The Bread of Life
Bread of Life Readings, January 2024
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
| Date | Hymns | Reading | Comments |
| January 1 | TLH 123/LSB 733 | Psalm 90 | Though our earthly lives are short, our eternal God provides for all of our needs in time and in eternity. |
| January 2 | TLH 409/LSB 685 | 2 Corinthians 1 | Paul and Timothy greet the believers in Corinth. Though our faith often results in suffering in this world, the Lord comforts us. Like Paul, we find that often our plans are not the plans of the Lord. |
| January 3 | TLH 331/LSB 614 | 2 Corinthians 2 | When a Christian has fallen into public sin, it is the responsibility of the congregation to call him to repentance. When a Christian has repented of his sin, it is the joyful privilege of the congregation to declare to him the forgiveness of the Lord and to receive him again as a forgiven brother in Christ. |
| January 4 | TLH 398/LSB 704 | 2 Corinthians 3 | The law is a curse to those who are unrighteous. According to the new covenant, the unrighteous are declared righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. As believers, we are privileged to have received this glorious message for our own salvation. We are further privileged to have been called to proclaim this glorious message to others for their salvation. |
| January 5 | TLH 90/LSB 375 | Numbers 24 | Though Balak has asked Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam blesses Israel for a third time. Balaam also curses the enemies of Israel. |
| January 6 | TLH 131/LSB 399 | Matthew 2 | Wise men travel to Bethlehem bearing gifts for Jesus, the king of the Jews. Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape from wicked King Herod. Herod murders all the boys of Bethlehem two years old or younger. After the death of Herod, Joseph brings Mary and Jesus to Galilee in Israel. |
| January 8 | TLH 268 | Isaiah 49 | The Lord restores Israel by sending His servant, Jesus, to accomplish salvation for all people. |
| January 9 | TLH 300/LSB 592 | 1 Samuel 1 | Hannah has no children and is barren. She prays for a son. When the Lord gives her a son, she dedicates him to the Lord. The boy will serve the Lord at Shiloh under Eli the priest. His name is Samuel. |
| January 10 | TLH 628/LSB 864 | 1 Samuel 2 | Hannah expresses her faith in the words of a beautiful prayer. The sons of Eli are wicked men. As a result of their great wickedness, the Lord rejects the household of Eli. The Lord promises to raise up a faithful priest. |
| January 11 | TLH 296/LSB 589 | 1 Samuel 3 | The Lord calls Samuel and reveals to him that He is about to punish the house of Eli. The Lord blesses Samuel as he grows into a man, establishing him as a prophet. |
| January 12 | TLH 568/LSB 785 | 2 Thessalonians 1 | Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy greet the believers of Thessalonica, thanking God for them and for their faith. Christ will return to judge the unrighteous. Those who have faith in Christ will be judged righteous. |
| January 13 | TLH 401/LSB 692 | 2 Thessalonians 2 | Paul foretells the coming of the Antichrist. We see this prophecy fulfilled in the Roman Catholic papacy. Though we are afflicted by many antichrists and their false teaching, the Lord calls us to remain faithful to the glory of His name and to our eternal salvation. |
| January 15 | LSB 586 | Jonah 1 | The Lord sends Jonah to prophesy against the city of Nineveh. Jonah travels in the opposite direction and boards a ship to Tarshish. The Lord sends a great tempest and the sailors are terrified. Jonah instructs them to throw him into the sea. After they have thrown him into the sea, the storm ceases. The Lord sends a great fish to swallow Jonah. |
| January 16 | TLH 403 | Jonah 2 | While inside the belly of the great fish, Jonah praises the Lord for having delivered him. After three days and three nights the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. |
| January 17 | TLH 166/LSB 419 | Jonah 3 | The Lord sends Jonah to prophesy against the city of Nineveh. This time Jonah obeys. The people of Nineveh believe the proclamation of Jonah and they repent. Even the mighty king of Nineveh clothes himself in sackcloth and sits in ashes as signs of his repentance. The king commands everyone in Nineveh to fast, to wear sackcloth, and to turn away from evil. Knowing that the Ninevites have repented, the Lord spares them from disaster. |
| January 18 | TLH 395/LSB 696 | Jonah 4 | One man remains to be called to repentance—Jonah himself. Jonah is angry at the Lord for having shown compassion to the enemies of Israel. If Jonah cares so much for the plant that shades him from the sun, should the Lord not care for the many souls residing in Nineveh? |
| January 19 | TLH 550/LSB 874 | 2 Corinthians 4 | The Lord enlightens us through the Gospel, revealing to us the way of salvation. The Lord uses imperfect vessels like us to bring the Gospel to others. |
| January 20 | TLH 597/LSB 742 | 2 Corinthians 5 | As believers in Christ, we look forward to our departure from this corrupt world and our entrance into a perfect world. Until then, we enjoy the privilege of proclaiming the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. |
| January 22 | TLH 526/LSB 745 | 2 Thessalonians 3 | Paul requests that the Thessalonian believers pray for his work of proclaiming the Gospel. Paul warns the Thessalonians to avoid idleness. Paul concludes his letter with a blessing. |
| January 23 | TLH 59/LSB 398 | Jeremiah 11 | The Lord pronounces judgment on Israel and Judah because they have broken His covenant and have worshiped false gods. The Lord threatens to punish the men of Anathoth, the hometown of Jeremiah, who have opposed the preaching of Jeremiah. |
| January 24 | WS 760/LSB 544 | Jeremiah 12 | Sometimes we may wonder why the wicked seem to thrive in this world and why the Lord seems to be doing nothing about it. We can be certain that the Lord will punish the wicked. If not for the grace of God in Christ, we would be numbered among the wicked and punished forever. Thanks be to God, we have salvation in Christ and we have been given the privilege of sharing it with others. |
| January 25 | LSB 432 | Jeremiah 14 | The Lord will use sword, famine, and pestilence to carry out His righteous judgment against His people. False prophets deceive the people, proclaiming that the Lord will not judge them in these ways. Many false teachers in our day preach a similar message, encouraging sinners to live securely in their sins. |
| January 26 | TLH 234/LSB 496 | Jeremiah 16 | The Lord continues to denounce the idolatry of His people. At the same time, the Lord promises restoration for Israel. |
| January 27 | TLH 134/LSB 394 | Deuteronomy 18 | The Lord gives laws for the provision of the physical needs of the Levitical priests. The Lord forbids several abominable practices. The Lord promises to raise up a prophet like Moses. |
| January 29 | TLH 269 | Jeremiah 17 | If we trust in other people or even in ourselves, then we are lost. Our trust must be only in the Lord, Who has redeemed us in His Son. Therefore we, too, remember the Sabbath day. Our Sabbath observance consists not in a day of physical rest per se, but in our regular gathering with fellow believers to receive forgiveness and salvation through the means of grace. |
| January 30 | TLH 393/LSB 713 | Jeremiah 19 | The Lord commands Jeremiah to break an earthenware flask in the presence of elders and priests as an illustration of what the Lord will do to Jerusalem and Judah in response to the wickedness of the people. |
| January 31 | TLH 4/LSB 907 | Revelation 15 | John sees seven angels with seven plagues. John sees the faithful, who have conquered the beast, praising God with harps in their hands. |