This morning, Pastor Daniels and I were speaking about crosses that many people bear. What comes to mind immediately is the story of St. Paul Gergardt. He was a pastor in Germany in the early 17th century. He had to bury his own wife, many of his children, a majority of his congregation, and was...
The Church is in the business of forgiving sinners, and my friends, business is a boomin. Every day the devil, the world, the Old Adam, and death awake in man his desires to sin. We desire to lust, envy what our neighbor has been given, and we grow in anxiety and depression. In short, there is...
St. Paul says in Romans, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is...
The Treasury today quotes Luther's sermons on the Gospel according to St. John saying, "This ministry (that is, the Word of God, Baptism, and Holy Communion) will endure and is not to be replaced by any other. But the incumbents of this ministry do not remain; they die." (treasury 197). Isn't...
In the Treasury this morning, Luther's "Babylonian Captivity of the Church," is the chosen devotional writing which says, "2nd Timothy 2:13-If we are faithful, He remains faithful-for He cannot deny Himself. This truth of God, I say, will sustain him, so that if all else should fail, this truth...
In the Treasury this morning, C.F.W. Walther's meditation on the Lord's Supper gives the example of diverse people coming the table saying, "Although one may appear in a rough apron while another in velvet and satin, adorned with gold and pearls, when they depart, all take with them that for...
Today is Holy Tuesday, a blessed day in Holy Week as we continue our walk to the cross and eventually the Resurrected Body of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. A good reading for today is Matthew 22 which reads, And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The...
In the Treasury last week, there was a quote from the Formula of Concord Solid Declaration that asserts, "Christ is not man alone, but God and man in one undivided person. Therefore, He was hardly subject to the Law (because He is the Lord of the Law), just as He didn't have to suffer and die...
In the Treasury this morning, the Old Testament lesson is from Exodus 4, the account of God sending Moses to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of captivity. Moses doubted his ability to be this voice for God, and to comfort him, God said, "You shall speak to him (Aaron) and put the words in his...
If you aren't reading the Treasury of Daily Prayer, you should start as soon as possible. It is a fantastic treasure that benefits you everyday. You have a Psalm, and Old Testament, a New Testament, and a writing from a church Father or from the Confessions. Today, the writing is from the 5th...