants them to repent and be saved. Would you dare ask Him to stop loving them and to join you in hating them? God is love. He won't do that. He won't join you in hate. Instead, He brings you into His love. At times, it's hard to love others. Sometimes certain relationships aren't safe. Turn to Christ. He forgives you. Ask Him to help you forgive. He is the Lord of love. You can trust Him to help. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant us a steadfast love in Jesus Christ, a cheerful hope in Your mercy, and a sincere love for You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/8/20215 minutes, 47 seconds
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Monday of the First Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Genesis 15:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 4:1-27; John 12:1-19 And (the LORD) brought (Abram) outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5,6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Abram was 75 and his wife Sarai was 65, the LORD spoke to him and said, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3). Abram believed God told the truth and he obeyed. They left their home and settled in Canaan, waiting on the LORD to fulfill His promise. They waited. And waited. Abraham was 100 when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Decades after the initial promise, God shows Abram the stars of heaven and says his descendants will outnumber them… and Abram still believed God. Paul describes Abraham's faith in Romans 4: "In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.' He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead… or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness'" (Romans 4:18-22). Faith doesn't just save Abraham. It saves all who believe in Christ. Paul continues, "But the words ‘it was counted to him' were not written for Abraham's sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification" (Romans 4:23-25). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high. "Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!" They ever cry. Hail Abraham's God and mine! I join the heavenly lays: All might and majesty are Thine and endless praise! ("The God of Abraham Praise" LSB 798, st.9) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/7/20215 minutes, 34 seconds
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The First Sunday after Trinity

Today's Reading: Luke 16:19-31 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 3:5-24; John 11:38-57 …"If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." (Luke 16:31b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, we meet Lazarus. He has the distinction of being the only character in Jesus' parables to be given a name. Lazarus means, "One whom God helps." Every day, Lazarus' friends lay him outside the gate of a rich man so that he might receive scraps from the rich man's table. God intended to help Lazarus through the compassion of the rich man. The bounty given to the rich man should be shared in mercy with Lazarus, and God would bless both of them. But the rich man closed his heart toward Lazarus. Instead of helping him, he left Lazarus to suffer in hunger and illness, poverty and shame. Soon, both die. God lives up to the promise in Lazarus' name. The angels carry Lazarus away from the sorrows of this world to the peace of eternal life. The rich man is sent to hell. His lack of faith in God and lack of repentance for his sins lead him to eternal punishment. Even in hell he still has no respect for Lazarus. He suggests that God send Lazarus down to the fires of hell for the miniscule comfort of a drop of water on his tongue. God would have none of it. God gave these good things to Lazarus and they will never be taken away. The rich man begs God to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them that they, too, will be damned if they don't repent. But God has given them mercy already! Moses and the prophets call them to repent and believe. If they will not hear them, why would they believe if someone (Jesus!) were to rise from the dead? In Baptism we are all Lazarus--one whom God helps! Jesus teaches us that the Church is a place of mercy. God has mercy on us in Christ Jesus. And because God has had mercy on us, we should show His love by serving our neighbor. We gather together and hear Moses and the prophets, Jesus and His apostles. Through their words the Holy Spirit brings us to repent and believe so that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. All glory be to Him! Amen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Come unto Me, ye weary, and I will give you rest." O blessed voice of Jesus, which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, or pardon, grace and peace, Of joy that has no ending, or love that cannot cease. ("Come unto Me, Ye Weary" LSB 684, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/6/20215 minutes, 46 seconds
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Saturday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 13:1-4; antiphon: vs. 5-6) Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 1:8-33; John 11:17-37 [O Lord,] I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (From the Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 13 was written by David during a time of suffering, likely while he had to flee for his life from King Saul. He spent years in hiding and was at times a hair's breadth away from death. At times David got weary. At times he felt forgotten. At times he cried out to God in frustration, as he does in this psalm. He pours out the anguish of his heart before God. But note how the psalm ends. David confesses his faith. "I have trusted in Your steadfast love…" All his life, David counted on the fact that God's love is strong and never fails. He knows that despite the trouble he endures, God's love has not changed. "My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation…" David is confident that God will save him from Saul. He's also sure that God will save him from his sins and give him eternal life. He waits with confidence for that salvation. And then we read something amazing: "I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me." David's troubles are still there, but in faith he proclaims that God is already good to him. David praises God, trusting His mercy, even before he sees the answer to his prayers. We can relate to the type of trouble and frustration that David expresses. We learn from this psalm to trust the Lord's promises in Christ even while we are in the midst of trouble. God's eternal faithfulness was shown when Christ died and rose for us. He washed us into that death and resurrection of Christ in Baptism. As the Father was faithful to raise Christ from the dead, so He is faithful to raise those who are joined to Christ in Baptism. The troubles of life come and go, but the love of God to us in Christ Jesus is forever. Sing this psalm with David and with all the Church, because God has dealt bountifully with us in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/5/20215 minutes, 43 seconds
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Friday of Trinity Week

Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14; John 11:1-16 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them." (Ecclesiastes 12:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God gave King Solomon special wisdom from God so that he could be a good king over Israel (See 1 Kings 3). You hear powerful wisdom from Solomon in our reading today from Ecclesiastes 12, but it's not easy to hear. He describes the dark days that come to a person and their family when they are about to die. It's a stark reading. So why read it? Because death is a reality and it comes to all people. People who live their lives trying to ignore the end of life get lost in vanity. But is it wise to think only of death, since life is temporary? Definitely not! Solomon teaches us that we should honor life! But how? By remembering the Creator of life. The only way to handle the challenges of this world is to be close to our Creator who gives us life. He keeps us safe from death so that we can receive with thanksgiving the good that He gives each day. When do you start remembering and honoring your Creator? While you are still young, so that your years are marked by thankfulness as you receive His gifts. How do you remember your Creator? Luther gives you a simple way in the Small Catechism, where he explains the Apostles Creed, the path of baptismal life in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is the path of wisdom. The articles of the Apostles Creed teach you about the Father who created you, the Son who rescued you from sin and death on the Cross, and the Holy Spirit who brings you to faith in Christ and gives you peace with the Father. This is the life of Baptism into Christ. When you remember your Creator in your youth, you're remembering you are baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God has made you His own child in Baptism. This baptismal life is not vain or futile like the lives King Solomon decries, but it is a life of peace in Christ now and forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still if Thou abide with me! ("Abide With Me" LSB 878, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/4/20215 minutes, 41 seconds
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Thursday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Romans 11:33-36 Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 11:1-10; John 10:22-42 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Romans gives a beautiful explanation of how God saves sinful man through His Son, Jesus Christ. Make it a regular read throughout your life. You'll always find a richer and deeper understanding of your faith. The call to repent of sin is so strong, but the grace of God in Christ Jesus is even stronger, speaking forgiveness to you. In Romans, Paul shows you that you have no power to conquer sin through your works, but that God in His wisdom and power defeated sin to save you. Romans demonstrates the depth of Christ's love in that He died on the Cross to redeem you. It teaches you the power of forgiveness and love as you are baptized into the death of Christ. It proclaims God's love in Christ for both Jews and Gentiles. This is a beautiful book. Every time you read it, you grow in appreciation that the almighty God has such power to save you. Could you possibly measure the riches of salvation God has for you in Christ? Could you count the blessings God has given you in creating you? Could you quantify the depth of love He has toward you that He rescued you from sin and death to bring you to heaven? All of time is an ongoing story of God's love--how He created you, redeemed you, and keeps you in faith in Christ through the Gospel. All of eternity is marked by the glory of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Romans reveals this glory, telling how the Holy Trinity works so completely to save you and keep you in the faith. When we look not at the glory of God's creation, but also at the problems that sin brings into this world, who can figure out a solution? God can. God's answer is the Cross of Christ--the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…" (Romans 1:16a). He has worked this blessing, He has given it to you, and He will bring you home. Glory be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Holy Father, holy Son, Holy Spirit, three we name Thee; Though in essence only one, undivided God we claim Thee And, adoring, bend the knee while we own the mystery. ("Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" LSB 940, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/3/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Wednesday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Third Article, pt. 1 Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 10:1-20; John 10:1-21 I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. (Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Third Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our focus today is this section from the Small Catechism which teaches you about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who drew you to faith through the Gospel and He is the One who keeps you in the true faith all your life. In John 10:16 Jesus says, "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." You are one of those sheep. Jesus is talking about you. He brought you into His flock, the Church, through faith. The Holy Spirit worked this faith in you through the Word of Christ. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to write the Gospel named after him. The Spirit caused these words of Jesus to survive through the centuries until you could hear and read them. The Spirit guarded this message as it was preached from generation to generation. The Spirit made sure that this Word was written, translated, printed, and proclaimed to all nations, keeping the Gospel alive in the Church. And now the Holy Spirit brings this message to you. Jesus is not just a Good Shepherd a long time ago. He is not just a Good Shepherd to other people. Jesus is your Good Shepherd. The Spirit causes you to know and believe that when Jesus says He loves you and forgives you, this is the truth. The Spirit brings you into the fold and makes you listen to your Good Shepherd's voice--so that you trust that your Savior who died for you and rose from the dead for you will also lead you through this world and bring you all the way home to heaven. Thanks be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Come, holy Light, guide divine, now cause the Word of life to shine. Teach us to know our God aright, and call Him Father with delight. From every error keep us free; Let none but Christ our master be That we in living faith abide, in Him, our Lord, with all our might confide. Alleluia, alleluia! (Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord LSB 497, st.2) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/2/20215 minutes, 31 seconds
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Justin, Martyr

Daily Lectionary: John 9:24-41 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." (John 9:39) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In John 9 we see a man with tremendous courage. He had been born blind, and Jesus had given him sight. It was such an amazing miracle that everyone was praising Jesus, which caused the Jewish leaders to bring the healed man before the synagogue. The man proclaimed boldly that Jesus had to be from God. For this confession of faith, he was kicked out of the synagogue and was made an outcast. The leaders of the synagogue wanted to condemn Christ by threatening those who believed in Him. This man knew that once he was blind but now could see. He would rather stay with the One who gave him sight than sit with the ones who preferred blindness. Today the Church remembers Justin Martyr (100 – 165). Justin lived most of his life in spiritual blindness until he heard the Gospel and was drawn to faith in Christ. He was well-educated and used his gifts to defend the Christian faith and to teach others the truth. During a time of Roman persecution, he and six of his students were put on trial. They were told that if they sacrificed to the Roman gods, they could go free. Justin and his students refused because they would not worship another God. They trusted in Jesus alone, so all of them were beheaded. Justin's witness of Christ has encouraged believers ever since. The Holy Spirit drew Justin to faith. When he was on trial, the Holy Spirit strengthened him and give him the words to say. What Jesus said in Mark 13:11 proved true: "And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." Jesus saved the blind man and He saved Justin. The Holy Spirit gave courage to them both when they needed it. Jesus saved you and He promises to give you courage in need. We thank God that He was there for both of these men. We also thank Him that He is there for us, building us up in faith through His Word. He will give you the strength you need for each day. No matter what comes, God is faithful. You can trust Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You found Your martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, searching for the true God. Grant that all who seek for a deeper knowledge of the sublime wisdom of Your eternal Word may be found by You, who sent Your Son to seek and to save the Lost; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
6/1/20216 minutes, 19 seconds
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Monday of Trinity Week

Today's Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7 Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17; John 9:1-23 "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:3b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah goes into the temple and sees the Lord God sitting on a throne. God is so glorious that even the train of His robe fills the huge building. John 12:41 tells us that Isaiah is seeing the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, before He became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary. The LORD had always been present each time people came into the temple to worship, just as He had promised. But now Isaiah sees Him in His glory. He also sees and hears the holy angels praising God, saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:3) From the days of the early Church, we have heard this as praising the Holy Trinity. The angels proclaim God is holy (singular) but say it three times, reflecting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each holy. And how does Isaiah respond to seeing the Lord in His glory? He says, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (6:5) When Isaiah sees God in glory, he is acutely aware of his own sin, so much so that he centers on the uncleanness of his lips. Every word he says, every breath, every bite of food, all of it is soiled with sin. He is also in the midst of people who are unclean in the same way. For his own sin and the sin of the people, Isaiah deserves to perish. But God has come to save Isaiah, not to condemn him. An angel touches his lips with a coal from the altar and his sin is taken away. Isaiah can be in God's presence in peace. When we come to church to hear the Word and receive the Sacraments, we also stand in the presence of God, though we cannot see Him. This is why we start our service confessing our sins like Isaiah did, and we hear God declare us forgiven. We, too, need our sin taken away. It's not done with a burning coal, but with the blood of Christ shed on the Cross. It touches our lips under the wine in the Supper and we are forgiven. By the blood of Christ, you have peace with God. You are cleansed to be His child by grace, forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity! ("Holy, Holy, Holy" LSB 507, st.4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/31/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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Holy Trinity

