July 5, 2025 

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 4 - Psalm 19:2, 4-6; antiphon: Psalm 19:1

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

When Jesus, the bridegroom, comes for His bride, the church, the heavens, and creation itself will not hold back praise. On that day, all will be restored, and creation will dwell with its Creator again forever. 

What a vivid scene. Come, Lord Jesus! While the psalmist writes, our minds read, and our hearts declare, “How long?” Indeed, how long will it be until that glorious day when the Bridegroom comes to take His Bride to the wedding feast and celebrate that glorious consummation of the age that will never end?

While waiting is depressing and this life can feel meaningless, we run our course with joy. Christ has come and will come again. Until then, He has given us every promise and blessing, including the assurance that we will stand with Him on that Last Day. How can I be so sure? I am baptized, and you, the baptized, will be with your Jesus, the one whose Name you were baptized into.

Though this course is long, and we grow tired and weak, we are strengthened by the wedding feast of the Lamb, given by the Lamb Himself for us, His bride, to eat and to drink. Jesus gives His Body for the feast and His Blood for you to drink to strengthen and sustain you until He comes to dwell with us fully.

On that day, we will be with Him in glory, with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, hearing the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky proclaim His handiwork. 

What a glorious day that will be, as we continue to pray with the psalmist, the saints of old, and saints to come, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All creation joins to praise You; Earth and sky Your works display. Art and music, gifts You lend us, We return to You today. Alleluia! Alleluia! God, Creator, source of life! (LSB 795:2)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.