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.

January 22, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: Second Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17; Romans 11:1-24

“To confuse the devil, I say, we should always have this holy name in our mouth, so that the devil may not be able to injure us as he wishes.” (Large Catechism I 72)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever considered that the first person in the Bible to invoke the name of God was the devil? “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). It’s not God’s peculiar name, the name He reveals to Moses from the burning bush, but the devil has God’s name in his mouth nonetheless.

But He uses God’s name not for prayer or praise or thanksgiving to the one who created him and the creation around him. He uses it to confuse the issue, to cause injury. Out of envy, he twists God’s Word ever so much and thereby profanes His name. Questioning God in such a way makes Him a liar and drags His name through the mud.

The proper response to the devil’s misuse of God’s name would be a proper use of God’s name. How is God’s name properly used? “We should…call upon it in every trouble…” (Small Catechism, Explanation to the Second Commandment). Eve and Adam were certainly in trouble at that moment. Rather than engage the devil in a debate built on a false invocation of God’s name, they should have immediately turned to prayer.

Furthermore, God’s name is used properly when it is used to apply right teaching (Large Catechism I 64). When the devil says, “Did God really say…?” the proper response according to the Second Commandment is, “Thus says the Lord.”

When you have the words of Holy Scripture in your mouth (for there is where you find what the Lord says), you have the holy name of God in your mouth. This confuses the devil because he is used to people simply taking him at his word. But his word does not support the truth. His word is not oriented towards the good. His word is not a living, active, creative word. His words are empty.

The devil wants to injure us with his word, and we still bear the wounds of his first injury in the sin that has been passed down to us. But God’s Word heals, and whoever calls upon His name will be saved.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, And drives away our fear. (LSB 524:1)

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 21, 2026

Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:22-33 or Romans 12:6-16

Daily Lectionary: Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Love does not exist apart from those who love and those things they love. Love is intentional; that is, it is always aimed at something. Love finds delight in that which is beloved and is drawn to it. Love is not simply an emotion; love motivates action.

It’s possible to do things that look loving, but with the wrong intentions. So St. Paul exhorts us, “Let love be genuine.” More literally, St. Paul writes that love should not be hypocritical. Typically, people think of hypocrites as people who believe the right things but do the wrong things. Think of the regular charges of hypocrisy that the secular world makes against Christians: “You believe in Jesus, but you don’t help the poor!” Hypocrite!

A hypokritos in Greek culture was a play-actor who covered his face to play his part. This means that a hypocrite is someone who makes a public display of something he is not. Someone who acts the part, but is something different under the mask. It’s the opposite of what the secular world calls hypocrisy.

The world is filled with hypocritical love. People do loving acts to hide their true selves. They do things that appear loving, but their intentions are misdirected. So St. Paul clarifies his exhortation: “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” A hypocritical love behaves well but holds fast to evil and abhors what is good. Genuine love is oriented to that which is good.

St. Paul then lists some indicators of genuine love: brotherly affection, showing honor, fervor of spirit, service to the Lord, joy in hope, patience in tribulation, constant prayer, and, yes, contributing to the needs of the saints and hospitality (Romans 12:10-13).

St. Paul’s exhortation to genuine love, then, is not that you should do these things, but that you should be the kind of person who does these things. How can you be this kind of person? “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3). Genuine love begins with the grace of God and a generous measure of faith.

Genuine love does not mask cruel intentions, but under the mask of good works is the pure love of God alone.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; My ev’ry act, word, thought be love. (LSB 683:2)

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 20, 2026

Today's Reading: Exodus 33:12-23 or Amos 9:11-15

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23; Romans 9:19-33

“Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’” (Exodus 33:18)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Moses has a request for the Lord. “Please show me your glory.” It is an odd request, considering that Moses had already seen the Lord’s glory. In the burning bush, Moses saw the Lord’s glory. In the Exodus, the Lord’s glory went before them and behind them in fire and cloud. It enveloped the mountain. It descended on the tent of meeting when Moses spoke to the Lord as a friend. What more is there to see?

