TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Hymns Reading Comments
August 1 TLH 39 Genesis 1 The record of creation is very precise: every day of creation has a morning and an evening, making each of the six days a 24-hour day. Notice also how it’s made very clear that God creates plant, animal, and human life not to evolve into something else over time, but rather to reproduce after its own kind.
August 2 TLH 622 Genesis 2 Since they are the crown of His creation, God goes into more detail about how He made the first humans. With special care God forms Adam from dust, and then, just as carefully, fashions Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. By telling them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God gives Adam and Eve the opportunity to express their love for Him.
August 3 TLH 370 Genesis 3 Cast down from Heaven, Satan goes after what God loves most: Adam and Eve. Choosing to believe Satan’s lies, the two rebel against their Creator, plunging the entire human race into death and damnation. Yet, with incredible compassion, God comes to the rescue. The promised Offspring of the Woman will triumph over the Serpent to save sinners.
August 4 TLH 156 Genesis 4 Though very much mistaken, Eve believes her firstborn is the promised Savior, thus showing that she is a believer in the Coming Savior. With Cain and Abel we see how man will be forever after divided, with some stubbornly rejecting Christ, while others, by the grace of God, receiving Christ in faith as their Savior.
August 5 TLH 369 Genesis 5 It’s astounding how long people before the flood lived. But more to the point of the chapter is the sad refrain, “And he died!” Seth is born in the image of sinful Adam, as are we all. Only the promised Savior can restore to sinners the image of God. Through faith in that Savior, people are saved from death and hell.
August 6 TLH 605 Genesis 6 The Lord is amazingly patient, giving the wicked pre-flood world 120 years to repent. But when nothing changes, His judgement falls swiftly and terribly. Yet, by preserving Noah and his family through the Flood, the Lord keeps His promise to one day send the world a Savior.
August 8 TLH 604 Genesis 7 The Genesis flood was worldwide, rising above the mountains by more than twenty feet. Every person, land animal, and bird was wiped out. Only those aboard the ark were kept safe. Only those people who know Christ by faith will escape the final judgment. Before that day, give us strength, Lord, to share your Gospel with any and all.
August 9 TLH 608 Genesis 8 These days we hear much talk about global warming. While Christians, more than anyone, want to be good stewards of our planet, we need not give into all the climate change fear mongering. We have God’s promise: “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
August 10 TLH 437 Genesis 9 We appreciate the beauty of a rainbow in the sky, also remembering how the Lord attached a promise to it: “The waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” The Lord has kept that promise, as He does all His promises. We marvel over the beauty and wonder of all His grace-filled promises, promises we can count on no matter what our circumstances my be.
August 11 TLH 23 Genesis 10 Chapter 10 is one of those genealogy chapters we might be tempted to skip over. But chapters like this, as with all Scripture, are written for our learning. This chapter shows God’s sure hand in guiding the course of history. History is His Story, which reveals how God tirelessly works out His plan of salvation, a plan centered on a Savior for all people.
August 12 TLH 644 Genesis 11 God puts a stop to the tower rebellious man attempts to build to his own glory. By confusing their languages, the people are divided and forced to spread out over all the earth. It’s only through the Gospel of Christ that people are truly unified in a way which glorifies God.
August 13 TLH 40 Genesis 12 Chapter 12 places our attention on one family, the family of Abram (Abraham). Through his family line the Offspring of the Woman (the Savior) will come one day as a blessing for all people. The chapter ends with the painful reminder that even believers like Abraham are prone to sin and great weakness. We ALL need a Savior!
August 15 WS 785 Genesis 13 Abram shows his confidence in the Lord to provide by allowing Lot to have first dibs on the grazing land. We Christians are usually quick to express confidence in the Lord as our Savior, but sometimes we show a lack of trust in Him as our Provider. But as we seek God’s kingdom first, we can trust Him to provide for all our earthly needs.
August 16 TLH 376 Genesis 14 When his nephew Lot is taken captive, Abram goes on a daring rescue mission, in which God grants him great success. The story ends with mysterious Melchizedek, a king and priest who prefigures the coming Savior. See Hebrews 7 for more details.
August 17 TLH 377 Genesis 15 The years are zipping by, and Abram still has no heir. The Lord dismisses Abram’s solution to the problem, promising him as many descendants as the stars in the sky. Abram believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness. Even in Old Testament times, salvation came by faith alone.
August 18 TLH 342 Genesis 16 With still no heir, Abram and Sarai resort to Abram conceiving a child with servant Hagar. But the sinful plan backfires when pregnant Hagar despises Sarai, and Sarai in turn mistreats Hagar. God’s grace saves the day when He sends runaway Hagar back to her mistress, as well as assuring Hagar that He would bless her soon-to-be-born son.
August 19 TLH 402 Genesis 17 The Lord confirms His covenant with Abraham through the Old Testament rite of circumcision. Circumcision marked a person as one of God’s people. The chapter also makes it clear that Isaac will be born from Sarah.
August 20 TLH 296 Genesis 18 Three mysterious men visit Abraham and Sarah. As we read on, we discover that two are angels, and one is the Lord. Even though Sarah laughs, the Lord assures the aged couple that in one year Sarah will give birth to the long-awaited son. God always keeps His promises.
August 22 TLH 612 Genesis 19 In the previous chapter Abraham pleaded with the Lord to spare the wicked cities, but not even ten righteous persons were found in the cities. In mercy the Lord sends two angels to rescue Lot and his family. The Lord knows how to rescue those who trust in Jesus as their Savior.
August 23 TLH 324 Genesis 20 History repeats itself when Abraham, just to save his own skin, lies about Sarah. The Lord steps in and saves Sarah’s honor, but once again we see that the people of the Bible needed God’s grace and forgiveness just as much as we do.
August 24 TLH 27 Genesis 21 A year earlier Sarah had laughed in disbelief when told she would have a son in her old age. Now her laughter turns to joy as the Lord makes good on His promise with the birth of Isaac. God’s plan to bring the world a Savior takes another step forward.
August 25 TLH 153 Genesis 22 We get a glimpse of the agony of mind God the Father must have felt when He gave His only Son over to death on a mountain many centuries after the incident recorded in today’s chapter. God’s Son is something like the ram, in that He died a substitute death for us sinners.
August 26 TLH 656 Genesis 23 If Abraham is the father of believers, then Sarah is the mother of believers. Sarah is the only woman in all of the Bible whose age at her death is recorded. Note the tender care Abraham takes to secure his beloved wife a place of burial. We thank God for the faithful saints who have gone before us.
August 27 TLH 621 Genesis 24 It’s time for Isaac to take a bride, but not any just woman will do. Abraham sends his servant on a long journey to seek a bride who shares Isaac’s faith in the true and living God. The Sarai’s maidservant tackles this great responsibility with humble prayer, and God blesses his efforts with success.
August 29 TLH 427 Genesis 25 This chapter records the death of Abraham. As with the rest of God’s chosen people, his time on earth was not always easy. Yet the LORD was always with him, blessing him in so many ways. Can’t you and I say the same? Just think, all this and Heaven, too!
August 30 TLH 625 Genesis 26 Rebekah prays about the struggle going on within her womb. The Lord tells her that she is carrying two nations, and that the older son will serve the younger. We soon see that this is a family with problems. But God loves families with problems as much as any family.
August 31 WS 777 Genesis 27 The family’s dysfunction boils over when Rebekah and Jacob deceive Isaac. They seem to be successful. But it all blows up in their faces when Esau has murder on his mind, forcing Jacob to run for his life. Yet God’s grace is still at work as we shall see in the next chapter.
is pastor of Gethsemane of Saginaw, MI.