Reflections
Join HT for a reading of the days Higher Things Reflection. A short devotion directed toward the youth of our church, written by the Pastors and Deaconesses of our church, clearly proclaiming the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! Find out more about HT at our website, www.higherthings.org
Monday of the Third-Last Week of the Church Year
November 9, 2026
Today's Reading: Proverbs 8:11-22
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 22:1-23; Matthew 25:1-13
“[Wisdom said,] ‘Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.” (Proverbs 8:17-18)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
What is wisdom, and where does it come from? When answering these questions, we may think about advice given by the world or from the experience of others that helps us make th...
Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 8, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 22:15-22
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18; Matthew 24:29-51
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
It is said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So the Pharisees (who despised Herod, the Herodians, and the Romans) teamed up with their enemy (the Herodians) to trap Jesus. “Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to p...
Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 7, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 23 - Psalm 85:1, 7, 9, 11; antiphon: Jeremiah 29:11a, 12
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 11:1-23; Jeremiah 12:1-19:15; Matthew 24:1-28
“Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” (Psalm 85:7)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
It’s interesting to me that the Introit for tomorrow’s Divine Service skips this; “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints…” (Psalm 85:8). The truth is that the Lord...
Friday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 6, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 23:13-39
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 8:18-9:12; Matthew 23:13-39
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Matthew 23:37)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
What a picture Jesus paints for what he does for us. The Lord here emphasizes his good will toward us, glad...
Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 5, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of Duties: To Husbands
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 7:1-29; Matthew 23:1-12
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
These are important instructions, not just for husbands but for all men, young men included. You are surr...
Wednesday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 4, 2026
Today's Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 5:1-19; Matthew 22:23-46
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
When Paul prays that...
Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 3, 2026
Today's Reading: Micah 6:6-8
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 3:6-4:2; Matthew 22:1-22
“He has told you, O man, what is good;” (Micah 6:8)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
God has told you. He has spoken clearly in His Word. We can read the text of the Scripture, and by the wisdom we find there, discern what is good. But don’t go reading the B.I.B.L.E. like a set of Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. That’s...
Monday of the Twenty-Second Week After Trinity
November 2, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 18:21-35
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19; Matthew 21:23-46
“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus must not be talking literal math here, because that would only make 490 times someone should be forgive...
All Saints Day
November 1, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Matthew 21:1-22
“And [Jesus] opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ... ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…’” (Matthew 5:2,6)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Being satisfied sounds great, but when does that happen? Even when you’ve had a great meal, you’ll get hungry again. You did well on the test you prepared for, but another one’s coming. You trained hard...
Reformation Day
October 31, 2026
Today's Reading: John 8:31-36 or Matthew 11:12-19
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 32:28-52; Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Matthew 20:17-34
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
On October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. He wasn’t trying to start a revolution. He was trying to have a debate about indulgences - pieces of paper people could buy to reduce their time i...
Friday of the Twenty-First Week After Trinity
October 30, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 22 - Psalm 130:1-2, 7-8; antiphon: Psalm 130:3-4
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27; Matthew 20:1-16
“If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 103:3-4)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!” That’s how Psalm 130 begins. The depths. Not the shallows, not the comfortable middle ground, but the depths - t...
Thursday of the Twenty-First Week After Trinity
October 29, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: of citizens
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:1-29; Matthew 19:16-30
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Nobody likes being told what to do. We don’t like speed limits, curfews, or dress codes. We especially don’t like it when the people making the rules seem cor...
St. Simeon and St. Jude, Apostles
October 28, 2026
Today's Reading: John 15:(12-16) 17-21
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 30:1-20; Matthew 19:1-15
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Simon the Zealot and Jude, son of James, are two of the Twelve apostles about whom we know very little. They don’t have dramatic conversion stories like Paul. They didn’t walk on water like Peter or lean on Jesus’ chest like John. Jude...
Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week After Trinity
October 27, 2026
Today's Reading: Ephesians 6:10-17
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35
“Put on the whole armor of god, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
There is someone who hates you. St Paul doesn’t want you to be naive about this. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness...
Monday of the Twenty-First Week After Trinity
October 26, 2026
Today's Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:3
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 28:1-22; Matthew 18:1-20
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
In the beginning, God created. He didn’t have to. He wasn’t lonely or bored. He didn’t create the world because something was missing in His life. God is perfect and complete in Himself - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - eternally blessed in the com...
Twenty-First Sunday After Trinity
October 25, 2026
Today's Reading: John 4:46-54
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 27:1-26; Matthew 17:14-27
"Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." (John 4:48)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The royal official comes to Jesus in desperation. His son is about to die back in Capernaum, and he has traveled to Cana looking for the miracle worker. He needs Jesus to come down and heal his boy before it’s too late. But time is running out, and de...
