TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Hymns Reading Comments
May 2 WS 781 Acts 5:17-42 Set free from prison, the apostles continue to tell “the full message of this new life.” Why did the apostles keep preaching Jesus after the authorities ordered them to stop? Because we must obey God rather than men!
May 3 TLH 400 Acts 6:1-15 The Church learns that apostles (and pastors) can’t do everything. Men full of the Spirit and wisdom are chosen to help carry the load. Thank God for faithful lay people willing to use their gifts in service to Christ.
May 4 TLH 40 Acts 7:1-19 Stephen takes the Sanhedrin through a history lesson on God’s faithful love. For example, the Lord made good on all the great things He promised He would do for Abraham.
May 5 TLH 54 Acts 7:20-38 As Stephen continues his Old Testament review, he turns our attention to God’s gift of the prophet Moses to His people. God raised up Moses, through whom He would perform mighty signs in setting His people free.
May 6 TLH 225 Acts 7:39-53 Stephen’s account turns sad, as he narrates the rebellious response on the part of Israel to God’s faithful love. Then the point of the entire sermon: “You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”
May 7 TLH 172 Acts 7:54-59 “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 enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.”
May 9 LSB 843 Acts 8:1-8 With a Christ-like spirit, Stephen asks forgiveness for his enemies. In the next chapter, with persecutor Saul, we see his prayer amazingly answered. In this chapter God uses Saul’s persecution to spread the Gospel!
May 10 TLH 324 Acts 8:9-25 Through the witness of the evangelist Philip, the Word reaches into Samaria. However, problems arise when Simon tries to buy the Holy Spirit. The solution to sinful attitudes is always repentance and forgiveness.
May 11 WS 769 Acts 8:26-40 The Word continues to march forward, as Philip tells an Ethiopian the good news of Jesus. One wonders how many souls were reached for Jesus when the Ethiopian arrived back home with God’s soul-saving truth!
May 12 WS 777 Acts 9:1-19a Who of us would ever peg Saul, nemesis of the early Church, as God’s choice to be an apostle of Christ? But isn’t it just as astonishing that sinful wretches like us are now God’s forgiven saints and ambassadors?
May 13 TLH 464 Acts 9: 19b – 31 A murder conspiracy is thwarted when Saul’s friends sneak him out of Damascus. Barnabas stands up for Saul when no one else will. Others help Saul escape by sea from another death threat. Had Saul ever before experienced that kind of love?
May 14 WS 764 Acts 9:32-43 A paralytic named Aeneas and a seamstress named Tabitha experience the healing power of Jesus Christ. In the early church these miracles served as signs to confirm the Word of Christ being proclaimed by the apostles.
May 16 WS 772 Acts 10:1-8 If some in the church were thinking that the message of a Crucified and Risen Savior was only for Jewish ears, they were about to get a wake-up call. May the Spirit wake us up to the truth that Jesus is Savior for all.
May 17 WS 771 Acts 10:9-23a Through a vision of “unclean” animals, God gets His message through. It’s not just a change in menu that’s called for, but a change of heart toward the Gentiles. Let’s preach the Gospel to any and all!
May 18 WS 770 Acts 10:24b-48 Peter tells Cornelius and His household the good news of how Jesus died and rose. What does it all mean? “Every one who believes in Him [both Jew and Gentile] receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
May 19 TLH 227 Acts 11:1-18 At first Peter is criticized for entering the home of a Gentile. But later God is praised for granting even the Gentiles repentance unto life! Problems are overcome when the Spirit gives understanding.
May 20 WS 767 Acts 11:19-30 As the church is scattered by persecution we see what God is doing. Those scattered brought the Gospel to many faraway places. Satan’s schemes are always overturned so that they work for God’s purposes.
May 21 TLH 425 Acts 12:1-10 One apostle is put to death by the sword, while another is set free from prison by an angel. God has a distinctive plan for each of His children. His plans serve in the best interest of the individual and for His Church.
May 23 WS 775 Acts 12:11-25 This section records both painful and joyful events. But through them all the Word of God grows and multiplies! So it is today. Through pandemic and war, through good times and bad, God’s Word marches on!
May 24 TLH 507 Acts 13:1-12 Called by the Spirit, Saul and Barnabas sail for Cyprus, where Satan, through wicked Elymas, tries to block the Gospel’s advance. But Jesus can’t be stopped from conquering the heart of a man in high places.
May 25 TLH 355 Acts 13:13-31 In Psidian Antioch Paul shows from the Scriptures that Jesus is the promised Christ. No one, only Jesus, fulfills all those many, many Old Testament prophecies. There is no other Savior but Jesus!
May 26 TLH 297 Acts 13:32-51 As the work of the Gospel continues in Psidian Antioch, many believe, others reject. Down through the ages it’s ever been the same. All credit to God alone for the faith by which we have received eternal life in Christ!
May 27 TLH 501 Acts 14:1-20 Despite many hardships, Paul and Barnabas will not be deterred from proclaiming the message of Christ wherever they went. May God give us all such unwavering commitment to the greatest cause ever!
May 28 WS 780 Acts 14:21-28 The missionaries re-visit those to whom they had previously brought the Word. God’s people need constant
encouragement to remain in the faith. Thank God for those who faithfully bring His faith-sustaining Word to us.
May 30 TLH 373 Acts 15:1-21 Here we read of the Church’s first great doctrinal controversy, centering around the key question of how one is saved. Scripture’s answer? “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved!”
May 31 TLH 521 Acts 15:22-41 Chapter 15 ends with a sad dispute between long-time friends and co-missionaries, Paul and Barnabas. But God uses the argument to put an extra missionary team on the road. All things work together for good!