Today's Reading: John 3:1-17 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 35:9-30; Luke 24:28-53 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nicodemus knew that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, but he wanted to learn more, so he came to Jesus at night. What he learned was greater than he could have imagined. For Jesus is not just a teacher sent from God. Jesus IS God. Nicodemus conversed with the very Son of God, who would teach him about the Holy Trinity. Nicodemus would never be the same. Jesus started by teaching about the Holy Spirit--the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. For Nicodemus to have eternal life in the Kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit must give him rebirth in Holy Baptism. Nicodemus could not comprehend this, so Jesus explained more. During the Exodus, the Israelites complained against God, and God sent venomous snakes to bite them as a punishment (Numbers 21:4-9). In agony the people cried to God, who provided a way to be saved. Moses raised a bronze serpent on a pole in the middle of the camp, and all who had been bitten and looked at the serpent were healed. Now in Nicodemus' time, the Son of Man (Jesus--the Second Person of the Holy Trinity) had come. People who have sinned against God and thus have earned death and damnation can look in faith to Jesus,lifted up on the Cross for their salvation. Whoever believes in Him is set free from the punishment for sin and has eternal life. But Jesus had not come of His own accord. God the Father, the First Person of the Holy Trinity, had sent Him. God loved the world in this way--that He saved it at the cost of His only Son. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. This faith is worked by the power of the Holy Spirit in the Word and in Baptism. The Father sent His Son to die and rise again. The Spirit joins you to the Son through Baptism into His death, so that you are reborn into His life (Romans 6). This is why we are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Three Persons, yet one God. What Jesus taught Nicodemus, He also teaches to you. This eternal life is yours freely by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Trinity) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/30/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
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Saturday of the Week of Pentecost

Today's Reading: Introit for Holy Trinity (Psalm 8:1-2a, 3-5; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Numbers 32:1-6, 16-27; Luke 24:1-27 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. (From the Introit for the Holy Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for Trinity Sunday is based on Psalm 8. This psalm is pretty short and a good one to memorize. It gives you language to express humble awe at God's power in creation, and gratitude for His grace to save you in Christ. How beautiful is this psalm? Think of it like this: If you were going to praise God for His glory and majesty, where would you begin? Most people would pick something big, mighty, and powerful. But David (who wrote the psalm) starts with a helpless baby who coos, laughs, and cries. Why a baby? Because a baby cannot do anything to protect himself, yet he exists. God made him and God protects him. Even when Satan, the great enemy, comes after the child, God protects him. But there's more! When people fell into sin they were condemned to death and damnation. God would not let this be! God alone created us, and God alone could save us--so He did. The Father sent His Son. Jesus is true God and true man! He came to save us and defeat the enemy and the avenger. Christ came as a baby. He was born a man, a little lower than the angels, yet still eternally God. The mere fact that the eternal Son of God could cry and laugh as a human baby gave glory to God! And there's still more! Jesus won the fight against Satan when He died on the Cross. Risen from the dead, He gave us the gift of Baptism. The Holy Spirit brings this gift to us. We are baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We are born again as children of God, forgiven and at peace. We sing our praises to God as baptized children. Our songs glorify Him--His work of salvation has been accomplished and we are the living proof. When we pray this psalm on Trinity Sunday, we join with believers around the world and in every age, praising the triune God! One God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This God has created, redeemed, and sanctified us. Let us give glory to Him because He has shown His mercy to us! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Father most holy, merciful and tender; Jesus, our Savior, with the Father reigning; Spirit of comfort, advocate, defender, Light never waning. ("Father Most Holy" LSB 504, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/29/20216 minutes, 2 seconds
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Friday of the Week of Pentecost

Today's Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 27:12-23; Luke 23:26-56 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As we continue to celebrate Pentecost, we rejoice that the Gospel of Christ Jesus has gone all around the world to all tribes, nations, peoples, and in many languages. Everywhere it has gone, the Spirit has blessed the preaching of Christ so that many people have believed and been saved. One of the beautiful things about the Christian Church is that there are people from every culture, every age, every stage of life--joined together as one in Christ. Our lifestyles, cultures, and languages differ, but we are united together as one family in Christ. He has saved us all. He gives the same Baptism to us all. He gives the same forgiveness to us all. We all have the same hope, the same comfort, the same peace, the same love, the same grace, and the same Holy Bible that proclaims His victory over sin and death. And we will all rejoice together and praise His Name in the same heavenly kingdom. Our reading today tells of a dark day in history. At one time people all had one language. They were united, but their goal wasn't to follow God. Instead, they wanted to make a name for themselves. They started by building a tower into the heavens, but it would have devolved into a truly destructive, organized wickedness. So God confused their language and scattered them over the face of the earth to limit their ability to unite around evil. God didn't want us to be divided forever. He would come and unite us as one again, but not to serve the pursuit of power or the will of sinful man. We would be united by the One man who had never sinned--who came to serve and to give His life as a ransom. We would be united in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit brings the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in that man, Jesus. The Spirit has caused the Gospel to be preached to all the peoples who were scattered. In every land from every tribe, He has brought people to faith in Christ through that Gospel. That Gospel comes to you, too! You have been baptized into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You share this new birth with believers all around the world and across time. With them you thank God and praise His Name. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Send us Thy Spirit, teach us truth; Thou Son, O set us free From fancied wisdom, self-sought ways, to make us one in Thee. ("In Adam We Have All Been One" LSB 569, st.5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/28/20215 minutes, 57 seconds
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Thursday of the Week of Pentecost

Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-21 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 24:1-25; Luke 23:1-25 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." (Acts 2:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, we hear the account of what happened on Pentecost. The believers were all together. The mighty rushing wind blew around them, and then tongues of flame appeared on the believers' heads as the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church and the disciples began to speak in tongues. This was not a language of babbling sounds. The apostles were given instant knowledge of complex human languages from all over the world--languages which they had never studied. Jerusalem was a big city, filled with people from all over the world who had gathered for the feast of Pentecost. So many were amazed to hear their native language in this city so far from home. Even in the face of the glory of God in action, there are always some who mock. The Holy Spirit Himself is giving humble believers in Christ the ability to speak languages they've never heard! The crowds are hearing the very first sermons proclaiming the glorious resurrection of Christ! Yet some can only laugh and accuse them of drunkenness. Rather than repenting and believing the Gospel, they make a stupid joke and continue to live in darkness. If Satan could influence people to sneer on this glorious Pentecost day when the Holy Spirit was there in great power, then Satan can always find people to deride the Gospel whenever it is preached or shared. But what is that to us who are in Christ? Their impotent, hate-filled jests cannot stop the Gospel from giving life to all who believe, any more than a person can bring darkness into the world by poking fun at the sun. This message--Christ crucified--has power. The Spirit uses it to create faith, give forgiveness, work peace, and rescue us from death and hell. God grant us courage to not fear little things like jibes and jests when we have the very Gospel of Christ to share. The apostles testified that day about the death and resurrection of Christ, which they witnessed. In that one day, their preaching brought 3,000 people out of death into life in Christ. We still have their testimony that Christ rose from the dead, and we still proclaim it. Nothing stops His power to save through the Gospel, especially not mockery. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord, With all your graces now outpoured On each believer's mind and heart; Your fervent love to them impart. Lord, by the brightness of Your light In holy faith Your Church unite; From every land and every tongue This to Your praise, O Lord, our God, be sung:Alleluia, alleluia! ("Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord," LSB 497, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/27/20216 minutes, 5 seconds
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Wednesday of the Week of Pentecost

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article, part 3 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 23:4-28; Luke 22:47-71 …that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. (Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These words in the catechism offer sweet comfort. They follow on what you read earlier in the explanation to the Second Article of the Creed. There you heard how Jesus is true God and true man. You heard that He redeemed you when you were lost in sin and condemned to death and damnation. Jesus purchased and won you from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He paid the price to set you free from condemnation. Christ has defeated the deadly enemy, Satan--you are free from his tyranny. All this Jesus did at the cost of dying on the Cross, shedding His blood to rescue you. He did this because He loves you. He wanted to make you His very own. He wanted you to have a life where you are protected and free to serve Him and others in His love. He rose from the dead so you will rise in Him. He lives forever so you will have eternal life. He reigns forever to be your King. He protects you from the evil in this world and brings you home to heaven. There are evil powers in this world. Satan is all too real. There are many people and institutions on earth that are influenced by him. But Christ your Lord is King. When Satan or the world intends evil against you, He protects you. It doesn't mean that everything that happens to you will be good, but it does mean that the evil end that Satan intends for you is thwarted. Christ can take even that and turn it to good. Stop for a moment and think about how amazing it is to be loved like that by God! How amazing that God would pay such a heavy price to rescue you in Christ. How amazing that He lives to watch over you, protect you, and give grace and peace to you--now and forever. You can know with absolute certainty that this is true, through God's promise in your Baptism and by His Word which is never broken. Christ is your King. Let us pray together that the Spirit will draw more people into the Kingdom of Christ while there is still time. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You have called Your Church to witness that in Christ You have reconciled us to Yourself. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may proclaim the good news of Your salvation so that all who hear it may receive the gift of salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/26/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Pentecost Tuesday

Today's Reading: John 10:1-10 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:21-23:3; Luke 22:24-46 "When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:4,5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we continue our celebration of Pentecost as we hear that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Here is another reading for Pentecost that doesn't mention the Holy Spirit by Name, but still teaches us so much about His work. In this text, Jesus teaches us that He is our Good Shepherd. He is risen from the dead and lives to guide His little flock, the Church, to heaven. He does this with His voice. Jesus speaks love and forgiveness to us in the Word of God as we read the Bible and hear the Gospel preached in Church. Jesus speaks love and forgiveness to us in Baptism and in the Supper--the Sacraments He established for us. We hear the voice of Christ in the catechism, as we are taught good doctrine from the Bible, so that we know how to avoid the voices of strangers (false teachers). Jesus gives these gifts. At each step the Holy Spirit is the One who brings these gifts to you and causes you to believe in Jesus, so you receive His gifts by faith. Without the Holy Spirit, you would never have heard of Jesus, nor could you have believed in Him. You would have been lost forever. But thanks be to God that the Spirit loves you and does His work! The Spirit brings the voice of Jesus to you through the Word and the Sacrament. The Spirit causes you to believe that when Jesus promises you forgiveness, it is truly yours. When you face times of trial and temptation, fear and doubt, the Spirit brings the peace and comfort of the Gospel to you and keeps you in Christ. When you hear the voice of Christ say in the Scripture that you are His little lamb and you are safe with Him, it's the Spirit who causes you to trust that Jesus speaks the truth. The Spirit causes you to trust this Word of Christ so thoroughly that you base the safety of your whole life in this world and the next on Christ your Shepherd. The Spirit does this work with great strength, with tender gentleness, with patience and wisdom. He gives you the treasures that Christ won for you on the Cross and at the resurrection. We thank the Holy Spirit for His gracious work, and praise Him with the Father and the Son, now and forever! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever. ("The King of Love My Shepherd Is" LSB 709, st.1) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/25/20215 minutes, 52 seconds
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Pentecost Monday

Today's Reading: John 3:16-21 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:1-20; Luke 22:1-23 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. Now, for two days after Pentecost, the Church focuses on readings that help us remember important things about the Holy Spirit and His work. The Gospel reading for Pentecost Monday is the much-loved Gospel proclamation from John 3. We hear anew that God the Father gave His only Son, Jesus, and that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Thanks be to God! But did you notice something? In this reading, the Father and the Son are mentioned directly, but not the Holy Spirit. Is the Spirit missing in John 3:16? By no means! The Holy Spirit is here in this beautiful verse, because He and He alone is the One who creates faith in the heart of a believer. When it says, ". . . that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life," the Holy Spirit is right there. For only the Spirit can create this faith in a believer and keep it alive day in and day out until a believer is in heaven. The Spirit is the One who inspired the apostle John to write these words of Jesus. The Spirit is the One who caused these words to be preached to all nations. And the Spirit is the One who led translators to provide these words of Christ in your language so you can read them and know accurately what Jesus said. From the moment these words were spoken by Christ, the Spirit has been working to make sure that what He said would be brought to you (and to all the Church around the world), that these words would strengthen your faith and build you up in Christ. And He continues to do this work in you throughout your life. When you sit down in your old age to read John 3 once more, the Spirit will work through that Word yet again to build you up in Christ. As you hear Christ in this text you know your sins are forgiven and you have eternal life. It is the Spirit who brings this Word to you and causes you to believe it and who keeps that faith alive. For all these things we give thanks to the Holy Spirit and praise Him for His work! We turn our attention where He directs us in this text, to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom the Father sent to save us. Thanks be to God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God would not have the sinner die; His Son with saving grace is nigh; His Spirit in the Word declares how we in Christ are heaven's heirs. ("God Loved the World So That He Gave" LSB 571, st.3) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/24/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Pentecost

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A joyful and blessed Pentecost to you! Today we celebrate the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church. We rejoice that He caused the Gospel to be preached--starting in Jerusalem and then to the ends of the earth--all the way to us in our day. We have so much to be thankful for today! In John 14:27, Jesus gives His peace to the disciples. He goes to the Cross to make that peace possible. On Easter Sunday Jesus again says to them, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19), and peace is theirs by grace through faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit caused them to hear Jesus's words and believe that they truly had peace with God. But this peace wasn't just spoken to them. It's also spoken to you and to all people. On Pentecost, we rejoice that this peace is here for you in Christ Jesus. Think of all the things the Spirit has done to make it possible for you to hear the Gospel! He strengthened the apostles to preach Christ. He inspired them and the evangelists to write down what Jesus said and did. The Spirit oversaw the gathering together of all the books of the Bible. He made sure this Holy Word was protected and preached from generation to generation. He blessed the work of translating the Bible into different languages so that you could hear the Word and read it in your own language. It's a miracle of the Holy Spirit that the words Jesus spoke are even available for you to hear. But the Spirit works another miracle. Through the Word He has created faith in your heart. Through the washing of Baptism, He has cleansed away your sin with the blood of Christ. It's a miracle that when you hear the words, "Peace be with you," you hear and believe that Jesus gives you peace this day. Apart from the Spirit, you could never believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him. The Spirit has brought the Gospel to you and drawn you to faith in Christ by this Gospel. This is worth celebrating! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Pentecost) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/23/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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The Eve of Pentecost

