The Small Catechism – part 231
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 11:27–29
I would sit in the pew, trying to decide if I had been good enough in the past week to receive the bread and the wine. Of course, I was not good at all, nor would I ever be good.
Concerning Repentance – part 62
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 3:12–16
We cannot read the law with veiled hearts and expect to find the grace of God. All we sense is God’s displeasure. So, we cannot expect the law to come to our rescue.
The Small Catechism – part 230
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 1:9
The struggle to be righteous is a desperate effort. There have been times when considering my life—my thoughts and actions—I nearly despaired.
The Small Catechism – part 229
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 1:5
How solitary sits the city, how lonely and desolate. This is the lament of Jeremiah over Israel. Jesus grieves similarly over the people because they are without a shepherd.
The Small Catechism – part 228
Scripture Text: Exodus 9:20–21
Be sure you do not get caught out in the field with your cattle. God’s forgiveness is abundantly available—even to pharaohs, even to sinners. Just come in from the storm.
The Small Catechism – part 227
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 3:18
Holy Communion is a turning to the Lord, and in it, we behold his glory. Furthermore, the table is a sort of mirror in which we may begin to behold ourselves as God sees us.
The Small Catechism – part 226
Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 2:15–16
What a pleasing fragrance arises to God when his church believes the gospel by eating and drinking in remembrance of Christ Jesus. The aroma of our witness extends horizontally as well.
The Small Catechism – part 225
Scripture Text: Exodus 6:1
The Lord is still driving us out of the land of slavery, not a three-day journey (Ex 5:3), but a full six days into the wilderness, to feast with the Lord.
The Small Catechism – part 224
Scripture Text: Exodus 4:30–31
I remember so many Sundays about 40 years ago, when I remained in the pew, trying to decide if I was ready to receive Holy Communion. Was I penitent enough, devoted, pious, holy?
The Small Catechism – part 224
Scripture Text: Exodus 4:30–31
I remember so many Sundays about 40 years ago, when I remained in the pew, trying to decide if I was ready to receive Holy Communion. Was I penitent enough, devoted, pious, holy?
The Small Catechism – part 223
Scripture Text: Mark 9:7
Oh, that we would listen to Jesus. I once knew a brother in a congregation who would walk straight out of church as soon as he had communed.
The Small Catechism – part 222
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 12:13
I do not intend for us to understand this verse as being about Holy Communion. Obviously, it is about Baptism. Yet, there is relationship between the Sacraments, at least in Spirit and Word.
The Small Catechism – part 221
Scripture Text: Mark 8:14
One wonders if John Mark wrote this verse with tongue in cheek, or if Peter had told him the story with a wry tone at the memory. The disciples were worried about bread for their bellies, while they had the One Loaf to share as they sailed.
The Small Catechism – part 220
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
This is how Jesus established his holy meal, and this is how we pass it down, like Paul, from generation to generation. We receive from the Lord himself, his body and blood—his own precious life—in the elements of bread and wine.
The Small Catechism – part 219
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 10:16
When we share in Holy Communion, we are receiving the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. We are not simply receiving bread and wine that we eat in memory of what Christ did for us.
The Small Catechism – part 218
Scripture Text: Mark 6:48–50
Jesus reveals his divine power at times when those in need may apprehend. He speaks to peace of heart, saying, be not afraid, grab some courage. This word is always predicated on the fact that he is present.
The Small Catechism – part 218
Scripture Text: Mark 6:34
Jesus fed people throughout his ministry. A have a feeling that he fed people far more often than Scripture chronicles. The recorded cases were miraculous in nature, a little going a long way.
The Small Catechism – part 217
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 8:9
Sometimes, it is when we imagine ourselves most right, that we may be very wrong. In today’s larger reading, Paul discusses Christian freedoms or rights, the liberties and privileges we have in Christ.
The Small Catechism – part 216
Scripture Text: Mark 6:12
The old proclamation of the twelve disciples still has legs. Even now, they go from house to house, urging us to repent. Have we failed God in the light of any of his commandments?
The Small Catechism – part 215
Scripture Text: Mark 5:33–34
Who was this woman, so afflicted that she hemorrhaged for a dozen years? She would have felt unclean and, no doubt, been considered unclean by others.
The Small Catechism – part 214
Scripture Text: Mark 4:39–40
The storms of life howl upon us, and we are frightened. The obvious example, at the moment, is the coronavirus. We shrink before the tempest, yet muster enough courage to rush out and purchase more toilet paper, soap, and sanitizer than we could use in a month of Sundays.
The Small Catechism – part 213
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
We are united with the Lord, and by his grace made one spirit with him. Therefore, we should take special care not to sin, as our sins are really sins against the Lord, since we are one with him.
The Small Catechism – part 212
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 6:11
Like Joseph’s brothers, we must confess, “In truth we are guilty” (Gen 42:21). Ours may seem to us lesser or greater crimes. No matter. We are guilty.
The Small Catechism – part 211
Scripture Text: Mark 3:28–29
Imagine a person who goes to church and thinks, I do not need to confess my sins because I am a good person. It is easy enough to imagine a person like this outside the church, but they exist inside the church too.
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