May each quote pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us.
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Sunday, September 15, 2019
“The apostle Paul uses athletics to illustrate the Christian faith. Athletes train and build themselves up for the big event. They focus on the prize, enduring what can often be painful conditioning. That's how it is as we live the Christian life. We are daily being built up by the Lord. Daily enduring discipling that will bring us to the prize at the end.”
(Portals of Prayer, No. 444, September 11)
Read Philippians 3
Read Psalm 15
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Sunday, September 8, 2019
“Paul certainly affirmed a limited role for the Law in the life of a believer. He explained the life-changing blessings of the Gospel, which makes us God’s children and gives us freedom to do good, not evil. Yet Galatians shows that, though we never outgrow the Law because we are sinners (cf. 5:16-26), it is God's promise that assures our place in His family (4:5-7), with all the privileges He bestows by Word and Spirit.”
(Joersz, 7)
Read Galatians 5:16-26
Read Galatians 4:5-7
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Sunday, September 1, 2019
“It is easy to give the appearance of clean hands and noble words. This is within the power of man. But a clean heart, devoid of all love of things, is the work of the Creator and His divine power. Scripture says that no one has a clean heart. Hence all are sinners before God, to whom the heart is as open as hand and work are open to man. The truth which God loves is in the heart. Inner righteousness, however, is never attained completely in this life but must always be pursued.”
(Luther, Works Vol. 14, 171)
Note: Luther is teaching from Psalm 51:10 which says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Note: that no one has a clean heart is supported by Scripture like Genesis 6:5 which states: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
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Sunday, August 25, 2019
“God turns His face to us in the preaching of the Holy Gospel, in the announcement of our sins have been paid for in Christ, in the washing of water with the Word, in the eating and the drinking of His altar. This is seeing ‘in a mirror dimly' (1 Corinthians 13:12), but it is seeing. It is holding in our now bloody hands the face of the man of sorrows, seeing the countenance of the One whose beaten face looks upon us in grace. How we who have seen that face in the Word of God yearn to see it face-to-face in the kingdom revealed.”
(Murray, 271)
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Sunday, August 18, 2019
“The content of God’s Word is Law and Gospel. The Bible reveals God’s holiness, His will, His demands, and His judgments. Reading them can be a devastating experience. The Bible also reveals His love, His grace, and His promises—how God constantly rescued His children from their sin-caused slavery, how Christ offered Himself as the expiation for their sins.”
(Veith, 39)
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Sunday, August 11, 2019
“The life of Elijah clearly shows the Creator at work in His creation. God reveals His will, providing nourishment for Elijah, the widow, and her son, not unlike His actions toward Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Moreover, the life of this Tishbite reveals the image of God: God creates life and Elijah gives life to a boy who lost his life. This miracle points ahead to Jesus who will raise the dead to life and ultimately die and rise from the dead Himself. Furthermore, Elijah stands in a long line of Christian heroes who victoriously fight against their antagonists, i.e., King Ahab and Baal. And finally, Elijah’s ascension not only serves an exclamation point to the end of a distinguished career, but clearly resembles and foreshadows Jesus’ Ascension.”
(Von Hagel, 50)
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Sunday, August 4, 2019
“The positive side of the commandment is that we fear, love, and trust in God. ‘To fear God’ means to be afraid of the just wrath of God upon disobedience, but especially does it mean to have a respect and awe for Him, to revere, esteem, and honor Him, and to obey His will. ... The three men who were thrown into the fiery furnace feared God more than their king (Daniel 3).”
(Koehler, 58)
Note: Koehler is teaching on the First Commandment (Exodus 20:3)
Note: the ellipsis, or omission to shorten the quote, was 2 Bible verses, namely Psalm 33:8 and Proverbs 8:13. The quote continues after the fiery furnace with another example from Daniel, Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6)
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
“The LORD sets us apart to be His children, and He guards and protects us from harm and danger. Though the evil foe assails us, though an army encamps against us, we fear no evil, for the LORD is with us! Arms are made strong once again and hearts are refreshed. The LORD is on the battlefield, and the victory is ours!”
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Sunday, July 21, 2019
“The Creed is pure gospel, setting forth the marvelous things the triune God, in His mercy and grace, has done for us. Included in this list, equally high on the list, is the faith He has worked in my heart. The personal word I with which we begin the Creed is at the same time also a thankful word. With thanksgiving I declare, I believe.”
