Christ's Lutheran Church - NALC

08/27/2026

Today, the church commemorates Monica, mother of Augustine.

Monica (c. 332 – 387) was a Christian woman married to a non-believing husband who converted on his deathbed to Christianity. Augustine, her son, would not become a Christian until he was 33 years old, after a significant period as a wandering non-believer and then a Manichean.

St. Monica bore patiently and prayerfully the hardships of a spouse and a child outside of the faith. According to some legends, Monica is said to have wept nightly over Augustine while he was a wayward young man. But the prayers of the righteous Monica availed much (cf. James 5:16). The example of Monica is a great inspiration and comfort for all people who have a loved one outside of the faith: Pray fervently and pray often, for God hears your prayers.

O Lord, You strengthened Your patient servant Monica through spiritual discipline to persevere in offering her love, her prayers, and her tears for the conversion of her husband and of Augustine, their son. Deepen our devotion to bring others, even our own family, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(Prayer from Treasury of Daily Prayer, 663.)

Image source: Michael Willman, St. Monica, c. 1660-1670.

08/25/2026

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
(Jude 24-25)

Pastor Weedon begins a short series today on the Book of Jude!

Tap link in the Comment section below to listen and to subscribe.

08/24/2026

+ St. Bartholomew, Apostle +

24 August

“I will speak of your testimonies before kings, O Lord, and shall not be put to shame.” - Psalm 119:46

St. Bartholomew (or Nathanael, as he is called in St. John’s Gospel) was one of the first of Jesus’ twelve disciples. His home was in the town of Cana, in Galilee (John 21:2), where Jesus’ performed His first miracle. He was invited to become one of the Twelve by Philip, who told him that they had found the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. (John 1:45). Bartholomew’s initial hesitation to believe, because of Jesus’ Nazareth background, was quickly replaced by a clear, unequivocal declaration of faith, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). He was present with the other disciples (John 21:1–13) when they were privileged to see and converse and eat with their risen Lord and Savior. According to some Early Church Fathers, Bartholomew brought the Gospel to Armenia, where he was martyred by being flayed alive. - Treasury of Daily Prayer

Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

All praise for him whose candor
Through all his doubt You saw
When Philip at the fig tree
Disclosed You in the law.
Discern, beneath our surface,
O Lord, what we can be,
That by Your truth made guileless,
Your glory we may see.

LSB 518:23

The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew by Jusepe de Ribera (1634)

08/23/2026

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 23, 2026
The Divine Service
10:30am

Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fresco by Pietro Perugino (1446-1523)

08/20/2026

+ Samuel +

20 August

Samuel, last of the Old Testament judges and first of the prophets (after Moses), lived during the 11th century B.C. The child of Elkanah, an Ephraimite, and his wife Hannah, Samuel was from early on consecrated by his parents for sacred service and trained in the house of the Lord at Shiloh by Eli the priest. Samuel's authority as a prophet was established by God (1 Sam. 3:20). He anointed Saul to be Israel's first king (10:1). Later, as a result of Saul's disobedience to God, Samuel repudiated Saul's leadership and then anointed David to be king in place of Saul (16:13). Samuel's loyalty to God, his spiritual insight, and his ability to inspire others made him one of Israel's great leaders. - Treasury of Daily Prayer

Eli and Samuel by John Singleton Copley (1780)

08/18/2026

The Holy Supper of Christ

WRITING FOR AUGUST 18TH

1. We believe, teach, and confess that in the Holy Supper Christ’s body and blood are truly and essentially present, and that they are truly distributed and received with the bread and wine.

2. We believe, teach, and confess that the words of Christ’s testament are not to be understood in any other way than the way they read, according to the letter. So the bread does not signify Christ’s absent body and the wine His absent blood. But, because of the sacramental union, ‹the bread and wine› are truly Christ’s body and blood.

