Skip to content
nimble_asset_clc_logo_header

 

Church of the Lutheran Confession

Search Archives
Search
Lutheran Spokesman page head image

Connect with Us

Contact

“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS June 2019

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

Date Hymns Reading Comments
Jun 1 TLH 456/LSB 545; James 5:7-16 Patience and prayer go well together.
Jun 3 TLH 156/LSB 530; Acts 15:1-21 Having considered the Word of God, the council recognized that the Gentiles were also saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
Jun 4 TLH 355/(LSB 526) Galatians 1:6-12 The Gospel message is not man-made; it has been revealed to us from God Himself.
Jun 5 TLH 529/LSB 719 Proverbs 16:1-9 Let the Lord have the last word in your life. Let His plans be your plans.
Jun 6 TLH 324/LSB 609 Galatians 2:1-16 You can’t justify yourself before God by doing better at keeping His rules.
Jun 7 TLH 390/LSB 597; Galatians 3:1-14 Beware that you don’t ever substitute the Law for the Gospel as the Galatians were doing.“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS June 2019

Our Father’s Day

DEVOTION – FATHER’S DAY

How difficult is it to get a national holiday started? If one were to look at the history behind Father’s Day, the conclusion would be—quite difficult.
It seems as far back as the Middle Ages, Catholic Europe held a Father’s Day of sorts on the Feast of St. Joseph. However, the practice just didn’t seem to catch on. Several cities in the U.S. attempted to get something going with parades and speeches in the early 1900’s, but still—nothing doing. Most attempts to get a Father’s Day going were seen as collusion between the promoters and manufacturers of ties, tobacco pipes and other traditional father-type gifts. Congress rejected no fewer than three bills attempting to establish the holiday, even with the backing of several presidents. Finally, dads got their day when Richard Nixon made the holiday permanent in 1972.
In the beginning, Father’s Day was received with cynical and sarcastic attacks and jokes. Not much has changed. Watch any TV program or movie and look at how the father is being portrayed. Fathers are often viewed as dimwitted knuckle draggers outsmarted by their wives and offspring. In most presentations, these narrow-minded men need their opinions changed, or at least need to be taught a lesson.Our Father’s Day

Graduating with the Lord

DEVOTION – GRADUATION

Near the end of my first grade year, I asked my mom how much longer I needed to go to school. I enjoyed first grade as well as kindergarten the year before that, but I did wonder if there would be a day when I wouldn’t have to go anymore. I had suspected that I would need to go at least until eighth grade, and my suspicions were confirmed. Then my mom surprised me with the news of eight more years of school, called “high school” and “college.” For a young child squinting to see the end of school as upon a distant horizon, graduation seems like a fantasy which will never materialize. For those who are now arriving at their graduation day, the common question is, “Where did the time go?”
While graduation is the end goal for millions of young people around our nation, graduation day is not the end. The word itself implies a progression to something new. Just as the celebration of a sports championship is shortly followed by a new season, so each graduation brings on a new season of life. And how intimidating it can be to graduate into that unknown! Whether you are an eighth grader graduating into the intimidating halls of high school, or a high school senior progressing to the pressures of college, or a college senior stepping into your career, graduation is often accompanied by fear of what comes next.Graduating with the Lord

“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS MAY 2019

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

Date Hymns Reading Comments

May 1 TLH 144/LSB 421 Exodus 17:1-7 We, too, are just as tempted to test the Lord saying, “Is He among us or not?”

May 2 TLH 363Acts 3:1-19Peter used the miracle to point the people to Jesus, which is what the miracles were for.

May 3 TLH 203 Acts 4:1-12 How do we know Jesus truly rose from the dead? Well, we find Him still doing miracles after Good Friday (v. 10)!

May 4 TLH 294/LSB 523 Proverbs 8:22-36 Solomon is describing wisdom in a picturesque way, but don’t these descriptions fit Jesus too—the Wisdom from on high?

May 6 TLH 366/LSB 536 Proverbs 9:1-10 A truly wise person puts the Lord first in his heart.

May 7 WS 736/LSB 633 Acts 7:1-22 Stephen is not just telling any story here, but the story of God’s love and mercy.“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS MAY 2019

Graduating with the Lord

Near the end of my first grade year, I asked my mom how much longer I needed to go to school. I enjoyed first grade as well as kindergarten the year before that, but I did wonder if there would be a day when I wouldn’t have to go anymore. I had suspected that I would need to go at least until eighth grade, and my suspicions were confirmed. Then my mom surprised me with the news of eight more years of school, called “high school” and “college.” For a young child squinting to see the end of school as upon a distant horizon, graduation seems like a fantasy which will never materialize. For those who are now arriving at their graduation day, the common question is, “Where did the time go?”Graduating with the Lord

“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.“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS April 2019

Answering for Themselves

Jeslyn just looked at me. I had some very important questions for her, but she gave no answer. “Do you renounce the devil and all his wicked works and all his ways?” Obviously, that is a question to which you would hope to hear an unambiguous “YES!” answer. But, Jeslyn said nothing—she just looked at me.

Why the silence to such an important question? Well, Jeslyn was three weeks old. Her parents had brought her to be baptized in the name of the Triune God. As a three-week-old, of course, she couldn’t answer for herself the questions that have traditionally been asked as part of our Lutheran order of Baptism. So at her Baptism her parents were asked to answer for the child.Answering for Themselves

“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS March 2019

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

Date Hymns Reading Comments

Mar 1 WS 795 John 6:25-58 Just as feeding on earthly food gives us earthly life, feeding on Jesus (believing in Him) gives heavenly life.

Mar 2 TLH 431/(LSB 709) Genesis 28:10-22 The Lord strengthened Jacob’s faith by repeating the promise made to Abraham, and Jacob was confident of God’s watchful eye upon him.

Mar 4 TLH 541/(LSB 876) Psalm 20 We trust not in human strength, but in the power and protection of our God.

Mar 5 TLH 295 Mark 7:1-13 The sinful nature seeks to take God’s laws and replace them with our own, attempting to make ourselves the masters of what is right and wrong.

Mar 6TLH 174Psalm 22Although a prayer of David’s in his troubles, it is clear that this Psalm also foreshadows Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS March 2019

“Hat in Hand”

DEVOTION – ASH WEDNESDAY

An office worker named Bill had had just about enough. He was tired of the management’s incompetence. Most of all, he was tired of his immediate supervisor, Mr. Sanders. He had to vent about it somewhere, so he walked over to his co-worker’s desk and said “Sylvia, can you believe that Sanders guy? He never gets the work schedule done on time, and I think he deliberately ignores my requests for time off! A fourth grader could do a better job than he does. What a dimwit!” By this time, Sylvia was looking over Bill’s shoulder with surprised horror. Sure enough, Mr. Sanders was right behind Bill the whole time. The manager spun on his heel, stomped into his office, and slammed the door. What could poor Bill do now? There was only one thing he could do, of course. He humbly went into Mr. Sanders’s office to plead for his job. Though he wasn’t wearing a hat, I guess you could say that Bill went to his boss with his “hat in his hands.” He had no excuses–nothing to offer but a heartfelt apology.“Hat in Hand”