The Lord’s face. When Moses saw the burning bush, he had to hide his face for fear (Exodus 3:6). Now he grows bolder. “Please show me your glory.” “Please show me your face.” The Lord responds, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:19-20).

God’s holy face is a death sentence for sinful man. Even the great prophet Moses could not endure the judgment of that revelation. If the Lord were to emerge from the fire or the cloud, it would not be a gracious face shining upon you but a stern countenance darkened by anger.

Yet, the Lord will be gracious. He will show mercy. But not by stepping out of the fire or the cloud to show His face. Not at this moment. But as a promise of things to come, the Lord offers a glimpse. He hides Moses in the cleft of the rock and shows him His back. Even this compromise changes Moses, though. His own face begins to shine with the reflected radiance of God’s glory, with a brilliance such that he has to wear a veil.

At the end of Moses’ story, the book of Deuteronomy says, “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). This is an ironic summary of Moses’ ministry, considering how the Lord explicitly denied him the sight of His face.

But it’s not the end of the Moses story. Moses again makes an appearance. “And [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him” (Matthew 17:2-3).

The face of Jesus masks the darkened countenance of God and presents the gracious face of God. This gracious face of God also shines upon you in the ministry of the Church. Having put on a face of flesh and blood, the Lord says to you, “Look on my face and live.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. (Benediction, LSB p. 166)

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 19, 2026

Today's Reading: John 2:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29; Romans 9:1-18

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee” (John 2:1a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee…” Starting John’s Gospel at 2:1 needs a little more context. Third day of what? We need to go back a chapter.

Three days before the wedding, Jesus called Philip and Nathanael. “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’” (John 1:43). Wait, the next day after what? Back again.

Jesus calls more disciples (Andrew and Simon Peter), and John (the baptizing one) makes a declaration. “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” (John 1:35-36). Oh, another next day. Gotta read back further.

“The next day he (John—the baptizing one) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Another next day!

“And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’” (John 1:19). If you go back any further than this, you don’t get a day, you just get the beginning. “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1).

John begins his Gospel with a week. The first week in the Bible was a week of creation (Genesis 1:2-2:3). But that first week was ruined by the advent of sin in the world. Now the New Testament begins a new week of new creation, starting with the Baptism of the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.

The first week of the Bible ended with a wedding. God brought Eve to Adam and instituted holy matrimony. The New Testament also ends its first week with a wedding at Cana. The bride and groom of that wedding aren’t important; it’s the presence of Jesus that’s important. His first sign, the water into wine, creates faith in His disciples.

But the last day of this week is also introduced with an unmistakably Easter phrase: “on the third day…” You just want to finish with, “He rose again from the dead.” But that’s really the point. The resurrection of Jesus on the third day is a recapitulation of all creation and the beginning of the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Amen. (Prayer of Thanksgiving, LSB p. 161)

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 18, 2026

Today's Reading: Mark 8:27-35 (36-9:1)

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Ezekiel 40:5-42:20; 43:13-27; Romans 8:18-39

“And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” (Mark 8:29-30)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus must have missed the evangelism workshop. As Christians, we’re supposed to tell everyone about Jesus, right? But when Peter very plainly—and correctly—identifies Jesus as the Christ, “he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” Very curious indeed.

Does Jesus, like Superman, want to keep His true identity a secret? Does He only want a select few to know the truth concerning Him? Does He only want some people to be saved?

Peter boldly confesses that Jesus is the Christ, but what he says next shows why Jesus doesn’t want them going around telling everyone about it. After St. Peter’s confession, Jesus begins to speak of His death and resurrection. The name “Christ” means the “anointed,” and Jesus was anointed to die and then rise on the third day. But Peter, on the heels of his bold confession, rebuked Jesus for such talk.

It’s necessary to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, but it’s not enough. “We preach Christ crucified,” St. Paul writes to the Romans. To separate the Christ from His cross makes Him no Christ at all.

