Easter Light—Gladsome Light. Worship: April 26, 2026

One of the longest lasting of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was the Pharos Lighthouse that was constructed at the entry of the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century BC. Although weakened by a series of earthquakes, it remained standing in part until AD 1480. Initially, its source of light was the brightness of the sun reflected in a great mirror by day and the flames of a great wood fire reflected by the same mirror at night. The gradual disintegration of the tower, initially some 330 feet in height, finally extinguished its light. As He spoke with His disciples, Jesus described Himself as the light that never will be extinguished. John reports: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). On our journey through this dark world, we are blessed to have the light of Christ as our unfailing guide. It truly is the light no darkness can overcome.

Easter Light—Gladsome Light. Worship: April 19, 2026

Whether we will admit it or not, many of us are logophiles, which means that we love words. All of us have far more words in our vocabularies than we use in our daily conversation. We know what the words mean but for some reason we do not say them much. Words come into and go out of fashion and usage. One of those words that are not used much anymore is gladsome. It appears in several hymns of the Christmas season and is in the first line of the ancient evening hymn “O Gladsome Light, O Grace” (LSB 888), which dates back to the fourth century AD and was originally in the Greek language. It describes Jesus as being the ultimate gladsome light with these words: “O gladsome Light, O Grace of God the Father’s face, eternal splendor wearing: celestial, holy, blest, our Savior Jesus Christ, joyful in Thine appearing!” (LSB 888:1). Jesus, the risen Lord, is the light that brings gladness to each hour of the day. We are blessed in that we can always rejoice in His brightness!

Easter Light. Glorious Light. Worship: April 12, 2026

“Seeking dedicated worker. Suffering not optional.” If we were to read that simple line in a job posting, it certainly would give us pause. People generally want to avoid suffering at any cost. Scripture reminds us that there may be a dynamic of discomfort to faith-filled living that follows the call of the risen Savior. In his hymn text “‘Come, Follow Me,’ the Savior Spake” from the 1600s, Johann Scheffler concludes, “Then let us follow Christ, our Lord, and take the cross appointed and, firmly clinging to His Word, in suff’ring be undaunted. For those who bear the battle’s strain the crown of heav’nly life obtain” (LSB 688:5). The challenges of the twenty-first century may differ from those of the seventeenth, but they are just as real. Our Lord promises that He is always with us on our life’s journey. With Easter joy, we travel onward together toward His glorious heavenly kingdom!

Easter Light—Resurrection Light. Worship: April 5, 2026

Are you wearing a new outfit for Easter? The custom of putting on new clothes for Easter Day has a long Christian history. In the earliest centuries after the ascension of Christ, newly baptized Christians wore white garments of new linen as a visible sign of the newness that being baptized had brought into their lives. Soon it became a tradition that all the faithful would join the newly baptized in arraying themselves on Easter in a new outfit to symbolize the new life that Jesus, through His resurrection, made a reality for all believers. The new clothes were much more than a fashion statement; they were a statement of faith. No matter what we are wearing today as individuals, together we share the best eternal clothing there is!

Altogether New: New Passover. Worship: April 2, 2026

As the Lord Jesus had His disciples make preparations for the annual Passover meal, little did they know that this would be the very last official observance of the commanded remembrance of the exodus deliverance of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage in the days of Moses. For in the next three days (the Triduum), the fulfillment of that prophetic event would culminate in the deliverance of all people from the bondage of sin and death by means of the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah and deliverer. Tonight the “cup of blessing” (1 Corinthians 10:16) of the Passover meal is made to be the means of our participation in the very blood to be shed in atonement on the cross of Good Friday. Tonight this cup becomes the Sacrament of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation given to each individual believer from now on until the Lord returns on the Last Day. Tonight it is of utmost importance for all to hear and to believe in the very real presence of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus not just “spiritually” but “in, with, and under” the bread and wine we share, for the Lord Himself invites us to take and eat His body and to take and drink His blood, shed for us.

