The Lutheran Herald

06/19/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Friday after the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Friday, June 19th, 2026.

Scripture: St. Matthew 7:15-23 (NKJV)

7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Devotion

Wolves are beautiful, but their natural activity is not to produce wool for us, but to kill the sheep that do. Plants that produce only thorns and thistles exist to bring pain to humans and livestock, a result of Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:17-18). Pruning thorn bushes will never produce figs and grapes; it’s simply not within their nature.

Adam was created “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:26), meaning “there were embodied in man such wisdom and righteousness as apprehended God, and in which God was reflected, i.e., to man there were given the gifts of the knowledge of God, the fear of God, confidence in God, and the like” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, II:18). Adam’s fruit (righteous works) would be perfect and abundant. When he sinned, that image was lost. Yet, for those who trust in Christ’s atonement for sin, God’s likeness is being restored (Eph. 5:9, Col. 3:10; Apology II:19–20), as each believer is “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Jesus warns us away from those who minimize this recreation through faith in Him. No matter how showy their works, apart from faith such works are empty, the unhealthy fruit of a bad tree. Christ alone makes us a good tree, one who loves that the Law prunes away dead works and tells us what the works of our re-created nature are, so that we, through faith in Jesus’ merit alone, continue to bear good fruit!

Collect: O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/18/2026

The question at the heart of Melanchthon's universal history.

Melanchthon on why the Church cannot do without history—from the Chronicon Carionis, Part One

06/18/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Thursday after the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Thursday, June 18th, 2026.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:5-8 (NKJV)

42:5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it:

6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles,

7 “to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

8 “I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.”

Devotion

Faithful use of statuary and paintings must direct our thoughts to the true God, never taking His glory and praise. When the Lord, who will not give His glory to another, glorifies His Christ, He makes it obvious that the Messiah is Himself the Lord—that He must be as St. John will declare Him: the One who was in the beginning, who was with God, and who was God. The Lord, who will not give His glory to another, sets His Christ as His treaty with His people, Israel, and as a Light to the Gentiles, opening the eyes of those who were spiritually blind and bringing them out of the prison of sin and death. The Messiah does the things that only God can do, and receives credit for what only the true God can be given praise.

Isaiah is, thus, the backdrop for St. John’s Gospel every bit as much as for St. Matthew’s. While Matthew directly quotes Isaiah more often, John often presents a narrative that ties back to the prophet (as we saw Tuesday regarding the wedding at Cana). Isaiah 42 is very much the understanding Jesus presents throughout John: that He is doing nothing simply because, as God, He can, but it is all as One who subjects Himself to the Father in all things, so that He might save us who by nature have refused His lordship.

Collect: O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/17/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Wednesday after the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Wednesday, June 17th, 2026.

Scripture: St. Matthew 5:33-37 (NKJV)

5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Devotion

The Small Catechism teaches us what God’s command not to murder means: that “we should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.” Similarly, in the Old Testament laws concerning oaths, every lesser form of swearing falsely is condemned and, more, the very idea of making oaths when they’re not required is excluded. The Jewish ‘experts in the Law’ tried to twist what God had commanded into varying levels of obligation, depending on the form of the oath or the things sworn (cf. Matt. 23:16-22). However, Jesus says such additions to our speech spring from the devil. As the devil did in tempting Jesus, such oaths seek to guarantee our truthfulness by promising things that aren’t ours to promise (Matt. 4:1-11; cf. Lev. 5:4-5).

The Law was added because of transgressions (Gal. 3:19); it was verbalized to show where actions had not been in accord with faith, and would point out future unfaithfulness so that we would repent. Even secular laws are increased because of transgression, and that includes perjury, so that we will be called upon to take oaths in important matters. This is not forbidden us (cf. Heb. 6:16-17), but we are to speak the truth simply and plainly so that we would otherwise be trusted without an oath, speaking every word as unto the Lord Himself.

Collect: O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/16/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Tuesday after the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Tuesday, June 16th, 2026.

Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9 (NKJV)

25:6 And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.

7 And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day:

“Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Devotion

When Jesus performed the first miracle of His public ministry, changing simple water into the best of wine, He signaled His fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah. He had come to His people to make them able to be a part of His everlasting feast, to take away the rebuke of His nation, and to bring the people of all nations out from under the veil of darkness to live without the fear and sorrow of death.

The restoration of Judah to its capital city of Jerusalem and to the Temple after the Exile would not be as glorious as what is depicted here in Isaiah 25. This was to teach them (and us; see 1 Cor. 10:11) that restoration was but a small foretaste of the Messianic Era. The coming of the Christ at Bethlehem, completed with His death and resurrection at Jerusalem, along with the following age and the eternal result, would restore not only Judah (along with Benjamin and Levi), but the children of Adam that would receive it. Jesus’ provision for the wedding feast at Cana set the stage for His miracles of restoring life and health, and for His being heard and received by the crassest of sinners, so that they repented unto forgiveness and life. It rightly gave Martha the understanding that through His work Lazarus would rise from the dead on the Last Day (John 11:24), that in Jesus, death would be swallowed up forever.

