December 17, 2025

Today's Reading: Revelation 5:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 33:1-24; Revelation 5:1-14

"...I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..." (Revelation 5:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Revelation is not a timeline of the last days, but an image of Christ and His Church at all times. Sure, the pictures described inside make the imagination run wild. But all of Scripture tells us about Jesus and what He has done for us. This chapter is no different.

There is only one worthy to open or close the book of life. Hailed as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, we instead see someone very different. A slain Lamb. Slain, yet standing. The English is a bit awkward here, since the Lamb doesn't merely appear slain, yet isn't actually slain. No, the Lamb is slain, and yet stands alive. This is Jesus. The one who can reveal the sealed is the same one who is the lionlike Lamb and is the same one who died and yet lives. And he has revealed to you that He has written your name in His book of life.

After all, He has placed His own name upon you. The name I AM when He speaks of Himself. The name Yahweh, which is Hebrew for HE IS, when we say it. His name, which He gives to you, also gives what it says. You are, through Him. You exist, you live, through Him. And to put that name upon you, the lionlike Lamb, the one who stands though slain, the one through whom all things exist, died. And He died for you. Only God can lay down His life and pick it back up again. And that's exactly what He did.

Almighty God traded His life in exchange for yours. He suffered in your place for your sins. He was nailed to a cross so that you would be saved. His blood is what blots out all the sins written in crimson, and your name is written in His book. You are buried with Him by baptism into death in order that when He rose, you now have His resurrection promised to you. This is why all the powers of heaven praise Him. Because He has gone out and found you, rescued you, saved you. That's what every verse in Scripture is about, including these.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Yea, her sins our God will pardon, Blotting out each dark misdeed; All that well deserved his anger He will no more see nor heed. She hath suffered many a day, Now her griefs have passed away; God will change her pining sadness Into ever-springing gladness. (LSB 347:2)

Author: Rev. Eli Davis, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, OR.

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

Work through the first ten chapters of Matthew and learn more about who Jesus is. As you move through this study, you’ll ponder the theological, practical, and historical considerations of the text. With ample room for personal notes, this study will have you feeling confident in your understanding of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 1:1-11:1 of the new Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series is available now.

December 16, 2025

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20; Revelation 4:1-11

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." (1 Corinthians 4:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

It is important to know what a pastor isn't and what a pastor is. Since he's in front of the congregation all the time, we sometimes think he's the most important person there. He's not. We sometimes think that because he knows so much of God's Word, he must be holier than everyone else. He isn't. We sometimes think that he must have a secret line to God that the rest of us don't get. He doesn't. Pastors are people just like everyone else. We have the same sins, the same struggles, the same losses.

What makes a pastor different is the vocation into which God has placed him. He speaks on Jesus’ behalf. When the Lord forgives sins, the pastor speaks Christ's forgiveness. When the Lord feeds His people, the pastor brings out what God has prepared. You see, Christ did not come as a master but as a servant. Likewise, those He sends to speak on His behalf do not come as masters but as servants—to serve as our Lord serves.

That's why our worship is called the Divine Service—not because we serve the divine but because Christ serves you. He teaches you His Law, what He expects you to do. He teaches His Gospel, what He has done for you, especially at the cross. He washes your sins away. He clothes you with His righteousness. He sets you at His table, serving you His own body and blood to eat and drink. He gives you the gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

So also the pastors whom God calls do these things at His command. Teaching, preaching, washing, serving. These things which God gives are important enough for Him to set a steward over them for your sake. A steward is someone who takes care of his master's things, does his master's business. And that is what a pastor does. God put him here for you. Not as someone far off beyond your reach, but someone, like Christ, who comes to where you are, to serve you where you need.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The everlasting Son Incarnate deigns to be, Himself a servant form puts on To set His servants free. (LSB 331:2)

Author: Rev. Eli Davis, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, OR.

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

Work through the first ten chapters of Matthew and learn more about who Jesus is. As you move through this study, you’ll ponder the theological, practical, and historical considerations of the text. With ample room for personal notes, this study will have you feeling confident in your understanding of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 1:1-11:1 of the new Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series is available now.

December 15, 2025

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:27-31:9; Revelation 3:1-22

"A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain." (Isaiah 40:3-4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When John the Baptizer was asked who he was, he pointed to this verse from Isaiah. So, how did he change the landscape? By preaching repentance.

Turns out people aren't generally keen on confessing their sins. The world is not a very forgiving place. We ourselves have been trained from the earliest ages to find reasons why our wrongs were actually rights. A child who is confronted with knocking over a lamp might blame a stuffed animal. That doesn't work, but our reasoning gets more sophisticated as we grow. It was a sibling's fault. It was a parent's fault for putting the lamp so close to the edge. It was an emergency, so haste was more important than the lamp. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. So long as someone believes it, we show ourselves to be right.

We live in a world that demands self-righteousness. If you cannot justify yourself, you will be blamed. However, when people without faith sin in such a way that they cannot justify themselves, it breaks them. Guilt overwhelms them. All that self-justification was actually protection. And without it, people lose their minds, which is why confession and absolution in the Church is so weird to people. Why would anyone willingly put themselves through such guilt and shame? However, the repentance of a Christian has two parts. First is sorrow over our sin. That is the same as anyone else. It's the second part that is different. The second part is hope. A sure and certain hope that all our sin is forgiven. The guilt is made Christ's. The shame hangs on His shoulders. His blood pays for it. And His life is given for our salvation.

Without Christ, we would make mountains to hide our sin behind. We would bury in whatever valley we could. But the way of the Lord leaves nowhere for our sin to hide. All our hiding places are made an open field, so the sin can all be seen. And so that Jesus can take it all away. That is why we are so willing to turn in repentance. That is why we willingly confess our sins. Because we know the one who takes them and makes them His. And they're ours no longer.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Make ye straight what long was crooked; Make the rougher places plain. Let your hearts be true and humble, As befits His holy reign. For the glory of the Lord Now o'er earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token That His Word is never broken. (LSB 347:4)

Author: Rev. Eli Davis, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, OR.

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

Work through the first ten chapters of Matthew and learn more about who Jesus is. As you move through this study, you’ll ponder the theological, practical, and historical considerations of the text. With ample room for personal notes, this study will have you feeling confident in your understanding of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 1:1-11:1 of the new Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series is available now.