Old Testament – Confident.Faith

Genesis 5–9

Genealogy; Noah; the Flood; Curse of Ham

Today we commemorate J. K. Wilhelm Löhe, Pastor. Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe served as the pastor of Neuendettelsau in the Bavarian Alps in the 1800s. Although he never left Germany, Löhe had a significant impact on Lutheranism in North America. Recognizing the need for Church workers, Löhe assisted in the training of missionary pastors to be sent to the New World and Australia. A number of the men sent by Löhe would become founders of what is today the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (the LCMS). It was also due in part to Löhe’s financial backing that a theological school in Fort Wayne, IN, and a teachers’ institute in Saginaw, MI, were established. Löhe is widely recognized and fondly remembered for his confessional integrity and his dedication to Christian charity.

Genesis 1–4

Creation; Cain and Abel; Lamech; Enosh

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. Per tradition, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day and given the name “Jesus” as the angel had proclaimed. Under the Old Covenant, circumcision brought the benefits of forgiveness of sins, justification, and incorporation into the people of God. Under the New Covenant, circumcision is no longer necessary or effective; it has been replaced by Baptism, which is called, by St. Paul, a “circumcision made without hands” and “the circumcision of Christ”.