Today's Reading: John 14:15-21 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth." (John 14:16-17a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are on the verge of moving from the season of Easter to the season of Pentecost, which begins on the 50th day after the resurrection of our LORD! What an exciting day! It is the day when the LORD kept His promise recorded by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29). On that great day our heavenly Father and our LORD Jesus Christ poured out upon the Church the Holy Spirit who leads Her to fulfill the Great Commission of The LORD Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). Sometimes people get confused about this. They ask, "But didn't God's people have the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?" Yes, they did, but in a different way. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was especially connected to God's house in the form of the tabernacle and later to the temple, run by specially appointed priests who conducted holy sacrifices for the people of God. But do you recall what happened to that temple when Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary? The curtain of the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:51). This meant that the holy sacrifices performed in the temple were no longer necessary because the final sacrifice for sin had just been rendered by Jesus on the Cross. The Holy Spirit was now "moving out of" the Old Testament houses, so to speak. It was time for the Holy Spirit to "move into" the house called the Church. And what is that? The Church is not a building made with physical materials, but consists of all Christians--new priests, "royal priests" (1 Peter 2:9)--who confess Jesus and who gather around His Word and Sacraments. Upon this Church the Holy Spirit has been poured out. But how do you know that YOU share in the great gift of The Holy Spirit? You know because in the Church you were baptized into Jesus! Titus writes, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5-6). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/22/20216 minutes, 3 seconds
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Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44 [Jesus] said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." (Luke 20:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Living as Christians in the world means that we live in the two kingdoms God has made for us. One kingdom is called the "Kingdom of the Right," otherwise known as the Church, and the other kingdom is called the "Kingdom of the Left" and refers to the state. The Church is also known as the kingdom of grace, while society (or whatever word we choose) is where earthly power lies. The Church emphasizes the Gospel, whereas the civil government must use laws to properly function. Both kingdoms are of God. God leads both kingdoms. We just need to remember that they serve entirely different functions and purposes. But wait a minute. How can we say that God is in charge of both kingdoms when Jesus in Luke 20 says, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's"? It sounds like Jesus was saying that when it came to the Left, that Caesar was in charge. Well, the answer is that we have a classic "both-and" situation here. Caesar was indeed in charge of the state at the time, but only because Jesus let him be. In other words, Jesus has ultimate authority even in the realm of earthly power, but He has chosen to permit the governing authorities that He has established (Romans 13) to run the government. He's okay with that and doesn't worry about it, because God is the One who is always in control of the big picture. That's why Jesus said what He did when Pontius Pilate was interrogating Him. Pilate said to Jesus, "Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?" Pilate spoke truth, but then Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:10b, 11a). And Jesus spoke truth. So when you honor the governor or the president, and you should regardless of their shortcomings, you are really honoring Christ, the King of kings, the One who guards and keeps you in this world and into life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Living God, Your almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy and pity. Grant us the fullness of Your grace to lay hold of Your promises and live forever in Your presence; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/21/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18 "When then is this that is written, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." (Luke 20:17-18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It starts to mess with our prideful sinful nature when other people receive praise and honor while we do not. Well, no one gets more praise than Jesus. The Father has given Him the position of all power and authority. People are therefore easily offended by Him. In fact, Jesus is so important that He is described as the "cornerstone." This is a fascinating word and usually refers to a foundation stone. In fact, whenever we sing the hymn, "The Church's One Foundation" we are reminded that Jesus is indeed our foundation and we build upon Him, our Rock (Matthew 7:24-25). However, there is another sense of "cornerstone," and that is a keystone that is not below us on the ground, but above us in the ceiling. It is a stone towards which all other stones are aligned. This stone determines the integrity of the building. So the cornerstone might be below you, by your feet, or above you, over your head. In this light, God warns against pride and rebellion, especially when people reject the Word of Christ. Depending on the extent of our rebellion against Jesus, we might either stumble and fall over our Savior, or even worse, be crushed by Him in judgment. Christ is Savior and He is also Judge. If we reject Him, we reject God's building, God's holy place, God's house. Thank God that He in His great love and mercy, has led you through His Word and Sacrament not to reject His Word, not to be like those in the vineyard who rejected God's prophets and Jesus. Instead you embrace Christ who has made you one of His living stones (1 Peter 2:5), built up with your brothers and sisters into His spiritual house, a royal priesthood. Through faith in Jesus, you do not stumble over Him, but you bow before Him. You are not crushed by Him, but you are raised up by Him. Jesus gives you a firm foundation and a perfectly aligned shelter. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus, You are the stone that the builders rejected. But on the third day, You became the cornerstone. By Your Word and Spirit, open our hearts to receive You as the beloved Son sent from the Father so that we might always embrace suffering as the means by which we enter into Your glory; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/20/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article, pt.2 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48 [Christ] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and earth. (Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Luther wrote the above explanation for the part of the Creed describing what Jesus did to save us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Luther was just being Luther, relying on Scripture as his guide. Luther knew, for example, 1 Peter 1:18-19: ". . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." A wonderful and very biblical way of teaching how Christ saved us is expressed in this idea of redemption. We lost and condemned ones were "purchased and won" by Jesus. Jesus paid for us to be forgiven and saved. So, okay, but what currency did Jesus use to purchase us from death to life? He didn't pay with gold or silver. That would not do. Not good enough. Instead, He paid with what is more valuable than anything in the universe: His blood, God's blood (Acts 20:28). Alright, but who did He pay? Did He pay the devil? No, that would have been giving the devil far too much credit! Only God has the power to release from death to life, so God paid God. Jesus paid His blood to the Father, and our heavenly Father accepted His Son's payment. It was enough. It was more than enough to purchase us back to life. It was the payment that was necessary to get us out of the clutches of death. It was that strong and powerful a payment. We learn from Leviticus 17:11 that life is in the blood. Well, the life of God was in Jesus' blood, so yes, that blood has the greatest purchasing power in the universe! It's true: You have been "purchased and won" from "all sins, death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver or gold, but with [Christ's] holy, precious blood!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O King who comes in the name of the LORD, through Your birth and death, earth and heaven were joined together in peace. May your coming as King into Jerusalem in humility on the donkey help us to see that You continue to come to us as our King hidden in humble water, humble words, humble food; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/19/20216 minutes, 7 seconds
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Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-14 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A long time ago in the 20th century, a rock band called The Beatles wrote a very famous song called, "All You Need Is Love." People have fun analyzing this idea. The bottom line is that it is absolutely not true, and absolutely true at the same time. How do we sort this out? By defining what kind of love we are talking about. If we mean romantic love, desire, or affection, then the statement falls flat and can't be backed up. People need more than these loves, as important as they might be. However, if what you mean is "agape" love, the sacrificial and committed love of God for you in Christ, now you're cooking. Why is this verse true? Because this love was and is the love of God the Father that drove Him to send His Son Jesus to save us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. In other words, this love is responsible for our lives. Without this love, we would not know life. Take away this love, life doesn't exist. This love was what moved God to create the heavens and the earth, and this love is what moved God to give Jesus to restore the heavens and the earth. This love is GIFT love. And here's the rest that God wants us to know: Once we receive this love of Christ, we aren't supposed to keep it to ourselves. We are to share it with others. God calls us to love others and when we do we cover, with this love, "a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). True love covers sin and that means true love covers death, like the death of hostility. People can offend us and hurt us, and this can cause terrible rifts in relationships, but love can restore. Love can forgive, cover, and bring life back even into broken relationships. When this happens, a multitude of sins get covered, like all of yours are covered through the love of Christ for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD God, heavenly Father, as we struggle here below with divisions among us, searching for peace among men, remind us daily of the peace of heaven purchased through the bloody death and triumphant resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our LORD, who with You and the Holy Spirit is one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/18/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 36:22-28 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:25-45; Luke 18:35-19:10 "[God says] I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . " (Ezekiel 36:24-28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Eight times. . . EIGHT times God describes in just five verses what HE will do for His people, and you know what? What God does covers EVERYTHING! He does the work not only for our justification, but He also does the work for our sanctification. He is 100% responsible for our ENTIRE lives in Christ. Every aspect of our Christian faith--our new lives, our love, our ability to pray, to serve, to worship, to engage in witness, our certain hope, our ability to forgive, heart-felt endurance, compassion, the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, our ability to confess our sins, to hold to Christ, to remember our Holy Baptism, to thirst for the Holy Supper--EVERYTHING is from God's "I will." We are so blessed in our biblical Lutheran confession to know this and to constantly confess this. Many people who identify themselves as Christians miss this crucial teaching. Even many Christians think that our new lives are a 50/50 co-working with God. They wrongly believe that God does His part, and we must do ours. God reaches down to us, and we must raise our hand to reach Him. He invites and we must accept. He comes and we must open our hearts, etc. etc. etc. No! We can't reach up because on our own we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). We can't accept without the Holy Spirit's instigating faith in us. We cannot open our hearts because without Christ our hearts are hard and sick. If not for God's "I will," we would be lost, completely lost. God says, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness" (Ezekiel 36:25). Think Holy Baptism. God does the cleaning. God does the saving. "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ezekiel 36:27). This is sanctification, the new life. Who makes it happen? God does. On account of His gracious "I will," you are now counted among His people: "You shall be my people, and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:28b). The One who says to you, "I will" makes it happen! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O LORD, stir up the hearts of Your faithful people to welcome and joyfully receive Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, that He may find in us a fit dwelling place; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/17/20216 minutes, 16 seconds
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The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 15:26-16:4 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34 "[The Holy Spirit] will bear witness about me. . . I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away." (John 15:26c,16:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is Exaudi Sunday. It means "hear." God gives us complete assurance that He hears us. And when He hears us, He assures us that He will never let us go (John 10:28-29). We therefore teach that our election is certain in our justification and our justification is certain through faith in Jesus. Do you want to be sure that faith is still alive? Do not consult your feelings! Instead, confess your sins and receive Holy Absolution. Hear God's Word, always return to your Holy Baptism, and run to get the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Through these, faith is safe. Thus, Jesus comforted His disciples by promising them that the Holy Spirit was coming to bear witness about Jesus. Someone has called the Holy Spirit the "unselfish" person of the Holy Trinity (not that the other persons are selfish). The Holy Spirit doesn't call any attention to Himself, but only to Jesus. And true to form, Jesus isn't selfish, either, as He is always giving glory to the Father. Oh yes, the Father isn't selfish, either, since He delights in His Son. The point here is that the Holy Spirit is always putting Jesus before your eyes of faith and this is what keeps your faith living and secure. Why did Jesus teach that the Holy Spirit would come to do this? In John 16:1 Jesus said, "I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away." Our eternal security comes from the Holy Spirit's constantly keeping Jesus in front of us. As long as that is going on, then we are 100% safe. Jesus taught this precisely so that we would not fall away from the faith. God will never break His promise to be for us in Christ. At the same time, we are taught NEVER to desert Christ and His Word. The Word is that vehicle through which the mighty and comforting Holy Spirit works. We must therefore hold to the Word. Even when we are weak, completely aware of our sins, and discouraged, when we hold to the Word, then we are safe in the arms of Jesus. Then we know He has not abandoned us as we continue to hear the Word! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O King of glory, LORD of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/16/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud. Alleluia. Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me. Alleluia. Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me. Alleluia. (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the mysteries of the faith is that the LORD is a God who hides Himself. Isaiah 45:15 teaches, "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." He does it because people seek Him out of selfish motives. Jesus told people not to tell others that He was the Messiah. After Peter correctly confessed that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus "strictly charged [the disciples] to tell no one about him" (Mark 8:30). Jesus said this because so many people wanted to turn Him into an earthly king. So once again: God hides Himself when people seek Him for all the wrong reasons. The psalmist in Psalm 27 is not seeking God for the wrong reasons, but for the right reasons. He is in distress, so He cries aloud (vs.7a). He does not come to God in pride, but in humility; He does not come to tell God what to do, but comes seeking God's help (vs.8b). He seeks God's face for salvation (vs.1), and He seeks God's way to be his way (vs.11a). Again, he sought God out for all the right reasons. For these reasons, the psalmist is bold and right to pray to God to break out of His way of hiding Himself. The psalmist has strong faith in God's love and mercy in Christ to pray, "Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me" (vs.8b-9a). We should have the same faith and attitude towards God. Why? Because Jesus has made it plain to us that He came for sinners who know they need Him, for people who seek Him for all the right reasons. For those given faith, like YOU, Jesus reveals God as the merciful God, as the God of love. For you, God does not hide Himself, but has sent His Son so that you will know how to find Him every time--through His Son! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Teach me your way, O LORD. . . Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen." (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/15/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Acts 1:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29; 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37 [Jesus] said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Acts 1:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one knows when Jesus will come again in glory on the Last Day. Only God knows. Over the centuries many so-called "Christian" teachers have claimed to know when the Last Day would be. But the LORD Jesus said, "It is not for you to know times or seasons [regarding the Last Day]." So whenever we hear someone going on about knowing when the Last Day will be, we must instantly conclude that they are a false teacher and not listen to their teaching. This is consistent with other things our LORD taught. For example, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). If any wisdom will keep us safe about Last Day predictions, then Matthew 6:34 is it. We have enough to focus on for today,especially since today is all we know we have on this earth! Luke in Acts 1 continues to teach us. The LORD Jesus before He ascended, led His disciples to anticipate the coming and pouring out of the Holy Spirit which happened at Pentecost for them and at your Baptism for you. Once we have received the Holy Spirit and His gift of faith worked in us through Holy Baptism, then what? Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8b). So get back to when you were given the Holy Spirit at your Holy Baptism. Return to your Baptism every day. You have died with Christ and now you live with Him. And do whatever He has put in front of you to do. Befriend those around you. Get to know them and love them, and don't worry about when the Last Day will be. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus, Your kingdom continues to be in our midst as You come to us now through holy water, holy words, and holy food. Help us to see that Your kingdom is a kingdom of suffering, but that through suffering, we will be prepared to enter into glory when You return on that final day; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/14/20215 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Ascension of Our Lord

