Today's Reading: Matthew 3:1-17

Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17

“and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Israel, as God’s people, never held up their end of the bargain. They said they would do all the things that God had asked them to do, and they did not. They were warned repeatedly and fell short each and every time. The reading from Malachi contains a very sharp criticism of the religious leadership of Israel. They are called ‘priests who despise my name’ and are accused of offering polluted food on the altar. In our reading from Matthew, the Jewish leadership faces similar criticism from John, who calls them a brood of vipers and questions the status of their salvation. Their ethnic connection to Abraham is of no help. When it comes to God, there is no family hook-up.

The same critique can be made for each of us. We do not keep our promises to God, and we constantly fall short of the standards that He has set out for us. We have a lot in common with priests in Malachi and the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ time. We do not give our best to God and only begrudgingly offer him what is blemished. All too often, we do not bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Left to ourselves, God is not pleased with us. By ourselves, we are nothing more than a brood of vipers.

This is what makes the Baptism of Jesus so significant. He begins his public ministry standing in a place meant for sinners. The one who had no need to repent receives a Baptism for repentance. Where the people of God fell short, Jesus will not. Where Israel failed, Jesus will not. He is Israel reduced to one. Where Israel did not do what they said they would, Jesus will. Where Israel was critiqued by God’s accusatory voice, Jesus is hailed as ‘my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.’ Jesus now stands in Israel’s place, and because of Jesus, all Israel’s shortcomings are forgotten. When God looks at His people now, he does not see their sins; He only sees Jesus. Because God is pleased with Jesus, He is pleased with you. Your sins, your failures, and your shortcomings have all been washed away in the waters of Baptism.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

These fruits on Jordan’s banks were shown By mighty word and wonder. The Father’s voice from heav’n came down, Which we do well to ponder: “This man is My beloved Son, In whom My heart has pleasure. Him you must hear, and Him alone, And trust in fullest measure The word that He has spoken.” (LSB 407:3)

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 24, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: Daily Prayers: Morning & Evening Prayer

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; Nehemiah 10:1-13:31; 1 Timothy 6:3-21

In the morning when you get up/In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The catechism tells us to start and end our day in the same way, in prayer. In addition, both the Morning and Evening Prayers share similar content. Both begin with thanksgivings to God for what He has done, then look forward with requests for further protection during the day to come or forgiveness for sins committed during the day just past. In both cases, the prayer acknowledges God as the one who both keeps His people safe and forgives them where they have fallen short. Both prayers also ask for protection from the evil one. Both prayers confess that the Christian is never left alone.

That being said, these prayers are not so much about what a person may or may not have done during the day just past, or what they may or may not do during the day that is to come, or even what they might need protecting from. In fact, these prayers go beyond just a good discipline for the Christian to practice. They are more than just something that is good to do at the beginning and end of the day. These prayers are not about self-care. These prayers are not about the actions of the individual as much as they are about the identity of the one doing the praying. Both the Morning and Evening Prayers are about you as a baptized child of God.

This is why each prayer begins with the Trinitarian invocation. You start each prayer with the words of your Baptism. You can only pray the Morning and Evening Prayers because you are baptized. You can only expect God to keep, guide, protect, and forgive you because you are already one of His children. You can only pray to God for these things because He has already promised you these things in the water of Baptism. There, in the water of the font, is where the benefits of the cross were applied to you personally. You were recreated in the font as a child of God. In the water and word promises were made to you, and you can pray to God each morning and evening because He keeps His promises.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Come pray with me the prayer I need this day; Help me to see Your purpose and Your will–Where I have failed, what I have done amiss; Held in forgiving love, let me be still. (LSB 769:2)

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 23, 2026

Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:13-21

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2

“So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.” (Ephesians 3:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The presence and actions of God in someone’s life are sometimes hard to understand. This is especially true during the more difficult times that everyone must face. In other words, faith can be challenged during times of suffering. This is why Paul writes the way he does in Ephesians. He is writing from prison, and the very fact that he is in trouble may have caused some Christians to have doubts about their own status before God. How could what Paul preached be true if he was suffering? How could Paul preach an all-powerful God if the authorities were able to put him into prison?