(Lauersdorf, 4)
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Sunday, July 14, 2019
“[W]hile we have all become outlaws according to Mosaic Law because none of us can follow it perfectly, we have been ‘in-lawed’ to Christ by faith! And because we have been in-lawed to Christ by faith, we are counted righteous. May we rest in Christ's pure righteousness alone, for it need not be mixed with anything else.”
(Bauman, 217)
Note: this paragraph is from a short article that teaches against mixing Law and Gospel. The article mentions
Galatians 3:2, 6, 10, 19, and 5:6
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Sunday, July 7, 2019
“We see the Law at work in the world, providing order and discipline as a curb to prevent total moral chaos. The chief function of the Law, however, is a mirror that shows us the ugliness of our sin. But do Christians need the Law? Yes, believers in Christ need the Law because we are at the same time both sinners and saints. The old Adam in us continually needs to die and drive us back to Christ Jesus for forgiveness of sins and newness of life.”
(Burkart, 11)
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Sunday, June 30, 2019
“The remedy for doubt is always hearing again what God promises. His inspired Word imparts faith to believe and receive the good things from a gracious God, who is in the business of giving and saving. He strengthens and nourishes us to hold onto His Word with the faith He provides. Even when everything indicates defeat, we know better because God has spoken, and to His Word faith always says, ‘Amen.’”
(Portals of Prayer, June 30)
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Sunday, June 23, 2019
“Memorizing and praying the Psalms will result in a fuller, richer prayer life. My personal practice is to get to know one psalm a week. I pray it every day, whether that psalm fits my current situation or not. By praying psalms that do not fit my current attitude I am reminded that the psalms are bigger than me and that prayer is about God’s will being done. Further, this practice helps me familiarize myself with all the psalms so that when I want to pray a prayer of lament or praise, I know where to turn.”
(Hiller, 76)
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Sunday, June 16, 2019
“In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus helps us evaluate how we view our material possessions by telling us we cannot serve two masters—God and money. Jesus calls us to set our priorities correctly. We are told that storing up treasures on earth must not be our top priority. Instead, we must look for spiritual treasures. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 to share that which God has given and to become rich in deeds.”
(Engelbrecht, 103) Read Matthew 6:19-24 Read 1 Timothy 6:17-19
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Sunday, June 9, 2019
“[Christ] has died for me. He has made His righteousness my righteousness, and my sin His sin. If He has made my sin to be His sin, then I do not have it, and I am free. If He has made His righteousness my righteousness, then I am righteous now with the same righteousness as He. My sin cannot devour Him, but it is engulfed in the unfathomable depths of His righteousness, for He Himself is God, who is blessed forever.”
(Grunewald, 17)
Note: Grunewald attributes this quote to Martin Luther
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Sunday, June 2, 2019
“We are invited to ask God in Christ to heal our physical and emotional suffering. At times He answers our prayers with miraculous healing. At times He works through the hands of ministers, health care professionals, therapists, and counselors. We may not be healed physically or emotionally, which gives us an amazing opportunity to trust that He is at work in our lives in ways much deeper than a visible healing. It also gives us an opportunity to be an example of faith and strength to those around us.”
(Steinbeck, 205)
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Sunday, May 26, 2019
“As holy priests we present three kinds of offerings to our heavenly Father: the offering of our bodies, the offering of our work and possessions, and the offering of our prayers and praises. By remembering our Baptism each day and by calling on the name of the Holy Trinity, we offer ourselves with our bodies to God the Father for our holy service in the world. By meditating on His Word each day, we consecrate our work and our possessions so that through them we may bring Him and His blessings to the people around us. By our daily prayers, we offer thanksgiving for God’s gifts to us and to others as well as our intercessions for the people that we meet in our daily routine.”
(Kleinig, 280-281)
Read 1 Peter 2:5 Read Romans 12:1-2 Read Hebrews 13:16
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Sunday, May 18, 2019
“[W]e are not using the Bible aright if we acquire only an intellectual knowledge of its teachings. These truths must mean something to us personally. In studying the Commandants we must apply them to ourselves, learn to know our sins (Rom. 3:20), and our lost condition (Rom. 7:14, 23-24). In studying the Gospel, we must take its promises to heart, and thus be made wise unto salvation through faith in Christ (2 Tim 3:15). In every case we must study the Scriptures in such a manner as to be spiritually benefited thereby.”
(Koehler, 18)
Read Romans 3:20 Read Romans 7:14, 23-24 Read 2 Timothy 3:15
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Sunday, May 12, 2019
“Then as I read St. Paul in context, true stewardship became clear. He uses grace to describe the collection in 2 Corinthians 8:6. The most significant word of the New Testament, grace, is used for collected money! That was shocking. St. Paul's words begin a complete revolution in my thinking about the Church and money or, I should say, the Church, money, and mercy.”