Today's Reading: Luke 24:44-53 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him. (Luke 24:51-52a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People easily get the wrong idea about the ascension of our LORD, which occurred 40 days after the resurrection and 10 days before Pentecost. The popular and wrong understanding is that Jesus was putting distance between Himself and us. With this false idea, then, Pentecost becomes a kind of "replacement theology" in which the Holy Spirit replaces Jesus on earth. In fact, just the opposite is the case. The ascension was a glorious event demonstrating Jesus' unlimited power. The ascension showed that nothing could ever interfere with Jesus' ability to be closer to us than ever before. But the disciples did see Him ascend, right? Yes, they did, but Jesus did not permit this to imply that He would be limited, but rather to demonstrate power and authority, to show that the One ascending to heaven is unlimited. In other words, Jesus "sitting at the right hand of God the Father" in heaven is not a restricted physical location. Rather, it means that Jesus reigns everywhere, fully present with His people at all times and in all places. The ascension proves the LORD has power to be closer to you than ever. Jesus knew the amazing gift that would result after the ascension. He once said to His disciples, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). The ascension means that Jesus has kept this promise, and has the ability to make His home with those baptized into His life, death, and resurrection. One more thing: Notice what the disciples did when Jesus ascended. The Word says, "And they worshipped him" (Luke 24:52a). To say that Christ is with us isn't just something we tell ourselves to feel religious. The disciples experienced the ascended LORD's reign as they worshipped Him. As we worship Him we, too, receive His Word and Sacrament. In this way we also experience His ascension power: He's right there with us, putting His Word into our ears, and putting His Body and Blood into our mouths. Ascension means that Christ has kept His Word to never leave us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our LORD Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Ascension of Our Lord) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/13/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, Second Article, pt.1 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31 And [I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our LORD, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. (Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does this mean? "I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my LORD," the explanation says. It is properly said that justification, God's declaring us righteous in His sight on account of Christ, is the central article or teaching of the Christian faith. It's true. It is incredibly important, but if someone does not know the person of Christ, WHO He is, then even the teaching on justification will be off. This first part of the Second Article of the Creed is super-duper important. We must believe, teach, and confess, and trust and rely upon in our hearts and souls, the fact that Jesus is true 100% God and true 100% man. Everything of the Christian faith rests on this truth. Fourth-century Church father Gregory of Nazianzus wonderfully and accurately taught: "Whatever Christ did not become [or take onto Himself], He did not redeem." In other words, Jesus had to be as human as you are, taking your place, in order to save you. He had to wrap Himself in real human flesh with a real human brain and a real human soul. And because He was really human like you He was able to be your substitute in the eyes of God. There is no negotiating here. Jesus is either completely a human being like us or He is not. Thank God that He was, and still is, but there's more. If He is merely fully human, and not fully God then our justification would still be in trouble. Thank God that He is also 100% God. As a result, He had the divine right and authority not only to take our place so that His life, suffering, death, and resurrection could be counted as ours, but also to forgive the sins of all people of all time. He can because He is truly God. Our Christology confesses that Jesus is true God and true man! Praise Him! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You are the strength of all who trust in You, and without Your aid we can do no good thing. Grant us the help of Your grace that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/12/20216 minutes, 2 seconds
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Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: James 1:22-27 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our LORD Jesus Christ did not come into the world to save ideas and beliefs. He did not come into the world to save audio presentations and visual images. "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). I always recommend inserting ourselves at the end of this verse. We can't reduce Christ's saving work to the saving of ideas, thoughts, and words, but of sinners, and sinners are real people with real lives--they live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28). They do things, they act, they impact the lives of others and the world. Jesus came to save these real people with real lives who do real things. So what happens when such people are saved? Their real lives are impacted, not just their beliefs. James is warning us, "For if anyone is a hearer of the word [only] and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at hi mself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like" (James 1:24-25). When the Christian faith is only a "belief" for someone, it is only a passing thought. But this faith that God creates in us through the Word holds to a strong and mighty Christ, and Christ is so strong and mighty that He affects our very lives. How does Christ do this in us? It isn't by looking into a dumb mirror, but by looking into what James calls "the perfect law, the law of liberty" (James 1:25). This is a place in the Holy Bible where "law" does not mean strict convicting law, as in "Law" vs. Gospel. Here the word "law" refers to the WORD, and especially the Gospel! What is the only thing that gives you liberation from the bonds of your sin? The powerful Gospel of Christ! When the Gospel is yours, and your sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus, then watch out: Your faith isn't just thoughts and words, but real actions. You live for Jesus and you love those around you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O LORD, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/11/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
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Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Numbers 21:4-9 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." (Numbers 21:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God sent the fiery serpents to the rebellious people of Israel in the wilderness. They were sent to bite the complaining and unfaithful people, to kill them. This was the wrath of God poured out at that time and place. In response to this judgement against sin, the people cried out. They came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us" (Numbers 21:7a). The LORD had mercy on the people and responded in grace toward those who cried out to Him in distress while confessing their sins. But the LORD demonstrated His grace in a really fascinating way: He told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, so that when the people looked up to it, they would be healed (Numbers 21:8-9). Let's get this right: The image of the thing that was killing the people was going to save them. Hmmm. Jesus told Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14). We have our "fiery serpent," too, and it is just as deadly: our sin. So God did not change His method. He took the thing responsible for our death, our sin, and put it on the Cross. Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was our sin on the Cross. The thing killing us was now up high on a "pole," so that whoever would look at Jesus on the Cross would know what God had done with their deadly sin. It isn't on you anymore. Look up to Jesus, trust in Him, and rejoice. You're saved from your fiery serpents. They were nailed to the Cross of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD God, our heavenly Father, You stood afar off, waiting to see Your prodigals appear at the gate. Then, running to us, You overwhelmed us with grace and invited us to sit at table, to rejoice at our homecoming. Help us to repent of our sins and strip us of every thought that we might merit Your salvation. Then bring us home to be with You at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our LORD. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/10/20215 minutes, 35 seconds
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The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:23-33 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Luke 14:25-15:10 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." (John 16:23b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is Rogate Sunday, which is Latin for "Pray ye." As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of The LORD Jesus Christ, we gain important insight about prayer. Christians who are "in Christ" pray and pray and pray, so it makes sense that today's theme is "pray ye." It's what those who belong to the RISEN Savior do. But what is the relationship between Christ's resurrection and prayer? In a very important sense, no one can call God "My Father" like Jesus can. Jesus is "begotten" of the Father, the only One in the universe with this distinction. That means that Jesus eternally progresses from the Father. He is One with the Father and extends from the Father with God's nature, power, and authority. This "extension" however does not make Christ subordinate; He is very God of very God. This is a theological progression, not a time-based one or a rank. In this sense, Jesus calls the Father "My Father" in a way that no one else can, and yet, Christ's resurrection even changed prayer for every child of God who is baptized into Jesus. Jesus is our Mediator and will be forever, and yet at the same time, because our Mediator is so close to the Father, Jesus shares this closeness with you and me! You can now come to the heavenly Father directly in the Name of Jesus. Christ has won direct access to God for you! Jesus is our bridge to the Father (the WAY, John 14:6), and at the same time, Jesus wants you to know that His Father is yours, too. In John 14:26-27 He says, "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." Heaven is now open to you, Christian. You can now pray directly to the Father. God listens to you because He listens to His Son who covers you. God answers you because He answers His Son in whom you're wrapped; and God loves to receive your prayers. So, pray ye! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/9/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm 66:1-2a, 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b) Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (From the Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is not magic nor is it designed and intended for the purpose of coaxing, convincing, or making deals with God. Prayer is rather the heartbeat of faith, the holy faith-generated language towards God. Prayer is also the work of the Holy Spirit in and through God's people who trust in the LORD. Sometimes He is the One interceding for us in prayers we can't even put into words (Romans 8:26). Again, it is not for changing God's mind, but it expresses the change we have received when God put us into the life, death, and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ through Holy Baptism. Still, doesn't prayer, besides thanking and praising God, also ask God for things, whether they be for ourselves or others? Yes! Throughout Scripture prayer is asking. In fact, Jesus invites and commands us to do so! For example, "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14). Also, "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). Furthermore, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24). So what's the catch? True prayer to God comes through faith in Christ, and faith in Christ always desires what Christ desires. Yet we still contend with our Old Adam, even when we earnestly pray. This means our motives are rarely pure. However, the key is to pray in the Name of Jesus for that which is according to His will (as we pray in The LORD's Prayer), and pray that God will turn your will to His This is so because there really is no other kind of prayer than those prayers which spring from faith in Jesus, when we pray for what Jesus wants for us. Yes, these will be answered every time, for our good and for His glory. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O LORD of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/8/20215 minutes, 39 seconds
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Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35 "[The kingdom of God] is like a grain of mustard seed. . . Strive to enter through the narrow door." (Luke 13:19, 24a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The things of God and our salvation (being rescued from sin, death, and devil) are presented in humble ways, unimpressive to the world. This is the way God operates in the world. He lets the world have its own standards of what important things should look like. The world presents these things as glitter and gold to make them look grand and impressive to the human eye. Why? Because the world values the things of human pride and accomplishment, and human pride always thinks bigger is better and that more is always better than less. My wife, however, reminds me that "less is more." She's right. So God goes the opposite way of human pride. He chooses humility as the sign of His presence for salvation, that which is far greater than the greatest things in the world. The Kingdom of God itself begins with a "mustard seed" (Luke 13:19), seemingly insignificant. As insignificant as when a 30-something Jewish man, a carpenter's son, was nailed to a cold Roman cross outside the city gates of Jerusalem. No biggie, just another execution of a convicted criminal, not exactly a sold-out concert of world-famous musicians where fans are going nuts. And the entrance into this Kingdom is not wide, grand, and surrounded with strobe lights. It, too, is humble. It is narrow. It is as inconspicuous as a few drops of water, or some ordinary bread and wine,, because God doesn't want His holy things to be seen in the superficial "big" things in the world. The things of God only catch the eye and the faith of the humble; but the proud don't care about the things of God, and would rather get the catchy things, the "awesome" things that will turn to dust. But you've been baptized, Christian. So embrace humility in Christ, grab the mustard seed, and rejoice that you have entered the narrow door: Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O LORD, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/7/20215 minutes, 32 seconds
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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: James 1:16-21 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 24:1-23; Luke 12:54-13:17 Of [God's] own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The letter of James has gotten a bad rap because many feel that he contradicts Paul's statement that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law (Romans 3:28). Even Luther himself once thought less of James, but as Luther matured, his view changed. But first impressions can be confusing. After all, James does teach: "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." But we must know that he is not contradictory to Paul, but complementary. How so? Paul is teaching about our justification before God. This can only be by faith alone. James is teaching about our justification before people. How will anyone ever know you have genuine faith? Well, you can talk all day long, but if you have no good works, then people will consider you a hypocrite. How can we be sure that James was not confusing Law and Gospel? We know it from James 1:18. How is a Christian "brought. . . forth"? How is a Christian made a Christian? How does a Christian even get to the point of demonstrating (or giving evidence) of their faith through works? How does any of it even begin? Is James teaching that the answer is by what we do, or by what we are, or by what we try to be or try to do? No, not even close. Read the verse again: "Of [God's] own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James gives 100% credit and acknowledgment that our new lives ONLY and SOLELY come from being "brought. . . forth by the word of truth." The Word of Christ has created our new lives, justified by faith (before God) and proven by works (before people). Without the Word of Christ, we would have no faith, and we could do nothing that is good. James attributes our new lives solely to the work of God in Christ "by the word of truth." Rest assured that He is working in and through you to bring forth good fruits. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Jesus, LORD of the Sabbath, rescue us from our hypocrisy, which keeps us from seeing You as the center of all of Scripture and acknowledging the present time as the time of salvation. Call us to repent of our self-righteousness so that we might look to You alone as the source of our life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/6/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, First Article, pt.3 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44; Luke 12:35-53 All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true. (Small Catechism: The Apostles' Creed, First Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes Lutheran Christians can get bashful when it comes to talking about the new life we have in our Risen Savior and the resultant good works which follow. Luther wasn't bashful as he discussed faith and what must come from faith: "Faith, however, is a divine work in us that changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. . . It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them." It is therefore not surprising that when Luther wrote the explanation to the Creed, he expressed what should come from us in response to the grace of God: "It is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him." Did Luther actually say, "serve and obey [God]?" Yes, He did! The amazing free grace of God in Christ which is responsible for all our First Article gifts: iPhone, clothes, games, bed, the transportation that gets us from point A to point B, and the food we eat (we could go on all day) comes from our heavenly Father's good and merciful heart toward us in Christ. The Father's wonderful grace, by the Holy Spirit's urging and enabling us through the powerful Word and Sacraments of Christ, leads us to serve and obey God. It's that simple. But don't we still battle the sinful nature? Of-course we do, but that battle does not cancel the new movements of the Holy Spirit in us responding to our Father's outpouring of His goodness and mercy. In fact, the new life is more prominent than the old precisely on account of God's goodness and mercy for us. So, the apostle John recorded, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). But why do we want to? We do so in response to God's "divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merciful LORD, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of His redeeming work and daily follow in His way; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/5/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:1-22; Luke 12:13-34 And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. . . Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:22, 32) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Rev. Friedich Wyneken was driven to spread the saving Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ. He is a tremendous example to us of someone who lived out the Great Commission of our LORD. He arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, from Germany in 1838 and then went westward to expand the Kingdom. He labored intensely and realized he needed help, so he returned to Germany to ask for it. He came back to America with more pastors to not only reach the many Germans coming to America, but also to reach Native Americans. As the need for pastors increased, he became a co-founder of a practical seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later returned to the East Coast to serve as a congregational pastor. The LORD, however, increased his service as he became the second president of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. It is hard to imagine all the challenges that Pastor Wyneken faced during his lifetime, especially as the country was headed towards civil war, but today's lectionary from Luke's Gospel gives us a good indication of what energizes such servants. When we know Christ as our Savior, then we also know that He is almighty and all compassionate. We can trust Him when He bids us not to be anxious. He really will provide for all our needs as we walk faithfully in our God-given vocations. Furthermore, we can continually take stock that no matter the hardships, the LORD has told us why we never need fear: "for it is the Father's good pleasure to give [us, we who are baptized into Jesus] the kingdom." And with the kingdom of God granted to us, we will also have all that we need in order to accomplish what God has put before us to do. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus Christ, You want all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. We give You thanks for sending Friedrich Wyneken as missionary and pastor in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan to evangelize the Native Americans in these states, to be a founder of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, and to serve as second president of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Protect and encourage all missionaries who confess the true faith among the nations by proclaiming Christ crucified; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/4/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Isaiah 12:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 21:1-24; Luke 12:1-12 You will say in that day; I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry at me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid. (Isaiah 12:1-2a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The opposite of faith is not merely unbelief, but fear. How can we trust someone if we fear him? Fear gives every occasion for doubt and where there is doubt faith is always undermined. When we convince ourselves that God is angry at us we fear Him instead of trusting Him. Instead, we wonder when He is going to pull the rug out from under us. There are two "fears" in Scripture: servile, which anticipates punishment, and filial, which expresses a love so strong that the Christian lives in honor and reverence toward God.Here we are of course speaking of the former, and not the latter. God wants us to live in the holy fear of faith that holds to Christ and bows down to worship Him. Isaiah the prophet received God's revelation and truth: "For though you [God] were angry at me, your anger turned away." Soak that in. Yes, God was angry. That's right, "was," and as you know "was" is past tense. God is no longer angry at you. Think about it: There is only one reason God could be angry at you. That would be on account of your sin. But in the greatest love and mercy the world has ever known, the heavenly Father placed all your sin, all the reasons He could be angry at you, on His Son, Jesus Christ our LORD. Thus Paul writes in Galatians 3:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written – 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'" God only pours out anger, wrath, and punishment on cursed people, people guilty of sin and worthy of death, the death that sin brings. But Jesus took your sin; He became your curse. He died in your place under God's righteous anger and judgment against sinners. Jesus stood in for all the sinners, including you. Jesus took God's anger for you. As a result, God's anger is gone from you, and that is why you are now free to say with Isaiah, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus, by Your Spirit, You give us faith to cast out all fear of confessing the true faith; for we are helpless to save ourselves, and we must trust in You and You alone for our salvation. Keep us faithful to the end, that You will not be ashamed of us when You come in Your glory with Your Father and the holy angels; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/3/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:5-15 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16, 22-27; Luke 11:37-54 Sing to the LORD a new song, Alleluia, for he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. Alleluia. (From the Introit for Cantate Sunday) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This Sunday--Cantate Sunday--leads us to the theme of "Sing ye." Because of our sinful nature, we totally underestimate the importance of singing our faith and joy to the LORD. St. Augustine said, "He who chants (or sings the Word) prays twice." Why did he teach that? Because to sing aloud the Word of Christ is to enliven and rouse our entire being and spirit. The lungs, our diaphragm, and our vocal cords get in on the action of our prayer. Our body gets more in tune with our spirit and our spirit with our body as we dedicate ourselves to praying. Singing is more intense and focused on praising God. It also makes a greater impression upon our minds as we seek to "set [our] minds on things above" (Colossians 3:1). But what of the content and focus of our singing and chanting? John 16:5-15 gives a great place to begin. This is another one of John's great "I Am" statements of Jesus. Jesus taught, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). We can take His Word and put it into singing and chanting, and when this Word of Christ becomes ingrained in our hearts, souls, and minds, it impacts our lives, enabling us to live in Christ and to walk with Christ. What should inspire us Christians to live this way and to sing and chant ? This should: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). You have the greatest love from your Best Friend Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/2/20215 minutes, 25 seconds
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St. Philip and St. James, Apostles

