How Far Is It to Bethlehem?
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.…
Your Enemy May Be Closer than You Think
(Please read Judges 9 for the setting, people, and events to which this devotion refers.) Sunday school students are fascinated by the characters in the book of Judges—Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Samson. . . . You…
What’s Wrong with Fraternal Insurance?
Fraternal insurance is not provided by an insurance company, but rather by a fraternal benefit society. Fraternals were developed in the 1800’s as a way for people to join with others who shared a common…
Life of Luther (1483)
In preparation for the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, we are presenting a brief survey of the life of Martin Luther. The series will culminate in the October 2017 issue with an account of…
Count It All Joy
What a joy it is to be able to again celebrate the birth of our Redeemer this December! We look around at a world gone haywire and then we look at the infant King and…
St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Lemmon, South Dakota
Started as a mission in the early days of the Synodical Conference, St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1909. In March of 1908, the Herman Ferking family was making its way from Greenway,…
The CLC in Europe
The mission work of the CLC in Europe is different from our work in other countries of the world. We have no indigenous church body with whom we are in fellowship. We have contacts with…
Surprise!… Again!
Surprises. They make up a big part of Christmas anticipation, don’t they? Packages of all shapes and sizes begin to appear under the tree, and with them the growing expectation of wonderful, exciting surprises. Who…
“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS NOvember 2016
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; [ ] = Biblical Events Noted
Date Verse Reading Comments [Festivals of the Church Year]
Nov 1 TLH 190 Isaiah 35:1-10 Jesus brings redemption, peace, and joy to His people. Sorrow and sighing flee away!
Nov 2 TLH 503 Isaiah 37:14-20 Hezekiah prays that the name of the Lord would be held high and known among the nations.
Nov 3 WS 749 Micah 4:1-5 Christ’s kingdom would be established in the hearts of many, and they would walk in His ways and approach Him in worship.
Nov 4 WS 750 John 3:1-21 Jesus taught Nicodemus that His kingdom is a matter of the Spirit’s work in the heart, of faith in God’s Son.
All Saints’ Day A Minor Festival With Major Comfort
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”
(Ephesians 1:18, NIV).
As you read this article, there’s a festival fast approaching on the church year calendar. It’s a festival that doesn’t receive much attention these days. It is “All Saints’ Day.” It falls each year on the first day of November.
How and when did the Festival of All Saints originate, and what is its significance? In the days of the early church, when Christianity was an outlawed religion, followers of Jesus were subjected to bitter persecution. Many were killed for refusing to knuckle under to the authorities and renounce their religious beliefs. It was during this period of open hostility toward Christians that the church chose a day of the year on which to remember those who had been martyred, and to praise God for His mercy in preserving them in faith amidst the fiery trials they faced. The name they ascribed to the day was All Saints Day. Later, all who died while anchoring their hopes in Jesus were remembered on this day, with thanksgiving to God.