Category: Devotion

Then, St. Peter says that we are to “live as people who are free” (v. 16). When did we become free? We became free when Christ died on the cross. Christ’s death was the only sacrifice that was not of a broken spirit. In Baptism we have the sign of the cross placed on our head and heart, marking us as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Our life is given cruciform shape. We are free!

Prayer
O Lord, You have instituted all government for the good of Your children. Bless all who hold public office in our land, that they would seek to do Your will. Keep us under the shadow of the cross of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our life would be shaped by it in service to You and our neighbor; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee,
That from pain I might be free;
Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee:
Thence I gain security;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish
Me to comfort in my anguish.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee. (LSB 420:5)

A similar sentiment is felt when we read these words today: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (v. 9). What have we done that deserves such an honor, such a magnificent title? We are indeed far from being holy, let alone a chosen people. Peter reminds us that we were once lost, living in darkness and separated from a holy and just God.

It is in the sacrifice of the sinless Christ that we have been made a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Christ not only came to be our Priest, but to be the perfect sacrifice, pleasing and acceptable to God. From the blood of the Lamb of God, we have received grace and pardon for our sin. We are a people who have been redeemed and made new!

Prayer
O holy God, we were once not a people, separated from you on account of the darkness of our sin and guilt. Through the perfect sacrifice of your Son and the blood that flowed from Calvary, we have been made a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen race. Remind us always that because of Him, we are made worthy to be your chosen people; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o’er us:
Have mercy on us, O Jesus!
O Jesus! (LSB 434:1)

It is into this body, the new creation, that we are united through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. It is this body that is the first fruit of creation. In Christ, the world is, has, and will be remade. Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. Unlike a temple built with human hands, Christ’s body was raised by the Holy Spirit, and “whatever God does endures forever” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). We now look to the day when Christ returns to call us to Him and remake the whole creation. We now look forward to the day when our baptisms are fulfilled and we feast at the Lord’s eternal wedding feast. Let us ground ourselves then in Christ, our one true foundation.

Prayer
O Father, You have laid Christ as a cornerstone in Zion. Strengthen our faith and let us not be put to shame, but on the Last Day welcome us into Your New Creation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Yet she on earth has union
With God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O blessed heav’nly chorus!
Lord, save us by Your grace
That we, like saints before us,
May see You face to face. (LSB 644:5)

Jonah Laws (Sem I, CTSFW)

Here Peter tells us that we are able to love one another because Jesus loved us so much that, through His death and resurrection, He brought us to new, imperishable life. We have that life through faith in the promises of His likewise imperishable Word. Freed from bondage to sin, we, who are brothers and sisters in Christ, can love one another “earnestly and from a pure heart,” serving one another with our good works—even dying for each other. Through faith in Jesus’ saving work and Word (the “Good News!”), we can truly love one another, just as He commanded us to do.

Prayer
Dear Jesus Christ, You have saved us from bondage to sin and have made us all brothers and sisters in You by faith. Help us to serve one another gladly with a pure heart and a cheerful spirit, and help us to put away selfish desires; rather, help us to put our neighbors first because You put us first when You died and rose for our salvation. Help us to always love others because You have loved us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
As You, Lord, have lived for others,
So may we for others live.
Freely have Your gifts been granted;
Freely may Your servants give.
Yours the gold and Yours the silver,
Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of your bounty
Held in solemn trust will be. (LSB 842:2)

Nils Niemeier (Sem IV, CSL)

But before the foundation of the world, God loved you. He revealed His grace through His Son Jesus Christ, who ransomed you with His own blood, a payment more precious than the costliest metal. Slaughtered like a spotless Passover lamb, Christ purchased your life with His life.

Now you need not be terrified before God, because you believe through Him who baptized you into new life. Now He invites you to call on Him as your loving Father in prayer. He sets you free from terror, so that you may serve Him in reverent obedience, as loving children. In His sight, your conduct is now truly holy. Although you still sojourn in exile through this vale of tears, you are kept by God in faith and hope, trusting that He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also raise you to eternal glory.

Prayer
O God our righteous judge, we are not holy as You are holy. Receive us as dear children through the ransom of the precious blood of Your Son, who gave His life as a lamb without blemish, that we may call You Father and serve You as obedient children; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice,
With exultation springing,
And with united heart and voice
And holy rapture singing,
Proclaim the wonders God has done,
How His right arm the vict’ry won.
What price our ransom cost Him! (LSB 556:1)

Peter Wagner (Sem I, CTSFW)

Of course, our names are not in the Bible; it’s not a story about us. Jesus is the focus of Scripture. But it is a story FOR us, and this is what Peter tells us in these verses today. All throughout the history of God’s people, His prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection for the salvation of the world, so that you and I would know that Christ’s salvation is for us and that we would trust in Him. The prophets did not necessarily understand what they were proclaiming—even the angels did not understand it—but it was for us. It is the story of how God brought about the salvation of the world for us sinners, and that is Good News indeed.

Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, help us to always remember that Your word is for us and to trust that the faith once delivered to the saints has been spoken for us, also, that we might know from the whole counsel of Scripture that we have been given salvation from our sins in Christ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
What the fathers most desired,
What the prophet’s heart inspired,
What they longed for many a year,
Stands fulfilled in glory here. (LSB 352:2)

Nils Niemeier (Sem IV, CSL)

Lent is a time to intensify our personal devotion, self-denial, almsgiving, and humble repentance. A time of struggling more intensely against selfishness. A time of struggling more intensely against the love of money. A time to struggle more intensely against pride.

This more intense struggle is often tiresome and burdensome, but is nevertheless necessary. Necessary so that we are not choked out by pride, the love of money, slothfulness, or conceit. So during these forty days of Lent, by the power of the Holy Spirit put these deeds to death, so that you might live (Rom. 8:13) and your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection.

Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that, lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, we may receive from you full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Grant that I Your passion view
With repentant grieving.
Let me not bring shame to You
By unholy living.
How could I refuse to shun
Ev’ry sinful pleasure
Since for me God’s only Son
Suffered without measure? (LSB 440:4)

Simeon Cornwell (Sem IV, CTSFW)

The following devotion is a collaborative effort of the two seminary student bodies and the first of its kind for some time (so far as I know). In the early centuries of the Church, Lent was a time of preparation for those desiring to join the Church. It was a time of intense study and bodily preparation. The final two weeks of Lent, Passiontide, was when the intensity turned to a focus on repentance.

To reflect the catechetical nature of the season, the devotion will follow the church’s custom of “lectio continua,” a continuous reading of Scripture. St. Peter’s First Letter to the church is often considered a manual of instruction for those desiring to be baptized. The devotion then proceeds into St. Peter’s Second Letter and concludes with St. John’s First Epistle. St. John’s focus on the light and love of God is an exceedingly appropriate way to celebrate our approach to Good Friday and the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord.

Many thanks to all the writers of the devotions and to Silas Hasselbrook, Publications Chair, CTSFW, for assisting in editing. Special thanks are to be given to Joseph Highley, the Spiritual Growth and Life Chair at Concordia St. Louis, for his willingness to coordinate in compiling this work. Thanks also to Dr. Paul Grime for his guidance and input on the process of directing, writing, and editing, as well as choosing the cover art. May the words of this devotional guide your hearts and minds into all Truth – the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

St. Pepin of Landen

Mark J. Kranz
Spiritual Life and Growth Chair
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, IN

Reading: Luke 2:1-21

Joseph, a lowly carpenter, and Mary, a young virgin, were descended from David. The lineage of David was no longer the lineage of kings. The mighty tree of David had been cut down. It was now a stump. But from this stump, this root of Jesse, a new branch broke forth. The true King of nations and rightful heir to the key and scepter of David was born. Christ the Lord is come to dwell with his people. The angels cannot contain themselves: “Glory to God in the highest!” They sing the praises of Christ the Lord. All the world now rejoices, for her King has come!

Prayer: Almighty God, heavenly Father, because You desired that all would be saved, You sent Your only begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and to rise for our justification. Grant that, receiving the fullness of faith, we would be sustained until the end as citizens of Your heavenly King¬dom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn LSB 375:6

Gracious Child, we pray, O hear us,
From Your lowly manger cheer us,
Gently lead us and be near us
Till we join Your choir above.

(Mark Kranz, Sem IV)

Reading: Matthew 1:18–23

The God who thundered from Sinai’s peak sheds tears in the manger of Bethlehem. Yahweh, who had wrapped Himself in a pillar of smoke, is now wrapped in human flesh. No longer is His Word simply etched on stone tablets, but is inseparably bound to this flesh. God has made His dwelling among us, not between golden cherubim but in the embrace of His virgin mother and her husband.

Prayer: O Immanuel, You draw near in Word and Sacrament to make Your dwelling among us. Grant us faithful hearts as we tarry in this life, that on the day of Your return You may find in us a mansion prepared for You; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn LSB 357:1

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

(Timothy Sheridan, Sem IV)