“And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home” (Luke 1:56).

A significant amount of time was spent together for these two women who were carrying two significant people in the history of the world.  What happened during that time?  Beyond the obvious bonding of Mary and Elizabeth, we do not know.  Focus upon what the Lord does give us, not upon what we do not know.  We each experience many things and the Lord uses them to grow in us the Christ life.

Lord, help me to live the life You have given me.  There are many experiences I do not acknowledge as being anything significant, but You use all things to conform each of us to the new life we are given through grace.  Help me through the anxieties of this world so that I may learn how to live as You would have me live.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to walk by Your guidance.

Lord Jesus, we know very little about your first thirty years other than that You spent time growing up as we all do.  Help me to not focus on trying to learn what only speculation can answer; but instead focus upon what I can do.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go, spending time where I need to spend time and learning what it is that I need to be taught.  Amen.

PROP: Puzzle–choose one that best fits the age group of your kids. A simple shape or alphabet puzzle is recommended. A 500 or 1,000 piece puzzle is not recommended.

Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Let’s say good morning to our friend Sammy and see if she is there. Ready? One, two, three…Good morning, Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning boys and girls!

Pastor: Today I have a special activity for everyone. We are going to put together a puzzle!

Sammy: A puzzle! Oh that’s wonderful!

Pastor: Yes it is! 

Sammy: What’s a puzzle?

Pastor: Well, a puzzle is a wonderful activity where you take pieces of wood or cardboard or paper, and you try to fit them together to make a picture.

Sammy: What kind of puzzle did you bring?

Pastor: I brought this puzzle for us. [Show puzzle to children]

Sammy: That looks pretty challenging, Pastor.

Pastor: I think we can do it if we work together. What do you think, boys and girls?

[Provide a few minutes for children to assemble puzzle. Make note of who is doing more work, and who is doing nothing/very little]

Pastor: All done! Shall we show the congregation? [Hold up puzzle]

Sammy: Wow! You did a great job! Today is a day when I wish I had thumbs like you guys.

Pastor: That’s okay, Sammy. You were a great observer. But you know what? 

Sammy: What’s that, Pastor?

Pastor: I noticed that ____ worked really hard on our puzzle and put a lot of pieces in place. Will you stand here please? [Have children line up in the approximate order in which they offered help, from the most help, to the least help.]

Sammy: Anyone who just watched can stand at the end of the line. Don’t worry–I just watched the puzzle come together, too.

Pastor: Jesus teaches in our Gospel text today that hard work and generosity as defined by God are different from how we define hard work and generosity. You see, Jesus talks about how God gives generously to all people who work for him, whether they did a lot or a little.

Sammy: That doesn’t seem fair.

Pastor: Jesus’s rules are different from man’s rules.

Sammy: So what else does Jesus say? 

Pastor: Jesus teaches that he is allowed to be generous with what belongs to him. He also teaches that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Sammy: What does that mean? 

Pastor: Jesus gives to each of us as believers, and he does things that may be mysterious to us. Today, some of you were watchers like Sammy. I am going to give you a treat first. Others of you helped me with the puzzle a lot. I am going to give you a treat last. Each of you will get a treat, but just like Jesus teaches, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

Sammy: When you get your treat, let’s sit down together so we can pray.

Pastor: Dear Jesus, thank you for helping us to understand how much you love us and other people. Thank you for giving generously to us. We love you. Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

September 2026

Dear Friends in Christ –

The First Reading for September 13 from Genesis 50 is the culmination of the account of the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers.  There is something absolutely amazing going on here – the healing and restoring of a broken relationship through confession, repentance, and the giving and receiving of forgiveness.   

A few chapters before Judah had offered to stay behind in Egypt in place of Benjamin in order to not break their father’s heart.  Here we see the selfless act of a person who is willing to suffer the punishment that was coming to someone else.  And that person is a biological ancestor of Jesus. 

The brothers go back home, knowing full well that they are now going to have to tell old Jacob, “Joseph is still alive.”  The problem is that in saying that they are going to have to tell their father what they did twenty-two years before. 

Reconciliation and restored relationship are not about avoiding difficult conversations or uncomfortable, unpleasant situations or covering them up.  Instead reconciliation and restored relationship always require telling the truth. 

The miracle of rebuilt trust and community takes truth telling, confession, repentance, and forgiveness.  And that is what happens here.  After twenty-two years it happens here.  For the first time – finally – they are a family.     

Where in your life is a relationship that needs reconciliation?  Where have you been most deeply hurt by someone?  And/or where have you most deeply hurt someone else? 

