TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Hymns Reading Comments
April 1 TLH 339 Psalm 2 Jesus Christ is God’s Anointed One, Whom no earthly power can overcome. He is the very Son of God, and King overall. “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
April 2 TLH 39 Psalm 8 The glory of the human race was lost through man’s fall into sin, but has been regained through Jesus, the God-Man. “How excellent is His Name in all the earth!”
April 4 TLH 388 Psalm 32 Unconfessed sin brings misery to the very depths of one’s soul. Confession leads back to the truth that, for Christ’s sake, the Lord does not count our sin against us! What sweet relief!
April 5 TLH 142 Psalm 40 David is confident that the Lord will rescue him from the pit of death. His certainty is found in Messiah’s burning desire to sacrifice Himself for all sin. “Here I am, I come … I desire to do your will, O my God.”
April 6 TLH 324 Psalm 51 In His mercy, the Lord cleanses, washes, and blots out all our sin. Our response to such amazing mercy? “O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.”
April 7 WS 799 Psalm 68 This psalm celebrates the faithfulness of the Lord in giving His people victory over all their enemies. “Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.”
April 8 TLH 153 Psalm 69 Another prophecy of Christ’s suffering. Of special note is v.5, where we learn the astonishing truth that our sin actually became Christ’s sin. In exchange for our sin we receive His righteousness!
April 9 TLH 279 Psalm 91 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.'”
April 11 TLH 123 Psalm 102 “The Psalm laments the brevity of life for us sinful human beings. It is only in the Name of the Lord that Zion ‘(God’s believing people) finds the confidence that she will live in God’s presence forever!'”
April 12 TLH 307 Psalm 110 Christ is a priest like Melchizedek. He is not like Levitical priests who constantly needed to make sacrifices for the sins of the people. Christ made a complete and final sacrifice once and for all!
April 13 TLH 176 Psalm 130 “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. . . . And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.”
April 14 TLH 171 Psalm 22:1-18 This Psalm prophesies in graphic detail the events of Good Friday. Why did God forsake His Son that day? Because all sin was put on Him. So now we need never fear that God will ever forsake us.
April 15 TLH 341 Psalm 22:19-31 Psalm 22 ends with the confidence that God will rescue His Son from His enemies. As the living Savior, He will rule the nations so that people from every generation will bow before Him in saving faith.
April 16 TLH 188 Psalm 118 Tomorrow we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter gives us a wonderful, living hope. Tomorrow we shout, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!”
April 18 TLH 190 Luke 24:1-12 “Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
April 19 TLH 191 Luke 24:13-35 “’Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
April 20 TLH 193 Luke 24:36-53 “It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.”
April 21 WS 765 Acts 1:1-11 Before ascending into Heaven, Jesus promised to give His disciples the Holy Spirit so that they would be empowered to bring Christ’s saving truth to the ends of the earth!
April 22 WS 780 Acts 1:12-26 The Church takes great care in its first ever recorded call meeting. First a list of qualified men is put forth. Then there is prayer. Finally comes the confidence that whoever is called to be an apostle is God’s choice.
April 23 WS 780 Acts 2:1-13 Jesus makes good on His promise to send the Holy Spirit to His Church. The Spirit’s gift of speaking in different languages ignites God’s purpose of bringing the Gospel to every language and tribe.
April 25 WS 739 Acts 2:14-40 On the night of Jesus’ arrest, cowardly Peter would not even witness Christ to a servant girl! But now he boldly proclaims God’s Law and Gospel to thousands. What a difference the Holy Spirit makes!
April 26 WS 767 Acts 2:41-47 The Church devotes itself 1) to baptizing 2) to teaching the Word 3) to prayer 4) to showing Christ-like love to one another 5) to celebrating the Lord’s Supper (“the breaking of bread”) and 6) to praising God (spreading the Gospel).
April 27 TLH 276 Acts 3:1-26 Through Peter and John, God works a great miracle, but then gets at someting much more important: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
April 28 TLH 355 Acts 4:1-22 We hear more bold testimony from the Apostle Peter: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
April 29 WS 766 Acts 4:23-37 May the Holy Spirit empower today’s church to boldly testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and may He fill us with true love for one another. By God’s grace let’s preach it and live it!
April 30 TLH 295 Acts 5:1-11 The account of Ananias and Sapphira provides a sobering reminder that God takes sin quite seriously. Let each one examine his heart and life, and turn to Christ for cleansing.