There is so much to talk about with this Sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood that I am afraid one little daily devotion is not sufficient. This miracle deserves our constant amazement and attention. The Lord Jesus Christ has joined His body and blood to simple bread and wine by the power of His Word. Even more so, this bread and wine grant us forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. What an amazing Sacrament.  Read More

This is it. The climax of the Catechism. Everything has led to here. If there was one reason only to come to Church, it would be because of the Lord’s Supper.  Read More

When we go through corporate confession on Sunday mornings, what goes through your mind? Are you thinking about the words that we are saying or just parroting them back like some penitential robot? When we say that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone, are you thinking of specific instances or is your mind considering what you’re having for lunch afterwards? Our minds are prone to wander during confession.  Read More

Yes. Lutherans should do confession and absolution. Even private confession and absolution. This is a gift and not a mandate. Christians who are Christian and want to be, will confess their sins. They know that sin kills us, our faith and our love for God and each other, and so to hear a word of absolution is how we kill sin.  Read More

What is your identity? We sinful humans are prone to find our identities in a lot of flimsy, worthless things. Some find identity in their great piles of wealth. Some find identity in their popularity or group of friends. Some find identity in their work. If you meet somebody new, one of the first questions you will ask them is: “So, what do you do?” Work is identity, especially for many in rural Wisconsin.  Read More

Having seen our lack, seen God’s giving, asked for what God gives in prayer. The rest of the catechism shows us how we receive what we ask for what God gives in order to fill our lack.   Read More

You know the well beloved and cherished story of Zacchaeus. So well known that I can never read the account without bursting into the song that accompanies it. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he…” The point of that entire account is the conclusion that I have quoted above. Everyone is grumbling at what Jesus has done. He has chosen, of all people, this Zacchaeus, who is of short stature and character, and has dined with him. “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” That is what they say.  Read More

What is prayer? I’ve been talking about this a lot in the Bible studies I lead recently. Simply put, prayer is having a conversation with God. When Paul urges us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he is exhorting us to keep a constant conversation with our God. This includes both speaking and listening.   Read More

Because we learned in the Creed that God gives and does everything, we need to learn how to ask him to give those things. Prayer is us learning to ask what God has promised to give. Prayer is only done by beggars and children. Well off or satisfied people do not pray, they are just blind to their own need. So prayer is the result of people who know what they need from God.   Read More

If I were to walk up to you on the street and ask, “What is it that Christians believe?”, how would you answer me? People flounder at this sort of question, but the answer has been simply given in the Apostles’ Creed. Its history is deep, since it dates back to at least 390 AD.   Read More

The commandments of God show us our lack and deficiency. It reveals that we are not right before God. The law reveals that I have not been loving, that I lack God, that I lack his gifts, that I lack being human. Sin makes me less than human.  Read More

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:39–40). The second table of the Law deals with the question of how to love your neighbor as yourself.   Read More