Category: Moments of Meditation

September 15, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 2
                             Matthew 6:25
                              09/15/2026


        25   Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your
             life, what you will eat or what you will drink,
             nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not
             life more than food, and the body more than
             clothing?  (ESV)

        For almost three quarters of a century, Mad Magazine has
   amused us with irrelevant and irreverent humor.  Although the
   magazine is no longer sold in book stores, it is still available
   by subscription from DC Comics.  The cover still has the picture
   of Alfred E. Neuman saying, ``What, me worry?''

        We are often bombarded with the message, ``Don't worry, be
   happy.''  However, there is no substance to the message, for the
   world does not give us any reason not to worry.  How can we relax
   when no one is on our side, no one is looking out for our best
   interest?

        However, the Church prays:
        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness.


        The world offers pious platitudes.  Jesus offered His
   disciples something more.  He pointed His disciples to the
   Creator, God the Father, who brought everything into being by the
   sound of His voice.

        Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your
        life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor
        about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
        than food, and the body more than clothing?


        When the Son of God tells us not to be anxious, by faith we
   listen.  We remember that the One who created us, who sent His
   Son to redeem us from sin and death, will not abandon us.  May
   our Lord grant us faith which holds to God's rich promise of
   grace, love, and mercy, for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

September 14, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 1
                             Matthew 6:24
                              09/14/2026


        24   No one can serve two masters, for either he will
             hate the one and love the other, or he will be
             devoted to the one and despise the other.  You
             cannot serve God and money.  (ESV)

        In this week's prayer we ask God to preserve the Church,
   both in our doctrine and in our practice.  We also confess that
   we, on our own, do not desire to serve Him.  Only as the Holy
   Spirit creates faith which trusts in God can we seek Him and live
   according to His commandments.

        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son,
        our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
        Spirit, one God, now and forever.


        Jesus told His disciples:
        No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate
        the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
        the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God
        and money.


        Both our prayer and Jesus' words remind us of the First
   Commandment, ``You shall have no other gods before me.''  Without
   the Holy Spirit creating and sustaining our faith in Jesus Christ
   as our Redeemer from sin, death, and the power of the devil, we
   flee from God's infinite grace and mercy.  Without the work of
   the Holy Spirit, we worship creation and not the Creator, thus we
   put our faith into things temporary and not eternal.

        This week we will look at the benefit of trusting in God
   above all things.

        May our Lord grant us faith so that we receive His rich
   blessings.  Amen.

August 28, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 5
                               Mark 7:37
                              08/28/2026


        37   And they were astonished beyond measure, saying,
             ``He has done all things well. He even makes the
             deaf hear and the mute speak.''  (ESV)

        This week we prayed that God would give us the faith and
   opportunity to serve Him by serving our neighbor.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        In this miracle of healing, of Jesus restoring the deaf and
   mute man's hearing and voice, we see the effect our prayers can
   have for the good of others.  The friends or family who brought
   the deaf man to Jesus were rendering true and laudable service.

        ``And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, `He has
   done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute
   speak.'''

        Christians desire that their friends, family, and neighbors
   also know the grace and mercy of God.  In love, they invite those
   who are spiritually deaf into God's presence so that, through
   Word and Sacrament, their ears may be opened to the truth that
   our help is only found in the name of the Lord.

        Salvation by grace through faith for the sake of Christ
   Jesus alone is the true healing that lasts for eternity.  He bore
   our sins on the cross, overcoming death so that we may have life
   with Him.

        Please join us each Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran
   Church at 9:00 a.m. to hear the life-giving Gospel, the truth
   that your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus.

        May our Lord grant us ears to hear and mouths to proclaim
   His goodness.  Amen.

August 27, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 4
                               Mark 7:36
                              08/27/2026


        36   And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the
             more he charged them, the more zealously they
             proclaimed it.  (ESV)

        Faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer from sin, death, and
   the power of the devil leads to good works.  As we ask God to
   enable us to help and serve our neighbor, we are asking for a
   steadfast and robust faith which trusts in Jesus alone.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        Loving friends or family of a man who was deaf and mute
   brought him to Jesus for healing.  The man's ears were opened,
   and he began to speak plainly.  Jesus spoke, and the man was
   healed, his health restored.  God's Word has power, the power to
   create, the power to heal, the power to save.

