Reflections

May 7, 2023

Today's Reading:  John 14:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16; Luke 11:37-54

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen!  Have you ever been on the line with customer service or tech support? It’s already been forty-five minutes, when they tell you, “I can’t help you with that. I’m going to have to transfer you to someone who can help you.” Crestfallen, you realize you must have taken a wrong turn in the phone menu and you’ll have to start from scratch with someone new.

Although there was none of that in the upper room, the disciples had the impression that Jesus was something less than He is. Despite being with Him for so long, they think there’s some higher tier that actually rules the universe. Even though He is sitting with His disciples in the flesh, He is the same one who goes to prepare a place for them. Jesus Himself is the Lord, the “I Am” who appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:14). He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” by whom no man can come to the Father except through Him.

The Lord Jesus is both true God, ruling over the universe, and true Man, sitting right there talking with them. He isn’t an intermediary like Moses. He himself has divine power and authority. And what will He do with such power and authority? Prepare a place for you and I to dwell in the Father’s house. He will hear and answer what we ask Him. He will put His Name upon us so that by His authority, we are called children of God (John 1:12-13).

We often think the promise, “I will come again and will take you to myself” is merely for the end of our life. He says, “Where I am you may be also.” Where is He now?  He has passed through the grave, never to die again. He is risen. He has ascended into heaven, to intercede for us and to sit at the right hand of the Father Almighty. That is to say, He has “all authority in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18).

So why wouldn’t we come to Jesus with our prayers? He has come to us with His most-worthy name and by His merit we will be brought into eternal life. Today, in Him, we can be confident that we are not being pawned off to someone else who can “really” help us. Jesus is Lord, and He is here for you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

- Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 6, 2023

Today's Reading:  Psalm 30:1-5; antiphon: Psalm 149:1

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 19:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:2–3 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen.  Whether you know it or not, you are in a relationship with death, but it might not be the relationship that you think. In the Old Testament, Sheol was the place of the dead. It was a place that no one wanted to find themselves, yet everyone ended up in.  It was thought to be a place of darkness, a place with an unending appetite for consuming the living.  Whatever existence there was  in Sheol, it could not compare with being alive. The food had no taste, nothing had any substance, and God himself was not praised.  In Sheol there was no thought, no knowledge, and no wisdom.  There was also no coming back.  Once you were there that was it.  It was a one way trip.  It was the Old Testament version of Hotel California; you could check out, but you could never leave.  Any possible rescue could only come from God Himself.  God could do it, but would He?

The rest of the ancient world was even more hopeless in its relationship with death. There was no coming back from it at all. Once you died that was it.  Eumenides (an ancient play) even has the line “Once a man has died, and the dust has soaked up his blood, there is no Resurrection.”  Death could be postponed, put off, avoided for a time even, but once it came that was it. There may be some kind of life after death, but it was not an embodied life.  In their thought the relationship with death was entirely on death’s terms. 

That all changes with Jesus.  In the death of Jesus is the death of death itself.  What Jesus did on the cross forever changed your relationship with death.  No longer is Sheol waiting to devour you.  Death has been tamed and even if you should die Sheol is no longer your place.  You have been rescued from the pit.  You have been redeemed.  Here is the great truth of Easter:In the Resurrection of Jesus is the promise of your resurrection. You will return to an embodied life.  Death could not hold Jesus and it will not hold you.  Death no longer dictates the terms of the relationship.  You are part of the new covenant and its new song is your song.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

New songs of celebration render To Him who has great wonders; Love sits enthroned in ageless splendor; Come and adore the mighty One. He has made known His great salvation Which all His friends with joy confess. He has revealed to every nation His everlasting righteousness. (New Songs of Celebration Render, LSB 792:1) 

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 5, 2023

Today's Reading:  

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 18:1-7; Luke 11:1-13

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Ever since His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, there have been those in the church that think that there is some magic secret to prayer that will guarantee that God hears and responds in the desired manner.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Prayer is not magic and God cannot be manipulated by the right posture, hand motions, or combinations of words. To put it bluntly, praying is not like casting a spell and no amount of Harry Potter style swish and flick will make any difference. 

The secret to prayer does not lie in methodology.  This is where a lot of teaching on prayer goes off the rails. It treats prayer as something that we do, that has its genesis within us. This is not the case in any way, shape, or form.  Prayer does not have its beginnings with us.  Another way to put it would be to say that God does not hear our prayers because of who we are or what we do.  God hears our prayers because of who He is.