(Harrison, 142-143)
Note: This revolutionary moment comes from President and Pastor Harrison's past when he used to see stewardship as "Law, Law, Law."
Read 2 Corinthians 8:6 in context (2 Corinthians 8:1-7)
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Sunday, May 5, 2019
“Tithe: If you want to stand out from the crowd, give your money to a local congregation. Tithing slays the idol of wealth and forces you to rely on God’s sustaining gifts. The culture tells us to live beyond the amount on your paycheck. Tithing tells the culture that you are going to live by faith in God: 'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also' (Matthew 6:21).”
(Sutton, 115-116)
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Sunday, April 28, 2019
“Many highly credentialed historians, including B.F. Westcott and Henry Morris, do not blush to call the resurrection of Christ the most certain fact in history, and this according to the established standards of historical verification.”*
(Paustian, 179)
* Paustian is citing Josh McDowel, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 327.
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
“Easter is the oldest and highest of all Christian festivals—the festivals of festivals, the feasts of feasts! On this day when Christ first stepped triumphantly from the ranks of the dead, all our waiting is declared to be awaiting that is already completed; Christ’s triumph makes all the waiting that follows in our lives of faith a building anchored on the foundation that was laid when He whom the builders rejected became the Cornerstone. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!”
(Bauman, 111)
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Sunday, April 14, 2019
“On the cross, when Jesus had not eaten or drunk for hours, His tongue actually felt His suffering. On the cross, the psalmist’s description of suffering was fulfilled by Jesus. His strength was dried up like a potsherd, a broken fragment of kiln-fired pottery; His mouth with thirsty and dry, His tongue sticking to His jaws and the roof of His mouth. His suffering, including His excruciating thirst, brought our redemption. And now He lives so that His tongue can proclaim through His Word and through those He sends the forgiveness He has won for all people.”
(Hemmer, 44)
Hemmer is teaching from Psalm 22:1-24, especially verse 15
Read Psalm 22
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Sunday, April 7, 2019
“Now, in the slaughtering and offering of lambs, Abel was reminded of the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, as Hebrews 4:11 testifies: ‘By faith Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain.’ of course, faith only looks to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Abel learned this from his father Adam and his mother Eve when they explained the meaning of the lambskin garments.”
(Herberger, Part One and Two, 241-42)
This week, and the last two, Herberger is teaching from Genesis 4:1-5
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Sunday, March 31, 2019
“Cain, the rich wheat-farmer, brought a splendid offering of the delicious fruits of the fields. This is the first sacrifice of which we read in Scripture. In this sacrifice, Cain was suppose to remember the Messiah and take comfort in Him with a fruitful, penitent heart. While sowing his seed, he was to ponder how his Lord Jesus would also be sowed in the earth, that is, suffer, die, be buried, and rise again, and be ‘the firstborn of the dead' (Col. 1:18), ‘the firstfruits' of God's acre (1 Cor. 15:20), the ‘breaker...before them’ (Micah 2:13) who would prepare for us the way to life through the tomb and through death. Indeed, Cain should have considered how Jesus would be 'the true bread from heaven’ (John 6:32) that feeds our soul to eternal life.”
(Herberger, Part One and Two, 240-41)
Last week, this week, and next week Herberger is teaching from Genesis 4:1-5
Read Colossians 1:18 1 Corinthians 15:20 Micah 2:13 John 6:32
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
“Eve called her second son Abel, that is, ‘vanity, transience, impermanence, hardship and toil’—the same word that the preacher Solomon uses five times in a row (Eccl. 1:2). This was because Eve was bitter from her birth pains. Here again we see what misery sin has wreaked.”
(Herberger, Part One and Two, 240)
This week, and the next two, Herberger is teaching from Genesis 4:1-5
Read Ecclesiastes 1:2 in context (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4)
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Sunday, March 17, 2019
“The Gospel loops and swirls in a heavenly helix through every stand of Lutheran DNA. It is in the blood. The word evangelical originated with the Lutheran Church. Lutherans claimed it first. In Germany, the Lutheran Church was historically called the Evangelische Kirche, the Evangelical (that is, Lutheran) Church. … Lutherans are evangelical in the historically sense of the term. Lutherans openly confess and proclaim the Gospel."
