Reflections

Today's Reading: John 12:1-43

Daily Lectionary:Exodus 9:1-28; Hebrews 2:1-18

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, but it sure looks odd. The Cross with Jesus on it doesn't look like glory and honor. Instead, it looks like there is a lot of shame and tragedy on the Cross. A crown of thorns doesn't look like glory, and a man stripped naked doesn't look like honor. No, it's on the Cross that Jesus, God in the flesh, tastes death for everyone. Or to put it another way, God died on the Cross. Now, don't start thinking that the Father died on the Cross, or that the Holy Spirit died on the Cross. They didn't. But Jesus is fully God, and when Jesus died on the Cross, God died. That's a big deal!  He tasted death for everyone. 

That means that Jesus tasted death for you. The death your sin deserves has been died by Jesus, God in the flesh. That's not just true for you, though. It's true for everyone. He tasted death for everyone, and there is no one who is outside of Jesus' death and the mercy and grace that He has for sinners. That doesn't mean that everyone is saved, because salvation is by grace through faith. Do you believe what Jesus has done for you and that He is your Lord and your God? That faith in Jesus that you have been given is the center of your life. Jesus is your only hope and your only Savior. Thanks be to God, He shows you His glory and honor from the Cross for your everlasting life. 

It's because of God's grace that Jesus came into the flesh to die for you. You see His grace on the Cross. From there the forgiveness of all your sins was earned. Jesus delivers that forgiveness to you when you are baptized into His death and resurrection and when He feeds Christians His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. God has poured out His grace on you, and He forgives you all your sins. You are pure and holy because of Jesus' death for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty God, grant that in the midst of our failures and weaknesses we may be restored through the passion and intercession of Your only-begotten Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Monday of Holy Week)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Matthew 21:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 8:1-32; Hebrews 1:1-14 

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is a day full of strange words. Where else other than church and devotions do you see the word "Palmarum"? But that one is pretty easy--it simply means "of the palms" or "day of the palms." You could also call today "Palm Sunday," remembering that a week before Easter Jesus entered into Jerusalem as people waved branches over Him and welcomed Him into the holy city as He was called the Son of David, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. 

That reveals another strange word, the Hebrew word "Hosanna," which means, "Save us now!" It is a prayer for deliverance, and it is a prayer that Jesus, the Son of David who comes in the Name of the Lord, comes to answer. As the crowds cried out, "Hosanna," Jesus was coming to do just that, preparing for His death that would save not only the crowds, but you. 

That prayer of "Hosanna" is one that is repeated in the Divine Service today. In preparation for the Lord's Supper, the words of the Palm Sunday crowds are combined with the words of the angelic song of Isaiah 6:1-8 so that Christ's Church sings, "Holy, Holy, Holy," and, "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," in the canticle (Bible song) called the Sanctus. This is a confession that your Lord, Jesus, is holy, and that it is your Lord, Jesus, who comes in the Name of the Lord, not only on a donkey in Jerusalem but also in His Body and Blood in the Lord's Supper. There, given and shed for you, He brings forgiveness, life, and salvation that saves you. He gives you this will and testament as an answer to your prayer as you greet Him, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. That's not a one time event, but an ever present reality for you, one of His Christians. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Palmarum)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Introit for Palmarum 

      (Psalm 24:7-10; antiphon: Psalm 118:26)

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 7:1-25; Mark 16:1-20

Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! (From the Introit for Palmarum)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Get ready! Palm Sunday is coming! This reading from the psalms sets the stage for Palm Sunday. It seems a little strange to address part of this psalm to the doors, the city gates of Jerusalem, but that is exactly where these words are directed. Get ready, because someone who is coming through you is the Lord, mighty in battle. The Lord Himself will pass through these gates!  

This is the same Lord who created the heavens and the earth. This is the same Lord who saved Noah and his family when the world was flooded. This is the same Lord who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the same Lord who rescued His people from slavery in Egypt. This mighty Lord established His people in the city of Jerusalem. The same Lord would come into Jerusalem and visit His people. 