This is the meaning of the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. It shows that God hears our prayers because that is part of HIs nature. He hears us because He has promised that he would.  He hears us because he has integrity and honor.  Even more than that He has given us the very prayer that He never tires of hearing.  On top of all this our prayers are a response to God working in us.  Our very ability to pray is a gift from God.  We do not have to go in search of methodologies or worry about proper posture, hand motions, or even words. He has given us all that we need to pray to Him in full assurance that we will be heard.  He hears us because He is our Father and He has made us HIs children through Jesus Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe That what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word We say, ‘Amen. O hear us, Lord!  (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:9) 

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 4, 2023

Today's Reading:  1 Peter 2:19-25

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 17:1-16; Luke 10:23-42

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:19–21 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our reading for today really needs to be read in context to be properly understood. It comes in the midst of what is known as a “household code” where Peter uses the normal structure of society to talk about Jesus. Grecco/Roman culture was all about structure and order. Everyone had their ordained part to play and if they did not play it then society did not function.  In our case he is specifically addressing household servants who may continue to suffer unjustly simply because  they are Christians. Christianity itself was seen as a challenge to the social order because it was thought to encourage people to act outside of their established roles. 

What Peter is getting at is that their faith did not change their status in society.  Becoming a Christian did not mean that they were free to walk away from a bad situation. They were to continue to live out their roles even if that meant serving an unbelieving or even an evil master. Their faith did not merit them special treatment.  If they suffered because of their faith it was because of the paradigm that was set by Jesus.  His suffering was the model for theirs.  Another way to put it would be to say that their suffering was not an accurate reflection of their status before God. The evil that they had to endure was not a reflection of their eternal destiny.  

This may be an especially hard passage to read in our time and place where unjust suffering seems to be un-American.  The focus of our society is on individual rights and equity and yet Christians continue to suffer just because they are Christian.  Peter’s message to the Christians of his time is the same message that he has for you. Your faith has not changed your place in society. but it has changed your place in eternity.  No matter what happens here you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Let us suffer here with Jesus, And with patience bear our cross. Joy will follow all our sadness; Where he is, there is no loss. Though today we snow no laughter, We shall reap celestial joy; All discomforts that annoy Shall give way to mirth hereafter. Jesus, here I share Your woe; Help me there your joy to know. (Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus, LSB 685:2)

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 3, 2023

Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism Table of Duties: Sixth Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22

The Sixth Commandment:  You shall not commit adultery.  What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. 

In the Name + of Jesus. After reading this commandment as well as some of the other things that the church has said about sex over the centuries, you might reach the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to avoid sex altogether. Celibacy, it would seem, might be the better choice for the Christian. This is certainly where the medieval church came down on things. Before and even during the time of Luther celibacy was considered superior to marriage. The celibate were better believers and were more capable of pleasing God than those that were married. In other words, it was more Christian to abstain from sex entirely and even sex within marriage carried the taint of sin. 

For Luther the sixth commandment is more about giving sex its proper place in marriage  than it is about banning sex in general. Sex is not a prohibited activity, it is a gift from God that is meant to be enjoyed by husband and wife. Sex can and should take place, but only within the context of marriage. It is the one flesh relationship that is part of God’s intentions for His creation. Marriage, rather than being an inferior status, should be considered the default for the vast majority of Christians. Celibacy is also a gift of God, but it is a rare gift and does not make someone a superior Christian. 

Sexually pure does not mean free from sex from birth to death, it means that sex ought only take place within marriage. It was designed by God for husband and wife, for the procreation of children, and as an expression of their love for one another.  In fact, Luther links marriage to the promise to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. (LW Vol 4 pg. 233) In that promise, the marriage bed is regarded as undefiled and marriage is honorable because of their connection to the Seed which is Christ.  Ultimately this means that you are pure because Christ was pure on your behalf, on behalf of your future spouse, and on behalf of any children you may have.  Amen.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Gracious Savior, grant Your blessing To this husband and this wife, That in peace they live together In Your love throughout their life. Christ, defend them from the tempter And from all that would destroy Love’s foundation You have laid here, And its threshold paved with joy. (Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing, LSB 860:1)

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 2, 2023

Today's Reading:  Acts 2:42-47 

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 10:1-20; Luke 9:37-62

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46–47 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  I had a roommate in college that thought a romantic relationship only lasted until someone better came along. A girlfriend could be (and often was) replaced at any time. I bring this up because this is how some in the ancient world thought about the Christian God. They would question His commitment to His people. If one of their friends became a Christian they would ask them how they could follow such a fickle God. “He changed His mind about the Jews,”they would say, “How long until He changes his mind about you?”

