Martin Luther's Evening Prayer

After Confession, the Kyrie, Gloria in Excelses, and a reading of Philippians 4, Dr. Zeile preaches on the Lord's appeal to our profit motive when He asks "What profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?" Is this an appeal to our reason, or our selfishness?  The session concludes with the Danish paraphrase of Luther's Mighty Fortress sung in English as &quot...

The order of Compline (Night Prayer) includes this meditation on one of the women ancestors of Christ. Rebekah waited a long time, about 20 years before she gave birth, and then she had twins, Esau and Jacob, the latter of which was to receive the blessing so as to father the nation of Israel, and even more, the Messiah. We often fail to realize that the people of Faith we know as the Patriarchs s...

Some of the laws in the Old Testament seem draconian in our day of religious liberty, including Moses' strictures against idolatry. But the real moral principle behind this civil law which no longer applies to believers is that friends need to support one another in what is right, and this includes holding each other accountable to their faith commitment. Dr. Zeile's discussion of this i...

Jesus observed that the people of His generation (indeed every generation!) were not satisfied with the messengers God sent, neither John the Baptist who was too stern, nor Himself who was too forgiving. We learn from Him to distinguish God's promises from our own delusions. This meditation is preceded by the readings, Revelation 15, Psalm 45, and Romans 3 and Luther's classic hymn, &quo...

We imagine that the world depends on us, and yet it is waiting for us after we have slept. Dr. Zeile's meditation on God's gift of sleep points out how knowing that God is in charge, and that His will for us is good, as demonstrated by Jesus' gift of His life for us, enables us to receive the gift of sleep for renewal and refreshment. Confession and Absolution, and readings from 1 P...

St. Paul urges the Corinthians to give as God has given us, and uses the example of others to encourage them. The miracle is that God makes us glad to give, eager to give and yet we may fail to carry out our good intentions. Dr. Zeile's meditation on the Apostle's teaching is accompanied by the praying of Psalm 8 and the favorite hymn, "We Give Thee but Thine Own," and is follo...

Dr. Zeile discusses what we can learn about prayer from Abraham's example of pleading for Sodom, notably that God condescends to "bargain" with us, and that God may answer in a way that we may not realize, as He did in this case. Two hymns on prayer are included in the program, "I Holy Conversations We Speak to God in Prayer," and the favorite of many, "What a Friend...

Dr. Zeile's message on Elijah' surprising reverse after his victory on Mt. Carmel points out how our highs and lows are related to each other, and how we may be tempted to project our perception on God instead of listening to the small still voice of comfort that assures us that He is still in charge. This meditation includes Psalm 146, the hymn "Forth In Thy Name, O Lord, I Go,&quo...

Isaiah's message is explained by Dr. Zeile as the offer of righteousness which will bless us beyond this life; nevertheless, there are many temporal blessings that come with this gift from God. The service of prayer and preaching includes readings from Romans 11 and Matthew 16, as well the canticle of Isaiah 12, "The Lord God is my Strength and my Song." Send us Fan Mail

Paul's urging to harmony may seem like something we work for and therefore a human accomplishment, but it is really a Divine gift that turns on receiving the Lord's teaching, or doctrine. Dr. Zeile's message is accompanied by a reading from 2 Timothy 3, the hymn "When in Our Music God is Glorified," the Magnificat, and Psalm 150. Send us Fan Mail

This processional from the June 29 celebration of saints Peter and Paul alternates the appropriate collect prayers with stanzas from the hymn "From All Thy Saints in Warfare for All Thy Sainst at Rest"  Send us Fan Mail

Mark 6 contains the memorable account of the storm on the Sea of Galilee which frightened the disciples. Jesus was asleep in the boat, but they awakened Him with the question, "Don't you care that we are perishing?" Dr. Zeile reflects on how God indeed cares and comes to aid us in a crisis, and what the experience may mean for us. The old-time favorite "Jesus Savior, Pilate Me...

