Today the Church commemorates the great prophet and deliverer of God’s people, Moses. Our devotional reading comes from Celebrating the Saints.

“You matter.”

It’s a simple, three-syllable phrase loaded with meaning.

So meaningful, in fact, that Heather Ruesch, author of Sexuality Mentality, is touring the country talking about how much you matter.

Heather advocates for human life, marriage, family, and sexuality. These topics are the core of her first-ever national speaking tour, “You Matter,” which starts the first week of October 2019 in Seward, Nebraska. She will visit 11 states (and counting!) to talk with parents, pastors, teachers, and students of all ages. Her goal is to reach 100,000 students with the “You Matter” message.

The Old Testament reading for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost is Proverbs 25:2–10. Our devotional reading comes from A Year in the Old Testament: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. The martyrdom of John takes place in the sixth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Our devotion comes from Meditations on the Gospel: According to His Word.

This post is an excerpt from Kim Marxhausen’s newest book, Weary Joy.

It seemed as if everything changed at that one particular moment. Dorris was hungry. She got in her little Smart car, the talk of her small Nebraska town, and headed for the local sandwich shop. Perhaps, as she insisted, she got her foot on the wrong pedal, or, as observers noted, she didn’t slow down. Either way, she ran her car right through the front door of the restaurant. Then she got out of the car, walked into the store, and calmly ordered a sandwich.

The Gospel for the day comes from Luke 13, where Jesus speaks of the narrow door to heaven. Our devotion comes from Meditations on the Gospels: According to His Word.

The Gospel for the day is Luke 12:49–56. Our devotion comes from Meditations on the Gospels: According to His Word.

What draws you to art? Is it the colors? the images? Have you ever been drawn to a work of art because of the words—not just the meaning of them, but how prettily the words are written?

The Old Testament Reading for the day is Genesis 15:1–6, where God promises Abraham that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Our devotion comes from Day by Day in Genesis: 365 Devotional Readings from Martin Luther.

This Old Testament Reading for the day comes from the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes. Our devotional reading explores verse 2 of chapter 1, and comes from Ecclesiastes, Concordia Commentary.