Today's Reading: John 14:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If I had to recommend ten Scripture verses to memorize, John 14:6 would be on that list. Jesus is more important than anybody or anything. We need Him. We are wise when we live for Him. By the grace of God, Philip and James, apostles, most certainly did. They gave their lives for and to Christ. They became martyrs and were killed for their faith in Jesus, so they were not only apostles, but also martyrs. History teaches that Philip was crucified, so he is symbolized by a Latin cross. James the Lesser (not to be confused with James the brother of John or James the half-brother of Jesus and bishop of the church in Jerusalem) was beaten to death by a club that adorns his symbolic shield. Both were "strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13) and "the world was not worthy [of them]" (Hebrews 11:38). There is quite a bit recorded about Philip in Holy Scripture. After the LORD called to him, "Follow me!" Philip found Nathanael and reported that the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament had been found (John 1). Later, Greeks who had heard about Christ came to Philip and asked, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus" (John 12). Finally, right after Jesus spoke those powerful words at John 14:6, it was Philip who asked the bold question (that the others were probably also thinking): "LORD, show us the Father, and it is enough for us" (John 14:8). Jesus replied, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9) Jesus was teaching that the Persons of The Holy Trinity are completely undivided. Do you want to know God? Then know Jesus! At the same time, Jesus maintained the distinction of Persons. For this Person Jesus, the Savior of the world, Philip and James gave their lives! You may or may not be asked to give your life for the faith. But even for you, God has been shown in the Person of Jesus, bestowed on you through your Baptism, your hearing of the Word, and your partaking of the Sacrament of the Altar. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, Your Son revealed Himself to Philip and James and gave them the knowledge of everlasting life. Grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, and steadfastly to walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
5/1/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7, 20-19:8; Luke 11:1-13 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "LORD, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say:. . . " (Luke 11:1-2a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some people who criticize our beautiful and powerful liturgy say that it is not from the Word of God. Ah, wrong, because all of it is. The LORD's Prayer is a sublime example of this fact. It is, of course, presented in two places in the New Testament: Matthew 6 and Luke 11. Matthew's version has seven petitions, just like we learn it in the catechism, and Luke's version has five. But don't despair about the shortened version. The missing third petition is incorporated into the first and second petitions in Luke's version; and the missing seventh petition is incorporated into the fifth. Luke retains the crux of this supreme prayer taught by our LORD. It is a complete prayer. In the first two petitions we pray that we would live holy lives in faith, and in the third we pray for all our daily needs. The fourth petition regards sharing Christ's forgiveness with others, and in the fifth we pray for spiritual protection. But Jesus teaches even more on prayer here in Luke 11. Jesus said, "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). Look at this: Ask, Seek, Knock. What is the LORD emphasizing about prayer? Ask, ask, ask! Ask in faith. Ask away according, of course, to His gracious will and then trust Him! The sainted Rev. Dr. Robert Preus taught that God always answers the prayers of His children, but rarely answers the way we think He should, and God always answers for our good. Pray for the two reasons we have been given: that God commands us to pray; and that God has promised to bless us according to His will when we do. That's all the motivation we need. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. Amen. (Luke 11:2b-4) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/30/20215 minutes, 28 seconds
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:11-20 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 17:1-16; Luke 10:23-42 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The forgiveness of sins is not permission to sin. The Holy Spirit teaches us through Peter that we are not to go along with sin. Christians easily get confused. "But if we are daily to return to our Baptisms by confessing our sin, how can we not sin?" In other words, it sounds like God's Word is saying, "Don't sin!" AND "Confess your sins every day because you do sin!" God's Word is not contradicting itself. We sin out of the weakness of our sinful nature. No matter how hard you try, you will feel the weakness of your flesh, because sin is always there and that means that you sin every day. This, however, is not the same as following sin and treating it as your master, because you have a new Master: Jesus! He has forgiven your sins. In other words, there is a vast difference between feeling, confessing, resisting, and battling sin on the one hand versus going along with sin, deliberately living in it, and permitting it to control your life. These two could not be more different. If sin controls us, we excuse it and go along with it, saying, "That's just the way I am." If Christ controls us, then we hate sin, are in pain over it, and fight it, so that when we do sin, we never excuse it, but confess it. The difference is night and day. Thus, as Christians we listen to Peter and "abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." But how? Return to Christ who took your sin. Return to your Holy Baptism, when you died in Christ, so that when sin comes knocking on your door to tempt you, you can answer by saying, "That sinner doesn't live here anymore because He died with Jesus!" Then go forth following in Jesus, and when you do sin, don't laugh it off, but come running back to Jesus who on the Cross heaped it on Himself to cover it with His blood. Rejoice! You are a sojourner and exile as you travel through this world of sin. You don't belong to sin, you belong to Jesus and His Kingdom, so when you're tempted to sin, get back to your real Master! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus Christ, in Your deep compassion You rescue us from whatever may hurt us. Teach us to love You above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/29/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, First Article, pt.2 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22 He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil." (Small Catechism: The Apostles' Creed) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Life is dangerous. We do not really like to talk about it, but it feels like there is danger around every corner. The most insidious danger, however, is evil, or what Paul refers to as "unrighteousness" in Romans 1:18: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." It is true that God's wrath will be revealed on the Last Day when the LORD judges all people, but the wrath of God is revealed now, too (this is a both-and). How do we see it? We see it in all the pain and trouble that is caused by the evil that is here and now. This evil in the world is both progressive (it gets worse) and contagious (it spreads like a virus). But God in His mercy has done something about it. That is, there is something else that has been revealed for the here and now, namely, the power of the Gospel. It is the righteousness of faith as the gift of our faith holds to Jesus! This is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe! (Romans 1:16-17) You have Christ now, baptized Christian, and to have Christ is to have the One who has conquered and conquers all evil. When faith seizes Jesus (holds to Him like crazy), then Jesus' life becomes ours. He becomes our covering and shield, and He becomes our defender against all evil in this world. This is not a cosmic battle between equal forces, no! Jesus has already conquered! He is our champion and He is our warrior against evil. He has all power and authority and Satan in the face of Jesus has none. Yes, there is danger around every corner, but while holding to Christ and His righteousness for you through faith in Him, you have nothing to worry about. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I walk in danger all the way. The thought shall never leave me That Satan who has marked his prey, Is plotting to deceive me. This foe with hidden snares May seize me unawares If I should fail to watch and prey. I walk in danger all the way. I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; Within His wounds I find a stay When Satan's pow'r assails me; And by His footsteps led, My path I safely tread. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way." ("I Walk in Danger All the Way" LSB 716, st.1, 5) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/28/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:25-31 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 10:1-20; Luke 9:37-60 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This Scripture from Isaiah is magnificent. First, it teaches us about our condition apart from God's help and grace: We are faint; we have no might, we are weary, and can easily feel exhausted. All of this is true because we are poor sinners. No doubt about it: On our own we can do nothing. Jesus once said as much: "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5b). These things are true on account of our core sin. It is a condition that is so serious that it leads to death. It causes us to moan as we must confess what cannot be denied: We are very tired sinners, weary from trying to make life work and be good from our own effort, our own imagined power. All of this is what the LAW shows us. But then Isaiah reveals the wonderful and amazing GOSPEL: God, in the greatest love and mercy ever known, sent Jesus to be the One we "wait" for (another word for sure and certain hope). And what does the LORD do for us poor sinners who wait on Him? He gives us His power and He increases and renews our strength. And just as we are collapsing under the weight of our sin, He causes us to rise-up, by His grace, to run and yes, even to soar with life as if mounting up with wings like eagles! Isaiah the prophet knew, from His point in history, that Jesus was coming, and he taught what Jesus verified: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). By grace, through faith in Jesus apart from anything you try to do, the LORD has renewed your strength. It's time to soar! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name and nourish us with all goodness that we may love and serve our neighbor; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/27/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
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St. Mark, Evangelist