Saturday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity
October 24, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 21 - Psalm 119:1, 38-40; antiphon: Liturgical Text
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 25:17-26:19; Matthew 17:1-13
“The whole world is in your power; O Lord, King Almighty, no one can gainsay you. For you have made heaven and earth; you are Lord of all!” (liturgical text)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
“The whole world is in your power; O Lord, King Almighty, no one can gainsay you. For you have made heaven and earth; you ar...
St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr
October 23, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 13:54-58
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10; Matthew 16:13-28
“Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matthew 13:54b-56)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
After the beloved Christmas stories and Je...
Thursday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity
October 22, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: of civil government
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 21:1-23; Deuteronomy 22:1-24:9; Matthew 16:1-12
“…there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
What’s the image you get in your mind when you think of “power”? Government? Waterfalls? Electric mixers? What about “authority”? A judge’s gavel? Police officers? Parents?
Making a careful d...
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity
October 21, 2026
Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Matthew 15:21-39
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
There are so many things that compete for our time—there’s family and friends, schoolwork and sports, and that’s hardly scratching the surface. If you have a job, there’s another demand on your time...
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity
October 20, 2026
Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
This may be one of the most hope-filled invitations in all of Holy Scripture. God Himself is calling out to you and to the world, not to make demands but to invi...
Monday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity
October 19, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-14 or Matthew 21:33-44
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 18:1-22; Matthew 14:22-36
“Then [the king] said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’” (Matthew 22:8-9)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
I wonder what was going through their minds. Wave after wave of the King’s servants came out with invitations—the King was...
St. Luke, Evangelist
October 18, 2026
Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20; Matthew 14:1-21
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
We know from the gospels that St. Luke was not one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus, but the early church historian Eusebius wrote that St. Luke was among the seventy-two sent out ahead of J...
Saturday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 17, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 20 - Psalm 48:1, 9-11; antiphon: Liturgical Text
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22; Matthew 13:44-58
“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments!” ( Psalm 48:9-11)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
What does your...
Friday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 16, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 13:24-43
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 14:28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43
“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”...
Thursday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 15, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: what hearers owe their pastor
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Matthew 13:1-23
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13)
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that t...
Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 14, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 12:38-50
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32; Matthew 12:38-50
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the h...
Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 13, 2026
Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:22-28
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12; Matthew 12:22-37
“to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
You might have heard your pastor use the phrase “put to deat...
Monday of the Nineteenth Week After Trinity
October 12, 2026
Today's Reading: Genesis 28:10-17
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21
“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this i...
Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
October 11, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 9:1-8
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic— ‘Rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” (Matthew 9:6)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
What is the thing at the heart of Christianity? People will argue all day (and all night!) about what the beating heart and core of the Christian faith is. How do we find this o...
Saturday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 10, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 19 - Psalm 78:1-3, 4b; antiphon: Psalm 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14a
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” (Psalm 78:4)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Here we have evangelism at its most basic level. We open our mouths and tell of the glorious deed...
Friday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 9, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 10:24-42
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
History is full of men and women who fearlessly confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord. They could not deny him. James the Great, on...
Thursday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 8, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: to bishops, pastors and preachers
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23
“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus 1:9)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Your pastor has been given one job – to be a steward of the word of God. That is the task above all others. It is a n...
Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 7, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 9:18-38
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
A woman suffering for twelve years from a horrible disease, a dead daughter, two blind men crying out for mercy, a demon-possessed man who could not speak – all healed by Jesus. With just a word and with just a touc...
Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 6, 2026
Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:(1-3) 4-9
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17
“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Three words. Four syllables. Yet no greater words have been written, nor greater words confessed, “God is faithful.” Our very lives depend on these words. All our hopes are anchored to these words. Every promise of God made to you hangs on...
Monday of the Eighteenth Week After Trinity
October 5, 2026
Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21; Matthew 8:18-34
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
God has made it pretty clear what he requires of his people. What does the Lord require of you? To fear him, to walk in his ways, to love him, to s...
Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity
October 4, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17
“‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.’” (Matthew 22:36-28)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
“Jesus, tell us, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Who’s asking and why? The question comes...
Saturday of the Seventeenth Week After Trinity
October 3, 2026
Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 18 - Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Liturgical Text
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
As we come to the end of a week reflecting on God’s Word regarding the virtue of humility, we can’t forget the time where we receive from the Giver of every good Gift.
Friday of the Seventeenth Week After Trinity
October 2, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 7:1-12
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
We're nearing the end of a week in which we’ve been reading God’s Word and seeing the virtue of humility. Today, God’s Word examines judgment and humility.
Thursday of the Seventeenth Week After Trinity
October 1, 2026
Today's Reading: Catechism: Daily Prayers: Asking a blessing & Returning Thanks
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34
The eyes of all look to You, O LORD, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. (Ps. 145: 15–16) (Luther’s Small Catechism “Asking a Blessing”)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
As we’ve been discussing humility this week, we’ve talked about repentance, angels, and how we bear...
