The CTSFW Life Team has created a devotional series written by second- and fourth-year seminarian and deaconess students, covering life from beginning to end. They hope to help people think about and pray for all people who live with and deal with life—all of us. We believe in the sanctity of life because of what Christ has done for our lives: coming to be born as a baby and eventually giving His life for us so that our lives would be made new by Him through our baptism. Our Lord has made our lives holy by giving us His life through His birth, death, and resurrection.
The series will begin tomorrow, December 28th, the day we remember the Holy Innocents; the day many young children were martyred in Herod’s search to destroy our Lord. Many young children are still being martyred today in a parent’s hope to rid themselves of an inconvenient problem. But we also struggle with destruction of life at the other end too. The elderly and sick are increasingly being told that what is best for them is to end their lives because they are an inconvenience and so we mourn for these lives lost as well.
The series will end on January 26th, the day the Fort Wayne March for Life will occur. Many in Fort Wayne, including many from the Concordia Theological Seminary, will participate in walking the streets of downtown Fort Wayne in order to call attention to the importance of protecting life at all ages and stages.
Thank you for joining us in prayer for our society and these many lost lives! The peace of our Lord be with you!
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said:
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
“But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
You took up the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?’
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 6:8–7:60
“Martyrdom of St. Stephen” by Bernardo Cavallino, 1645.
This is the Christ, our God Most High,
Who hears your sad and bitter cry;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.
(LSB 358 st. 3)
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:11)
When the shepherds of Bethlehem saw the angel of the Lord standing in the glory of the Lord before them, they were rightly terrified. They were terrified because they were sinners and inherently knew that to be in the presence of God’s glory meant certain death. Yet the angel told them not to fear, and while the glory of the Lord was shining around them, he told them of the good news and great joy that was wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. The angel told them of the true glory of the Lord that would have been unrecognizable without his preaching. He told them of the Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
What they would have never known by themselves or from themselves, the shepherds now knew by the words of the angel. Amid the terror of their sinful flesh they heard the comforting Word of God telling them of their Savior. Because of what this child would do one day on the cross for all people, the multitude of the heavenly host praised God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). May we rejoice today along with the heavenly hosts when we hear this Word preached to us, and by faith receive the forgiveness of sins because of Jesus Christ the Lord, who was born, lived, and died for us.
Let us pray: Almighty God, enliven our hearts by Your Word and Spirit so that we would rejoice in the proclamation of Your only-begotten Son being born in the flesh for our salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Garrett Buvinghausen, Sem IV)
To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child of lowly birth
Shall be the joy of all the earth.
(LSB 358 st. 2)
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
(Isaiah 11:6)
Cursed by sin, the world separated into groups of predator and prey: wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, calves and lions. The very good creation became full of death.
Sin diseased all of us as well. Even in times of joy we experience strife, anger for one another, and a desire to attack in thought, word, and deed. Instead of gentle lambs, we are ravenous wolves. Instead of tame goats, we pounce like leopards. Creation is in shambles because of our sin, yet God determined to set things right.
Christ Jesus, this little child of lowly birth, entered into our cursed creation. He led the way of God’s righteousness and, bearing our sin, came into the thickness of the predator/prey curse to the cross.
To you this night is born a child, to die for our sin. Rising on the third day, he brings a life of joy. This little child is God himself leading, bleeding, dying, and rising to set creation straight. He is the joy of all the earth, forgiving our sins and leading us to the new creation.
Let us pray: God of all creation, we joyfully thank and praise You for the gift of your Son and His work that restores Your creation. Be with us in all trial and temptation, and lead us into Your everlasting joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Jeffrey Kyler, Sem IV)
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
(LSB 357 st. 1)
I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
(Hosea 13:14)
The enemy was fierce, relentless, powerful. The enemy was cunning, manipulative, deceitful. The enemy was so good at being evil that he used pawns to do his dirty work.
Israel was once a free nation, captive to no one. But, as time went on, it slowly became slaves to foreign powers with foreign gods. First the northern ten tribes to Assyria; then the remainder to Babylon. Now, those had long since fallen, but Israel still wasn’t free. Now, they were enslaved to Rome. Yet Rome was not the ultimate enemy from which they needed rescue. Rome was merely a pawn.