Their thought was that God had chosen the Gentiles over the Jews and that He had not kept His promises to the descendants of Abraham. Such a God who changed His mind was not to be trusted,  He was not to be followed, and He was inferior to the other Gods available. These critiques were meant to sow the seeds of doubt among the non-Jewish converts to the new faith. Part of the apologetic task of the early church was to counter such criticisms and show that God had kept his promises to the Jews, that He was, is, and always would be faithful to His people whether they were Jew or Gentile. 

Our reading today shows that God was faithful to the Jews and that He did keep his promises to them. Everything that Luke mentions in this summary statement took place in Jerusalem among believers who were ethnic Jews. They were devoted to the apostles’ teaching and the breaking of the bread. They were proof that God was faithful to the Jews, that God kept the promises He had made to Abraham. 

God continues to be faithful to His promises. The same teachings that they were devoted to are the same teachings that continue to this day in the church. The bread they broke is the same bread we break in the Sacrament of the Altar. The God who was faithful to them is the God who is faithful to you. God did not change His mind about them and He will not change His mind about you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Through the intervening ages Round the world the Gospel spread: Faithful heralds took the message , Guided where the Spirit led; So the body grew in stature, Serving Christ, the living head. (We Are Called to Stand Together, LSB 828:3)

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

May 1, 2023

Today's Reading:  John 14:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24; Luke 9:37-62

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8–9 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If our reading was a reality television show I can imagine Thomas being pretty upset with Philip while James is giving both of them the stink eye.  Neither Thomas nor Philip come across as especially apostolic in our reading, but only Thomas gets the lasting legacy of the ‘doubting’ nickname attached to him. James, on the other hand, only gets his name mentioned in the Gospels and has to share his day on the liturgical calendar with Philip. 

In all seriousness, it is easy to give the apostles a hard time. They don’t come across as especially smart in the Gospels. They question Jesus, they don’t understand Jesus when he speaks in figurative language,  and they don’t believe him when he speaks plainly.  They spend a lot of their time with Jesus not really understanding what is going on. At no point in their doubts and questions did Jesus ever disown them. Despite their flaws they remained His. In other words, they are a lot like you.

They did not bring anything special to the table. They were not recruited for their athletic prowess or sought out for their intellectual achievements.  They were not the best and brightest of their generation. They just happened to be the guys that God picked. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus changes everything for them. Prior to the first Easter they question and doubt, after the Resurrection they are completely different.  Everything they needed to follow Jesus was given to them by God. 

It is the same for you. You bring nothing to your relationship with God. You may doubt and you may question, but you still belong to Jesus.  The Crucifixion and Resurrection that changed them has changed you as well. The same Holy Spirit that was given to them has been given to you. What they witnessed with their eyes, you participated in with your Baptism. Philip and James have rooms in the Father’s house and so do you.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We praise You, Lord, for Philip, Blest guide to Greek and Jew, And for young James the faithful, Who heard and followed You. O grant us grace to know You, The way, the truth, the life, To wrestle with temptation, To triumph in the strife. (By All Your Saints in Warfare, LSB 518:18)

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

April 30, 2023

Today's Reading:  John 10:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13,30-36, Luke 9:1-17

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  All this language of shepherds and sheep has led to some interesting places in the history of the church.  This is especially true in the theology of missions and biblical translation. Sheep are some of the most helpless animals on earth. They are cute and fuzzy for sure, but they are not really bright. In cultures where sheep are unknown this passage becomes a challenge to talk about and translate. In Papua New Guinea they had to substitute ‘pig’ for sheep, but the most interesting debate took place when Star Trek fans wanted to translate the Bible into Klingon and were stumped on how to translate ‘sheep’ into a culture where helplessness wasn’t even a category. 

In a sense this is also true of our own culture. Americans don’t like to think of themselves as sheep either. Maybe the problem is not with the language, but with people.  Maybe we just don’t want to be sheep.  We call people who go along with the crowd sheep, and we do not mean it as a compliment.  Gordon Gekko put it best in the movie Wall Street when dismissing certain people who could not find success in the business world.  He said, ‘they are sheep, and sheep get slaughtered.’  

The thing to remember is that all people, Christian or not, are sheep. The difference is not in what we are, the difference is in the voice  we follow. The voice we follow is that of the Good Shepherd.  All other voices are those of the stranger and they are not to be followed because they do save and do not lead to pasture. 

