Matthew 27:11–32 There’s a fascinating thing that happens often in the passion of our Lord. Those who despise His gospel end up confessing His gospel. When the high priest demands that Jesus tell them whether He is the Christ, Jesus responds by saying, “you have said so.” As we heard in our reading this morning, when Pilate asks Jesus if He’s a king, Jesus replies again, “you have said so.” In other words, “you have refused to acknowledge me as your Savior and your King. But

Colossians 2:8-23 The devil is cunning and crafty, but he is not wise. Which is to say, he knows how to lure you into temptation. He...

2 Chronicles 29:1–24 On days like this, it’s easy to hunger for a Hezekiah, for a faithful king who will root out the godless rot in our...

Philippians 1:21-2:11 Very often, when people go to funerals, they feel like they need to say something to those who were closest to the...

2 Kings 5:9-27 Very often in the Scriptures, God reveals the depth of His love for us in the simplicity of His miracles. We see this in...

WEDNESDAY 1 Kings 19 It’s understandable why Elijah is so despondent in our text for today. For some time, he’s been dealing with the...

MONDAY Psalm 32:1-7 On the one hand, it’s a little weird that “Rumpelstiltskin” is one of the most famous fairy tales. It’s weird how a...

MONDAY Psalm 107:1–9 “Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in.” So says the Psalmist. And so he says about...

THURSDAY 2 Samuel 1 A man stands before his judge and king, proud of himself for having destroyed the king’s enemy. For years, this enemy...

1 Samuel 31 When Jesus tells us about Lazarus and the Rich Man in the Gospel of Luke, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his...

1 Samuel 28:3-25 When the witch of En-dor conjures up a spirit for Saul, she’s rather terrified and shocked when Samuel appears, which...

Psalm 51 A boy grows up in a Lutheran family, going to his Lutheran church every Sunday, singing the same liturgy week after week. Every...

1 Corinthians 1:1-25 A few times in my years as a pastor, I’ve had visitors show up on Sunday morning who are from an Evangelical or...

Acts 28:16-31 The biggest grudge I hold in my life is not against former friends or estranged family members. It’s not against ex-school...

Acts 28:1-15 Why do snakes creep us out so much? Why do we see them as something evil and terrifying? Well, if you watch nature...

1 Samuel 18:10-30 On the one hand, it’s hard to understand how King Saul keeps vacillating back and forth between profound love and...

Proverbs 17 Why is gossip such a challenge for Christians? Why do we struggle so much to keep our mouths shut when we encounter the sins...

Proverbs 16:1-24 Whenever the Powerball or other forms of the lottery swell to some gargantuan number, it’s a common thing to hear people...

MONDAY Luke 22:1-23 “Pastor, I know I haven’t been in church for a while, but don’t worry, my faith is very strong.” That’s a line...

Luke 20:1-18 In our reading from Luke this morning, the chief priests and scribes start what seems to be a theological debate with Jesus....