Pastoral Reflections

Every Monday morning there will be a new posting that reflects upon a verse from the Bible. Our Reformation tradition is based upon Luther’s insistence upon holding firm to the Bible. This blog is an attempt to help people reflect upon a particular verse from the Bible. The verses that I will reflect upon come from the assigned lesson for the previous Sunday.

I encourage people to take time to memorize this verse during the week. If you begin this practice, over the course of a year you will have memorized over 50 passages from Scripture. This is one way that we can be intentional about allowing Scripture to shape how we live our lives and seek to become people of the ‘Book of Faith.’

Please free to add your comments to this reflection and add to the discussion about this verse.

  • Verse for the week of September 5th:

    Their delight is in the law of the LORD, and they meditate on God’s teaching day and night. (Psalm 1:2) Psalm 1 is really a beatitude—which is a statement of extreme blessing. It is not by coincidence that the entire book of Psalms begins with this psalm. Psalm 1 begins by stating what the righteous do and do not do. A [...]

  • Verse for the week of August 29th (Psalm 112:1):

    Hallelujah! Happy are they who fear the LORD and have great delight in God’s commandments! (Psalm 112:1) The whole of Psalm 112 is an encouragement for people to take seriously faith in God and seek after God’s commandments. This psalm is similar in nature to both Psalm 1 and Psalm 111. The psalm is uplifting the notion of how faith [...]

  • Verse for the week of August 22nd (Psalm 103:1):

    Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless God’s holy name. (Psalm 103:1) I must admit that I used to struggle with this verse many years ago. Growing up within the Lutheran Church, we never used some of the ‘other services’ within the LBW (i.e.Morning Prayer p. 131; Vespers p. 142; or [...]

  • Verse for the week of August 15th:

    Arise, O God, and rule the earth, for you shall take all nations for your own. (Psalm 82:8) Psalm 82 speaks of God presiding over a court case where other gods are on trial. This is surprising in both content and character. Through this description of God presiding over a trial, it celebrates [...]

  • Verse for the week of August 8th:

    Surely, our heart rejoices in you, for in your holy name we put our trust. (Psalm 33:21) Psalm 33 is hymn of praise with a specific purpose. It proclaims the Lord as the one in whom the righteous may place their trust and hope. The author calls us to place our trust in God’s holy name. This is a message [...]

  • Verse for the week of August 1st:

    Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all you who dwell in the world. (Psalm 49:1) Psalm 49 is a psalm that is announcing to those who hear these words of instruction about how to live one’s life. In verse one, the author is proclaiming that this is a message for all to hear and calling them to pay [...]

  • Verse for the week of July 25th:

    Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me sage; you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me. (Psalm 138:7) This psalm is a song of whole-heart thanksgiving for salvation. The entire psalm speaks of giving thanks for all that God has done and in particular for being [...]

  • Verse for the week of July 18th:

    LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill? (Psalm 15:1) Psalm 15 begins with this question: who may dwell in God’s tabernacle? Who may abide upon God’s holy hill? More than likely, this psalm was used as an entrance liturgy or a way to call people to think about entering into the temple. It [...]

  • Verse for the week of July 11th:

    Show me your ways, O LORD, and teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:4) Psalm 25 is a psalm of prayer where the author is offering this prayer to God in which he is placing his entire trust in God.  Verse 1 (To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul) is a way of beginning [...]

  • Verse for the week of July 4th:

    Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!  Because of your great strength our enemies cringe before you.’ (Psalm 66:3) {Note:  Over the next several weeks I am going to be focusing upon the Psalm and will be attempting to lift up how some of the psalms were used in ages past as well as how they [...]

  • Verse for the week of June 27th:

    When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51) What does this verse mean? The key to this verse is the phrase—he set his face.  What this verse is attempting to communicate is that Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem.  The phrase, set his [...]

  • Verse for the week of June 20th:

    Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:39) This verse is at the end of the story of Jesus casting out demons from a man and sending them into a herd of [...]