        Certainly the crowd, the witnesses of this miracle, reacted.
   ``And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged
   them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.''

        As important as the miracles are to show that Jesus is truly
   God made man, the message of Christianity is not in healing the
   sick or raising the dead.  Everyone who Jesus healed later went
   the way of all people, for the wages of sin is death.  Jesus came
   to give eternal life by earning the forgiveness of our sins.

        Often our prayers treat God as if He is there to serve us by
   giving us all we desire.  The crowd spoke of the miracle, not the
   grace of God which brings us the forgiveness of sins and life
   everlasting.  May our Lord fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
   perfecter of our faith, that we see Him as our Redeemer.  Amen.

August 26, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 3
                             Mark 7:33-35
                              08/26/2026


        33   And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he
             put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting
             touched his tongue.
        34   And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to
             him, ``Ephphatha,'' that is, ``Be opened.''
        35   And his ears were opened, his tongue was released,
             and he spoke plainly.  (ESV)

        Our prayer this week asks God to enable us to do the good
   works which serve Him by serving our neighbor.  It reflects the
   love of the friends and family of the deaf man in this week's
   Gospel lesson.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        Loving friends and family brought a deaf man with a speech
   impediment to Jesus for healing.  Saint Mark recorded:
        And taking him aside from the crowd privately, [Jesus]
        put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting
        touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, he
        sighed and said to him, ``Ephphatha,'' that is, ``Be
        opened.''  And his ears were opened, his tongue was
        released, and he spoke plainly.


        Jesus used gestures to show the man that He was going to do
   something to open his ears and to enable him to speak.  The
   healing came by the word spoken by Jesus, a word that was spoken
   after Jesus acknowledged the power of the Father to restore
   creation.  God's Word is powerful.  It creates, it restores, it
   brings what God promises, namely life everlasting for the sake of
   Christ Jesus.

        May our Lord grant that our ears may be opened to hear the
   good news of salvation by grace through faith for the sake of
   Christ.  Amen.

August 25, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 2
                             Mark 7:31-32
                              08/25/2026


        31   Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
             through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region
             of the Decapolis.
        32   And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had
             a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay
             his hand on him.  (ESV)

        Last Sunday we prayed:
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        In this prayer we acknowledge that only God can call us to
   faith and enable us to do works of faith towards Him and love for
   one another.  Without faith in Christ Jesus, all our works are,
   as Isaiah says, ``Filthy rags.''[1]

        ``And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a
   speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.''

        The deaf and mute man could not have heard about Jesus.
   Only those who loved him thought that this miracle worker could
   restore the man's hearing and loosen his tongue.  In the same
   way, those who love you brought you into God's presence so you
   could receive the healing which comes from the forgiveness of
   your sins.

        The Holy Spirit uses God's Word to bring us to faith.  We
   stand condemned as we hear His Law, that we have sinned against
   God and neighbor in thought, word, and deed.  We stand redeemed
   as we hear His Gospel, that Christ Jesus suffered, died, and rose
   again to pay the price of our transgressions.

        May our Lord grant us hearts willing to share His love with
   those who do not yet know the peace of God's forgiveness.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. Isaiah 64:6

August 24, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 1
                             Mark 7:31-32
                              08/24/2026


        31   Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
             through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region
             of the Decapolis.
        32   And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had
             a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay
             his hand on him.  (ESV)

        How does yesterday's Prayer of the Day, the Collect, reflect
   the truth that we cannot come to know Christ Jesus by our own
   reason or works?
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory;
        through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and
        reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
        forever.


        The theme for the next several weeks is the righteousness of
   God's kingdom as shown in works of faith and love.  We believe,
   teach, and confess that our works of love, our good works, are
   the result of our faith in Christ Jesus as our Redeemer from sin
   and death.

        Our appointed Gospel reading is from Saint Mark's account of
   Jesus healing a deaf and mute man.
        Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
        through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of
        the Decapolis.  And they brought to him a man who was
        deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him
        to lay his hand on him.


        This text serves as a reminder of how we come to know Jesus
   as our Savior, how we are brought to faith.  It also is a
   reminder that each of us who believe in Christ Jesus have a
   responsibility to invite our friends, family, and neighbors to
   learn of His great love and mercy.

