My husband and I come from very different families. Like most newlyweds, we rooted around for what traditions we might maintain, where we needed to be intentional, and what ways we might burst out of our families’ molds and do something new. We read books. We prepared and enriched. We asked lots of questions of mentors and friends.

Today’s devotional reading focuses on the Gospel text and is from The Sermon on the Mount: The Church’s First Statement of the Gospel.

When I was young, my parents taught me a great distinction that I now appreciate as a therapist a whole lot more than as a five-year-old. My parents enjoyed a good debate, and they were careful to distinguish between an argument and a “discussion.” Discussion is often a more accurate word for what we think of as a marital disagreement. It’s a difference of opinion, something that needs to be hashed out as a couple or a family, a normal part of the process. There isn’t something wrong with you as a couple if you don’t see eye to eye on every pinpoint of day-to-day life. Living a life well together means being vulnerable enough with one another to share our deepest opinions in a safe place. As well as being able to say “I see it differently” about where the trash can should go, without concern for judgment and backlash.

On the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, we focus on the Epistle with an excerpt from The Big Book of New Testament Questions and Answers.

Today, we read a portion of a men’s Bible study on Psalm 40, taken from Blessed Is the Man: Psalms of Praise.

Today we commemorate three theologians from the fourth century. We read about them in an excerpt from Celebrating the Saints.

As we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, we read an excerpt from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions.

Today as we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord, we read a portion of a sermon from Walther’s Works: Gospel Sermons (Volume 1).

Just in time for Christmas, here are three new margins for you to use in your Journal Bible and Christmas hymn coloring pages. Enjoy!

Our devotional reading for the feast of St. Thomas, Apostle is taken from Luther’s Works, Volume 69 (Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters
17–20).