The great enemy of Israel, of all mankind, was Death; eternal death from which no one can be freed by their own works. Thus, Jesus Christ came to be Emmanuel, God with us, born as an infant in a manger, so that He may ransom us. But a ransom requires a payment. That payment was made with His holy precious blood shed for us on the cross. Through His death, whoever believes and is baptized is no longer a slave to death, but now has the promise of eternal life. And Christ is still Emmanuel. He still comes to us, through His Word, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. And on the last day, He will still be Emmanuel.
Let us pray: O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God. Amen.
(Raymond Doubrava, Sem IV)
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
(LSB 357 st. 7)
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
(Isaiah 52:7)
Beautiful feet. That’s something we don’t often think about. Feet are dirty…not beautiful. And yet, Scripture says quite plainly, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.” Therefore, all the prophets who proclaimed God’s Word had beautiful feet. And what about John the Baptist who occupies much of our Advent preparation, calling us to repentance? How beautiful his feet were! Now as wilderness-wanderers, none of these prophets’ feet seemed to be beautiful. And yet, God called them to preach His Word and the Good News of the coming Christ to his people. The preacher sent by God has beautiful feet (Rom. 10:15).
Isaiah’s words can be extended further. There is one who came into the world with the most beautiful feet. Yes, He was even greater than John, as the Baptist himself testifies: “But he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16). He is the Christ, the anointed one. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of world” (John 1:29). And His feet didn’t look beautiful either. Rather, they were nailed to a cross. Those beautiful, bloody feet brought the forgiveness of sins and salvation to us. And we await that final day when we will fall at our Lord’s beautiful feet to worship Him as He grants us everlasting life.
Let us pray: O King of the nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom You formed out of clay. Amen.
(Zachary Oedewaldt, Vicar)
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29
“The Doubting of Thomas”; artist unknown but likely done right around the year 1000 AD.
O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
(LSB 357 st. 6)
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
(Isaiah 60:1-2)
Today marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, it is the longest night of the year. As we pause to acknowledge and wonder at how God has ordered this annual day in His creation, so we pause this night to ponder the day and night of His eternal plan for our salvation.
When Adam and Eve fell into sin, a spiritual darkness fell over all creation. With that began a long spiritual night of thick darkness that Isaiah describes. And we know this darkness too, for we each were born sinners, in need of illumination. We are in need of comfort when death’s dark shadows frighten us. We need light to lead us out from under the thick, gloomy clouds of sadness, loss, and heartache.
And so Isaiah directs our gaze to the horizon, to look for the Son of Righteousness, the true light who was coming into the world. This light born of Mary laid in the manger and shone on the shepherds. And we look to the light of the world, who was born to cheer us from on high. The Scriptures illuminate to us our Savior, who was crucified under a cloud of darkness to atone for our sins. By His death He made death flee so that we may be illuminated with faith in Him. We truly live in an endless day bearing the light of Christ in a world still beset with darkness and deathly shadows. We wait for Christmas morning to once again celebrate the light who has come into the world, who rose on Easter morning, and who will come again in the Resurrection.
Let us pray: O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting, come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Carl Wendorff, Sem IV)
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
(LSB 357 st. 5)
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall shut, and none shall open.
(Isaiah 22:22)
Sin is the burden that no one can shoulder. No matter how hard we try, it always leads to death. And no matter how pious we long to be, no matter how often we confess, the burden of sin is always before us. It is a burden that no one can shoulder. But thanks be to God, the Key of our salvation has been revealed. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us today, God has given the key of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the House of David who has taken your burdens upon His shoulders and carried them to His cross to die. The Key of life, Jesus, has overcome sin, death, and the devil for you, and He has opened wide our heavenly home and closed the path to misery.
Let us pray: O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open: Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen.
(Jerry Smith, Sem IV)
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
(LSB 357 st. 3)
And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
(Exodus 19:9)
The Advent season of preparation and waiting is itself an echo of Israel in the wilderness. Our Lord gave His law to His people. Through it He chastened and prepared His people, Israel, for His presence among them in the wilderness by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. That same presence of the Lord, which appeared to Moses in the burning bush, dwelt in His tabernacle through their wanderings and into the promised land with Israel, whom He redeemed out of bondage in Egypt.
So too, He suddenly came into His temple again and again through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. By the incarnation, death, and resurrection of this same Jesus, we too are redeemed out of bondage to sin. Our Lord prepares us now for the return of His Son, our Lord. This Advent season reminds us too that He will return again, once for all on the last day in the Advent to come.
Let us pray: O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us. Amen.
(Jason M. Kaspar, Vicar)