But this is not an ordinary visit. Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth, wasn't just going to pay a social call to Jerusalem. He wouldn't just show His face and then disappear again. The Lord, mighty in battle, was coming into Jerusalem for a battle of cosmic proportions. He was coming to do the most glorious of all His actions: to bring salvation to all creation. Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem to be betrayed, to suffer, die, and rise again. The mighty Lord has come, not just entering into Jerusalem, but entering into you and your life in the waters of Holy Baptism. He has called you His own!  Not only has He entered the gates of Jerusalem, He has entered you to make you His holy temple. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O'er captive death and conquered sin. ("Ride On, Ride On in Majesty" LSB 441, st.2)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 5:1-6:1; Mark 15:33-47

And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words of the centurion by the side of the Cross are, for the most part, some of the most important true words spoken. Jesus is truly the Son of God. However, there is one thing the centurion gets wrong: Jesus isn't in the past. Often, when someone dies, people speak to them "as they were" or in the past tense. But Jesus isn't in the past tense. Jesus is the Son of God, and that doesn't stop. It didn't stop with His death on the Cross, and it doesn't stop during His resurrection, and it will never stop. 

Jesus laid in the tomb is just as much the Savior of the world as Jesus on the Cross or as Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus raised from the dead is just as much the Savior, too. A situation that looked hopeless and that looked like Jesus was left in the past tense isn't what it seems. Instead, the crucified Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb in order to rise again. 

The fact that Jesus is not in the past tense is important for you because you will never be in the past tense, either. Jesus' eternal life gives you eternal life. You will live forever in the present tense because Jesus lives forever. The One who died is the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Him will never die--and that message is for you. 

The devil might try to tell you that Jesus is disconnected and far away from you. Your own common sense might try to tell you that, too. But your Lord Jesus, the Son of God, has drawn close to you, delivering His death and resurrection to you every time it is preached into your ears, when you read about His great love for you, when you were baptized into that death and resurrection, and when you receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for you for the forgiveness of sins. If the centurion saw and believed that Jesus was the Son of God, so do you, one of God's redeemed children for whom He died. Your Savior has forgiven you all your sins and holds you continually in His grace, not in the past but in the present. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Upon the cross extended See, world, your Lord suspended. Your Savior yields His breath. The Prince of Life from heaven Himself has freely given To shame and blows and bitter death. ("Upon the Cross Extended" LSB 453, st.1)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:19-31; Mark 15:16-32

And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. Wait, what? The Lord is the one who hardened Pharaoh's heart, who brought about the lack of faith, who brought the ten plagues against Egypt. That doesn't sound like good news at all. How can a good, gracious, and loving God harden Pharaoh's (or anyone's) heart? 

It is the will of God that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, as 1 Timothy 2:4 says. Yet not only does God allow people to disbelieve His promises and truth, He Himself even hardened Pharaoh's heart. So where do you stand? Has God hardened your heart? What about others who don't believe in God's Name? Is that God's fault, or their fault? 

Luther's Small Catechism gives a good answer to this regarding the Third Article of the Apostles Creed:  "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." The Holy Spirit has called YOU to faith, enlightened YOU with His gifts, sanctified and kept YOU in the faith. What the Holy Spirit does for you He also does for the whole Church. There's nothing here about Pharaoh or those who don't believe, because that's not your business. That's God's business to deal with in His righteousness and justice. You are called simply to believe in His Name, to confess your sins before Jesus Christ who intercedes for you before the Father, and to confess that faith in the Triune God in love to your neighbors. 

