Luke 10:25-37 Many people in this world think of themselves as good. The lawyer in today's reading was just such a man. He believed that he was not only good, but that he had kept God's law flawlessly. But he wanted to make sure he had done enough to earn salvation, so he asked Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The problem is that the lawyer wasn't nearly as good as he thought he was. He was, in fact, a sinner like the rest of us. He had failed to keep the basic law of God to "love your neighbor as yourself." The man needed the law of God to show how sick with sin he really was so that he could see his need for a savior. The same is true for us. We need God's law to reveal the sin within us so that we never forget our need for Jesus. The old cliche is true: Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.

Luke 10:1-20 "Even the demons are subject to us in Your name!" The disciples were very excited about what they had been able to do, by the power of Jesus. He had sent them to drive out demons, heal the sick, and proclaim the good news that the Kingdom of God had come. But what Jesus really wanted them to rejoice in was not what they were able to do, but to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. We too can rejoice that through Jesus our names are written in heaven. He wrote His name upon us in baptism, therefore we are His. Because we are His, we can be confident that salvation is ours.

Luke 9:28-36 At the Transfiguration we get to see the reality that Jesus is true God. He shines with the glory of God and together with Moses and Elijah they discuss His "departure," which is to say His coming death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension. Below is a hymn about the Transfiguration from "The Lutheran Songbird Project." Check out this video and maybe some of the other videos from "The Lutheran Songbird Project" too.

Luke 9:18-27 What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? What does it mean to follow Jesus? Throughout the history of God's people there had been speculation about what the Christ would do, but when Jesus revealed that as the Christ He would lay down His life and be raised on the third day, it was shocking to Peter and the other disciples.  They had their own ideas of what the Christ was to do. But their ideas weren't the important thing; the reality of what it meant that Jesus was the Christ was the important thing. They needed to lay down their own ideas and believe the truth Jesus was telling them. The same thing often happens with following Jesus. These days there are myriad ideas of what it means to "be a Christian" and to follow Jesus.  But Jesus makes clear that following Him involves sacrifice. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Are there things in your life that you are putting before Jesus? If so, now is the time to confess that to

Luke 9:1-17 Go! Don't take anything with you! Don't worry about it, God will provide. And God did provide. How can we feed all of these people? Don't worry about it. God will provide. These are lessons Jesus was giving to His disciples. Again and again He showed them that He could and would provide. Yet each time there was a new chance to trust Jesus, it seems that the disciples needed to learn the lesson all over again. The same is often true for us. Though God has provided for us time and time again, we still find ourselves doubting.  Yet Jesus patiently teaches us again and again that He will provide, just as He did for the disciples.

Luke 8:40-56 In today's reading Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus from death to life and heals a woman who had been dealing with blood discharge for 12 years. Jairus boldly came to Jesus asking for help. He fell at the feet of Jesus and begged him for help! The woman however, timidly tried to "sneak a healing" from Jesus. She didn't directly go to Him, but touched His garment in such a way that she hoped not to be noticed.  But Jesus did notice.  And she did receive healing. In this we see bold faith and timid faith, yet both receive help from Jesus. This shows us that the most important thing isn't the strength of our faith, but the object of our faith: Jesus.

Luke 8:16-25 “Who then is this, that  he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” This was the question the disciples of Jesus asked after Jesus calmed the storm. They asked the question, but they knew there could only be one answer: this Jesus, the one who had called them to follow Him, was God in human flesh. The disciples had thought Jesus had forgotten them as He slept through the storm. They feared that He wouldn't help them. We too have times when we think that maybe Jesus has forgotten us.  When things get rough we, like the disciples, cry out as if He has forgotten us. But He hasn't. He won't. The prophet Isaiah writes, “Can a woman forget her nursing child,      that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget,      yet I will not forget you. The Lord hasn't forgotten you.  He won't forget you.  And, as Jesus shows in today's reading, He is mighty and powerful and able to help you.  

Luke 8:1-15 What always strikes me about the parable of the sower and the seeds is just how seemingly wasteful the sower is. He's throwing seed here there and everywhere!  Those listening to Jesus first tell this parable would have noticed this too.  But that was the point!  The sower didn't stop to consider how likely the soil was to produce a positive outcome, instead he cast the seed on all soil and left what would happen to happen. Sometimes we fail to share the gospel with others because we just don't think there's a high likelihood of them receiving it and coming to faith. But we have no way of knowing what kind of "soil" people are!  God would have us cast His seed of the gospel here there and everywhere and leave the results to Him. There's a great hymn by Martin Franzmann that is based on this text. I wish I could find a recording to share, but I can't! So here are the words. 1                   Preach you the Word and plant it hom

Luke 7:36-50 The woman in today's reading is someone who was looked down on by society. Respectable people avoided her and they most certainly would NOT have wanted any physical contact with her. But Jesus welcomed her.  She washed His feet with expensive ointment, wiped them with her hair, and wet them with her tears.  He didn't recoil from her.  He didn't draw back. Rather, Jesus loved her.  He forgave her. And Jesus offers that same love and forgiveness to you and to all sinners. Come to Jesus. He won't recoil from you. He won't draw back.  But He will forgive you, love you, and give you new life. As the hymn says, 1 Jesus sinners doth receive;         Oh, may all this saying ponder         Who in sin’s delusions live         And from God and heaven wander!         Here is hope for all who grieve:         Jesus sinners doth receive.

