January 30, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: Third Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 9:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:1-26

“But what is meant by keeping it holy?” “Nothing else than to be occupied with holy words, works, and life.” (Large Catechism I 87)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The first holy day was the seventh day of creation. “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:3). It was a holy day not because it was more special than the days that had preceded it. In fact, each of the first six days could be considered more special because of God’s wonderful creations on each day. The seventh day was distinct not because of the work God accomplished, but because of the Word He spoke. His blessing blessed His day of rest.

Whether it’s a day of rest or a day of work, a day is holy because it “is a day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:24) and a day in which God speaks and blesses. The government or other earthly institutions may declare some days to be holidays, but a true holiday (holy day) is the one that is made holy by God’s Word, whether the world recognizes it or not.

God makes a day a holy day, but we are commanded to keep it holy. The Large Catechism gives three ways that we keep the day holy.

First, we should be occupied with holy words. This begins with God’s Word. A day of rest isn’t purely to pursue leisure, but to clear room to attend the Divine Service, where God speaks publicly through the ministry of the church. And having received God’s holy Word, we then speak holy words. First in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to God for His great works. For when we rest, God goes to work in us to make us holy by His Word. And having been sanctified, we commit to sanctified speech with one another.

Second, we should be occupied with holy works. Holy works are not distinct from other works because of their quality, but because they are works performed by holy people. God sanctifies us by His Word, which also extends to our works. Yes, we still sin on account of the weakness of our flesh, but God continues to sanctify us and the things that we do by His mercy, forgiveness, and the gifts of His grace.

Finally, we should be occupied with a holy life. Holy words and works should not be sequestered to the time of worship—the holiness of God, which He imparts to us, should pervade our lives. We should be occupied by holy words and works every day. Thus, every day becomes a Sabbath Day made holy by God’s Word and blessing.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“You shall observe the worship day That peace may fill your home, and pray, And put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you.”Have mercy, Lord! (LSB 581:4)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 29, 2026

Today's Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 8:1-23; 2 Timothy 1:1-18

“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” (2 Peter 1:19a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Transfiguration of our Lord was certainly a spectacle. Literally, it was something that Peter, James, and John saw with their own eyes. Peter confirms this: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). And not only did they see with their own eyes, they also heard with their own ears: “For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:17–18).

But only three people saw the spectacle of the divine majesty on the holy mountain and heard the voice borne from heaven. If God really wants the world to believe in Him and be saved, wouldn’t it make sense to show that majesty to everyone, to speak from heaven so that the whole world could hear? Why not let everyone see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears?

The irony is that, should God reveal His majestic glory and speak from heaven, it would not be for our good. Remember that Peter, James, and John fell down like dead men and were clueless at the time as to what the revelation meant. Further, God does not want to be known as blinding glory and a disembodied voice. He wants to be known in the flesh because He does not save the world by showing His glory; He saves the world by suffering death on a cross.

So, “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-20). The light of Scripture isn’t the blinding majestic glory, but the Christ, crucified and risen as the morning star before the dawn of a new creation.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God’s Word is our great heritage And shall be ours forever; To spread its light from age to age Shall be our chief endeavor. Through life it guides our way, In death it is our stay. Lord, grant, while worlds endure, We keep its teachings pure Throughout all generations. (LSB 581:1)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 28, 2026

Today's Reading: Exodus 34:29-35 or Exodus 3:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 6:1-7:14; Romans 16:17-27

“Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” (Exodus 34:29)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In the Transfiguration of our Lord, we see the communication, or the delivery, of the divine majesty to the human nature of Jesus. This means that things that are normally only true of God are also true of the human being Jesus Christ. Normally, human flesh and blood does not shine with uncreated light as bright as the sun. But the human flesh of Jesus shines with the light of divine glory. This is not because of any quality of the human nature, but because in the union of God and man in the person of Jesus, the divine nature lends its light to the human.

But that’s Jesus. The God-man. The one and only Son of God who assumed human nature in the unity of person. The one in whom the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). No other human being who has ever walked this earth has been personally united with one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. But the fact that the Son of God has communicated His divine glory to the human flesh and blood He assumed in His person opens the possibility for other flesh-and-blood humans to receive the Gifts of divine majesty.

And Moses shows that it does, in fact, happen. After conversing with God and writing the commands of God on a replacement set of stone tables, he comes back down the mountain. “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” Normally, human flesh does not shine with light. But Moses’ skin shone. While Scripture does not say that its brilliance was like the sun (as was the Transfiguration of Jesus), they still had to put a veil over his face (Exodus 34:33).

