Category: Devotions
-
Matthew, the Disciple Who Was Qualified by Grace
Note: This day (Monday, September 21, 2026) marks the minor festival of the church year for St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. The following is a devotion on St. Matthew from Richard E. Lauersdorf’s With Our Eyes on Jesus. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow…
-
Bartholomew, the Disciple We’d Like to Imitate
Note: This day (Monday, August 24, 2026) marks the minor festival of the church year for Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. The following is a devotion from Richard E. Lauersdorf’s With Our Eyes on Jesus. Bartholomew is also named Nathanael in the gospel of John. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote…
-
Have You Prayed for Our Country?
God Bless Our Native Land 1. God bless our native land;firm may she ever standthro’ storm and night!When the wild tempests rave,Ruler of wind and wave,do thou our country saveby thy great might. 2. For her our prayer shall riseto God above the skies;on him we wait.Thou who art ever nigh,guarding with watchful eye,to thee…
-
What Do We Want Our Congregations to Be?
Note: This day (Thursday, June 11, 2026) marks the minor festival of the church year for Saint Barnabas, Apostle. The following is a devotion from Richard E. Lauersdorf’s With Our Eyes on Jesus. “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good…
-
“Poor Ascension Day”
“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Poor Ascension Day. Of all the major festivals of the Christian church, the Festival of the Ascension is probably the most neglected. No one greeted me this morning…
-
Easter Sunday Devotion: He Lives
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5,6) What would Good Friday be without Easter? What if Jesus had died and stayed dead? For the disciples, life of a sort would have gone on. What choice would they have? Best not think too much about Judas.…
-
What’s So Good About Good Friday?
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). I love Easter. When you walk into our church on Easter morning, the smell of our flower cross fills the sanctuary. The bright white of the banners and lilies provides a brilliant contrast to the pastel-colored shirts and dresses. Everyone is smiling. Church is full.…
-
Holy Thursday Devotion: He Remembers Me
He took bread . . . and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you.” . . . He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:19,20) That Thursday evening as Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples, he had…