These kinds of questions are to be expected. We like to see a direct line between the circumstances of our lives and the truth of our faith. This is exactly how many present Christianity to others. They promise that once you become a Christian, all of life’s troubles will be in the rear-view mirror. Suffering is for unbelievers and sinners. Faith is the guarantee of a good life. The truth about suffering in the life of a Christian is far more complex than that, and there is no direct line between your faith and the circumstances of your life.

This is why Paul offers up the prayer that he does in our reading. God’s presence and actions in the lives of His people, even as His people suffer, are beyond human expectations or knowledge. What this means is that you can be going through a hard time and still be one of God’s people. Difficulties in life do not mean that the gospel is not true or that God has abandoned you. Faith is not something that helps you avoid hard times; faith is what helps you to endure them. Christ dwells in you, and that does not change because things are hard. Difficult times do not change the truth of your baptismal identity. Jesus is with you in good times and bad. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In suff’ring be Thy love my peace, In weakness be Thy love my power; And when the storms of life shall cease, O Jesus, in that final hour, Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me safely to Thy side! (LSB 683:4)

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 22, 2026

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; Ezra 1:1-10:19; 1 Timothy 5:1-16

“And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, ‘See, your son lives.’ And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.’” (1 Kings 17:23-24)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Some people think that God only pays attention to us when we do bad things. Their idea of God is that he is up in Heaven making threats and saying, “Don’t make me come down there.” For these people, God only shows up to punish. God is seen as wrathful, vengeful, and concerned only with giving people what they deserve when they sin and ignoring them when they do good. This seems to be what the widow was thinking when she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son.” Notice that she does not think that Elijah is being unfair. She knows that she is a sinner and she acknowledges that she deserves to be punished. She expects nothing else from God. She does not truly know Him.

Then Elijah does the unexpected and returns the woman's son to her alive. The actions of God through Elijah elicit a response from the woman, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.” God’s actions changed the woman. God is not as the woman believed Him to be. What she expected was a God of wrath, but what she experienced was a God of mercy. What she expected was the law, what she received was the gospel, and through God’s act of mercy, she came to know HIm as He is and to believe what Elijah said about Him.

Our God is primarily a God of mercy. What was revealed to the woman through Elijah has now been revealed even more explicitly through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The cross shows that God is a God of mercy who does not give us what we deserve because of sin. Instead, He sent His Son to take his judgment on sin in our place. The woman’s son lived because of God’s mercy. You live because of God’s mercy. In Christ, God has returned you alive. You were moved from life to death in Baptism, and someday you will rise from the grave itself because death cannot hold you. The word of the Lord is true.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave And at death no longer tremble; He the Lord, who came to save Will at last His own assemble. They will go their Lord to meet. Trending death beneath their feet. (LSB 741:7)

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 21, 2026

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Tax collectors were not the most popular people in the ancient world. They were thought of as corrupt because they collected more taxes than were owed and kept the extra for themselves. In other words, they were people with your money on their minds and their minds on your money. For Jesus to be in their company would have been to cast doubt on everything he taught. They were untrustworthy, and by association, so was he. The Pharisees believed that unrighteousness was contagious, and just being near an unrighteous person could cause their guilt to pass to them. This was even more true if food was involved, which is why they ask the disciples why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners.

Tax collectors and sinners were considered by the Pharisees to be unworthy of attention. They were outside of the realm of salvation and were to be avoided or ignored. Instead, Jesus lets them know that they are precisely the kind of people that he has come to serve. This is what lies behind his language about mercy and sacrifice. The Pharisees thought that they were deserving because of what they did to fulfill the demands of the law. Jesus makes it clear that he is all about mercy. He has come to show mercy to the sinner and not to reward the righteous. The call of Jesus turns Matthew from a tax collector into an apostle and evangelist. Someone who was all about other people’s money became concerned with other people’s salvation.

