July 3, 2025

Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism - First

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28; Acts 11:1-18

Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. (The Sacrament of Holy Baptism - First)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

If you were to look at the baptismal font without context, what would you see? An eight-sided font, perhaps, with a bowl and some water. It is nothing special and is pretty mundane when you think about it. Yet on that Sunday morning, there at the font, it is as if we were there, right back in the beginning.

Because it’s there, in the beginning, where such mundane, chaotically ordered things were made into good, very good, living things and people. In the beginning, you have the waters and the Spirit hovering over the waters. You have the Father ordering and crafting creation, and you have the Son, the Word itself, giving depth and shape by those words.

At that font in the beginning, the Spirit hovers over the face of the waters, and that little one (or even a not-so-little one) approaches. It is there the pastor, the man who stands in Christ Jesus, the Word’s stead, proclaims words that have given life since the beginning. “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” The water applied, the Words uttered, and the Father looked upon the one to whom His Word has been proclaimed and His Spirit has entered and says, “Very good.”

There at that font, the chaos of sin and death in that little one has died with the Word made flesh who died for all. You and I, that little one, and all who have come to that font young and old shall die and rise daily. Rising to new life by the Spirit, shaped by the living Word who was raised up by the order and glory of His Father.

There at the font, we see not just plain water but the Water included in God’s command and combined with God’s life-giving Word, just like in the beginning.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O hear and mark the message well, For God Himself has spoken. Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell And so receive this token. Our Lord here with His Word endows Pure water, freely flowing. God’s Holy Spirit here avows, Our kinship while bestowing The Baptism of His blessing. (LSB 406:2)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 30, 2025

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19:9b-21

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6:5; Acts 10:1-17

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah is at the end of his rope. He’s been a good and faithful servant. He outran his persecutors, cared for a widow and her son, and even performed miracles. The boxes on his prophet to-do list are nearly all checked off. You can imagine what he must have been thinking, after the lengths he had gone to approach God on Mt. Horeb, for God to say, “What are you doing here?”

Elijah makes his case for retirement. Telling God that He’s fought the good fight, run the race, and can’t go on any longer. Yet, in that silly question God asks Elijah, we see that God is not done with his prophet.

There’s more to do. Just as Elijah was jealous for the Lord, the Lord is jealous for His people. Elijah’s work is not finished. There are still words to proclaim, people to serve, and places to bring the Word of the Lord. Elijah is not alone. There is a faithful remnant—a remnant that he must go to so he may pass on his mantle to the next prophet who will serve them.

Life can be overwhelming, and we, too, can feel like Elijah did in this world. Take comfort and know that even Elijah was alone and desired nothing more than the end of his ministry to God’s people and, quite frankly, the end of his life. God heard him and answered him—not in mighty acts and wonders, not in the natural world around him, but God answered Elijah and comforted him with a word.

In the same way, God comes to you in your distress with His living and active word. God’s “What are you doing here?” is that extraction that God does all too well. It leads Elijah to confess his sins, worries, doubts, and anxieties. God hears them, acknowledges them, and proclaims to him the Absolution. The same is true for you. God sends you your pastor so that you might go to him as often as you are jealous for that Word of God as Elijah was, that you would confess your sins that burden you to him, and he would proclaim that Absolution that your sins are forgiven. He reminds you that you are a child of God whom your heavenly Father loves. You can rest in the arms of their crucified and risen Savior.

Elijah would go and find Elisha and continue the work God had for him. God is with you and is present in His Word, in your Baptism, and in His Supper. As often as you have need, if you ever doubt, remember your sins are forgiven and covered in the blood of Jesus. God sees you—yes, you who are standing before Him, and doesn’t say, “What are you doing here?” but instead says, “This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Make them apostles, heralds of your cross; Forth let them go to tell the world of grace. Inspired by You, may they count all but loss And stand at last with joy before your face. (LSB 682:5)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 29, 2025

Today's Reading: Matthew 16:13-19

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 4:1-24; Acts 9:23-43

“Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

What’s the point of Peter’s confession? He gets it right. Jesus is not just a reincarnated Moses or Elijah. He’s not just another religious figure with good ideas on how to be kind to one another. Jesus asks His disciples, “Who am I?” not to trap them but to reveal to them who He is.

Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the one all of Scripture points to as the one who will save and deliver God’s people. There’s more to it than that, though, more to Peter’s confession than even Peter realizes.

This confession is one that is seen with eyes of faith. It’s the confession that the church, the baptized community, makes every Sunday in the Creed. It is your and my confession when we remember our baptisms: that we are united to Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God who saved us from our sins.

Peter is not handed the keys to the “pope mobile” here to guide the church in confessing. No, friends, this is the beginning of Peter’s confession—or rather, his struggle against his own flesh to continue to confess boldly in season and out of season.

And then there’s Paul. Paul is the persecutor turned pastor to the Gentiles, whose ministry is defined by suffering as Jesus suffered, for the sake of the Gospel and being content in all things. Paul’s confession was all things to all people. Not sacrificing the substance or truth, but truly embodying that Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God, came into the world to save sinners “of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Confession of who Jesus is matters. He’s not Moses or Elijah or John the Baptist. He is the Christ who took on our flesh and came into the world. The Son of the Living God to save you that this might be revealed to all who hear His Word and open their eyes of faith as Peter’s and Paul’s were. When you stand and confess the Creed, you see those witnesses around you but know that there’s a whole host of witnesses saying it who have gone before you.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Merciful and eternal God, Your holy apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of your Son. Strengthen us by your Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for the one who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 28, 2025

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 3 - Psalm 85:8-10, 13; antiphon: Psalm 85:7

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17; Acts 9:1-22

“Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” (Psalm 85:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When God feels far away, how would you pray to Him? What do I do when God is angry with me?

