Friends, Just a quick little quote from Luther to get your work week started, not in the stress of your merit, but in the comfort of Jesus' grace and mercy. Concerning the 5th petition, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," Luther says, "Thus this petition is really an...
On December 6th, alot of the Christian world celebrates the feast of St. Nicholas. At our house, one of the ways we celebrate it is by filling the boys shoes with oranges, chocolates, and other candies. However, the real celebration isn't about candy or filling your shoe with other goodies, but...
Yesterday, I posted a quote from the Pastoral Prayer Companion on Facebook. It was about how pastoral care always flows from and leads back to the Divine Service. The Companion speaks of the Divine Service saying, "The liturgy itself is the primary place of ongoing pastoral care as week after...
Dear Saints, It is amazing how small Luther's Small Catechism is. There are six chief parts, along with the Table of Duties, prayers, and some questions in order to prepare yourself for the Lord's Supper. However greatly I desire to memorize this little book in order to...
This morning in the Treasury of Daily Prayer, we were blessed with a writing from Walther that says, "Today, the cross is still a terror-but only to hell. It shines upon its ruins as a sign of victory over sin, death, and Satan. With a crushed head, the serpent of temptation lies at the foot of...
Today is the festival of the Lutheran Reformation. The central article upon which the church stands or falls, the article that got Luther into a whole mess of trouble, is the doctrine that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. We are saved and forgiven, not by what we do, but...
The New Testament reading from the Treasury of Daily Prayer today is Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. The story goes saying, "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After...
On Sunday, October 29th, we are beginning a walk through St. Paul's letter to the Saints in Rome. Luther makes the point that before you begin reading any book of the Bible, you have to know what the words of the Bible mean. For example, it is necessary to have a proper definition of the word...
Today is the commemoration of Faithful Women like Dorcas, Lydia, and Phoebe. Phoebe was a Deaconess who carried St. Paul's epistle to Rome, and Lydia was maker of purple dye that, upon hearing the Gospel through the mouth of St. Paul, became a ardent follower of the Way. Dorcas was a generous...
The Gospel reading in the Treasury of Daily Prayer today is the account of the Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain, and before their eyes, was transfigured. He became as white as light and revealed to these three pillars His Divine Nature. With Jesus appeared...