As sheep of the good shepherd, you are saved and can go in and out and find pasture.  This talk of coming and going sounds awkward to us. We use the same language in our baptismal liturgy. We say to the newly baptized “the Lord preserve your coming in and going out from this time forth and even forever more”  Coming in and going out was a phrase that dealt with the course of human life. The Good Shepherd is there for you in all times and in all circumstances you have nothing to fear from the voices of thieves and robbers.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

April 29, 2023

Today's Reading:  Psalm 95:1-3, 6-7a; antiphon: John 10:14, 15b

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38, Luke 8:40-56

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15b ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen. In our time and our place, we have become so used to the language of Jesus as the Good Shepherd that we don’t even really think about when we hear it. We have tamed the language and made it into something as inoffensive as a Hallmark greeting card.  There is nothing safe or tame in Jesus stating that he is the good shepherd.  In fact, in saying this Jesus is making the claim “I AM the Good shepherd” Jesus is stating that he is subject of Psalm 95, that he is the Lord, in other words that he is God. He is the one whom before we worship, bow down, and kneel. Even more significantly,  He is the one that defines His own goodness by laying down His life for the sheep. He lays down his life for you. 

What does it mean to be one of Jesus' little lambs? I ask this question because I think that the church has gotten a little too sentimental about all of this sheep and shepherd imagery and that we have made it too nice and neat.  When we think about shepherds and sheep, we tend to think of it as a nice peaceful guy leading his flock through pristine fields of the greenest grass towards the clean cold waters of a stream.  There are no rocky trails, no barren wilderness to cover and most certainly no wolves to be afraid of.  I am here to tell you that being a shepherd was not easy work and being a sheep was no fun either.  There were dangers to the left and dangers to the right. The only thing that kept a sheep safe was following the one voice that they recognized, the voice of their shepherd.

In saying that we are the sheep of his hand, we are confessing that we are helpless and unable to save ourselves. We are confessing that our lives as sheep are only found in the Death and Resurrection of the Shepherd. If Easter truly is to be a season of reflecting on the Resurrection, then there is no better way of doing that than remembering that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep only to take it up again. His voice calls to you from Word and Sacrament ministry of the church which tells you that you have been brought into the flock and are under the care of the Good Shepherd. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“O ever be our guide, Our shepherd, and our pride, Our staff and song. Jesus, O Christ of God, By Your enduring Word Lead us where You have trod; Make our faith strong.”Shepherd of Tender Youth LSB 864, st 4.

-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

April 28, 2023

Today's Reading:  

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16, Luke 8:22-39

“He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”” (Luke 8:25 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The identity of Jesus can be a confusing thing.  In our reading for today the demons are the only ones that seem certain about who Jesus is. They call him “Son of the Most High God”.  Jesus’ own disciples who have heard His teaching and witnessed His calming of the storm are left with the question, “Who then is this, that the commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” The Geneserates, when they hear how Jesus freed the man from the demons, respond in fear and ask him to depart. They fear that the demons will come back in force and don’t believe that Jesus is up to that kind of challenge. You can almost see the public relations team telling Jesus that he needs to work on his brand if he wants to be successful.   

This confusion continues even today in the ivory towers of some academic biblical scholars. They will tell you that the Jesus we meet in Luke’s Gospel is presented to us with a low Christology, which is a way of saying that Jesus, as Luke presents him, is fully human and not divine. The divine part of Jesus’ identity, they will tell you, comes later and is not part of the faith of the earliest believers. These guys not only get Jesus wrong, they also get Luke wrong. There is nothing ‘low’ about the Christology of Luke’s Gospel. He presents to his readers a Jesus who is fully human and fully divine. He presents to his readers a Jesus that is truly both God and man. 

Look again at how our reading ends. Jesus tells the man who had been freed from the demons to declare how much God had done for him and he goes away proclaiming all that Jesus has done for him. Who is this that the wind and water obey? Who is it that has authority over demons? There is only one answer. In other words, Jesus is God. The one who can tame creation is the Creator. 

The God who created the world became flesh and entered into His own creation to save it.  He comes to you in water and Word to recreate you. He feeds you with His own flesh and blood in communion.  His death is your death and His life is your life. What Jesus has done for you is what God has done for you.  Knowing the true identity of Jesus means that you know your own identity.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

He who the sea And wind obey Doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. Thou, God’s own Son, With us art one, Dost join us and our children in our weakness. “O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is” LSB 372, st 2

-Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.