The sons of Korah ask these questions of God in Psalm 85.

Israel has endured the exile, and no one wants to endure that again. The future looks unclear, and history shows that for Israel the days of David and Solomon were not coming back.

Life can be equally as anxious for us. Times have changed. Friendships come and go. Relationships end. Opportunities we hoped for never turn out, and life never seems to slow down. It can seem like we never quite have a handle on things.

The life of the Psalmist and for the people of Israel was not about getting the upper hand. It certainly was not about going back to how things used to be, no matter how grand they appeared. We often romanticize the past and hold on to nostalgia. Those days aren’t coming back, though.

The life of the Psalmist is knowing where our peace and salvation come from. It comes from God Himself. Israel was passed around like a nobody to the nations. It wasn’t that they didn’t deserve it; it was that they did, and God heard their cries, remembered His promises, and brought them back.

You may be mourning a loved one, unsure of where to go next in life, or suffering from illness in the mind and body. When you reach the edge where doubt is near, and God feels far away, remember what the sons of Korah demanded of God. “Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”

You have a God who loves you and sent His Son to die for you. Whose word tells you the steadfast love God has for you through our Lord Jesus. In Jesus, your salvation is near—it is yours. It’s not a matter of what I have to do to earn it, but a matter of your sins being forgiven. Nothing will take you away from the love your Father has for you. Not political uncertainties, not momentary crises of life, not sickness, and not death.

God’s salvation is revealed to you in your crucified, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus. You have your Baptism to remind you of that day you were made a child of God—united to your Savior so that as you endure these final things in these last days, you find comfort in the Word, knowing your identity is sealed in the water. You are strengthened in the eating and drinking of His Body and Blood under the bread and wine. Come, Lord Jesus.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All glory to the One Who lavishes such love; The triune God in love Assures our life above. His means of grace for us Are gifts He loves to give; All thanks and praise for His Great love by which we live! (LSB 602:6)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 27, 2025

Today's Reading: Acts 8:26-40

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24; Acts 8:26-40

“And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:38)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Ethiopian Eunuch was missing something. He had worship; He had the scroll of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 53), and yet it did not make sense to him.

Now, to be clear, Philip is not the pastor who can unlock the secrets of Scripture with his wicked interpretation skills. Philip is the pastor who gets to proclaim the key to all the scriptures—the key that opened up the scriptures to Philip and all the disciples. This key, of course, is that perfect Sunday School answer type of key. I’m talking about Jesus!

Philip, brought by the Spirit, had to be ecstatic when he saw he could talk to this guy about Jesus. The eunuch hears the Gospel. He hears of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was led to the slaughter and did not say a word. That Jesus who died for sinners by taking their sin and making them His own. The Lamb Jesus who silently takes our punishment that brought us peace, and by His wounds, we are healed.

This Gospel, the Good News that God justifies sinners by the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, is that Word of the Lord that does not return empty. The Holy Spirit, through Philip, the pastor, preaches the Gospel that creates faith in the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Then, water comes into the scene. Faith and Baptism go hand in hand. The Holy Spirit works faith by the hearing of the Word, and the Word that works faith is joined to the waters of Baptism. The eunuch understood and was brought to faith by the work of the Holy Sp,irit who called him by the Gospel. That faith in Christ saves, and he wanted to be united to the Word made flesh that went like a lamb to the slaughter to save Him. Philip, the pastor, baptizes him, and the rest is history.

Rejoice in the daily reality of your Baptism, where the Holy Spirit created faith in you, and in those words and promises of God in and with the water, you were united to Christ, your Savior. Surely as He died, you died. Surely as He has risen from the dead, so you also will rise again.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

It sets the Lamb before our eyes, Who made the atoning sacrifice, And calls the souls with guilt oppressed To come and find eternal rest. (LSB 580:2)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 26, 2025

Today's Reading: Catechism: The Lord's Prayer - The Conclusion

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25

This means that I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; (The Lord’s Prayer - The Conclusion - What does this mean?)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever thought, “What if God doesn’t like what I pray for?” or “Does God really hear my prayers?”

Don’t worry—you're not alone. Doubting whether or not God hears our prayers or answers them is what Dr. Luther is getting at in his meaning for the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer. God commands us to pray. Not in a “do it or else” kind of command. God invites us to pray to Him just as you would ask your parents for things you want or need.

Your heavenly Father desires to give you all that you need in this life. That doesn’t mean that every petition will be “Yes.” God’s “no” is good. We might not be content with that wherever we are in life at that time. But know this: God’s “no” is not disappointment in you or your prayers. If something is bothering you, or if there is something you want more than anything, pray that God would give it to you if He wills. If you can’t think of what to pray for, pray the Lord’s Prayer; it is the prayer for the baptized Christian that teaches us how to pray.

Trust that the Father hears your prayers, and be comforted that you have the Son and the Holy Spirit interceding for you. God continues to give you daily bread and care for you in your daily life against sin, death, and the devil.

Remember your Amen. Amen is that final word where you confess that this is your prayer and that you know that your Father in heaven hears it and will answer it just as He has promised.

God truly hears your prayers, and your heavenly Father invites you, His child, to pray for Him about everything. We give thanks to God that we can come to Him in prayer and that He sees you as His dear children.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe That what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word We say, "Amen, O hear us, Lord!" (LSB 766:9)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.