Forked Tongue Issues
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in… Read More »Forked Tongue Issues
Lutheran Spokesman
A Most Difficult Christian Art
WALTHER’S LAW AND GOSPEL One of the hallmarks of the Lutheran Church is its proper understanding and application of the Bible’s two main teachings—Law and… Read More »A Most Difficult Christian Art
Nestorianism
ERROR’S ECHO In this series we take a look back at some of the most notorious errors and heresies that have threatened the church over… Read More »Nestorianism
Mount Zion Lutheran Church Madison Heights, Michigan
What’s New With YOU? Updates from congregations around the Church of the Lutheran Confession The Bible mentions only a few things which will never come… Read More »Mount Zion Lutheran Church Madison Heights, Michigan
Goats for God
NOTES FROM THE FIELD In this series, thoseinvolved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors. Up until the destruction of the… Read More »Goats for God
Changing Technology at ILC
ILC NEWSLETTER Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening recently at our Immanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau… Read More »Changing Technology at ILC
“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS February 2021
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Hymns Reading Comments
Feb 1 TLH 494 Micah 4:1-5 These prophecies have come to pass, for Jesus has come and His Word has gone
out to all lands, the Word of peace and forgiveness.
Feb 2 TLH 383 (LSB 557) Micah 4:6-13 “In that day” is our day now, the day of the New Testament Church. The Lord Jesusrules over us in love and has redeemed us from the hands of our enemies.
Feb 3 TLH 105 (LSB 389) John 3:16-21 We are saved by faith in the Son of God, therefore let us live in the light!
Feb 4 TLH 348; LSB 534 John 3:22-36 Jesus was sent from God and was greater than all the prophets. Still today He speaksthe Words of God to us.
Feb 5 TLH 559 (LSB 882) 2 Kings 10:17-31 The Lord used King Jehu of Israel to bring final judgment on the family of King Ahab and to put down the worship of Baal. Without such interventions, would there have
been any faith left in Israel?Read More »“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS February 2021
The Ashes of Repentance
COVER STORY – ASH WEDNESDAY
The custom of observing a time of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading up to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection began very early in the Christian church, but practices and customs varied among congregations in different areas. The First Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) unified the Christian church in observing Lent as a period of forty days of fasting and prayer.
In A.D. 601, Gregory the Great decreed that there should be no fasting on Sunday, which was considered a day of celebration of Christ’s resurrection. So in order to maintain the forty days of fasting, he changed the beginning of Lent to Wednesday. Some sources suggest that he was also the one who initiated the practice of smearing ashes on the forehead of worshipers, saying, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (see Genesis 3:19). Thus the first day of Lent became known as Ash Wednesday.
From the most ancient of times in the Bible, ashes have been used to express sorrow and grief. Ashes were used in times of grief over some injustice or loss (2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1), or as a way of humbling oneself before God in prayer (Daniel 9:3, Genesis 18:27), and—perhaps most of all—to express sorrow for sins (Job 42:3–6, Jeremiah 6:26, Matthew 11:21). For these reasons people would sit in ashes, roll in them, or sprinkle them over their head.
The use of ashes can be a vivid reminder that we ourselves are nothing but dust and ashes. They remind us of our sin, one consequence of which is the inevitable prospect of being reduced to dust and ashes again. Fasting can be a very concrete reminder of our repentance over sin. If you remember that your fasting is a sign of repentance, the relentless hunger pains can help keep you mindful of repentance throughout the day.
However, God also warns about the human propensity to corrupt these signs of repentance. On the one hand, we might feel superior and holier for fasting or displaying the ashes on our forehead. On the other hand, it can simply become an empty action that has no corresponding repentance in the heart.Read More »The Ashes of Repentance
Where You Go, I Go
DEVOTION—LENT
At the beginning of the book of Ruth, we’re introduced to three widows: Ruth, Orpah, and their mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi bids her daughters-in-law to go and find new husbands. Orpah does, “But Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.’ ” (Ruth 1:16) Ruth swore an oath that she would stay with Naomi. Ruth didn’t choose to stay because of a legal requirement, but because of her love for her mother-in-law and for her God. She showed trust that Naomi would not lead her to destruction and that God would keep them both in His loving-kindness. Ruth went with Naomi and found another husband, Boaz, and Ruth and Boaz were the great-grandparents of King David. Read More »Where You Go, I Go
“What Wondrous Love Is This” WS 723, LSB 543
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING
Folk music is noteworthy for its repetitive, straightforward lyrics and its easily remembered tunes. What Wondrous Love Is This has these characteristics and is rightly called an American folk hymn. As is usually the case with songs passed down through oral tradition, the original author or authors are unknown. The first printed version of the text can be traced back to an 1811 hymnal bearing the lengthy title A General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Songs. The melody now associated with the hymn was an early 18th century English ballad and first appeared alongside in the 1835 edition of the famous American hymnal Southern Harmony. The tune “Wondrous Love” is especially suited to playing on folk instruments such as fiddles, flutes, guitars, and harps.Read More »“What Wondrous Love Is This” WS 723, LSB 543