Today's Reading: Mark 16:14-20 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24; Luke 9:18-36 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."(Mark 16:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. Mark, the Evangelist was not an apostle, but he ministered to and assisted Peter. It is probably accurate to say that Mark knew of the details of Jesus' public ministry directly from Peter. Mark had also worked with Paul and Barnabas, and was known as "John Mark." Though he was the subject of a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:37-40, we know that later in time by the grace of God, Paul was reconciled to Mark. In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul wrote to Timothy mentioning Mark: "Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry." Mark had become a powerful disciple of Jesus! In fact, history teaches us that he completed his service to the LORD as the bishop in one of the most important strategic locations of the earliest Church at Alexandria in Egypt. It was there that he died as a martyr for the sake of the Gospel. Mark knew this saving Gospel well and he knew how one could be united to Jesus in Holy Baptism so that there would never be any doubt that the Gospel was personally received. There are several key passages on Holy Baptism in the New Testament, but Mark 16:16 might be among the most vivid in stating Baptism's indispensable nature for giving assurance of salvation. Jesus said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Notice that Baptism is not associated with condemnation but is absolutely associated with salvation. Peter, who most likely gave Mark important details for his Gospel, backs Mark regarding the importance of Holy Baptism: "Baptism, which corresponds to this [Noah's water], now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21). Baptism saves us because God uses it to unite us to the risen Jesus. And to be united to the risen Jesus is to be rescued from sin and death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You have enriched Your Church with the proclamation of the Gospel through the evangelist Mark. Grant that we may firmly believe these glad tidings and daily walk according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/26/20216 minutes
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The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 16:16-22 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13, 30-36; Luke 9:1-17 "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy." (John 16:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At first glance, John 16:20 can seem like a pretty challenging verse. Why would other people in the world be rejoicing, while believers (specifically the first-century disciples living when Jesus was crucified) are weeping and lamenting? Think about that: While you are super sad about something, others are super happy for the same reason you are super sad. I know, this just seems wrong. There is a reaction called schadenfreude which means "pleasure derived by someone from another's misfortune." This seems really twisted. But think about this: if some people hate God and hate His Word, then if His Church and God's people are sinking or seemingly failing, sure enough, the world will celebrate. They will say, "Finally, this annoying Christian faith is going down the tubes!" Make no mistake about it, there are many people in the world who would just be fine if the Christian faith just disappeared and who would be glad to rejoice in your despair. Jesus was warning the disciples that the day was coming when the disciples would weep and lament, when Jesus was crucified on the Cross and executed by the Romans as a common criminal. When this happened, those against Jesus were glad and rejoiced. But the LORD went on to fill His disciples with hope, certain and true. Yes, they would be sorrowful, but then something was going to happen: They would suddenly have their sorrow turned to joy! What would cause that? You know: It would be when on the Third Day their Savior, who bled to death on the Cross, would come forth with power from the tomb. Their great sorrow would be turned to great joy. There is an application here for us. There are many times when it feels like Christians are in the real minority and that the ways of the world are winning out, but remember, Christian, that Jesus is coming again in glory. When that day comes our sorrow will be turned to joy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's Church that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/25/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Psalm 66:3, 5, 8-9; antiphon: v.1-2) Daily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38; Luke 8:40-56 Shout for joy to God, all the earth. Alleluia. Sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise! Alleluia. (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Fourth Sunday of Easter tomorrow is known as Jubilate Sunday. Jubilate from the Latin means "Rejoice." Joy, real joy--isn't this something we all want in our lives? The psalmist is, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, revealing to us where genuine joy comes from. It is as if the psalmist had a bird's eye view of what would occur centuries later (from his standpoint), when Jesus would rise from the dead and conquer the grave. Psalm 66:3, which is part of this Introit, states, "Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you." These words apply especially to our greatest enemies: our sin that leads to death, the world, and the devil (and his demons). These enemies were and are overcome by the LORD's awesome deeds, especially His most awesome deed which was conquering death. Now these enemies must cringe before Him (that is, be bent in fear knowing that they are utterly conquered and defeated). The psalmist knew what to focus on, because he knew what sealed the deal, so, to, speak, when it comes to knowing that God's deeds are awesome indeed. Psalm 66:8-9, also part of the Introit, says, "Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living, and has not let our feet slip." Could there be any greater reason to shout for joy? What do we desire more than life itself?! On account of the LORD's awesome deeds, all who trust in Him will be kept among the living, through the might of the One risen and who raises the dead. Knowing these things, how can we not rejoice? Every possible reason to live in fear has been overcome by the joy of knowing that not even death can take our joy away. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus, You took our illnesses and bore our diseases, bringing hope to the sick and the dying. In Your death on the cross, You completed Your work of bearing all our burdens and on the third day showed us in Your resurrected body the firstfruits of the new creation. Heal us now by Your Word and Sacraments, and raise us up on the Last Day that we might live with You forever; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/24/20215 minutes, 49 seconds
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Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16; Luke 8:22-39 [Jesus] rebuked the wind and the raging waves. . . [and] the demons came out of the man. (Luke 8:24, 33) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is easy in life to feel overpowered and outgunned. I was pretty big in high school and during my third year on the varsity squad as a defensive end rushing quarterbacks, there were not many offensive linemen who could stop me. But one Friday night under the lights, the offensive lineman was 6'7" and weighed a lot more than I did, and he was lightning fast. I had the most humiliating game of my high school football career. There was nothing I could do against this guy. I tried to go high, I tried to go low, around, fake, twist. . . nothing. He was more powerful than me. There are many things that can happen to us that make us feel totally weak, helpless, and unable to get through. This is what poor sinners experience. But thanks be to God, that our Heavenly Father sent Jesus! When our LORD conducted His public ministry He led disciples who were just people like us. They knew limitations and they were easily scared. For example, who wouldn't be upset in the face of a storm that you thought might kill you? Who wouldn't be afraid of someone possessed by many demons? Well, there was someone unafraid. You know who that was: Jesus. Why wasn't He afraid? Easy answer: Because He is the One and only One who has all power. He did not simply come to proclaim your salvation, but He had and has the power to accomplish it! He has power over the wind and raging waves; and He has power to command and control the strongest demons. So powerful is the LORD that even death was too weak for Him. Our sin, the world, and the devil cannot get by Him, not over, not under, not around. . . He is just too strong and that is why we are 100% safe in the arms of Savior Jesus. Just one more thing. Sometimes atheists argue this way: "If God is all powerful and all good, then why hasn't He done anything about all the evil in the world?" Their question has a mistaken presupposition: They are assuming God has not done anything about the evil! Yes, He has! He sent Jesus! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding. Cast out all sins and evil desires from us, and pour into our hearts Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all blessedness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/23/20216 minutes, 5 seconds
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Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 38:21-39:8; Luke 8:1-21 A sower went out to sow his seed. . . And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. (Luke 8:5a & 8a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The parable of the sower is a golden source of teaching about the Christian life. It can also be a little scary, so understanding it is important. Let it be said up front that Lutherans believe our salvation is secure through faith in Christ. God does not mince words: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). And "never" means never. At the same time, the parable helps us to learn about the gift of saving faith. Saving faith holds on to the Word of Christ even in the face of what makes the path, the rock, and the thorns so dangerous. Jesus is giving us a big "heads up" here so that we would not be surprised at what we encounter throughout life. We know that the devil will try to take faith away from our hearts (Luke 8:12); we know that the time of testing tempts us to fall away (Luke 8:13); and we know that the thorns of life try to make us lose our faith through many different distractions (Luke 8:14). We know these things. We have been told these things because God loves us! He wants us in heaven. He has given us Jesus to make it happen! And as we live in faith, then we know eternal life is absolutely ours. Therefore, we prepare for what will come. So how do we prepare? We are ready for anything when our faith abides in "the good soil," but what is this? It is the Christian heart that lives in Holy Baptism and daily repentance, confessing sin constantly, knowing our great need for Jesus, but also knowing we are forgiven. And then what? Well, our Lutheran confessions permit one more item on this list: the fruits of repentance. That is, the Christian has a heart of "good soil" that by the Holy Spirit and the Word of Christ, is always doing good works--not because we have to, but because we get to. This is why it grows and yields a hundredfold (Luke 8:8). This is Jesus' promise to work in and through you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, Sower of the Seed, the women supported You from their own means during Your ministry of releasing creation from its bondage. Give us strength to support the work of sowing the seed of Your forgiveness in the world through our almsgiving as we embody in our lives Your mercy and charity; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/22/20215 minutes, 54 seconds
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, First Article, pt.1 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35:21; Luke 7:36-50 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. (Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, First Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Dr. Luther taught the meaning of the First Article, he started by teaching what God gives or provides according to His almighty power. Luther wrote, "I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life." One of the greatest lies of our culture today is that what is "ours" is ours: "Our" bodies are ours, "our" lives are ours, "our" time is ours, etc. Wrong! Consider God's Word: "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19b and 20a). You were also created with a price, with a "price tag" that means you have infinite value because you belong to God. You are not your own. All that you have in accord with First Article gifts has come from God. To claim these things as our own is to ignore the Creator, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to pretend that what is the LORD's is only ours. This is not only an illusion. It is also a sin. The LORD, however, is so good, so kind, so loving, and so merciful that not only did He heap our selfish, gobble-up-everything-claiming-it-as-our-own sin upon Himself to cover it with His atoning blood, but then He chose to actually GIVE TO US His Kingdom! How? By giving us Himself, the King! Christians are now in this amazing situation: They speak the truth when they say that what is theirs is really God's, but now in Christ, what is Christ's is also--really and truly--also theirs. How do we live in this Law/Gospel reality of what belongs to God and what belongs to us? We say that every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17), and that whatever we say is "ours" is only because our Savior Jesus has given it to us to care for and to also say, "To God alone be all the glory!" In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us Your gifts of faith, hope, and love that we may receive the forgiveness You have promised and love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/21/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
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Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-25 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28; Luke 7:18-35 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Believing God and trusting God that your sin (your core condition) and sins (all the sinful things you've ever thought, said, and done) have been taken away can be hard for us. In fact, without the Holy Spirit's working through the Word of Christ to give us faith, it is impossible for us to believe! But thank God it is true and thank God that the Holy Spirit is powerful in creating saving faith so that we personally receive Christ for us. Still, even after we receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, we are still in possession of a great mystery: Even though we still feel our sins, it is true that in Christ those sins we feel are also gone. Now that is a mystery, something too marvelous for us to comprehend. And yet, it is 100% true. Why? Because God did something for us called imputation. God, with all power and authority imputed, or cast upon Himself, our sin. There was no sin in Christ, and yet, because He imputed our sin upon Himself, Jesus took the place of all sinners! Your sin was on Him. My sin was on Him. The sin of all people of all time was on Him. He was so sinful in fact, that the Heavenly Father looked away from His own Son as He was dying for us (Matthew 27:46). By doing this, God was confirming that He accepted what His Son was doing for us that day. He was our sin and He bore our punishment and He died our death with sin still on Him. So, yes, as. Peter writes, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree." Because Jesus did this, we live in God's gift of faith in Christ and in this faith, we get back to our Baptism into Jesus every day. We "die to sin and live to righteousness." And when tomorrow comes, we do it all over again! By grace we live this way, because by the wounds of Christ we have been healed. God no longer sees sins on you. Jesus took them. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, prepare us to receive Your very body and blood by giving us repentance to weep over our sins and then rejoice that in You the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have Good News preached to them; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/20/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23; Luke 7:1-17 For thus says the LORD God: "Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out." (Ezekiel 34:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The LORD spoke these words to Ezekiel the prophet because God's under-shepherds had neglected His people. They were unfaithful shepherds, unreliable, not feeding the sheep, but only feeding themselves (Ezekiel 34:2). The LORD would not stand for it and announced His solution: He Himself would be the shepherd of His sheep, His people (Ezekiel 34:15). God has stood by this resolution ever since. But really?! The last time I checked, my pastor was just a man. Where is God as shepherd? The answer is that while it is true that your pastor is "just a man," he serves in a way that is not his own. The called and ordained pastor serves in the Office of Christ, by the authority of Christ, and through the Word and Sacraments of Christ. What the pastor speaks is Christ's Word, not his own. Luke 10:16 records the words of Jesus when He spoke to the first under-shepherds who were genuine and true--that is, who would be as Christ to God's people: "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me." Okay, but how do we recognize the true under-shepherds who bring the Chief Shepherd Christ? The answer is quite clear: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." Always "test the spirits," that is, test whether what is being preached and taught is in accord with the Word of Christ. Be as the Bereans were. What did they do when they heard Paul preach? Acts 17:11b tells us, "They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." So, at the end of the day, we know that Christ is shepherding us through His Word! The sheep of God follow the True Shepherd because "they know his voice" (John 10:4). "A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." But we do know the voice of Christ so that we recognize the true under-shepherds who give us Christ, the Chief Shepherd. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, by Your almighty Word You set in order all things in heaven and on earth. Put away from us all things hurtful, and give us those things that are beneficial for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/19/20215 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Third Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 10:11-16 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35; Luke 6:39-49 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We throw around the word "good" quite a bit. Ice cream is good, apps are good, your favorite [fill in the blank] is good. . . so many things are "good," but not like what God's Word means when Jesus is called "the Good Shepherd." This "good" describing Jesus is packed with meaning. It could also be translated as "beautiful" or even "virtuous." You've heard of "superfoods" that are especially healthy. Well, the "good" pointing to Jesus is a "supergood." This is the kind of good that is beautiful in the sense that if you were lost or afraid or in lots of trouble, He would be "a sight for sore eyes," and not like ice cream or a good app that won't do you any good if you're dying. Or you would recognize Jesus as virtuous, full of the best things of human character: someone absolutely trustworthy, dependable, reliable. He will never let you down. In fact, this "Good" Shepherd is so beautiful and virtuous that He was willing to take your guilt, your trouble, your condemnation, your punishment, all of your bad, and put it all on Himself. That's the kind of "good" we're talking about. Who is this good? Not a soul on planet earth, except for One whose Name is Jesus. But the word "good" here doesn't hang in the air. It is an adjective describing "shepherd." Shepherds guide helpless sheep with a rod and a staff. He is good in how He guides us through life. Protecting us against all that is harmful through His rod, and rescuing us from all of our trouble through His staff. His goodness is experienced through His leading. Not in a million years should we ever want to follow anyone else, because no one else and nothing else is this good. But how can we be so certain? The proof has been made known: This Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. But this Good Shepherd was not only good in the past, He is also the Good Shepherd today in this world, in our time! He still leads us with His good rod and staff. He still keeps us protected and provided for in His good sheepfold, the Holy Church. Here, we receive His good gifts, His good Word and His good Sacraments, and through these we know Jesus who is truly good. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world, Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/18/20216 minutes, 16 seconds
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Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter (Psalm 33:1, 18-20; antiphon: v.5b, 6a) Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:1-14; Luke 6:20-38 The earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. Alleluia. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made. Alleluia. Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine." (From the Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow is the Third Sunday of Easter and is traditionally known as Misericordias Domini, which means "goodness of the LORD." The psalmist, in writing Psalm 33 by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is asserting the goodness of God. He says at the beginning of our Introit, "The earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD." Wait a minute. Was the psalmist looking upon the same earth that we are looking at?! We see all the things that Jesus warned us about, "wars and rumors of wars. . . famines and earthquakes in various places. . . And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:6a, 7b & 12). Is this the earth full of the steadfast love of the LORD? Don't be distraught, Christian, and remember: Context is everything. Note that the psalmist also wrote, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made." There is only one way for us to see the goodness of the LORD and that is through the WORD, the incarnate Jesus Christ, and His coming to us now through WORD and SACRAMENT. It is only when we find the WORD on earth that we are given eyes of faith, through which the WORD shows us God's working even through what is very, very bad. This doesn't mean that bad stuff is good. No, bad stuff is bad, but it does mean that God works even through the bad stuff to find a way to bless us for our good! Want proof? Then ponder this: The most horrific thing that ever happened was that the innocent Son of God was crucified, but through it, God worked out His greatest goodness. On the Cross Jesus took our sins and covered them with His blood so that through Jesus, the earth might be full of the steadfast love of the LORD. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. Alleluia. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made. Alleluia." (From the Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/17/20215 minutes, 50 seconds
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Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 31:1-18; Luke 6:1-19 In those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Anything you can say about God, you can say about any of the Three Persons of The Holy Trinity with one big exception to the rule: only the Son--very God of very God--took on flesh, becoming a man. So, we may say that Jesus created the heavens and the earth, and we may say that the Father saves us, and we may say that the Holy Spirit knows all things, but we may not say that the Father prayed or that the Holy Spirit struggled. No, it was only Jesus who did these things. Philippians 2 describes what Jesus did as the God-man: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. . . he humbled himself" (Philippians 2:5, 7a & 8a). Our LORD always possessed the full power of God, but He voluntarily limited Himself ("made himself nothing") so that He was fully able to be like us in every way, except without sin. So Jesus, also as true man, truly prayed to the Heavenly Father. Jesus was always God, but we may correctly say, "He was a man praying to God." And here is the big lesson for us about prayer: even Jesus who was a sinless person needed to pray. He felt the weight of sin in the world and the attacks of the devil. As a result, He yearned to pray. Lutheran Christians know how to pray: We engage in a two-way conversation. We hear God speaking to us through the Word of Christ and then we speak back to God in prayer, often just praying God's Word back to Him as we do in the psalms. If Jesus needed to pray, then we need to pray infinitely more. He heard the Father speak to Him as He had perfect communion with the Father, and He prayed to the Father. We emulate our Savior, take His Word into our hands and upon our lips and listen to God speak to us, and then we pray, since we are His baptized children. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, our Sabbath rest, You called the twelve apostles to go out into all the world to carry on Your proclamation of the kingdom of God and Your miracles of release. May Your Church with its apostolic foundation continue to announce the Good News that in You there is healing and forgiveness; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/16/20216 minutes, 6 seconds
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Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 25:1-22; Luke 5:17-39 "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31-32) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The evangelist Matthew was once very sick in his spirit, and he urgently needed a physician. Such was his condition when Jesus called him to follow, and everyone knew it. It is well-known that the two types of people considered to be the lowest of the low, during this place and time when Jesus walked the earth, were prostitutes and tax collectors. Matthew was a tax collector, and the people viewed tax collectors as robbers who took more than was owed, completely taking advantage of people for personal gain. Matthew was not ignorant. He knew what he had been doing. He knew that he was a sinner. He knew that his spirit was sick. What a remarkable text here from Luke 5:27-32 when Jesus called Matthew. Unlike Jesus' conversation in John 4 with the woman from Samaria, for example, there was no discussion about his past sin. Jesus did not moralize or lecture; the LORD did not accuse nor psychoanalyze. He saw Matthew, the sin-sick man, and just called him: "Follow me." That's it. Done deal. Jesus just called him to follow, and the rest was history. Luke 5:28: "And leaving everything, he rose and followed him." We know that if a person is complacent, ok and satisfied in their sinning, we must rouse them and ask the Holy Spirit to convict them through the Law, but on other occasions people already know that there is something wrong with them. They are already full of shame before we utter a syllable to them. When we meet folks like this, we don't need to beat them down with Law, we just need to love them with Gospel and tell them that Jesus is loving them, too. This is true for us as well. Sometimes we feel stuck in our shame, taking our sin to mean that we are just defective, rejected people. But Jesus won't stand for this. He calls us when our lives are all messy and full of shame, and in the greatest love and mercy the world has ever known. He calls to us, "Follow me." We don't have to jump through hoops, but get to leave our lives of serving sin, and then by God's grace, put one foot in front of the other as we follow Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O LORD, absolve Your people from their offenses that from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon ourselves, we may be delivered by Your bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/15/20216 minutes, 2 seconds
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Close of the Commandments Daily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18; Luke 5:1-16 What does God say about all these commandments? He says, "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep my commandments." (Small Catechism: The Close of the Commandments) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Luther teaches on the meaning of the close of the commandments: "What does this mean? God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands." Too often we hear a watered-down version of what it means for the Christian "to fear God." It is true that we don't walk around waiting for God to zap us with lightning. God wants us to know that on account of Christ He truly loves us. At the same time, we should be afraid to break God's commandments. We should hate the thought of doing so. Therefore, as Luther teaches, if we break God's commandments, we should fear God's wrath. Is this for Christians, too? Absolutely! So, our Lutheran confessions in many places teach us that Christians are familiar with the "terrors of conscience," because according to our sinful nature, we break God's Law. What does God want us to do? Does He want us to run and hide from Him like Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3? No way! Does He want us to rebel against Him and act like we don't care? Ridiculous! Does He want us to pretend that we don't sin? Definitely not! Instead, He says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). This is what we do every day as we live in our Holy Baptism into Jesus! What should motivate us? The fact that God is "a jealous God." This doesn't mean that God is insecure (that's the sinful meaning), but that God loves us so much that He fights for us at all cost, even to the point of giving up His own Son to forgive us for our law-breaking. As we live as Christians now, we do not live fearing God, but we live fearing the prospect of rebellion, and when we do break His commandments, we run to Jesus, the friend of sinners. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "You have this Law to see therein That you have not been free from sin But also that you clearly see How pure toward God life should be." Have mercy, LORD! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.11) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/14/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Today's Reading: 1 John 5:4-10 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33; Luke 4:31-44 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a real impact upon our lives when the Holy Spirit, through the Word and Sacraments of Jesus, creates in us the gift of faith. Luther in his preface to his Romans commentary wrote, "Faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God (John 1:23). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts, and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it." How can we be sure of this? "For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree" (1 John 5:7). John 19:34 records: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water." After Jesus rose from the grave, He gave His Holy Spirit to His Church (breathing the Spirit upon the apostles and pouring His Spirit upon the Church) and guess what? The Holy Spirit still uses the water of Christ and the blood of Christ to flow upon and into Christians. You have received Christ's water in Holy Baptism and you receive Christ's Blood in Holy Communion. Through these, the Holy Spirit protects you! Christ for you means that you have the Victor over anything and everything in the world that threatens the forgiveness of your sins, your eternal life, and your great salvation in Christ. This does not mean that sin, the world, and the devil will not still harass you and even cause you great pain (we get to taste some of His suffering for us), but it does mean that nothing in this world is stronger than the One your faith clings to! Nothing! "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life" (1 John 5:11-12a). And who overcomes the world? "The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:5). Your Savior is so strong for you that your enemies cannot snatch you out of His hand (John 10:28). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord Jesus, in Your ministry of teaching, casting out demons, and healing the sick, You proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom of God. Send us into all the world to announce that today, in You, Scripture has been fulfilled, the new creation has come, and the healing of the nations is here; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/13/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Monday of the Second Week of Easter

