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Lutheran Spokesman

“Now May He Who from the Dead” The Lutheran Hymnal 51

Christ’s final act before He ascended into heaven was to lift up His hands and bless His assembled disciples. And it was while He was blessing them that He was parted from them and taken up into heaven (Luke 24:50-51).

This parting picture of Jesus with His hands raised in blessing is most meaningful, a perpetual reminder that He continues to bless His Church on earth and will do so until He comes again. As Victor over sin and death seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus gives the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life to all who believe in Him.Read More »“Now May He Who from the Dead” The Lutheran Hymnal 51

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone,
O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

(Psalm 4:8)

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep.”

Our first reaction to these words may be, “Well, of course David slept in peace. He was the king of Israel; powerful, popular, wealthy. He lived in a palace. People referred to him as David the Giant Killer. He had no real worries.” However, when David wrote Psalm 4, he was not living in a palace or even in Jerusalem. Instead, he was fleeing for his life from his own son Absalom. Yet, amid such hardship and heartache, David was still able to sleep in peace. How? Psalm 4 provides the answer.Read More »How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Both Shepherd and Lamb

Jesus was many mutually exclusive things that, humanly speaking, He couldn’t be. He was the God of Sabaoth, and He was the Prince of Peace. He was Lord and Master, and He was the humble Servant. He was “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” and He was a mortal man Whose life left Him on Calvary’s cross.

He was also both
Shepherd and Lamb.

We get this, of course, but it is nonetheless remarkable when you actually take the time to consider it. That both are true is beyond dispute. Jesus once said this of Himself: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11-15 ESV) Clearly then He is a shepherd. Yet John the Baptist, on two separate occasions, identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29, 34) Read More »Both Shepherd and Lamb

“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS April 2019

TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006

Date Hymns Reading Comments

Apr 1 TLH 24 Genesis 47:13-27 Through Joseph, the Lord extended many a person’s time of grace. I would hope that some Egyptians were brought to faith in the Lord during that time!

Apr 2 TLH 152 Psalm 38 When we are troubled by our sins, the answer is not to ignore our nagging consciences, but to confess our guilt to the Lord and find comfort in Him.

Apr 3 TLH 403 Luke 12:49-53 There are times when following Jesus may set you against friends and family who are not following Him. This happens. Stay the course and stay with Him!

Apr 4 TLH 149/LSB 435 Luke 13:1-9 How important is repentance? Those who do not repent of their sins will eventually perish.Read More »“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS April 2019