Sacred Meditations

In Revelation 1, our risen Lord Jesus says, “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (1:17-18). In this exhortation from Johann Starck’s Prayer-Book, we believing Christians learn how to …

Through the Easter season–Easter Sunday and the seven weeks following–we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and His victory over sin, death, and the devil. Here we pray that we who are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection may die to sin and be raised to new life …

The wounds of Jesus are balm and healing for us! That’s the message of Johann Heermann’s hymn and our prayers this season of Lent. Here, in verse 5, we pray our Lord Jesus to comfort us in the hour of our death. See Lutheran Service Book, 421:5.

In Johann Gerhard’s Meditation II, “An Exercise of Repentance from Our Lord’s Passion,” we behold the suffering of Christ for us. Source: Sacred Meditations by Johann Gerhard, pages 16-17.

Johann Heermann’s hymn, “Jesus, Grant That Balm and Healing,” continues to serve us in our prayers through Lent. Here we pray to our Suffering Savior by whose wounds we are healed. See Lutheran Service Book, 421:4.

We have pondered the details of Jesus’ suffering for us and why that suffering is so precious for us. Now we conclude Johann Starck’s prayer of meditating on the suffering of Jesus by placing that suffering before our eyes to be our very delight. Source: Starck’s Prayer-Book, by Johann Starck …

The hymn “Jesus, Grant That Balm and Healing” is a perfect prayer for the season of Lent. Here we pray verse 3 of that hymn to our Suffering Savior. See Lutheran Service Book, 421:3.

“Ah, this is done for me….” This is how Johann Starck leads us to meditate on the details of the suffering of Jesus and how He did it all for each one of us. Source: Starck’s Prayer-Book, by Johann Starck (translated and edited by W. H. T. Dau, 1921), pages …

In this second week of Lent, we pray to Jesus, our balm and healing, to draw us to His cross and passion so that we may find courage in the face of temptation and be on guard against Satan’s attacks. See Lutheran Service Book, 421:2.

We continue to meditate on the suffering of Jesus for us through this season of Lent. Here we pray the beginning portion of Johann Starck’s prayer from his Prayer Book. Source: Starck’s Prayer-Book, by Johann Starck (translated and edited by W. H. T. Dau, 1921), pages 108-109.