Luke 7:1-17 As the Scribes and Pharisees are doubting Jesus, we see in today's reading that there a gentile demonstrating great faith. This man understands that simply by the power of His word, Jesus can make his daughter well. Later Jesus raises the only son of a widow from death to life. Again, Jesus does so simply by the power of His word. God's Word has power. The power of God's Word the means the Lord's Supper is the very body and blood of Jesus, not just a way to remember Him. The power of God's Word means a person baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit actually receives the blessings and promises Jesus attached to Baptism. The power of God's Word means that when you hear the words, "As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I forgiven you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," your sins truly are forgiven.

Luke 6:43-49 This video clip gives a good explanation for today's reading.  Watch until the 22:10 mark. As the Augsburg Confession, Article VI rightly states, Our churches teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). It is necessary to do good works commanded by God (Ephesians 2:10), because of God's will. We should not rely on those good works to merit justification before God. The forgiveness and justification is received through faith. 

Luke 6:27-42 There might not be a verse of scripture more often quoted these days than Luke 6:37a, which says, "Judge not, and you will not be judged" (though it seems to nearly always be quoted according to the King James translation, "Judge not, lest ye be judged). But what is Jesus actually saying here? Is Jesus saying that Christians should never say, "what you are doing is sinful"? That is not what He is saying. His point is that His people should be merciful as He is merciful. William Arndt, in his commentary on Luke writes, God is merciful, and His children are to manifest the same disposition. Surrounded by misery and suffering, they are to practice helpfulness (v. 36). Cultivating this attitude, they are not to judge, that is, they are not in an unwarranted way to presume to pass judgement on the actions of others. Christians should remain humble in their thoughts and words about the deeds of their fellow men. Jesus, of course, is not speakin

Luke 6:17-26 The Beatitudes in Luke (beatitude simply means "blessing") are a little bit different than those found in Matthew's gospel account. In Luke's gospel, not only does Jesus speak words of blessing, but He follows those up with words of woe (woe is an exclamation of grief). What's the difference between those receiving blessing and those receiving woe? Those receiving blessing are those who are in Christ, who are putting to death their sinful selfishness. Those receiving woe are those living to satisfy the flesh, acting on whatever they feel will be enjoyable or beneficial to them here and now. The life of the Christian is one of constantly battling against our sinful flesh, listening to the Lord, and seeking to walk in His ways. This is hard, but ultimately this is also the way of blessings!

Luke 6:1-16 Why do we set aside a "sabbath?"  Is it just a day to rest from work? Is it just a time to take a break? It is those things, but far more importantly it is a day to rest in Jesus, to be refueled by the Holy Spirit, to hear God's Word, and to receive God's gifts in the Divine Service. The Pharisees were seeking to observe the sabbath for the sake of observing the law.  Jesus shows us that we should seek to observe the sabbath not just for the sake of observing the sabbath, but so that we can rest in His completed work. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Luke 5:27-39 "I could never come to church! The roof would cave in if I set foot in the doorway!" "I need to clean up my life before I get back to church." "The church is full of hypocrites." These are all excuses I've heard from people as to why they aren't coming to church. The first excuse, "I could never come to church! The roof would cave in if I set foot in the doorway!" is a way of saying, "I'm too sinful for church." To this, Jesus says, "There's no such thing as too sinful for My church.  I came to call sinners to repentance and give them forgiveness, healing, and hope."  The church is for sinners in need of forgiveness.  The second excuse, "I need to clean up my life before I get back to church," demonstrates an understanding that God does want us to live in holiness. However the person also misunderstands how things work.  We don't clean ourselves up and therefore become acc

Luke 4:16-30 The people couldn't believe what they were hearing. When Jesus said that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled that very day through Him, they became angry with Him.  Just who did He think He was? But it wasn't about who He thought He was, but rather who He knew He was: the very Son of God. The people wanted Jesus to do a miracle to prove Himself to them, but He refused.  The Word of God is enough, they wouldn't get an extra sign. There are times when we would like a sign from God too, but God hasn't promised such signs. What He has promised is that He will be with us and speak to us through His Word. Jesus had come to announce that the Kingdom of God was present, but the people of Nazareth rejected Him, His message, and so remained outside of His gracious kingdom.  In the Lord's prayer we pray that this would not be the case for us. Thy kingdom come. What does this mean?  The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, bu

Luke 4:1-15 Who could endure a full on assault from the devil? I could not. You could not.  But Jesus could. Jesus did. Jesus then gives us the victory over the devil too!  When temptation comes we might not be strong enough to resist satan's attacks, but Jesus is. He is our Mighty Fortress against the assaults of the devil!