If you confess with St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ, you also confess that He is the Christ of the cross. “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus says to those who confess Him, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.”

The Christ of the cross is also the Christ of the empty tomb. The confession of St. Peter–and your confession–is also a confession that death is not the end of your life, but that, following the Christ, death gives way to new life.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ. Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no one else; through the same Jesus Christ, 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 17, 2026

Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 2 - Psalm 66:1-5, 20; antiphon: Psalm 66:4; 92:1

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 39:1-10, 17-29; Romans 7:21-8:17

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.’" (From the Introit for Epiphany 2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

St. Paul points out to the church in Philippi that the risen Christ has been given the name above all names, that at Jesus’s name, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God. That statement looks forward to the Last Day, when it will be clear to everyone, when the veil of sin is lifted, and every eye sees clearly.

But our Introit says essentially the same thing, calling on all of creation—all the earth—to acknowledge the Lord God, and this was written hundreds of years before Christ walked the earth and showed his power over sin, death, and the Devil.

The point is the consistency of the Biblical writers; they are moved and carried by the Holy Spirit to point to the very truth that undergirds all of life and creation: our Lord and God is worthy of all praise and adoration. He alone is to be the sole focus of all worship on earth.

And so tomorrow, when you hear that Jesus turns gallons and gallons of water into fine wine, and that a part of creation is remade from a thing of the Law to a Gospel blessing, you, too, may shout for joy that the One who spoke creation into existence has made his light shine into the darkness of sin to reclaim you for himself as His child, His restored creation.

This should also be the response of the Christian in weekly worship as well. The baptized should see in the Divine Service an opportunity to shout for joy to God, to sing glory to His name, to give thanks for the salvation won by Christ for you, which you receive the assurance of in Confession and Absolution, which you taste on your tongue in the Lord’s Supper, which you trace upon yourself with the sign of the cross. All of it, part of creation singing to you and with you of God’s glorious Gifts and salvation, all for you.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Blessing on the Word)

Author: Rev. Duane Bamsch, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wichita Falls, TX.

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 16, 2026

Today's Reading: Romans 7:1-20

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 38:1-23; Romans 7:1-20

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:18-20)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

I know that one candy bar is enough, but I’m going to eat three anyway. I know I shouldn’t flame the Social Media Influencer of the Moment on TikTok, but I’m going to do it anyway. I know I shouldn’t text my friend three pews behind me during church, but I’m going to do it anyway. The examples are endless.

And the endless examples put the lie to the idea that one can keep God’s Law as He wishes it to be kept—perfectly. It simply can’t be done, no matter how hard you try, because even your understanding of “good works” is broken because of the sin that ravages you, and the constant lies of Satan in your ears.

This is what St. Paul is trying to beat into our thick Lutheran skulls. That no amount of trying to do good is going to benefit you. And it certainly isn’t going to save you! Even when you want to do the right thing, to do what is pleasing to God, it is so difficult because of the sin that permeates you and the evil that is close by all around you.

And you can only see the truth of this when you use the eyes of faith. Eyes of faith, given to you in your Baptism when you were crucified, died, buried, and resurrected with Christ. Eyes of faith, strengthened in the read and proclaimed Gospel. Eyes of faith, strengthened and sustained in the receiving of Christ’s true Body and Blood in the Sacrament, given for your forgiveness.

Only by stepping back from your own flailing attempts to do “good,” and instead receiving what your Lord Christ gives freely as Gift can you see the truth. That the only good you do is done by Christ in you. He equips you to love your neighbor. He equips you to be an example to those around you. He does all things to His glory and for your salvation.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Let us ever walk with Jesus, Follow His example pure, Through a world that would deceive us And to sin our spirits lure. Onward in His footsteps treading, Pilgrims here, our home above, Full of faith and hope and love, Let us do the Father’s bidding. Faithful Lord, with me abide; I shall follow where You guide. (LSB 685:1)

Author: Rev. Duane Bamsch, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wichita Falls, TX.

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.