 Think about the one who hurt you.  You might think, he or she does not deserve to be forgiven.  Maybe he or she does not deserve it.  Neither did Joseph’s brothers deserve it.  Neither do you and I deserve it.

Forgive him or her anyway.  Do it because of the One who also was stripped of His robe, who also was deserted and betrayed, and who said, “I will pay the price.  I will bear the cross.  Let the punishment fall on me.”

What made Joseph able to endure – and endure so graciously – so many years of being mistreated and not take revenge on his brothers?  The same three things that can make us able to endure it.  Three things that are mentioned in Genesis 50 and Matthew 18, the First Reading and Gospel for September 13. 

1. Knowing that their father had told him to do it.  In Genesis 50: 16-17 Joseph’s brothers approach him saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died.  ‘Forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’”
2. Knowing how much he had been forgiven.  In contrast Matthew 18: 23-35 tell of a man who had been forgiven ten thousand talents (a huge amount) who refused to forgive one hundred denarii (a much smaller amount).
3. Knowing that God makes all things work together for good.   In Genesis 50: 20 Joseph said to his brothers, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” 

We all need to forgive – and we all need to be forgiven. We all need the sweet promise of Psalm 103: 12 (part of the Psalm for September 13).  “As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.”  

It is very true what has often been said that the person whom we refuse to forgive will always hold power over us.  But there is also a very strange corollary which seems to be the way the ELCA thinks and operates.  You will lose power if you forgive.  You will lose power over the one whom you choose to forgive.  And power is what it is all about.       

The apostle Paul wrote, “The law kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3: 6).  With the law, no matter how much you do, it is never enough.  You always need to do better and more.  The law is a relentless, cruel, never-satisfied task master.

The same thing is true of the ELCA’s constantly calling on us to repent of racism, sexism, male dominance, white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia.  No matter how much we repent, it is never enough.  We will always need to grovel and repent more.  How long will the ELCA keep on calling on us to repent of the same things?  And why are they doing this?  I believe for two reasons.  First, at the heart of all this is a massive self-righteousness.  They are woke. They are not guilty of all the awful things that other people – especially old white people with traditional views – are guilty of.  And second, I believe that they want to so demolish the courage, will, and self-confidence of old white people with traditional views that they will not resist as the woke totally take over. 

As we learn more, we will keep you informed about how the stage is being set for an even more complete takeover at the 2028 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  Thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement, and faithful financial support, all of which enable us to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Please find below links you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses.  Your prayers are especially important to us.  Please let us know how we can be praying for you. 

In the Name of Jesus, who removes our sins as far as the east is from the west,  

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741

“He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever” (Luke 1:54-55).

To the one who knows that God prevails, there is mercy upon mercy.  The promises of the Lord to all people will be fulfilled.  Those who, through faith, believe that God is Sovereign, will receive the sure hope of everlasting life.  God’s word has gone out and as many as believe will receive the promised redemption which has been granted through the coming of the Son.  He has accomplished the Father’s will.

Lord, with such simplicity You have shown over and over again Your love and mercy.  Help me to understand that it is not so much what I do, but who I am in You that will lead me out of the futile strivings of this age.  Guide me out of the way of thinking which depends upon my thoughts in order that I may receive Your word. Let the seed of Your word germinate and grow in me.

 Lord Jesus, You patiently went through a life of experiencing its various stages.  You were an infant, a toddler, an adolescent, a teenager, and then an adult.  You know what it is like to live a daily life like ours in this world.  Help me to understand that You have purpose in each stage of life as You grow in me Your image.  Guide me to follow You every step of the way as You lead me.  Amen.

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.  “He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed” (Luke 1:52-53).

Who is it that moves history forward?  The proud ascend to their thrones and are then thrown down.  The haughty make oaths and declare their supremacy, but they too end up in the pit.  The rich have their fill but are poor inside.  What is it that you want?  Is it not the purpose for which You were created?  The Lord is Sovereign and it is His will that shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord, You know how anxious I become over the state of things.  I see the insanity of this age and too often join in the constant celebration of the rich and haughty.  Lead me out of this world’s way of thinking to know that history is in Your hands.  You have called me to live into a new life which humbly follows You, going where You lead me.  Guide me so that I follow You and not the world.

Lord Jesus, You chose to be born in humble circumstances.  You have shown that it is not wealth or privilege which elevates us, but the mercy and grace which You have won for those who believe.  Lead me in this new way of living so that I may become increasingly like You as I live each day.  Guide me to know that in You alone do I have hope and an eternal future.  Amen.