Collect: O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/15/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Festival of David Henkel, Pastor and Confessor. Monday, June 15th, 2026.

Scripture: Hebrews 13:7-17 (NKJV)

13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Devotion

“Those who rule over you” are part of God’s good plan and creation. Adam was established as head, teacher, and ‘pastor’ over Eve and the family-to-come, even before they fell into sin. Our Lord blesses us with order and relationships in vocation as a way of protecting us and helping us to grow.

St. Peter and the other Apostles affirm that we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). But they also teach that we must obey men in order to obey God! “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh…” (1 Pet. 2:17-18). St. Peter’s epistle continues from there to teach how we should fulfill our various vocations in a way that follows our Lord’s example of humility in faithfulness to the Father in heaven.

Hebrews emphasizes this same message. The fellowship of God’s faithful people does not despise order and correction; it embraces it as the work that He prepares for us so that we may serve and grow as His holy family. Faithful pastors and confessors like David Henkel lead according to the Word of God, not according to their own desire for headship and control. Such faithfulness sees and honors God, even as we bear the crosses of fulfilling our callings among all men.

Collect: O Lord, hear our prayers to Thee on this day of David Henkel, Thy Confessor and Pastor, that as Thou didst lead him to render faithful service to Thee, Thou wouldst lead us to faithfully confess our hope in Thy salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/14/2026

Lesson from the Book of Concord for the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday.

ARTICLE XIII.

Of the Use of the Sacraments, they [the Lutheran theologians] teach, that the Sacraments were ordained, not only to be marks of profession among men, but rather to be signs and testimonies of the will of God toward us, instituted to awaken and confirm faith in those who use them. Wherefore we must so use the Sacraments that faith be added to believe the promises which are offered and set forth through the Sacraments.

They therefore condemn those who teach that the Sacraments justify by the outward act, and do not teach that, in the use of the Sacraments, faith which believes that sins are forgiven, is required.

—The Augsburg Confession

06/14/2026

Gospel and Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday: June 14th, 2026.

The Gospel—St. Luke 14:16-24 (NKJV)

14:16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

Collect

O Lord, Who never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love: Make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/13/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Saturday after the First Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Saturday, June 13th, 2026.

Scripture: St. Luke 12:13-21 (NKJV)

12:13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Devotion

Jesus doesn’t tell this parable because a rich man is trusting in his riches, but because a man sought what he believed was being unjustly withheld from him. We don’t know whether the man’s case was valid, but we know that it so concerned him that it took priority for him over what Jesus was teaching. For this reason, instead of truly honoring Jesus by taking to heart what He said, he sought to exalt Jesus’ status as a rabbi by drawing Him into settling a dispute. This is a crasser example of the error Martha made when she not only worried herself about her hosting duties, but wished Jesus to scold her sister for not helping her. Jesus, instead, made it clear that Mary’s honoring Him by listening would not be taken away from her. Here, He makes it clear that the man’s failure to listen was costing him a greater treasure.

Martha loved Jesus because she trusted in what she had already heard from Him; but love’s proper expression was to hear more. This man was so driven by covetousness that he assumed Jesus would love the authority of being made judge. If he had been listening, the peace of having an eternal inheritance would have honored Jesus through a heart filled with love for his brother.

Collect: O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in Thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

06/12/2026

Scripture and Devotion for the Friday after the First Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Friday, June 12th, 2026.

Scripture: St. Matthew 10:34-42 (NKJV)

10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Devotion

Those we love most are not worthy to be loved more than the Lord. He who has given us all things—including our loved ones!—and still takes care of us (and them) is to be treasured above every treasure He has provided. Our view of our loved ones, as of all the Lord’s blessings that we enjoy—and of our enemies and the things that plague and vex us!—is always to be through the lens of God’s will and Word, and of Christ’s mission to save us by His atoning for our sins.

If one was to receive a prophet simply because he was appointed by the Lord to speak for Him, and to receive the apostles in the same way, so we are to receive all those who are righteous through faith in Christ, regardless of what their worldly status might be. The confession of the truth about Jesus through word and deed makes all consideration of appearance, power, fame, or wealth inconsequential. While we might otherwise not even know one another, those who know that their true and only life is through faith in Christ are bound together as neither blood nor legal paperwork can match: the almighty God has made us His own children and heirs together through the blood and testament of His Son!

Collect: O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in Thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.