Daily Readings for November 24 - 29

Monday: 
2 Peter 3:1-18
Isaiah 65:17-25

Tuesday: 
Jude 1-25
Ezekiel 37:15-28

Wednesday: 
1 John 2:18-29
Habakkuk 3:1-19

Thursday: 
1 John 3:1-12
Isaiah 40:27-31

Friday: 
1 John 3:19-24
Jeremiah 14:7-9

Saturday: 
1 John 4:1-8
Malachi 3:7-18

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXVII (November 23)

The Apostles’ Creed

The First Article: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXVII (November 23)

Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:13)

Daily Readings for November 17 - 22

Monday: 
1 Peter 1:1-12
Zephaniah 3:9-20

Tuesday: 
1 Peter 1:13—2:10
Isaiah 34:1-17

Wednesday: 
1 Peter 4:1-7
Isaiah 35:1-10

Thursday: 
1 Peter 4:12-19
Isaiah 54:1-17

Friday: 
2 Peter 1:1-15
Isaiah 60:7-22

Saturday:
2 Peter 2:1-22
Isaiah 62:1-12

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXVI (November 16)

The Apostles’ Creed
 
The First Article: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXVI (November 16)

We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)

Daily Readings for November 10 - 15

Monday: 
Matthew 24:29-51
Daniel 11:36—12:13

Tuesday: 
Matthew 22:23-33
Ezekiel 38:1-23

Wednesday: 
1 Corinthians 15:11-50
Ezekiel 39:1-29

Thursday: 
Hebrews 3:7—4:13
Isaiah 43:14-25

Friday: 
Hebrews 11:8-16
Isaiah 33:17-24

Saturday: 
Hebrews 12:18-29
Ezekiel 37:1-14

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXV (November 9)

The Close of the Commandments

What does God say about all these commandments? He says, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:5-6)

What does this mean? God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXV (November 9)

If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

Daily Readings for November 3 - 8

Monday:
Romans 11:1-33
Isaiah 13:1-22

Tuesday:
2 Thessalonians 1:11—2:17
Isaiah 14:1-27

Wednesday:
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Isaiah 47:1-15

Thursday:
2 Timothy 3:1-17
Daniel 2:27-45

Friday:
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Daniel 7:1-28

Saturday:
Matthew 24:1-14
Daniel 9:1-27

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXIV (November 1)

The Ten Commandments

The Tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXIV (November 2)

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. (Psalm 116:15)

Daily Readings for October 27 - November 1

Monday:
1 Corinthians 3:1-23
Joel 3:1-13

Tuesday, St. James and St. Jude:
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 15:17-21

Wednesday:
Luke 14:12-15
Obadiah 1-21

Thursday:
Mark 13:1-37
Nahum 1:1-14

Friday, Reformation:
Psalm 46
John 8:31-36

Saturday, All Saints Day:
Psalm 149
Matthew 5:1-12

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXIII (October 26)

The Ten Commandments

The Ninth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXIII (October 26)

A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28)

Happy Birthday Pastor Esget!!!!

Daily Readings for October 20 - 25

Monday: 
Matthew 18:1-22
Micah 4:9—5:1

Tuesday: 
Mark 9:33-50
Isaiah 49:14-21

Wednesday: 
Luke 17:20-37
Isaiah 2:10-21

Thursday (St. James' Day): 
James 1:1-12
Matthew 13:54-58

Friday: 
Mark 12:1-12
Joel 2:1-11

Saturday: 
Matthew 25:14-30
Joel 2:23-27

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Trinity XXII (October 19)

The Ten Commandments

The Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Trinity XXII (October 19)

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20)

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda

From the Pastor …

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda!



Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus our Lord,

October concludes with an exceedingly important day in the history of the Church: Reformation Day. (At Immanuel, we observe the last Sunday of October as Reformation Sunday.) Of course, we commemorate Martin Luther’s posting of his Ninety-Five Theses to discuss reform in the Church, particularly in the matter of indulgences (the purchasing of forgiveness). If this day is merely an historical commemoration, though, then indeed the Lutheran Reformation is dead. The phrase that should mark our view of the Church here on earth is this:

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda
(the Church always needs to be reformed)

In thinking about “reform,” however, it is imperative that we do not merely consider why we are not Roman Catholic. Our own church body (the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod), our congregation, and our own lives – they also need a continual reformation, a refocusing and rededication to the “one thing needful” (Luke 10.42).

The Reformation was not a controversy, ultimately, about which language should or may be used in worship, who may marry, who gets to make decisions in the church, or any other such issues. The Reformation at its heart was a controversy within the Church about the forgiveness of sins. The many controversies and divisions in the broader church today would be solved rapidly if God’s Word were our only rule and guide, not human reason and human tribunals, and all doctrine and practice were examined in the light of this one fundamental article: the forgiveness of sins. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda!

When we examine our own congregational life, and the individual’s place in it, we must ask: “Is the forgiveness of sins the most important reason for my being here? Or is something else motivating me?” The “something else” might be quite good, on its own, e.g., social activities, music, school, etc. – but these must never replace this one fundamental article: the forgiveness of sins, distributed through Holy Baptism, the Pastor’s Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. Everything else that we do as a community/communion of disciples must flow out of that one central theme, or we cease to truly be the Church. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda!

Such a message, such a life, is out-of-step with the interests of mid-Atlantic Americans in 2008. It has been for some time! Claus Harms, at the jubilee anniversary of the Reformation in 1817, wrote, “The forgiveness of sins at least required monetary payment during the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth it costs nothing. Now men serve themselves with it. They at that time stood higher than us, they were nearer to God.” Men now serve themselves with forgiveness, Harms observed in the early 19th century—what would he think now, nearly two centuries later? For people indeed seek forgiveness not from God through His ministers and His means of grace, but they seek it internally; the self-help gurus tell us that “we must learn to forgive ourselves.” In the words of Hermann Sasse, “He who forgives himself his sins is his own God.”

Each of us constantly needs to be reformed, by confession and forgiveness. Immanuel Lutheran Church needs to continually be reformed, by an incessant internal purification, by an incessant internal refocusing on the one thing needful. And therein lies the continuing relevance of the faithful remnant in the Lutheran Church—we must bring that message again to our Synod, the whole Church, and the world, and preserve it for generations yet to come. In an age where doctrinal distinctions are set aside for the sake of sham “unity,” we must dare to be firm in proclaiming the Law in all its terror and the Gospel in all its sweetness. Reformation is needed now more than ever! Ecclesia Semper Reformanda!

Every good wish in Christ,
+Pastor Esget

Note: Originally published in the October issue of Tidings,
the newsletter of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School