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the LORD God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. (Ezekiel 37:12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. While the Old Testament teaches the resurrection of the flesh as we see in Job 19, Ezekiel 37 is not about the resurrection of the body, but it is about the renewal and "resurrection" of hope and vitality for living in faith. The powerful scene of the valley of dry bones describes the people of Israel in exile in Babylon before their liberation by the powerful Persian emperor and conqueror Cyrus the Great (as history knows him). But before Cyrus, God's people had lost their homeland, they were like slaves in a far-away land, and the confidence they once had as the people of God seemed like a distant memory. They had lost hope, so that they were full of dryness in spirit, and full of the feeling of death in their collective soul. That is why God describes His people here as a great valley of dry bones. Have you ever felt dry? Have you ever lost hope? The psalmist proves to us that it is possible for a believer to feel this way. Psalm 32:3-4 says, "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer." For us, though, we don't need any mere man, even a powerful mere man like Cyrus the Great, but only Jesus Christ, who is not a mere man, but the very Son of God! This is how Jesus rescues us from our sinful exiles; this is how Jesus raises our "dry bones." "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" (Psalm 32:5). As Jesus keeps us in our baptismal grace, we are lifted up and renewed day by day. We are no longer exiles and slaves to sin, but we are released from bondage to sin and we have a new Master, the LORD of life who showers upon us new hope, and this hope does not disappoint nor put us to shame (Romans 5:5). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lord God, heavenly Father, Your Son announced in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth that as the Messiah, His teaching and miracles demonstrated His presence in creation to release it from bondage and bring healing by making all things new. Give us faith to see that His teaching and miracles continue today in the healing medicine of Your Word and the Sacraments, which put to flight the diseases of our souls; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/12/20215 minutes, 58 seconds
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The Second Sunday of Easter