(Sutton, 13)
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Sunday, March 10, 2019
“At present one hears many voices depreciating the importance of doctrine for the life of the church. How hollow these sound if one brings to mind the experience of Christian believers of the past! The men of the early Christian church 'devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching' (Acts 2:42).1"
In his footnote Smits goes on to explain:
“1 They persevered in it, ‘they strongly adhered to it,’ as the Greek word expresses it.”
(Smit, ix)
Read Acts 2:42
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Sunday, March 3, 2019
“The most significant event in Christ’s exaltation is his resurrection from the dead. Christ arose to give evidence to all the world that he had won the victory as mankind’s perfect substitute. Because Jesus is God, it is impossible for death to hold him. And because death could not hold Jesus, believers have spiritual and eternal life in him.”
(Kuschel, 86)
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Sunday, February 24, 2019
“We are always to pray in Jesus’ name. ‘Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it’ (John 14:13-14). Therefore, we offer prayer trusting in Him and what He did for us, and we approach the Father on Jesus’ merits, not our own.”
(Rudnick, 65)
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Sunday, February 17, 2019
“As a pastor, I have been asked more than once, ‘Why does the Old Testament waste so much space on so many boring genealogies?’ ... But we should not dismiss these genealogies, they set the stories of the Bible in real space and real time with real people, emphasizing pedigree of historicity. They also remind us how God's love is active through the ages, from generation to generation. Each name in each genealogy is remembered and recorded by God because each name matters to God. Just like your name.”
(McIntosh, 33-35)
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Sunday, February 10, 2019
“This psalm flows from the Third Commandment; indeed, it is part of that commandment, for the command to honor the Sabbath is itself the command to hear and learn of God’s Word. Psalm 1 is also included in the Second and Third Petitions of the Lord's Prayer, for in these we pray for God's kingdom and His will, both of which are conveyed by His Word.”
(Luther, Reading, 16)
Read Psalm 1
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Sunday, February 3, 2019
“When Jesus taught, people were astonished. What was so different about His teaching? Jesus never cited sources. He never began His sermons with ‘Rabbi so-and-so said . . .’ In fact, He began a lot of sentences with, 'You have heard that it was said . . . but I say to you,’ for His Word alone matters.”
(Portals of Prayer, No. 442, February 3)
Read Luke 4:31-37 Read Matthew 5:27-28 Read Psalm 71:1-6
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Sunday, January 27, 2019
“In the New Testament era, we are accustomed to expect the preaching of the Word to ‘make disciples,' as Jesus promised (Matthew 28:19, 20). Nevertheless, every preacher and every teacher of God’s truth must realize that some souls will be hardened by the proclamation of the Gospel even if the message is eloquently and beautifully stated, it may result in the hardening of unbelieving hearts rather than their conversion. We have no way of knowing whether the message will produce faith or only confirm unbelief. That is in God's hands; every messenger must be faithful in the proclamation of God’s truth.”
(Braun, 94-95)
Braun is teaching from Isaiah 6:10-11
Read Matthew 28:19-20
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Sunday, January 20, 2019
“This verse was the inspiration for the familiar hymn ‘Beautiful Savior.’ Jesus’ beauty was not a physical attractiveness, but his pure, sinless character and the beautiful words of truth, grace, and forgiveness that he spoke. Addressed to an earthly king, these words would be idle flattery. Addressed to Christ, they express true worship. Romans 9:5, which calls Christ “God over all, forever praised,” is probably a reference to this verse.”
(Brug, 187)
Burg is teaching from Psalm 45:2.
Note: The NKJV calls Psalm 45 "The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride”
Note: The song "Beautiful Savior” is on page 537 of The Lutheran Service Book
Note: “Beautiful Savior” can be download from hymnary.org (here)
Read Romans 9:5
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Sunday, January 13, 2019
“Babies may look as pure as spring water, but the source is polluted. A thousand physical rebirths cannot change that. But there is water that purifies, the water that brings with it God’s Spirit. As Ezekiel prophesied of the LORD: 'I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. . . . I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees' (36:25-27). The Spirit works the new birth through the water of Baptism."
(Baumler, 50-51)
Baumler is teaching from John 3:4-6
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Sunday, January 6, 2019
“As Christians, we confess that we sinners are ‘worthy' to commune because Jesus welcomes sinners who repent of their sins and believe His promise that He gave His life and shed His blood for their forgiveness.”
(Luther, 339)
Note: The Catechism suggests we read the Parable of the Wedding Feast, Matthew 22:1-14, and notice that it both welcomes us and provides a warning.
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