Luke 3:1-22 John the Baptist was sent by God to declare that Messiah was coming.  Get prepared! How? Repent. Turn from sin and trust in God and His promises. The same is true for us today. Jesus is coming! When? We don't know for sure, but we are called to be prepared. How can we prepare?  In the same way the people of John's day prepared. Repent and trust in God's promises.

Luke 2:39-52 Every parent has had a moment of panic when they couldn't find their child. Our first Sunday at St. Paul's Woodworth included just such a moment of panic. After the service was over everyone headed across the street to the gym for refreshments. After a little time over in the gym we realized that we couldn't find Timmy (who was 4 years old at the time). We searched the school, gym, church, and grounds. But he was nowhere to be found. Instead, we finally found him sitting at home (the parsonage was next door) watching television. The service was over, so he had just headed home. Jesus too had gone home, in a sense, in today's gospel reading. He was in His Father's house. Mary and Joseph, in retrospect, should have expected this; He was (and is) the Son of God after all!

Luke 2:22-38 Today's reading brings us to another song! The Song of Simeon is a song we sing after receiving the Lord's Supper and it is fitting, because in the Supper we have received Christ and so, to paraphrase Simeon, we can go in peace, we can live in peace, and we can die in peace because of Jesus.

Luke 2:1-21 Yet again we have a song! The song of the Angels is a familiar one to us because we hear it every Christmas, but also because it appears in the liturgy.  Take a few minutes to listen to the angel's song (the Gloria) from Lutheran Service Book setting IV.

Luke 1:57-80 Again today we have a song in the reading as Zecheriah prophesies. So again today we're going to take a few minutes to listen to a version of the song.

Luke 1:39-56 Today we're doing something different.  Below is a link to the magnificat (Mary's song) from the order of Vespers in Lutheran Service Book.  Take a few minutes to listen.

 Luke 1:26-38 The Annunciation is a big event!  The angel Gabriel delivers the news that the Savior, the Messiah the world have been waiting for ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God, was coming! This would be no ordinary child and this child would be conceived in an extraordinary way; The Holy Spirit would cause Mary to conceive and thus the baby would be conceived and born without the stain of original sin.  How could it be that this could happen?  How could Mary conceive though a virgin? How could God become man? Nothing is impossible with God.

Luke 1:1-25 Now we've moved from Genesis to Luke. Luke's gospel was written by Luke, a physician, who was interested in learning the truth and making that truth known. As we go through this gospel, Luke will help you to better know who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for you.

Genesis 45:1-15 After everything his brothers had done to him, Joseph was able to forgive them, treat them with mercy, love, and compassion, and because of this his family was restored.  His father came down and lived in Egypt with him, as did his brothers and their families. Have you ever struggled to forgive someone?  How can you forgiven someone when they have truly hurt you? It can be hard to forgive, but when we remember Jesus on the cross crying out, "Father forgive them" we are reminded that no matter how greatly someone has sinned against us, we have sinned far more often against the Lord, yet He still forgives. The fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer is helpful to consider here too. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. What does this mean?  We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor ha

Genesis 43:1-15 Food had run out again and the brothers would have to return to Egypt. Though Jacob didn't want to allow Benjamin to go, it was the only way the brothers could return. So, grudgingly, he sent his son. This is far different than what we see from our Heavenly Father, who graciously and willingly gave His Son to be our Savior.  Before we even knew that we needed Jesus, God sent Him for us. Jesus still comes to us today through the Word and Sacraments.  We find this truth taught in Luther's Small Catechism where he writes, What is the Sacrament of the Altar? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.

Genesis 42:26-38 Jacob's sons had acted wickedly. They had considered killing their brother Joseph, then decided to sell him into slavery. The weight of that sin and the constant reminder of their actions because of their father's grief must have been a terrible burden. Now, as they are heading back from Egypt after their strange encounter with a man they didn't know was actually their brother Joseph, the brothers made an unexpected discovery.  The money they had brought to use in purchasing the food they needed had been put back into their bags!  They certainly didn't deserve this! They had received mercy from Joseph.  He didn't treat them according to what they deserved, but instead with a kindness that was undeserved. It's much the same with the Lord. God doesn't give us what we deserve, because if we received the just punishment for all of our sin there would be no hope. But instead He not only forgives our sins, but He gives us undeserved gift