The gospel that Matthew wrote makes it clear that the mercy that he received is for all people. The call he received to follow Jesus is a call that continues to go forth today. Not everyone is a tax collector, but everyone is a sinner, and Jesus still calls people to follow him. You were born a sinner, but the mercy of Jesus is for you just as much as it was for Matthew. He wrote his gospel with you in mind. You have been invited to dinner with all the other tax collectors and sinners. There is a place at the table for you with Jesus.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 20, 2026

Today's Reading: Luke 7:11-17

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16

“Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited his people!’” (Luke 7:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever had to clean up your room before someone comes to visit? Maybe you were told to, or even wanted to, get things ready so you could impress whoever was coming. Either way, there are things that are usually done in preparation to receive a visitor. Things get put away, things get straightened up, and the space is made ready for the visitor. What happens when the visitor is God Himself? Are the things that we do to receive family and friends worthy things to do before receiving the creator of the universe? Can you get things clean enough for God to visit?

The truth is that this kind of question is the wrong place to start when it comes to Jesus. In today’s reading, Jesus arrives at a town, and nothing has been done in preparation for his arrival. In fact, when he gets close to the gate of Nain, he finds a funeral is taking place, and the dead son of a widow is being carried out. Things had not been cleaned up for Jesus; the presence of a dead body even made things manifestly unclean. This does not bother Jesus. He immediately tells the mother not to weep, then actually touches the bier holding the body, raises the man from the dead, and gives him back to his mother. In other words, Jesus did not need things to be changed because of his presence; instead, his presence changed things. Jesus gets right in the middle of the mess and makes things better. Nothing is too unclean for Jesus.

So it is with you. There is nothing that you need to clean up for the presence of Jesus. His presence is what makes you clean. His presence is what makes you worthy for His visitation. Jesus comes into the uncleanliness of your sin and washes it away. You are dead in trespasses and sin, and He cleanses you, raises you to new life, and makes you worthy to receive Him. This happened in your Baptism and continues to happen in every Divine Service at your church. Every time you hear the Absolution, receive Communion, or remember your own Baptism, God has visited you.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Oh Lord, we pray that Your grace may always go before and follow after us, that we may continually be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Modesto, CA.

September 19, 2026

Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 16 - Psalm 86:1, 7, 12-13; antiphon: Psalm 86:3, 5

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20; 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

You know it is your duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey your heavenly Father for the magnificent Gifts He bestows on you—not least, your very life! Yes, God desires your heart! He even calls you “precious” (Psalm 116:15), that is, meaningful and weighty, and significant to Him.

How wonderful it is that in Baptism, He makes your heart capable of loving Him in return. Oh, we certainly fall in moments of weakness, but we have His promise that one day, we will love Him with our whole heart!

That day dawns at a Christian’s death. To be sure, death is an enemy—the greatest enemy of God. Yet for you, a Christian, death is a portal because Christ has overcome death. So when death draws near, we find comfort knowing that the promise of Baptism will overcome death.

At a Christian’s death, family, friends, and siblings in Christ gather together to share their grief, remember the brevity of life on earth, and give voice to sorrow—but also to thank God for their loved one, and to entrust them into His hands. In a special rite called the Commendation of the Dying (also known as “Last Rites”), it is suggested to sing the last stanza of Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart. That stanza describes the day when we will truly love the Lord with all our heart. Until that day, we live by the first two verses. We praise the Lord by glorying in His Gifts.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, thee I love with all my heart; I pray thee, ne'er from me depart, with tender mercy cheer me. Earth has no pleasure I would share; yea, heav'n itself were void and bare if thou, Lord, wert not near me. And should my heart for sorrow break, my trust in thee can nothing shake. Thou art the portion I have sought; thy precious blood my soul has bought. Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord, forsake me not! I trust thy word. Lord, let at last thine angels come, to Abr'ham's bosom bear me home that I may die unfearing; and in its narrow chamber keep my body safe in peaceful sleep until thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, thy glorious face, my Savior and my fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, and I will praise thee without end.LSB 708:1, 3)

Rev. Donald Stein, pastor of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Rockton, IL.