Is your heart hard? Even though you are fully and completely a sinner (just like Moses who didn't circumcise his children in accordance with God's commands), your heart has been softened by the Holy Spirit who has called you as God's own. You are also completely one of God's saints. Jesus Christ was crucified for you to see to your holiness and perfection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

O Holy Spirit, you have called, gathered, and enlightened me with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sanctify and keep me in that Gospel always, until Jesus' return in glory and the everlasting Kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Eighth Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:1-18; Mark 15:1-15

Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'" (Exodus 4:1)

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Small Catechism: Eighth Commandment)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What happens when you tell the truth and people don't believe you? You know what you said is true, but they just will not believe what you have said. Exodus 4 has a lot to say about truth and belief. God revealed His truth to Moses, but Moses was afraid that the people of Israel wouldn't believe him when he told it to them. Not only was Moses entrusted with God's truth, he thought it was up to him to get people to believe God's truth. 

Do you ever feel like telling the truth is a lost cause? Like even if what you say is true, people won't believe it and it won't make a difference? Perhaps if you try to set a rumor straight, people would still want to believe the rumor instead of the true account, or if you try to tell others why they have misjudged a classmate or a friend, they won't listen to you. What should you do then? One answer might be to not even try, and another response might be to try once and let it go. 

But that's not how God treated Moses, nor is it how God wanted Moses to treat the people of Israel. Instead, God repeatedly told His truth to Moses, and gave Moses ways to repeatedly tell that truth to the people. The Lord gave Moses His own Name to declare to the people: YHWH, I am who I am. The Lord gave Moses three miracles. Then the Lord promised that Moses' brother, Aaron, would come and he would do the talking. Again and again, the Lord put truth in Moses' ears and in his mouth. 

The Lord puts truth in your ears and in your mouth, too. He has given you the living Word, Jesus Himself. When you doubt and disbelieve, even then your Savior is the way, the truth, and the life. Even then your Savior shows you something better than a miracle: His own death and resurrection for you. He brings you the forgiveness of your sins. That's no false testimony. Jesus Christ is the truth for you! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the way, the truth, and the life. You put your truth in Moses' ears and in his mouth. Place your truth and your presence in me that I would not disbelieve but believe Your wonderful promises and speak that truth to all those around me, through You, my Lord, as You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:23-3:22; Mark 14:53-72

[Jesus] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blood makes people squeamish. Some people faint or pass out at the sight of blood. Few people like to look at blood. Blood has a unique smell, a slick, sticky feel. Kinda grosses you out, doesn't it? But throughout Scripture, blood is a big deal. From Abel's blood crying out to God from the ground in Genesis 4, to the blood of the Passover lambs being collected in bowls and smeared on door frames, to the blood sprinkled in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, even on the mercy seat on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, blood is all over the Old Testament. Aren't you glad that there isn't blood-talk in the New Testament?

Well, that's when the writer of Hebrews breaks your hopefulness and points out the importance of the blood of Jesus Himself. There's nothing distant or far away about that. Just when you thought you got those squeamish, bloody thoughts out of your head, here they are again. It's important for you to know and to remember that Jesus has blood, as gross as that seems. Leviticus 17:11 says, "The life is in the blood," and it's why God commanded His people not to eat meat with blood in it. But Jesus, the fully enfleshed God, came with real flesh and real blood. That real blood, full of the life of the Son of God, was poured out for you and brings you forgiveness of all your sins. It covers you as one of God's saints whose robe has been made white in the blood of the Lamb of God. 

It's serious business that Jesus shed His blood for His saints, and He gives that Blood alongside His Body to strengthen your faith, to forgive your sins, and to bring life and immortality to light. Is blood yucky? Maybe, but the blood of Jesus Christ is what you count on to save your life, because your life is in the blood of Jesus, shed for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. ("Not All the Blood of Beasts" LSB 431, st.2)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Genesis 22:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-33; Mark 14:32-52

"God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does God expect of you? Does He expect a perfect life? Or maybe He wants proof of your faithfulness by seeing what a great job you do of telling other people about Jesus. Certainly, God doesn't expect you to offer animal sacrifices anymore, but sometimes you might wonder if more time, more money, or more of your skills at church or at youth group are going to impress God. Maybe you're already shaking your head and saying, "That's not how God works." That doesn't mean that you aren't sometimes tempted to prove your faithfulness to God. And that makes you ask, "What does God want? What can I give God?" 