If Jesus’ face shone like the sun with its own divine light, then the face of Moses shone like the moon, reflecting the glory of God. And do not miss the cause: “because he had been talking with God.” Moses’ face shines with borrowed light communicated to him by the Word of God.

You, too, shine with a certain borrowed light when you hear the Word of God and keep it. St. Paul urges you to be “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15b–16a). This light is God’s by nature, but yours by grace. Follow Jesus and you will not walk in darkness, but you will have the light of life (John 8:12).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Renew me, O eternal Light, And let my heart and soul be bright, Illumined with the light of grace That issues from Your holy face. (LSB 704:1)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 27, 2026

Today's Reading: Matthew 17:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33

“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Had you encountered Jesus during His time of humiliation, that is, from His incarnation and birth through His final breath on the cross and His burial, there would be nothing remarkable to behold. Isaiah prophesied this when he wrote, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus looked like any other human being.

What gained Him notoriety were the things He did and the things He said. Healings and other marvels, like feeding thousands on a couple of occasions, drew attention. His words cut two ways: some clung to them for dear life; others grew ever more resentful until they were driven to murder to shut His mouth. But He looked like any other person when He did the things He did and said the things He said. Even when He walked on water, He looked like an ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing.

The exception was His Transfiguration. On that mountain, He took on a new form. Not that He abandoned the flesh and blood He had assumed at His incarnation—rather, He set aside for a moment the form of a servant He had taken at His incarnation (Philippians 2:7). The figure He revealed on the mountain was the figure of a man and also at the same time more than man. Jesus revealed the divine glory and majesty that He had humbly hidden, but was always there.

The Transfiguration demonstrates the full and complete unity of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ. This union is so full and complete that the Son of God communicates the divine majesty to human flesh and blood. The regular, ordinary, normally unremarkable human being who said and did some noteworthy things shines with the glory of God. In this union, God elevates the human creature to a heavenly life.

The glimpse of divine glory Jesus reveals on the mountain is also a preview of the glory that awaits those who are in Christ. By faith in His Word and participation in His body in the Sacrament, we become members of His body, which shines with divine glory. For a time in this world, the glory remains hidden under suffering and the cross. But “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17) when Jesus returns.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

With shining face and bright array Christ deigns to manifest today What glory shall be theirs above Who joy in God with perfect love. (LSB 413:3)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 26, 2026

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Romans 15:1-13

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Church needs workers. The Lord has ordered His kingdom in such a way that people bring His Word of peace to other people. This is one particular work, but there is a lot of work that goes into supporting this work, too. When Jesus sent out the seventy-two ambassadors to speak peace, He also appointed the sons of peace who received them to support their work by providing housing, food, and drink so that the ambassadors of peace could continue their proclamation.

The Church needs workers. Titus was one of those church workers, a laborer in the Lord’s harvest. We recognize Titus as a pastor and a confessor. St. Paul called him “my partner and fellow worker for your benefit” (2 Corinthians 8:23). St. Paul also describes his work in more detail in his letter to Titus: “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). The Church also needs administrators.

The Church needs workers. What work are you able to do? Can you preach? Can you teach? Can you comfort? Can you serve? Can you make music? The Church has many needs and a variety of professional offices, each with its own qualifications and requirements (your own pastor is an excellent resource for discovering these opportunities to work in the Church).

The Church needs workers. But the Church also needs sons and daughters of peace to receive these workers. The Church needs workers, and those workers need the Church to support them. Make sure your pastor and other professional Church workers get paid a decent salary, “for the laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7b).

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” says Jesus. “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The Church needs workers, and both the Church and the workers need your prayers.

Whether you work or receive, support or pray, know that the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. He is the one who sends workers to the Church, so that the kingdom of God may come near you.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 25, 2026

Today's Reading: Matthew 19:27-30

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Has anyone ever made such a complete 180-degree turn in life as St. Paul? Writing to Pastor Timothy, St. Paul confesses, “formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of the Christian faith (1 Timothy 1:13). He lists “persecutor of the church” as one of his bonafide to prove his zeal in the flesh (Philippians 3:6). He presided over the murder of the first martyr, St. Stephen (Acts 7:58).

It took a miraculous appearance from the risen Lord Jesus Christ in His glory to convert Saul, to pick him up from the Damascus road, and turn him from the way of death to the way of life. Blinded by the light, Saul fasted and prayed until God sent him a minister to baptize him, absolve him, and feed him. No one converts themselves, after all.

St. Saul didn’t opt for a quiet life of faith. Following his conversion, the book of Acts says, “Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 9:22).

