This year's Advent Devotions follow the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Jesus - except we are not tied down to tracing only fathers to sons.  We are digging deeper into the Old Testament and bringing forward many of the stories of the mothers and grand-mothers who preceded the incarnation of the Son of God.  These devotions are not just following a bloodline but also exploring how God's grace enlivens our family relationships.  Our first week's devotions are on Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah, written by LCMS pastors from around the United States and Canada.

November 28 - December 3, 2022

December 5 - 10, 2022

December 12 - 17, 2022

December 19 - 25, 2022

In April 1521, Martin Luther stood before the Emperor and refused to recant his teachings. On his way back to Wittenberg, Luther was kidnapped by friends who wanted to keep him safe.  He was hidden in the castle Wartburg.  There, Luther was able to write and translate the Scriptures.  Meanwhile, in Wittenberg, other teachers stirred up the people.  Revolution was in the air.  The Reformation was swerving away from the Word which had taken Luther’s heart captive.  Wittenberg was swerving toward violence. 

Luther could not stay away.  He came out of hiding and mounted the pulpit in Wittenberg.  On March 9, known as Invocavit Sunday, Luther began to preach each day for eight days.  John W. Doberstein, who translated and edited these sermons, describes them: “This remarkable series of sermons, which are powerful, inspired preaching of the gospel, had the effect of restoring tranquility and order almost at once” (LW vol. 51, pp. 69f.).

We find these sermons hold their power and inspiration.  They apply as easily to events of today as they did five hundred years ago.  Luther is ever encouraging us to entrust the coming of God’s kingdom to the work of the Word.  As Luther would later inscribe in the Small Catechism, “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”

These devotions will walk you through extensive selections from the eight 1522 sermons from Wittenberg.  Each weekday of Lent will complement a sermon selection from Luther with a Bible text and a prayer written by a contemporary pastor.  Each Saturday, that same pastor will write a contemporary devotion tying Luther’s preaching to our own lives today.

Week One Booklet

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Holy Week

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week One, containing The Messenger, The Burnt Offering, Noah's New World, Ahimelech

Week Two, containing Cain and Abel, The Altar's Sheath, The Grain Offering, Abiathar, Jehoiada's Sanctuary, Isaac's Replacement

Week Three, containing Eli, Micah's Levite, The Peace Offering, Uzziah and Azariah, High Priest Joshua, and Melchizedek

Week Four, containing High Priest Zadok, Ahaz' Abomination, The Sin Offering, Ezra Balances the Yoke, Yom Kippur, and Nadab and Abihu

Week Five, containing Zechariah, Jephthah's Deal, The Trespass Offering, Phinehas' Zeal, High Priest Hilkiah, Saul's Hasty Sacrifice

Week Six, containing John the Baptist, Ornan the Jebusite's Threshing Floor, Aaron, Moses, Israel Dismembered, and Caiaphas

Holy Week, containing Uriah the Priest, Josiah's Sacrifice on the Bethel Altar, Miriam, Passover, "It Is Finished," Breaking the Sabbath Sleeping on the Job, and He Always Lives to Make Intercession

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Holy Week

Advent Devotions for 2019

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four