Persisting in hope. When parents teach their children to take responsibility for themselves and their own behavior things do not always go smoothly. Children sometimes forget what they’ve been taught,…
Bloom where you are planted. Through Jeremiah, God tells the exiled Israelites that they are to live fully and caringly in Babylon, even praying for the welfare of the city.…
The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) is the official women’s auxiliary of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Since 1942, the LWML has affirmed each woman’s identity as a child…
Today’s readings contain some serious warnings about the temptations of wealth. The “haves” have a responsibility to share with the “have-nots.” Our money can be a powerful tool for alleviating…
The prophet Jeremiah and the shrewd manager in Jesus’ parable show us that our actions have real consequences. But even when we are at our worst we are still not…
What a fascinating contrast of images in our lessons today. Jeremiah prophesies punishment and destruction, but Paul writes of amazing grace, and Jesus promises great rejoicing in heaven over a…
Jesus never promised that discipleship would be easy. He calls us to deny ourselves, and take up our crosses as follow Him. He also urges us to count the costs…
Rescue is a theme that runs throughout today’s lessons. Before Jeremiah was born, God had consecrated him to be a prophet—to rescue God’s people from aimlessness and sin. In Hebrews…
Is He coming or not? Isaiah warns us that God is not pleased with hollow worship and self-serving sacrifice. In Hebrews, we are reminded of our ancestors’ faith in things…
There is a colossal difference between relying on wealth and a life dependent upon God; and today’s lessons make that clear, Hosea pronounces judgment on Israel’s idolatry and unfaithfulness; yet…