Luther for the Busy Man

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - FRIDAY LESSON: ROMANS 12:1-8 Christ ... suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 In the Gospels, we are taught both faith and love. Christ is portrayed to us from two viewpoints: from the viewpoint of faith, that we should repose our whole faith and trust in Him and not indulge in anxious care and worry; and from the view...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - THURSDAY LESSON: PSALM 33:8-22 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” Mark 8:2-3 What a friend we have in Jesus! He is even concerned about the welfare of those despicable stomachs of ours. Our...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - WEDNESDAY LESSON: PSALM 145:14-21 He has filled the hungry with good things. Luke 1:53 In the discussion on this Gospel of the feeding of the four thousand, we have said quite a lot about entrusting our bodily welfare to God and God’s assurances to us that we will never lack the temporal blessings we need. We also want to say something about the spiritual blessings which...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - TUESDAY LESSON: PSALM 37:16-26 With God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:37 Faith is the firm foundation upon which I wait for that which I do not see. Hence, I must always have enough. Before faith would ever experience dire need, the angels would come from heaven and dig bread out of the earth so that a believer with such faith should be fed. Heaven and earth would ha...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - MONDAY LESSON: EPHESIANS 3:14-21 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 Here the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that faith is the basis on which we rely for blessings which we do not yet see, or, in other words, I must wait for a blessing that I can neither see nor hear but can only hope for. This w...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - SUNDAY LESSON: MARK 8:1-9 The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 Scripture holds up a twofold picture before us: a picture of fear, that is, a picture of the boundless and strict wrath of God before which no one can stand the test, a picture which would mean utter despair for every one of us if we did not have faith. Over aga...

THE WEEK OF SEXAGESIMA - WEDNESDAY LESSON: MARK 10:17-27 As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. Luke 8:14 The third group are those who hear the Word and understand it, but still fall out on the other side, namely, among the pleasures and comforts of this...

THE WEEK OF SEXAGESIMA - TUESDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 1:3-9 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8:13 This group receive the Word with joy, but they are not persistent. These also form a large number. They hear and accept the Word without sects, factions, or fanatics....

SEXAGESIMA - MONDAY LESSON:  2 TIMOTHY 3:10-17 Give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 Heretics, factionaries, and fanatics understand the Gospel carnally and interpret it in whatever way they wish, according to the liking. All these people hear the Gospel but bring forth no fruit; they are ruled by the devil and are more under the domination of the ordinances of men than they were before...

THE WEEK OF SEXAGESIMA - SUNDAY LESSON:  LUKE 8:4-15  The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. Luke 8:12 The first group are those who have heard the Word, but do not really understand it or pay attention to it. These are not the bad people on this earth but the greatest, cleverest, hol...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - SATURDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 3:13-17 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27,28 Here Jesus meets the carnal devotion of these people and teaches all of us that we should not just gape li...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - FRIDAY LESSON: PSALM 25:1-10 He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree. Luke 1:52 No one is so high, or will ever reach such a height, of whom it is not to be feared that he could become the lowliest. On the other hand, no one has ever fallen so deeply, or will fall so deeply, that he cannot entertain hopes of becoming the highest. The...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - THURSDAY LESSON: MICAH 6:6-8 A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. Proverbs 29:23 It is very necessary that this Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) should be preached to those in our time who know that Gospel, like me and others like me, who are teachers of the whole world and become its masters. We are very prone to develop the idea th...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - WEDNESDAY LESSON: PSALM 138:1-6 God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5 The Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) does not simply speak of those who are “first” and “last” in an ordinary sense as, for example, the mighty ones of this world, who are heathen and know nothing of God, are nothing in God’s sight. It speaks of those who have persuaded themselves th...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - TUESDAY LESSON: ROMANS 11:33-36 The last will be first, and the first last. Matthew 20:16 We must understand the two words “last” and “first” in two respects: in respect to God and in respect to men. “The first” before men and those who consider and conduct themselves as those who are closest to God, as “the first” before God, quite paradoxically are regarded as “the las...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - MONDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 6:25-33 Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Matthew 6:33 The denarius represents the temporal welfare of men, and the favor of the household their eternal welfare. Both groups in the parable receive a denarius, an equal amount for their earthly sustenance. Those described in the parable as “the...

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - SUNDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 20:1-16 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. Matthew 20:10 The Gospel comes with a levelling action and makes all men equal in sin, so that those who perform many works count for no more than the open sinners and must also become sinners and hear themselves describe in Paul’s word...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - SATURDAY LESSON: JOHN 17:20-26 I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word. John 17:20 Another advantage of confession is that it provides you with an opportunity to confess your errors and mistakes and to seek counsel for them. Even if there were no other reasons for it, and God did not at the same time speak to us there, I would...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - FRIDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 18:15-20 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23 In confession, you have the advantage that the Word is applied to you personally, as is also the case in the Sacrament. In the sermon, the Word is proclaimed to the whole congregation, and although it may have impressed you in vari...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - THURSDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 18:23-35 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 As stated above, no one should ever be forced to private confession, but for various reasons it is still good and advisable. You should never despise the Word of God, no matter how often you hear it, but be eager a...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - TUESDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 12:1-8 Confess your sins to one another. James 5:16 As Christians we confess our sins not only to God but also to our neighbor. This is a confession of love as the first is a confession of faith. James writes of this confession to our neighbor when he says, “Confess our sins one to another.” In this confession, you acknowledge the wrongs you have do...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - MONDAY LESSON: PSALM 145:13-21 Let both grow together until the harvest. Matthew 13:30 The Gospel (of the weeds among the wheat) shows us what action we should take against heretics and false teachers. It is not always possible to eradicate them and destroy them. Christ expressly declares that we must allow the weeds and the wheat to grow together. We must base our whole a...

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - SUNDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 13:24-30 The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. Matthew 13:24,25 This Gospel teaches us how the kingdom of God, or Christianity, fares in this world, especially with respect to its doctrine. It must never be our hope a...

EPIPHANY IV - SATURDAY LESSON: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 To impute absolute perfection and sinlessness to the saints is a fruit of carnal thinking and devotion. On this basis, men do not measure the saints by God’s grace, but...

EPIPHANY IV - FRIDAY LESSON: PSALM 31:1-8 When I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 The Gospel (of the stilling of the tempest) consoles and emboldens us in two ways. When we encounter persecution for the sake of God’s Word, we may say, “Christ is in the ship, and, therefore, the sea and the wind rage, and the waves fall on the ship and try to sink us. But let them rage! God’s purposes...