Luther's hymn based on Isaiah's call in Chapter 6 begins this program of meditation on God's call to us in the sacrament of Baptism.  Isaiah 42 conveys God's message that He has called us by name, a call that is applied to each of us in Christ's command to baptize. The rite of Baptism renewal follows the Scripture meditation, and the contemporary hymn, "God's Own...

We are waiting for the Lord's Return. We are anxious for His victory to be acknowledged by all our enemies. This is human, but God's plans are best and the Apostle James gives counsel to us trying to live the Christian life in an impatient world. This meditation is preceded by Psalm 146, and followed by the Magifical, Litany, Collect & Benediction and the hymn, "Hark the Glad So...

Peter had denied his Lord three times and imagined he would never be freed from the guilt of sin and the despair of Jesus' death. But the Easter Gospel changed his despair  into hope and with the appearance of the risen Christ at the Sea of Galilee, opportunity for reconciliation and restoration! This message of hope for all who trust in Christ includes a bell choir anthem ("Christ is Ar...

John the Baptist testified of Christ's baptism, that he heard the Voice of the Father and saw the Spirit descend as a dove on the man Jesus.  In our baptism we are linked to Jesus, the water removing our sin and conveying the odor of righteousness to us. Give thanks for the sacrament that links us to the Holy Trinity! This message is preceded by Psalm 25, and the Swedish hymn "Children o...

Few values in our century are as neglected as personal integrity, the kind that treats others by the same standard that we apply to ourselves. We are tempted to change identities, shuck off old promises, leave human problems behind without solving them, and borrow when we cannot repay. The Psalmist could stand before God in his integrity because his was the voice of Christ, the One Righteous Man w...

This meditation on Solomon's insight into the futility of even the most successful life explains how we were created for more than temporal life. In Christ our full potential for life overflowing is realized, but we have to let go of the inferior to grasp the superior gift. The classic Lutheran hymn, "Jesus, Priceless Treasure," fittingly caps this meditation. Send us Fan Mail

Author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), a notorius doubter, remarked, "It is not the things in the Bible I don't understand that trouble me; it is the things in the Bible I DO understand that trouble me." Christ's suggestion that it would be better to cut off one's hand than go to hell may be one such troubling truth.  It is confounding who take the Bible literally, but not se...

Jonah's was a message of repentance, of "turning," changing your mind, and changing direction before disaster follows.  The pagan citizens of Niniveh were given this opportunity to repent, and so are we. Dr. Zeile's instruction is accompanied by the Introit, General Prayer,  and two hymns, "O Christ the True, the Only Light," and the beloved "The Church's On...

Christ appeals to our sense of gain or advantage when He asks, "What profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" The paradox of gaining by renouncing,  and its converse, the irrationality of evil, are the joint-subject of this meditation. Readings from Psalm 46 as well as Matthew 16, along with the Agnus Dei and Grundtveg's  "God's Word is our Great Her...

This meditation addresses the puzzling circumstances of the disciples' leaving Christ behind to dismiss those He had fed with fish and loaves. And why were they so frightened of seeing a ghost? The context and significance of the miracle are presented by Dr. Zeile in a compelling message, accompanied by the Navy Hymn.  Send us Fan Mail

What does the Christian life look like? St. Paul's words to Timothy show that God grows His Church, not by revolution, nor by retreat and seclusion, but by assimilation as when Christians live their faith in the world, promoting what is good and giving the glory to God. Trials and crises will come, but God's people are in it for the long haul, recognizing their weakness and thus relying...

Dr. Zeile reads Psalm 64 in the 16th Century translation of Coverdale found in the Book of Common Prayer; the 17th Century King James Version; and in the 18th Century Challoner revision of the Douai-Rheims translation. Send us Fan Mail

The Holy Innocents are the infants of age two or younger slain in Bethlehem in Herod's attempt to kill the Christ. As the first to be killed for Christ these infants remind us that monstrous evil exists and even rises to power in this world; at the same time, these infants were called to God's presence to enjoy bliss while the survivors mourned below. Into this world of evil and mourning...