St. Saul (later known as St. Paul) was the first to preach Jesus in many places during his several missionary journeys. But he also bears another peculiar distinction that explains his new zeal for preaching—he was the last eyewitness of the resurrection. After rattling off some other witnesses, he tells the Church at Corinth, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8).

That’s the way things run in the kingdom of God. “Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Although St. Matthew wrote these words of Jesus, St. Paul personified them. “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10a).

Your conversion may not have been as noteworthy as St. Paul’s; in fact, it may have just been a splash of water on your forehead with a few dozen people looking on. But God’s grace is never in vain, and by His grace you are what you are: a child of God and a fellow saint with St. Paul.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 24, 2026

Today's Reading: Matthew 24:42-47

Daily Lectionary: Joel 3:1-21; Romans 12:14-13:14

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?” (Matthew 24:45)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In the space of just a couple of verses, Jesus plays the part both of a midnight thief and a delayed master. This fits with the broader context of Matthew 24, where Jesus preaches concerning the end times. He jumps from the things that will happen in the next few years to the things that will happen upon His return on the Last Day. He switches His similes just as abruptly: Noah’s flood (Matthew 24:37–39); men in the field and women at the mill being taken away (Matthew 24:40–42); a thief who breaks in at an unannounced hour (Matthew 24:43–44); a master who returns after a long trip (Matthew 24:45–51).

No shortage of false teachings have come from people trying to parse these sayings of Jesus and assign specific and definite meanings to the figures in His speech. But it’s an impossible task. No one knows exactly what Jesus means here. But the point isn’t to figure Jesus out. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).

Whether it’s a delayed master, a sneaky thief, a disappearing mate, or Noah’s flood, the point is that you should never be unprepared for Jesus to return. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).

How do you prepare for Jesus to return? The last simile points you in the direction to look. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?”

Since His departure, the Lord has ordered His household to prepare for His return. This includes appointing faithful servants to oversee the household and ensure everyone gets fed. In other words, Jesus has established the ministry of the Church.

On this day of remembrance for St. Timothy, we remember not just the man but his service. St. Timothy, along with St. Paul and all the ministers of the Church who have faithfully proclaimed the Holy Gospel and administered the Holy Supper, are the faithful servants of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:1) who have kept the food on the table, so to speak. Thanks be to God for his faithful servants and for His food.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.

January 23, 2026

Today's Reading: Introit for The Transfiguration of Our Lord - Psalm 84:1-2a, 4, 10-11; antiphon: Psalm 77:18b

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:18-32; Romans 11:25-12:13

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!” (Psalm 84:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When Peter saw the Lord Jesus transfigured on the mountain with Moses and Elijah standing beside him, he offered to build three tents (Mark 9:5). Perhaps this was a purely practical response, to provide some shelter for an extended visit. Perhaps, though, perceiving the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus and the appearance of the Law and the Prophets, Peter was transported back to the earliest days of the people of Israel, when the glory of the Lord dwelt in a tent, or the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle was a lovely dwelling. God Himself had designed it and had chosen the artisans to build it. It was made with the finest materials and craftsmanship to reflect Him whom it housed. Further, its design was oriented around its purpose, not only as a dwelling place for God, but also as the place where God dwelt for the forgiveness of His people. The Tabernacle was the place of sacrifice.

King David (who did not appear at the Transfiguration) was not happy that God dwelt in a tent when he dwelt in a lovely house of cedar (2 Samuel 7:2). David wanted to build a permanent house for God, but God objected—He preferred to dwell in His tent. But God relented, and David’s son built the house David longed for. The Temple was a lovely dwelling place, perhaps even exceeding the luxury of the Tabernacle. But it, too, was lovely because it was a place of sacrifice and forgiveness.

In the course of history, this lovely Temple was destroyed, rebuilt, expanded, and destroyed again. One problem with a Temple built with hands is that it does not go with the people, as the Tabernacle had. A further problem is that the Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man (Acts 17:24). Neither the Temple nor the Tabernacle before it could contain the glory of God, nor could the tents Peter offered to build.

Instead, God has pitched His tent, so to speak, in human flesh. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” writes St. John (John 1:14). There, in the flesh of Jesus, all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). It is a lovely dwelling place, not for gold or cedar or beautiful garments, but because Jesus is the place where God is present for the forgiveness of sins. The flesh of Jesus is the new Temple, the new Tabernacle, the dwelling place of the Lord of hosts. And how lovely it is!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

To Your temple, Lord, I come, For it is my worship home. This earth has no better place, Here I see my Savior’s face. (LSB 981:1)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.