  • Verse for the week of June 13th:

    One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. (Luke 7:36) After reading this verse, you may wonder—why did pastor choose this verse?  This verse does not seem to have much significance—Jesus was invited to a person’s house for dinner and went.  Big [...]

  • Verse for the week of June 6th:

    This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. (Luke 7:17) This verse comes at the end of a miracle story about Jesus raising Nain’s son from the dead.  If you take some time to read through most of the Gospel accounts, there is a familiar pattern.  The pattern is that after Jesus [...]

  • Verse for the week of May 30th

    Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) This verse from Paul’s letter to the Church of Rome is part of Paul’s larger argument as he outlines the whole notion of what exactly is the gospel message—the good news of Jesus Christ. I am always amazed that [...]

  • Verse for the week of May 23rd:

    All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

  • Verse for the week of May 16th:

     The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’  And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’  And let everyone who is thirsty come.  Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.   (Revelation 22:17)  This verse comes from the final book of the New Testament—Revelation.  This book is a very fascinating book and one that [...]

  • Verse for the week of May 2nd:

    By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35) Whenever I hear this verse, the first thing that I think about is the old camp song—‘They will know we are Christians by our Love.’   The song speaks about how others will be able to know about [...]

  • Verse for the week of April 25th:

    My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. (John 10:27)

  • Verse for the week of April 18th:

    When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, ho you love me more than these?’  He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘feed my lambs.’ (John 21:15) The larger context of this verse is Jesus restoring Peter.  Within the overall story, Jesus [...]

  • Verse for the week of April 11th:

    So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’  But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’   (John 20:25) This verse comes from the story of [...]

  • Verse for the week of April 4th:

    That the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again (Luke 24:7) This verse is part of the larger section of the account of the resurrection in the Gospel according to St. Luke.  I am always amazed when I read the resurrection accounts.  Think about it.  On Easter [...]

  • Verse for the week of March 21st:

     Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.  The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.   (John 12:3)  This is one of the more interesting stories in the Gospel.  I think that it has a particular appeal because it is such a [...]

  • Verse for the week of March 14th:

     So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God   (II Corinthians 5:20)  What is an ambassador?  The dictionary defines ambassador as ‘an official representative of an organization or movement.’  Thus an ambassador of Christ would be a representative of Jesus.  St. Paul [...]

  • Verse for the week of March 7th:

    No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and he wil l not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.   (I Corinthians 10:13)   This is a verse that gets used a lot when [...]

  • Verse for the week of February 28th:

    The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) I think that this verse has a powerful image.  Think about it—the Lord is my light.  One of the most common things in a child’s [...]

  • Verse for the week of February 21st:

    So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me. You shall set it down before the LORD you God and bow down before the LORD your God.

  • Verse for the week of February 14th:

    Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.   (Luke 9:28)     If you read the entire Gospel of Luke, one of the underlying themes within the Gospel is prayer.  Luke emphasizes prayer more than the other 3 gospel accounts.  Within the [...]

  • Verse for the week of February 7th:

    And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of host; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ (Isaiah 6:3) This verse is from the call narrative of the prophet Isaiah.  The prophets in the Old Testament typically have some type of encounter with the presence of God that overwhelms them [...]

  • Verse for the week of January 31st:

     And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13) When you hear this verse the first image that might go through your head is a wedding scene. The 13th Chapter of First Corinthians is sometimes known as the ‘Love Chapter’ and is the preferred reading at [...]

  • Verse for the week of January 24th:

    For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (I Corinthians 12:12) With this verse, St. Paul is continuing a discussion about understanding the church in the same way that we understand a body. A body is made up [...]

  • Verse for the week of January 17th:

    To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.   (I Corinthians 12:7)     This section of Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth deals with what it means to be the church.  Paul will use the image of the body as a metaphor for the church—that the church is made up of many [...]

  • Verse for the week of January 10th:

    O LORD, give strength to your people; give them, O LORD, the blessings of peace. (Psalm 29:11) This whole Psalm is a hymn of praise to God who is above all things and mightier than all of creation.  The Psalm ends with a word of prayer, ‘O LORD, give strength to your people; give them, O LORD, [...]