3. Now, about the consecration, we believe, teach, and confess that no work of man or recitation of the minister produces this presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Holy Supper. Instead, this presence is to be credited only and alone to the almighty power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. At the same time we also believe, teach, and confess unanimously that in the use of the Holy Supper the words of Christ’s institution should in no way be left out. Instead, they should be publicly recited, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing that we bless” and so forth. This blessing occurs through the reciting of Christ’s words.…

6. We believe, teach, and confess that Christ’s body and blood are received with the bread and wine, not only spiritually through faith, but also orally. Yet not in a “Capernaitic” way, but in a supernatural, heavenly way, because of the sacramental union. Christ’s words clearly show this, when Christ gives direction to take, eat, and drink, as was also done by the apostles. For it is written in Mark 14:23, “And they all drank of it.” St. Paul likewise says [in 1 Corinthians 10:16], “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” That is to say: He who eats this bread eats Christ’s body, which also the chief ancient teachers of the Church—Chrysostom, Cyprian, Leo I, Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine—unanimously testify.

- Epitome of the Formula of Concord VII 6-9, 15

https://bookofconcord.cph.org/

08/17/2026

+ Johann Gerhard, Theologian +

17 August

Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) was a great Lutheran theologian in the tradition of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Martin Chemnitz (1522–86) and the most influential of the 17th-century dogmaticians. His monumental Loci Theologici (23 large volumes) is still considered by many to be a definitive statement of Lutheran orthodoxy. Gerhard was born in Quedlinburg, Germany. At the age of 15 he was stricken with a life-threatening illness. This experience, along with guidance from his pastor, Johann Arndt, marked a turning point in his life. He devoted the rest of his life to theology. He became a professor at the University of Jena and served many years as the Superintendent of Heldberg. Gerhard was a man of deep evangelical piety and love for Jesus. He wrote numerous books on exegesis, theology, devotional literature, history, and polemics. His sermons continue to be widely published and read. - Treasury of Daily Prayer

08/16/2026

+ Isaac +

16 August

Isaac, the long promised and awaited son of Abraham and Sarah, was born when his father was 100 and his mother 91. The announcement of his birth brought both joy and laughter to his aged parents (so the name “Isaac,” which means “laughter”). As a young man, Isaac accompanied his father to Mount Moriah, where Abraham, in obedience to God's command, prepared to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. But God intervened, sparing Isaac's life and providing a ram as a substitute offering (Gen. 22:1–14), and thus pointing to the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world. Isaac was given in marriage to Rebekah (24:15), and they had twin sons, Esau and Jacob (25:19–26). In his old age Isaac, blind and feeble, wanted to give his blessing and chief inheritance to his favorite—and eldest—son, Esau. But through deception Rebekah had Jacob receive them instead, resulting in years of family enmity. Isaac died at the age of 180 and was buried by his sons, who by then had become reconciled, in the family burial cave of Machpelah (35:28–29). - Treasury of Daily Prayer

Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio (1603)

08/16/2026

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 16, 2026
The Divine Service
10:30am

Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Woman of Canaan at the Feet of Christ.
Jean Germain Drouais (1763–1788)

08/15/2026

+ St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord +

15 August

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” - Psalm 34:1

St. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is mentioned repeatedly in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, with nearly a dozen specific incidents in her life being recorded: her betrothal to Joseph; the annunciation by the angel Gabriel that she was to be the mother of the Messiah; her visitation to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptizer; the nativity of our Lord; the visits of the shepherds and the Wise Men; the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple; the flight into Egypt; the Passover visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve; the wedding at Cana in Galilee; her presence at the crucifixion, when her Son commended her to the care of His disciple John; and her gathering with the apostles in the Upper Room after the ascension, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. Thus she is present at most of the important events in her Son’s life. She is especially remembered and honored for her unconditional obedience to the will of God (“Let it be to me according to Your word” [Luke 1:38]); for her loyalty to her Son even when she did not understand Him (“Do whatever He tells you” [John 2:1–11]); and above all for the highest honor that heaven bestowed on her of being the mother of our Lord (“Blessed are you among women” [Luke 1:42]). According to tradition, Mary went with the apostle John to Ephesus, where she died. - Treasury of Daily Prayer

Almighty God, You chose the virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

We sing with joy of Mary,
Whose heart with awe was stirred
When, youthful and astonished,
She heard the angel's word.
Yet she her voice upraises
To magnify God's name,
As once for our salvation
Your mother she became.

LSB 518:22

Madonna under the fir tree by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1510)