Today's Reading: John 20:19-31 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 20:1-24; Luke 4:1-15 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. (John 20:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This marvelous Easter text is one of the most important in leading us to worship our Risen LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. At the same time, it is teaching us something about our Risen LORD according to His Person as true God and true man. In our Lutheran Confessions, Solid Declaration, Article VII on The Holy Supper, we learn that there are three ways in which Jesus can be in a given place. One of those is the way He was present as recorded in John 20. Here, space cannot contain Him, so Jesus was able to leave "the closed grave and came through closed doors" [John 20:19]. So locked doors and hard walls can't keep Jesus from really and actually coming to you and being with you. At the same time here in John 20 the disciples were able to know Jesus' real presence. He was actually there with them in His body! In fact, Thomas got to touch Him! (John 20:27). In other words, Jesus can do both at the same time: have nothing touch Him as He passes through locked doors and walls, and yet be touched and touch at the same time! How does He do it? He's God! It is not too difficult for Him. So, what is really important about this fancy schmancy theological overview? Just this: This is the same way that Jesus comes to you in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar! He does not need bread and wine to contain Him (they can't), and yet when you receive the sacramental bread and the sacramental wine, He really and truly and actually comes to you! In the Holy Sacrament, His Body and His Blood enters your mouth, enters your whole life, and this is one way that He is keeping His promise to be with you always (Matthew 28:20). In our sin, we doubt that Jesus can do this, but in this very Holy Sacrament and in His Word proclaimed, we poor sinners are given and increased in holy faith so that we may walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord's resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/11/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Saturday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter (Psalm 81:1, 7a, 10, 16b; antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2a) Daily Lectionary: Exodus 19:1-25; Hebrews 13:1-21 Like newborn infants, Alleluia, long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. Alleluia." (From the Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for tomorrow, the "entrance" or "beginning" that tells us the theme of the service, is for the special Sunday known as Quasimodo Geniti, "like newborn babies." That is, this Sunday's theme teaches us that we should be like newborn babies. But in what way? So that we would "long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word." Have you ever observed a hungry baby? Getting fed is basically the only thing on their minds! Christians still have a sinful nature and because of that, one of our worst problems is being complacent and no longer feeling the need for God's Word. In sin, we do not long for or thirst for the Word of Christ. Or course, this is exactly where our sin, the world, and the devil want us to be. In time, we might just turn away from God's Word altogether (may it never be!). When the Holy Spirit convicts us of this sinful way of no longer longing for the Word of Christ, we confess our sin, and receive Christ's forgiveness and then we live not as unwise, but as wise. We train ourselves by the grace of God and through the Word and Sacraments (the Holy Spirit always working through these) to enter each day with a longing. The longing that says once again this day, "I need Jesus, and I know where to find Him! I receive Him through His pure spiritual milk, His Word. For this I long." Luther taught this in respect to receiving Holy Absolution, through which the forgiveness of Christ is imputed to us. Luther wrote: "If you are a Christian, then you ought to be happy to run more than a hundred miles to Confession and not let yourself be urged to come." This is what longing for the Word looks like. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder. 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; and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Like newborn infants, Alleluia, long for the pure spiritual milk [of the Word.] Alleluia. (From the Introit for Quasimodo Geniti Sunday) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/10/20215 minutes, 48 seconds
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Friday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 18:5-27; Hebrews 12:1-24 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump. (1 Corinthians 5:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Leaven" here is a metaphor, so Paul is not talking about yeast that makes dough rise. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, "leaven" stands for the old life, the old man, the sinful nature; the flesh. Before you were baptized (or if you were baptized later in life, before you came to saving faith through another means of grace), you were only "leaven," only unregenerate, only against God. The state of being "leaven" is described thoroughly in Romans 5:6-10: You were weak, ungodly, a sinner, and an enemy of God. This condition is so permeating that this leaven infiltrated your very core, or perhaps better said, your heart, so that nothing but more leaven could rise out of you (Matthew 15:18-20). Such leaven spreads to everything you do, and say, and think by nature, all of which is the old leaven of sin and death. In this condition, a person is spiritually dead. But God in His mercy saw us in this old leavened state, and loved us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to come and do something about our old leavened lives. Jesus put on our humanity, became our brother, even while still being Almighty God,and did something about the old leaven. Through Himself, He has given us His perfect unleavened bread, His very body to make our lives holy and unleavened. We now have the new life of Christ that covers our old leaven of sin. His sinless and unleavened life has covered you ever since you were baptized into Him, so that now the Holy Spirit is busy daily doing something in and through you: leading you to confess the old leaven, to "clean it out" according to what Jesus has done for you. We confess it to God, and through Christ, God takes it from us, and then reminds us where He put it all: on His Son when His Son was on the Cross with all our old leaven. In Christ, God sees you as unleavened. On account of Christ, all the old leaven is gone! You are now His new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's Church that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/9/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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Thursday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Job 19:23-27 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 17:1-16; Hebrews 11:1-29 "And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh in my flesh I shall see God." (Job 19:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People say a lot of things that either criticize Scripture or reveal their lack of familiarity with Scripture. For example, many perpetuate the idea that the Old Testament does not teach the resurrection of the body. Job 19 disproves this assertion. In fact, Job in chapter 19 is adamant about what he is saying here. It is so important that he wants the truth of his words to be "with an iron pen and lead, engraved in the rock forever!" (Job 19:24) Nothing can contradict this truth. What truth? That after we die, our physical bodies will turn to dust . We will be reduced to practically nothing. The Greeks taught that our atoms would just dissipate into the rest of the universe. Job admits that yes, his body would be "destroyed"; reduced to ashes. Yes, this is true, but that is not everything. Job then states the rest of the story: Something happens after death that will enable him to see God with his own eyes! (Job 19:26-27) How could Job possibly testify so strongly to this? It appears at first glance to be a contradiction, but it is not. Job was describing the effects of the resurrected body. The Gospel is not just that God put your sins on Jesus for Him to cover your sins with His blood, but the Gospel includes what God promises you on account of Jesus' rising from death. And this is no silly metaphor or "spiritual" resurrection, but it means that His body that died (the same one buried) came back to life. Yes, bodies that die turn to dust, and the rest of the story is that God reassembles the body--in a miraculous way--so that not only will our bodies be restored, but they will be better than ever before (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). In other words, the Good News is that death is not your end, dear Christian, because after you die, you shall be raised and you will see Jesus with your very own eyes! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life. We humbly pray that we may live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/8/20215 minutes, 51 seconds
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Wednesday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Tenth Commandment Daily Lectionary: Exodus 16:13-35; Hebrews 10:19-39 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Text from Luther's Small Catechism drawn from Exodus 20:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor's wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty" (Luther's Small Catechism). Have you heard the old saying, "The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence?" Well, for our sinful nature, this is a highly accurate statement. The flesh is never satisfied. Its cravings and desires are insatiable. Our sin is never satisfied. King Solomon described this problem in respect to the love of money: "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money [or "will never have enough"]" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Why is this true? God tells us why: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) These dark cravings easily turn toward our neighbor and what our neighbor has in his or her life, like their close relationships. Have you ever been jealous of someone else? If so, then maybe it was because you envied their popularity, or even because they had or have a friend that you always wanted to be close to. When our sin zeros in on envy, coveting, and evil desire, then we don't want our neighbor to have what they have. Instead, we want what they have. This is how the Tenth Commandment is broken. But your sin was put on Jesus! He took it out of obedient love to the Heavenly Father for you. He went to the Cross and covered your sin, including all your coveting, on the Cross; and He rose to prove that since you are baptized into His death and His resurrection you do indeed have a new life! That life realizes this: You have the Kingdom of God (Luke 12:32). You already have the best of the best of life; in Christ, you have all things good and holy and lasting and rich! You don't need anything else! Now, because God takes care of what you have, in Christ you can help your neighbor take care of what they have. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "You shall not crave your neighbor's house Nor covet money, goods, or spouse. Pray God He would your neighbor bless As you yourself wish success." Have mercy, LORD! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st.10) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/7/20215 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tuesday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Acts 10:34-43 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:19-16:12; Hebrews 10:1-18 So Peter opened his mouth and said, "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality." (Acts 10:34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.There are at least two very different ways to take this revelation from Luke, who wrote these words by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. One way is to take the fact that God shows no partiality as really bad news. I mean, how fair is that?! So I can go to all this effort to be a good person, do the right thing, be honest, hard-working, etc., but then God is going to treat the rebel and the bad guy like He treats me? It does not seem right and let's face it: Such frustration can cause a person to stray from God altogether. After all, we want proper credit for what we do, especially when we think what we do makes us better than others. On the other hand, we might understand that God's showing no partiality is a really good thing. He will still be the God of grace even for us. He is the God who sent His Son for sinners and mess-ups and is still impartial enough to consider me among the saints of God. That is, God's impartiality means that I have a chance to be with the "good guys." It's just important that we understand what makes the "good guys" good. These are the ones who are "acceptable" to the LORD (Acts 10:35). But being acceptable to God is not because we accept Him. . . no, instead His acceptance of us happened a long time ago when His Son Jesus,our Savior, lived, died, and rose for us! Indeed, our salvation is not about our opening our hearts to accept Jesus; but about the Heavenly Father's opening His heart to us by sending His Son to be our Savior! We are accepted and experience God's impartiality through the Good News of peace that has been preached to us (Acts 10:36). Jesus was anointed (Acts 10:38) and that means He has power and authority to heal ALL sinners. Remember God shows no partiality, so "all" means "all"! Yes, it is true as Luke writes, "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree," and many thought it was game over for Jesus, but here's the rest of the story: "God raised him on the third day. . . [and] everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:40, 43). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, through the resurrection of Your Son You have secured peace for our troubled consciences. Grant us this peace evermore that trusting in the merit of Your Son we may come at last to the perfect peace of heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/6/20216 minutes, 2 seconds
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Monday of Easter Week

Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-38 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:1-18; Hebrew 9:1-28 . . . Jesus. . . said to them, 'Peace to you!" (Luke 24:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When the LORD Jesus says, "Peace to you!" it's not like He's saying, "I wish you well," or "I hope you feel better," or "Even though I don't know how things are going to work out, here's hoping for the best." Ah. . . no! When God proclaims peace upon you, it is created upon you; it becomes a reality upon you, so that peace for you is as empirical and objective as the iPhone you're holding right now or the thing upon which you are sitting. Think of the opening of Genesis, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). When God speaks, what He speaks becomes. The spoken thing is now an "is" reality. Peace IS now yours because Jesus has spoken it to you! He speaks it every time you attend Divine Service, as the pastor in Christ's Office says, "Peace be with you." That's Jesus speaking to you and casting His peace upon you. Why is this so important? Because we--according to our core sin--are like those Emmaus disciples in Luke 24. We are ". . . troubled. . . [and have] doubts [arising] in our hearts" (Luke 24:38). That's what sinners do. In fact, the old man does nothing but doubt, fret, complain, and curse. But when Jesus sees you like this--like He saw the Emmaus disciples--He has compassion upon you as He had compassion upon them. So His response is not to condemn you, but in the greatest love and mercy impart to you His peace, which means that you are right with God through the life, death, and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ. But how can we know this with absolute certainty? Well, if we sneak ahead a little bit to Luke 24:39 we see what Jesus did with the Emmaus disciples: He got REAL with them! He showed them His hands and His feet and told them that they could touch Him! Well, guess what? He gets REAL with you, too! You go to the Divine Service and receive Jesus' REAL Absolution through the REAL pastor; and then hear Jesus' REAL Word through Jesus' REAL preaching Office; and then--best of all--you receive the REAL Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. You get to see exactly how and why the peace that Jesus gives to you is not theoretical, but absolutely the real deal. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, in the paschal feast You restore all creation. Continue to send Your heavenly gifts upon Your people that they may walk in perfect freedom and receive eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/5/20216 minutes, 9 seconds
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The Resurrection of our Lord

Today's Reading: Mark 16:1-8 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 14:10-31; Hebrews 7:23-8:13 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene. . . (Mark 16:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. According to Scripture, who is the first person to go to the tomb of the LORD Jesus after He was buried? Answer: Mary Magdalene. Jesus had once healed her, exorcizing seven demons from her (Luke 8:2). We can't begin to imagine what her life was like. She was lower than low and practically freaked people out. She must have been repulsive. "Total loser" would have been an understatement. But Jesus came for sinners--people dead in their trespasses and sins like you and me. Jesus did not hesitate to love her and have mercy on her. He healed her and she became one of the Lord's most ardent believers. What happened from there was amazing. Not only does she have the distinction of going to Jesus' tomb first (while the apostles were hiding out), but after everyone else left, Jesus appears to her first (John 20:11). Mary Magdalene went on to be the first proclaimer of the resurrection of Christ (John 20:18). The one so lowly was the one lifted up so highly! Why? Because Jesus is for sinners, even the absolute worst of them! But we must not forget that the Scriptural testimony about Mary is not random. Her lowest point was when she was possessed by demons (a seemingly hopeless situation), but her highest point is right here in Mark 16. This time she was with the risen Lord. She witnessed firsthand that Jesus even has power over death. No wonder the demons must obey His commands! While the raising of Christ is attributed to both the Father (Acts 2:24) and to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1), it is--in true Trinitarian fashion--credited also to Jesus Himself. Jesus said, "No one takes [my life] from me. . . I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again" (John 10:18). This One is the Master of the wind and the waves, the Master of all disease and disability, the One with all authority over principalities and powers. . . and yes, even the Master over death. Mary had already experienced His power, and now the rest of the world would know for whom His power is especially made known: exceptional sinners like Mary Magdalene, and like you and me! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Resurrection of Our Lord) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/4/20215 minutes, 59 seconds
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Holy Saturday

Today's Reading: Matthew 27:57-66 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 13:17-14:9; Hebrews 7:1-22 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1, from the Introit for Easter Day) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus' Name is excellent. It's greater than any Name in this age and also in the age to come (Ephesians 1:21). "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:10). The angels speak that Name to the women that first Easter morning. "I know you seek Jesus the Crucified. He isn't here because He was raised, just has He said" (Matthew 28:5–6). Jesus had added resurrection glory to crucified glory. He's enthroned in power on the Cross, dying for you and the whole world. His Name was there, too: "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." But now He is always the Crucified. He bears the scars in His own body. As John sees in Revelation: "I saw in the middle of the throne. . . a Lamb standing, looking as if He'd been slain" (Revelation 5:6). But before that, He was buried. God was lying dead in a tomb, His lifeless body placed there. God took His rest on the seventh day. This makes your grave holy. Your resurrection from the dead will be holy by His resurrection from the dead. You will die. It's going to happen. You could be hit by a bus tomorrow, or you could die in your sleep when you're 100. You could die from cancer or in a storm. Your body will be laid to rest. But that's not the end for you, dear Christian, because Christ has baptized you into His death and resurrection, burying you with Him, you will rise again to new life. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Jesus placed His Name upon you. You've been marked by Christ the Crucified in your Baptism. Jesus died. You will die. Jesus was buried. You will be buried. Jesus rose. You will rise. Tomorrow in the Divine Service you will receive the Body and Blood that was dead, buried, and raised. Jesus keeps you with these in body and soul to life everlasting. Jesus the Crucified lives forever. You will live forever. In Him you already do. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord Jesus Christ, we give You thanks that through death You have destroyed the power of death and delivered us, who are subject to lifelong bondage through the fear of death, comfort us with Your precious merit and assist us in our last hour by Your grace; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Saturday) Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
4/3/20215 minutes, 45 seconds