The Mind of Christ. Worship: March 29, 2026

Image Credit: Palm Sunday and was created by artist Evans Yegon

Today we enter the Great and Holy Week of our faith, the very heart and center of God’s greatest act since the Creation itself—the salvation of mankind by the overthrow of sin, death, and the devil, and the restoration of all creation through the power of the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. As we join the crowds welcoming Jesus, the one who comes in the name of the Lord, we plan to get swept up in the drama of the story many know so well.

Peter wrote, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). On this day “preparing [our] minds for action” makes us as contemplate and consider what was in the mind of Jesus as He entered Jerusalem to the cheers of adults and children waving palms and shouting praise. What was our Lord thinking as He gathered His disciples for the Last Supper of Passover? As He prayed in Gethsemane’s garden? When He was arrested, falsely tried, beaten, abused, and sentenced to death by crucifixion? What was in the Savior’s mind as He hung on that cross? For the obvious impossibility of our ability to know the depths of the God who says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8), there is one thing we can know for sure—He had you in mind. We know that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16).

Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life. Worship: March 22, 2026

Bulletin Cover Image Credit: By Henry Ossawa Tanner - Musée d’Orsay https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/oeuvres/la-resurrection-de-lazare-9241

Lent is a time when God prepares His people to celebrate the Paschal Feast, the resurrection of Jesus, with sincerity and truth. In the Reading from Ezekiel 37, we see the power of the Word that transforms dry bones into living flesh with the breath of the Spirit. This same Spirit lives in us and will raise us at the Last Day, which is exactly what we hear from Paul in the Reading from Romans 8. The Spirit who raised Christ will also give life to us. Having received the Spirit in Baptism, we join with Martha in confessing boldly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who comes to us today in His Word and Sacrament and will come again to call us out of our graves.

Jesus Turns Our Darkness into Light. Worship: March 15, 2026

 The Lord is grieved by the spiritual blindness of His people, but He does not forsake them. Instead, He promises to turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground (Isaiah 42:16). The Lord does not give up on His servant, Israel, but sends another Servant who is the light of the world (John 9:5). Jesus’ light comes to us in His Word, His water, and His Supper. These are His means for opening our eyes to see and to live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). Baptized into Christ, we look forward to the day when these words will come pass: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14).

We Worship What We Know. Worship: March 8, 2026

It often seems that life is a debate about the things we do not know. What is truth? What is right and wrong? Where is God? None of these questions are theoretical and all of them are answered in Christ, whom we know as Savior and Redeemer. The Law reveals the depth of our need and our sinful hearts. Christ makes known the love of the Father. Gathered in worship, we meet where Christ is—in His Word and Sacraments. Faith is not about what we do not know but about what we do know. Christ is our all. He fulfills the promise of the Old Testament and completes our redemption. We confess Him who came, who comes to us now through the means of grace, and who will come again to deliver us to the Father. To know Christ is to know everything.It often seems that life is a debate about the things we do not know. What is truth? What is right and wrong? Where is God? None of these questions are theoretical and all of them are answered in Christ, whom we know as Savior and Redeemer. The Law reveals the depth of our need and our sinful hearts. Christ makes known the love of the Father. Gathered in worship, we meet where Christ is—in His Word and Sacraments. Faith is not about what we do not know but about what we do know. Christ is our all. He fulfills the promise of the Old Testament and completes our redemption. We confess Him who came, who comes to us now through the means of grace, and who will come again to deliver us to the Father. To know Christ is to know everything.

Led by the Spirit, Jesus Is Tempted. Worship: February 22, 2026

Only weeks ago, Jesus was called out by John as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Now Jesus reveals what He must do for us and our salvation. He must stand where Adam stood, tempted by the devil. This time, however, Jesus refuses to surrender His righteousness in the face of evil but preserves it so that He might give it to you and to me. With confidence in Christ’s righteousness, which we wear by Baptism, and His forgiveness, which restores us when we fall, we know that the devil can harm us no more. We belong to Christ. In the power of Christ, we are made strong before the tempter’s power, and in Him we are brought through death to life everlasting.