Mar. 1, 2026

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)

This Name, the Breaking of Bread, unites us with the earliest Church and how the Sacrament has always been a mark of the Church.  It was the Breaking of Bread that often Identified Christians to others.  Pliny the Younger, in his report to the Roman Emperor Trajan, mentioned the holy meal as a mark of the Church.

As such, this name helps define our confession of faith.  In it we proclaim Jesus until He comes. (I Cor 11: 26)  We confess what He did to forgive our sins.  We proclaim God’s mercy to sinners.  We proclaim the importance of the Church as the Body of Christ, and we proclaim His impending return.

This proclamation is one reason among many to ensure that we participate in the Sacrament as often as we can in order to proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ.

Merciful Father, send Your Holy Spirit upon us to guide us to regularly participate in the feast Your Son instituted.  In doing so, help us to proclaim our faith in You.  In Jesus’ holy Name we pray. – Amen

 Mar. 2, 2026

And He took bread, and when He had given thanks… (Luke 22:25)

The Idea of the Sacrament of the Altar as giving thanks is taken from the action of Jesus at the meal.  The term used in Luke in the Greek is eucharisteo from which we get the name Eucharist.  This word simply means to give thanks.

You can see how all of these names for the Sacrament, although they all point to different aspects of the Sacrament, also tie in together so closely.  For how can you give thanks for all Christ has done for us without “remembering” the cross as in the Lord’s Supper.  How can you give thanks without “discerning the body” as in Communion.

But in the name Eucharist we ensure that true gratitude is included in our celebration.  We ensure that we are not only thankful for the gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation we receive in the Sacrament, but for all the good and perfect gifts God has given us.

Dearest Lord, helps us always to realize the importance of taking time to thank You for all that You have done, are doing, and will do for us.  Your Grace truly is amazing!  In Your holy Name we pray – Amen.

 Mar. 3, 2026

And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”  (Luke 22:15)

Another name for the Sacrament of the Altar is the Paschal (Passover) Feast.  This is a recognition of the fact that the sacrificial lambs of the OT feast of Passover we a presaging of the sacrifice Jesus would make for us on the Cross.

For, because Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29) was sacrificed on the cross for us, death will pass over us much as it did the first born of Israel during the Exodus.

This image helps us tie the Old Testament and the New Testament together and reminds us that Jesus didn’t just come out of nowhere in history.  He had been foretold for ages before.

Because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross we have life eternal!  Talk about something to be thankful for!

Dearest Jesus, thank you for sacrificing Yourself that we might live with You in eternity!  – Amen.

Mar. 4, 2026

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

This truth of the Bible is one that, unfortunately, has yet to be realized in God’s Church.  There remain differences in the understanding of God’s Word that keep us from truly being the one true Church.

Because of this we would be remiss not to recognize some issues of disagreement between denominations.  This week we will discuss six beliefs and practices that differ depending on what “flavor” of Christian you are.

Obviously, we believe that the Lutheran understanding is correct.  While being steadfast in our beliefs and what the Bible says, we also recognize, and must respect, that our brothers and sisters in Christ have developed their positions we believe are in error, from a well-intentioned attempt to remain faithful to God and continue to have civil and respectful dialogue about our differences.

We continue to pray that all Christians will come to a true and right understanding of all Christian doctrine.  Not just those around the Sacrament of the Altar.

Dearest Lord, bring all Your people to a true and right understanding of Your will and teach us to dwell in unity. – Amen.

Mar. 5, 2026

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Cor. 11:29)

This is a harsh statement, but because it is biblical, it is also true.  As such, it is our desire in the Lutheran Church, to protect everyone to whatever extent we are able, from such harm.

In order to do this, we use a practice known as Close Communion.  We only commune those with a close understanding of the Sacrament to what we believe.  This is not a judgment that we are better Christians than others.  It is simply an effort to “discern the body” in the sense of our Confession of Faith.

Remember that only God knows who the members of His Church are. (2 Tim. 2:19) We are not trying to judge this.  We are simply trying to keep everyone safe from harm and to maintain a clear confession of belief.

By maintaining a practice of close communion, we are trying to be faithful in our understanding of God’s Word.

Most precious Father, help us always to walk in Your ways, holding faithfully to Your Word without judgment of others.  In Jesus’ Name we pray. – Amen.

 

Mar. 6, 2026

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  (John 6:23)

One of the issues that Lutherans differ from Protestants and Catholics on is the “Real Presence” of Christ’s Body and Blood.  We simply take Him at His Word.  Jesus says it is His Body and Blood; we believe Him.  It is His Body and Blood.  We don’t try to figure out how this happens or even why it happens.  We simply take Jesus’ Word for it.

Others will speak of a “Real Presence” only in spiritual terms and not in material terms.  Others that the bread and wine merely “represent” the Body and Blood.  This is not what Jesus said.  We do not understand how.  It is not our place.  God knows how, we leave it to Him.  We do not try to understand more than we can understand.  We know that we are not God and that we cannot understand His thinking. (IS 55:9) We are simply content to know that there is a mystery here.  A mystery where we must trust, unwaveringly, what Jesus has told us.  “This is My Body…this is My Blood.”

Dearest Lord, help us to always follow You and trust You even when we don’t truly understand what You are doing and why.  Lead us with Your Holy Spirit to faithfully follow Your Word as You have given it.  – Amen

Mar. 7, 2026

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily… since He did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Heb. 7:27)

Previously we discussed differences between Lutherans and other Protestants but there are also differences between Lutherans and Protestants on one hand, and Catholics on the other.  The reason that the Catholic Church calls their clergy “Priests” is, at least in part, that they believe they are re-sacrificing Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar.  We hold with Hebrews, as stated above, that Christ was sacrificed once, for all people, on the altar of the cross.  Priests sacrifice.  Pastors lead their flocks on behalf of Jesus.

We hold that any additional sacrifice over and above the cross would imply that, on some level at least, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was somehow insufficient.   This cannot be.  The Book of Hebrews goes on in some length showing that Christ’s all-atoning sacrifice on the cross was also all-sufficient. (Heb. 9:12, 9:26, 10:1, 10:10)

Again, we simply trust Jesus who has done it all for us.

Dearest Jesus, thank You again for Your all-availing sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.  Help us to always trust that You have done everything necessary for our salvation. – Amen.

 

Mar. 8, 2026

Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” (John 13:26)

Although this quote is not about the Sacrament, it did happen in context of Maundy Thursday.  There is a traditional method of taking the Lord’s Supper called “intinction” which is literally dipping the bread in the wine.  This practice is used in some churches and is even the preferred method in some.

The Lutheran Church does use intinction, but it is not the preferred nor primary method.  The primary method of the Lutheran Church is Body from the plate and Blood from the Chalice as this appears to be most in line with what Jesus did “on the night He was betrayed.”  Individual cups are also an acceptable method. When intinction is used in the Lutheran Church it is often because the service has run out of individual cups and intinction becomes an alternate method to take the Body and Blood without using the Common Cup.

Since it is unclear what exact method Jesus used at the Last Supper, and as He did not command or forbid a method, this makes the way Communion is taken adiaphora – meaning neither commanded or forbidden.

Lord, help us to always keep our eyes on Your Word and to focus on the things that matter.  – Amen.