        May our Lord grant us willing hearts to invite others to
   hear of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

August 21, 2026

Broadcast

                           Forgiven - Part 5
                             Luke 18:10,14
                              08/21/2026


        10   Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a
             Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
        14   I tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down
             to his house justified, rather than the other. For
             everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but
             the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
             (ESV)

        Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear
        than we to pray and to give more than we either desire
        or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your
        mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience
        is afraid and giving us those good things that we are
        not worthy to ask, except through the merits and
        mediation of Christ, our Lord.


        ``Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
   and the other a tax collector.''  We heard the prayers of both
   men.  One boasted before God of his personal righteousness.  The
   Pharisee looked to his own good works to earn him a place in
   God's kingdom.  The tax collector threw himself on God's mercy.
   Who received the peace which comes from knowing their sins are
   forgiven?
        I tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to
        his house justified, rather than the other. For
        everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the
        one who humbles himself will be exalted.


        Each Sunday we hear the Word of God: ``If we say we have no
   sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we
   confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
   and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.''[1] Each Sunday we
   hear God's voice saying, ``Depart in peace, your sins are
   forgiven,'' as He speaks through His called and ordained servant.
   Wouldn't you like to receive the same assurance, the same hope,
   the same forgiveness at the tax collector?  Please join us each
   Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. to receive God's message of grace and
   mercy.

        May our Lord grant us the peace of knowing our sins are
   forgiven.  Amen.



   ____________________

   1. I John 1:8-9 (ESV)

August 20, 2026

Broadcast

                           Forgiven - Part 4
                             Luke 18:10,13
                              08/20/2026


        10   Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a
             Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
        13   But the tax collector, standing far off, would not
             even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his
             breast, saying, ``God, be merciful to me, a
             sinner!''  (ESV)

        This week we pray:
        Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear
        than we to pray and to give more than we either desire
        or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your
        mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience
        is afraid and giving us those good things that we are
        not worthy to ask, except through the merits and
        mediation of Christ, our Lord.


        ``Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
   and the other a tax collector.''  Unlike the Pharisee, who
   confidently walked into the Temple with his head held high, the
   tax collector slowly walked in.  He stood in the shadows, knowing
   that his neighbors despised him, calling him a traitor and a
   thief.  People avoided him, not wishing to engage in
   conversation, not wishing to be seen with him.

        But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even
        lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
        saying, ``God, be merciful to me, a sinner!''


        Our English translations do not do justice to the original
   Greek.  Saint Luke recorded the tax collector's words, ``Lord, be
   merciful to me, the sinner.''  This tax collector did not hide
   himself as one of many sinners.  He stood alone, taking
   responsibility for his sin, not comparing himself to anyone or
   anything but God's holy law.

        There is no pretense, you and I stand with the tax
   collector, for we also have sinned against God and neighbor.  Was
   God pleased to hear this prayer?

        May our Lord grant us the courage to take full
   responsibility for our sin and confess it to Him.  Amen.

August 19, 2026

Broadcast

                           Forgiven - Part 3
                             Luke 18:10-12
                              08/19/2026


        10   Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a
             Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
        11   The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:
             ``God, I thank you that I am not like other men,
             extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like
             this tax collector.
        12   I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I
             get.''  (ESV)

        This we our prayer acknowledges God's grace even as we
   confess our unworthiness.
        Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear
        than we to pray and to give more than we either desire
        or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your
        mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience
        is afraid and giving us those good things that we are
        not worthy to ask, except through the merits and
        mediation of Christ, our Lord.


        ``Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
   and the other a tax collector.''  As people looked on, they saw a
   man who was highly regarded as a religious leader hurrying into
   the Temple at the time of the sacrifice.  They also were
   disgusted at the other man, someone who worked for the Roman
   government, one who made his living at the expense of others.

        The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ``God,
        I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners,
        unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I
        fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.''


        This is a prayer, for prayer is talking to God.  But this
   prayer neither asks God for a blessing, nor is it a prayer which
   confesses a sin.  The Pharisee exalts himself above others,
   claiming religious superiority.  In the eyes of society, he is
   correct.  No one can match his civil goodness, his meticulous
   keeping of the law.

        His prayer is one of pride and arrogance, born out of
   experience.  He was, after all, one to whom others respected as a
   pillar of the community.  Did his prayer please God?  Did his
   good works earn him the assurance of eternal life?  May our Lord
   grant us humility, that we may be willing to serve Him by serving
   our neighbors.  Amen.