“And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.   “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart” (Luke 1:50-51).

The mercy of the Lord abounds to all people, which is for those who will turn to Him knowing that He is the Lord of all. But there are those who come in the fear of the Lord and those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  You were wonderfully made, but you were not made only for yourself.  Your Creator calls you to Himself.  Sadly, there are those who turn in on themselves.

Lord, I see the difference.  Help me to understand very clearly that at any time any of us can enter into Your mercy, but many will turn away from You and set up themselves as the center of their being.  Lead me out of the mess of my mind to understand clearly that You are the Creator and I am the created.  There is only one kingdom and that is Your kingdom.  Lead me into Your kingdom.  Your kingdom come!

Come, Holy Spirit, and take me out of the proud thoughts I have in order that I may humbly live the life which is of Your creation.  Thank You for the abundant mercy You give which enables me to walk in Your presence.  Help me to learn what it means to live for others and not just for myself.  Guide me to become what You are leading me to become so that I may be a child of the heavenly Father.  Amen.

A Video Conversation between Cathy Ammlung and Ethan Zimmerman

Many thanks to two frequent contributors to Lutheran CORE for this conversation regarding how the daily prayer offices can provide an easy-to-follow way for people to develop their personal worship and prayer life.  Cathy Ammlung is a retired NALC pastor and is well known for the Prayers of the Church and Hymn Suggestions which she offers on our website.  She has also provided many other videos, including her Toolkit for Worship Planners series.  Ethan Zimmerman is a newly ordained NALC pastor and is beginning his first call at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Newcastle, Wyoming.  A link to their video can be found HERE.

Cathy writes –

“We discuss the brief prayer offices (Ethan has) created, primarily but not exclusively for middle and high school aged kids. We talk about how having a personal/private WORSHIP format is helpful in deepening Christian formation, and why the structure of the daily prayer offices such as Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline are so valuable. We also discuss how this ‘short form’ worship can be used and modified in small groups, house churches, retreat or youth group settings, and the like. Ethan is a very engaging conversation partner, so don’t miss it!”

Ethan writes –

“Attached are some prayer resources I have started to develop to help increase the frequency and give structure to prayer for those who are new to prayer. The 30 Day Psalm Cycle is lifted from the 2019 BCP (Book of Common Prayer) and the 60 Day Psalm Cycle is an attempt to drag the 30 Day Psalm Cycle out to 60 days. The ‘Daily Prayer Plan’ I made with young adults in mind, specifically one that I have been mentoring here and the ‘Simple Daily Prayer Plan’ is a simplified version (of an already simplified version) of the ‘Daily Prayer Plan’ that I made and distributed to the middle and high schoolers back in July.”

Last month we featured a video by James and Hanna FitzGerald, in which they told about Hanna’s new book, which provides Advent devotionals for young children and their mothers.  HERE is a link to their review.  We are very glad to be able to share that Hanna’s book is now available through Amazon and is featured on the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau website. 

Here is the link to the ALPB website: https://alpb.org/product-category/devotions/

Here is the link to the Amazon page: https://a.co/d/0gOIHvd0

Congratulations to Hanna!  She is a former English teacher who is now a full-time mother while serving her church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fulton, Maryland (ELCA), alongside her husband, the Reverend James FitzGerald.  The FitzGeralds are the ones who provide the weekly, lectionary-based children’s messages on our website. 

Many thanks to NALC pastor Cathy Ammlung for this fifth in a series of videos intended to provide congregations – especially those with temporary or longer-term pastoral vacancies – with some tools for worship planning.  A link to her video can be found HERE.  A full manuscript of her presentation can be found HERE. 

In this video, Cathy talks about some of the distinctive qualities of contemporary worship and compares and contrasts that with much traditional worship.

Cathy writes –

Whereas the structure of traditional worship may “flow” like a river, much contemporary worship has more of an “ebb-and-flow” quality, like waves on the shore.  Its emphasis on the interplay of word and music may provide challenges, but also great opportunity for services that draw us into Spirit-led encounter with God, worship and praise of God, and being formed as true worshippers.  There are some suggestions for planning contemporary worship, and they take note of the fact that some churches do not have regular pastoral leadership.  In addition they may have members and planners that are not well versed in contemporary worship style and song.  There is even a brief section describing my “adventures with AI” in selecting songs fitting a specific theme! In her first video Cathy discussed the whole issue of why worship planning is important.  In her second video Cathy talked about the church year, including festivals.  The third video covers the lectionary. The fourth video covers more traditional hymnody and the most common Lutheran hymnals.