Isaac asked a normal, innocent question. "We have everything we need except the lamb for the sacrifice." Where were they going to get that? In the remote mountains, there wasn't a grocery store or a "Sacrifices 'R' Us" store for Abraham and Isaac to get a sacrificial lamb. How was this going to work? Abraham's answer was literally, "God will see the lamb." While many translations say something like "God will provide the lamb," or "God will see to the lamb," the clearest understanding is that God will see the lamb. 

God did see the lamb, but it wasn't a fluffy, white lamb carried to the top of the mountain. It wasn't Isaac, the only son of his father, Abraham. It wasn't even the ram caught in the thicket by its horns. The Lamb that God saw was His own Son, Jesus Christ. The only-begotten Son of God was the Lamb given so that all who believe in His Name would not perish but have eternal life. God sees Jesus as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for you. 

Where's your sacrifice? You already have one. God sees the Lamb whom He has sent to take away the sin of the world. You don't need to prove yourself to God. You don't need to do anything to earn His grace, and God won't remove His grace if you don't do the right thing to thank Him. He has provided His Son for you, and that settles the matter. God has seen His ever-present grace for you. God has not withheld His Son from you, and that's all you need. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The dying Lord our ransom paid, One final full self-off'ring made, Complete in ev'ry part. His finished sacrifice for sins The covenant of grace begins, The law within the heart. ("No Temple Now, No Gift of Price" LSB 530, st.2)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: John 8:46-59

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22; Mark 14:12-31 

[Jesus said,] "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you ever think that terrible things can't happen to you? Car accidents may happen to other people, but not to you. Horrible illnesses may happen to other people, but not to you. Bullies may take advantage of other people, but not of you. The devil and your own sinful mind tempt you to believe that you're invincible and that nothing can hurt you. But the truth is different from that. The truth is that bad things will happen to you since you live in this sinful world. One of those bad things, according to your human perspective, is death. 

But Jesus makes a bold statement: If you keep His Word, you will not see death. If you keep Jesus' Word, you are invincible. This isn't just the hopefulness of a young person, but the promise of the fully incarnate God in the flesh. When Jesus says that you will never see death, He means it. That can be hard to wrap your head around today. We are drawing closer and closer to Good Friday. Some churches have a special focus on the Cross and the Passion of Jesus for the next two weeks. And that's right, since we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Jesus died and has given you His Word so that you will never see death. 

But that conflicts with common sense, doesn't it? It seems that everyone dies. But Jesus promises that those who keep His Word won't see death. So do you believe in your common sense, or do you believe Jesus? Whatever your common sense says, Jesus declares that you are invincible in Him, because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). You live in Jesus Christ, because He has made it so. He is your Lord, the One who rules over all things and calls you His very own. He has promised that you will never see eternal death because of His goodness and mercy for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent)

-Rev. Peter Ill is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

            (Psalm 43:3-5; antiphon: v. 1-2a)

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! (From the Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Throughout Holy Scripture, God does some of His most important work on mountain tops. God brought Noah and the ark to rest on the mountains of Ararat. God spared Abraham's son, his only son Isaac, from sacrifice on Mount Moriah. God gave his Torah to Moses and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. God dwelled with and for His people in the glory and the sacrifices on Mount Zion. As good as these things were, we haven't even approached the summit of God's mountainous grace.

For that we must hike to where the Torah, psalms, and prophets lead us: to Jesus, God's incarnate mountain man. Jesus feeds the multitudes and prays on the mountain sides of Judea. Jesus is transfigured on a mountain top as He and Moses and Elijah talk about His exodus to come in Jerusalem. Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and prays with His disciples on the Mount of Olives before He walks His own Cross, and all of our sin, to the top of Mount Calvary, Golgotha, the peak of His glory, in crucifixion for you. So it should come as no surprise that when Jesus ascends to heaven, He does so on a mountaintop. And one day, He will return again so that what was written in the book of Hebrews will be fully seen and rejoiced in as we dwell on Mount Zion forever.

"For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. . . But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:18-24). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.