  • Verse for the week of January 3rd:

    The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:4) Whenever I hear this verse, I think about the Christmas Eve Candlelight service.  The tradition that I have used for many years is that on Christmas Eve when we are lighting the candles that are passed out—the beginning of the Gospel of [...]

  • Verse for the week of December 27th:

    As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. (Colossians 3:12) St. Paul uses this image of clothing oneself.  Just like in the morning, you get up and put on clothes and these clothes can sometimes tell others something about you.  If you get up and put on your work clothes, [...]

  • Verse for the week of December 20th:

    And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord’ (Luke 1:46) This verse is part of what is called the Magnificat or Mary’s song.   The word Magnificat means magnifies or glorifies.  The context for Mary’s song is when Mary’s relative, Elizabeth comes and visits Mary while Mary is expecting with Jesus.  Elizabeth is also expecting—her child is John [...]

  • Verse for the week of December 13th:

    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4) Whenever I read these words from St. Paul, I am always amazed.  What I am amazed about is that these words are written while St. Paul was a prisoner.  It is almost universally accepted that St. Paul wrote these words from a prison [...]

  • Verse for the week of December 6th:

    As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’’ (Luke 3:4) In many ways, this is one of the classic Scripture texts for the Season of Advent.  It proclaims the voice of one [...]

  • Verse for the week of November 30th:

    The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 33:14) What is the promise to the house of Israel and the house of Judah? If you keep reading in the book of Jeremiah, the prophet proclaims that the promise is [...]

  • Verse for the week of November 23rd:

    Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world.  If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ (John 18:36) The context for this verse is Jesus appearing before Pilate and Pilate questioning him [...]

  • Verse for the week of November 15th:

    And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24) As the father of two children, I understand the notion of ‘provoke.’  It is amazing how sibling know how to push each other’s buttons and get under the skin of the other.  Sometimes all it takes is a look to provoke [...]

  • Verse for the week of November 8th:

    For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.  (Mark 12:44) The setting for this verse is the story of the widow’s mite—the encounter of Jesus with people putting in money to the coffers at the temple.  [...]

  • Verse for the week of November 1st:

    Then he said to me, ‘It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’.  (Revelation 21:6) What does it mean that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega? On a strictly literal sense, [...]

  • Verse for the week of October 25th:

    God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  (Psalm 46:1) Psalm 46 is the inspiration behind Martin Luther’s most well known hymn—‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God.’ Both this psalm and the hymn put forth a concept that God is a strong force that can stand against anything that comes up against it.  [...]

  • Verse for the week of October 18th:

    But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5) In this section of Isaiah, the prophet is talking about a suffering servant.  There are a number of passages like this one that that lift up this [...]

  • Verse for the week of October 11th:

    Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) This verse confirms to us that we are able to approach God at all times. The verses just prior to verse 16 talk about Jesus as the [...]

  • Verse for the week of October 4th:

    Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.  (Hebrews 1:1) This opening line to the letter to the Hebrews sets the stage for the author’s purpose of this letter (or more probably a sermon).  This verse [...]

  • Verse for the week of September 27th:

    Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.  (Psalm 19:14) This verse from Scripture is one that I have heard used at the beginning of many sermons.  It becomes the prayer of the pastor prior to preaching–praying that the words that [...]

  • Verse for the week of September 20th:

    Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ (Mark 9:35) How countercultural!! Does this make sense? Most of the time, if one wants to be first then you need to watch out for yourself. After [...]

  • Verse for the week of September 13th:

    Jesus asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah’  (Mark 8:29) This text is one of the central and core texts of the church.  The context for this verse is that Jesus had just healed a blind man and then asks the disciples about who people [...]

  • Verse for the week of September 6th:

    ‘I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.’  (Psalm 146:2) The dictionary defines praise as ‘to express adoration of; glorify’ (Doubleday Dictionary).  This may sound basic to many people, but this verse serves as a good reminder for all Christians.  Our lives should [...]