I’ve been thinking about tone of voice in the Bible. Anyone who texts, emails, or engages on social media is familiar with the challenge of conveying tone through words alone. We often add emojis to make sure our readers understand.

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Did any of them concern relationships in your life?

One popular and worthwhile goal is to read the Bible in a new year. This often gets derailed around February as Bible readers find themselves slogging through Leviticus and Numbers. As the Israelites wander aimlessly in the wilderness, so, too, do many Bible reading goals. If you want to keep to the resolution and finish the entirety of the Bible in a year, here are a few tips that will hopefully propel you through any difficult sections.

“When I urge you to go to confession, I am doing nothing else than urging you to be a Christian.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation)

As a child, I had a misguided understanding of what a Christian was. I believed a Christian was sinless—or at the very least, a Christian was able to avoid “big” failures on his or her own.

What is happiness? This can be a difficult question to answer. In the context of a new year, having an answer probably feels like a key to a good year. Pastor Keith Haney offers a Biblical perspective.

I love watching movies. The experience goes beyond enjoying the story unfold before your eyes. I love the discussion that comes after the movie. Asking your friends or family what they thought can uncover what they discovered about themselves or the world from the way the movie presented its themes. I’ve spent hours in a donut diner dissecting many movies I’ve watched with friends. We usually talk about how what we saw in these movies was mind-blowing, emotional, just okay, or funny. So when my husband told me about the Faith and Film club at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, I knew I wanted to participate. Here are three things I learned while participating in this program.

Today we remember nineteenth-century German pastor Wilhelm Loehe, and we read an excerpt from one of his writings as recorded in The Pastor.

The devotional reading for today is adapted from Concordia Pulpit Resources and focuses on the significance of receiving God’s name.

As we anticipate the beginning of the new year tomorrow, we focus on the Gospel of the day and read a devotion from Reformation Heritage Bible Commentary: Luke.

On the commemoration of David, we read an excerpt from Concordia Commentary: 1 Samuel and remember why God chose David to succeed Saul as king of Israel.