Shari Gannon, Author at ILT - Institute of Lutheran Theology

ILT Board Meeting – March 2023

24 March 2023

The ILT Board of Directors met on Friday, March 17, 2023. In this one-day meeting, the board members discussed many items on their agenda including ATS accreditation, new graduates, and new partnerships.

The current board membership includes:

Kip Tyler – Board Chair
Charles Stevenson – Board Vice Chair
Becky Hand – Secretary
Fred Schickedanz – Treasure
G. Barry Anderson
Douglas Bahr
Fran Hill
Curtis Lund
Dorothy McNaught
Ed Skutshek
John Stiegelmeier
Donald Simmons

Three new partnerships were approved at this meeting. ILT is now in partnership with Lutherans for Life, Mount Carmel Ministries, and the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute.

The ILT Board voted to affirm a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lutherans for Life that establishes a trajectory of collaboration between the two organizations in establishing a Journal dealing academically with issues of life entitled Verba-Vitae. Dr. Dennis Bielfeldt has agreed to be the General Editor of the Journal, ILT Christ College faculty member Rev. Douglas Morton will serve as Associate Editor, and ILT Dean of Library and Research Rev. David Patterson will be Managing Editor. The first issue of Verba-Vitae is slated to appear at the end of 2023.

The ILT Board voted to affirm an MOU with Mount Carmel Ministries. Mount Carmel, as a part of this partnership, will provide student housing for Christ College students. This will give undergraduate students the opportunity to live in a Christian community designed to support them as they take online courses from Christ College faculty.

The ILT Board voted to affirm an MOU with the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute (CLBI). CLBI offers many educational opportunities for high school graduates including a gap year program and diploma programs. CLBI students will be able to transfer credits from the CLBI programs into Christ College’s undergraduate programs. Christ College students will also be able to live at the CLBI campus while they take undergraduate courses from Christ College faculty.

These partnerships will help students to find a path that leads to their educational goals and God’s callings in their lives. We pray that God will continue to support each of us as we seek to serve him and his people.

Theology in Residence Gathering

The inaugural meeting of the Christ School of Theology’s Theology in Residence Gathering is taking place on June 12-17, 2023, in Brookings, SD.

Christ School of Theology students are invited to join with fellow theologians, scholars, and faculty as they engage in personal theological research. Participants will pursue their individual, theological research efforts while refining their research through conversations with fellow scholars and on-site faculty, combined with guided academic coaching and research support from the Christ School of Theology Dean of Library and Research.

The emphasis for this year’s gathering is Theology and Science. Students in the Ph.D. program are encouraged to join us this year to study the relationship between theology and science, the degree to which these scholarly disciplines and compatible, the potential complementarity or incompatibility of scientific and theological inquiry? Student research in theology and science will serve as preparation for a Seminar in Theology and Science offered this summer.

The Fifth Sunday of Lent A, March 26, 2023

20 March 2023

A sense of finality weighs upon these words. The Lord speaks and it is so. The Lord speaks reality into existence: the reality of all creation… the reality of all salvation… the reality of your salvation. In this account of Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones, the Lord takes the occasion of his speaking a people (the dry bones) into existence and declares, “You shall know that I am the Lord” (vs. 6). The Lord says this twice: first at the resurrection of the dry bones and second, at the resurrection from the grave (vs. 13). The Lord’s speaking provides for both resurrections.

Nothing in the reality of the dry bones… nothing in the reality of the people’s graves… nothing, except the Word of the Lord spoken into their empty reality, put breath in those bones or brought life from those graves. This witness to the Lord’s bringing something out of nothing… this witness provides our certainty that this Lord is THE LORD!

This witness provided to Ezekiel and promised to the Lord’s people has come to you. It has arrived through the words of scripture such as these from the prophet Ezekiel. It has arrived through the words of your preacher who takes this particular word from scripture and applies it to you, a particular people in a particular place and of a particular time. It has arrived by your baptism into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It arrives each time the body and blood of your dear Lord Jesus Christ is handed over to you, his betrayers, in the bread and the wine. The witness comes to you through these means of grace. It comes to you so that you will know that your Lord is THE LORD. By these means, your Lord works faith in you, giving you the certainty that this Lord of yours speaks a new reality into existence. Your Lord speaks his Word and you, a believer, are created out of the nothingness of unbelief. Your Lord speaks and the new creation in Christ is established for you amid this old, passing-away creation. Your Lord speaks and the grave of your mortality is opened. Your Lord, THE LORD, has spoken and his Word is the final word.

Table Talk: Discuss the reality established by the Word of God as it contrasts with other realities.
Pray: Heavenly Father, you are the Lord that speaks my faith into existence; hold me in that certainty. Amen

Ezekiel 37:1-14 English Standard Version

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ²And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹Then he said to me, “Prophecy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹²Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

The Fifth Sunday in Lent A

20 March 2023

Two grieving sisters charge Jesus with this complaint. Both Mary and Martha express their lament. Each held that the presence of Jesus at their dying brother Lazarus’ bedside would have delivered a more positive outcome. You and I know from the preamble to the story (Jn. 11:6) that Jesus delayed his travel to that bedside, ostensibly for the glory of God (Jn. 11:4). That knowledge makes more poignant the lament raised by the two sisters, i.e., Jesus could have been there but chose not to. The sisters’ lament, “Lord, if you had been here…” becomes our lament each time miraculous healing is not delivered… each time divine intervention is not forthcoming… each time God fails to respond to our most ardent supplications…. Each time we raise that lament, give voice to its complaint, our faith in our trustworthy God is challenged. We come to wonder, “Where is my God in the midst of my affliction?” That challenge has no answer except the Word of God… the Word of God which simply insists, “Trust me!” That trust is re-established every time Jesus Christ is handed over to you at the pulpit, the font, and the altar. There, the God who hides himself—even in the depths of our afflictions where he’s only apprehended by faith—there, God reveals himself in Jesus Christ who endured the glory of the cross for you… for you.

Prayers from one who often gives voice to his complaints against God’s hiddenness…

Heavenly Father, grant me faith in the face of Isaiah’s confession, “Surely you are a God who hides himself!” Give me to know that you have revealed yourself in your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen

Heavenly Father, as I raise my voice in complaint against your hiddenness give my complaint its answer in your Word handed over at the pulpit, the font, and the altar. Amen

Heavenly Father, when I question your presence amidst my afflictions, give me such faith to apprehend the truth of Jesus’ declaration, “Lo, I am with you always.” Amen

Heavenly Father, when my faith falters in the face of my God’s hiddenness, keep me in the company of saints so that the faith we share will bear me up and bring me back before the pulpit, font, and alter. Amen

Heavenly Father, open my ears that I would hear your Word and trust that your Holy Spirit works faith in me… faith in Jesus Christ as the divine yet invisible and incomprehensible reality present to me beyond my senses and reason. Amen

Heavenly Father, hold the Institute of Lutheran Theology to the preaching and teaching of Jesus Christ as the presence of this divine, invisible, and incomprehensible reality. Amen

Heavenly Father, in these the days of my baptism, grant me the daily renewal of your mercies as day by day I take up your Word and it brings me to stand beneath its authority. Amen

The Fourth Sunday in Lent A

13 March 2023

You’ve got to admire this formerly blind beggar’s spunk. Here he is hauled before the religious authorities for a second time, facing their accusations, and risking the consequences…being cast out of the synagogue… and what does he do? He does the first-century equivalent of mouthing off: “Do you also want to become his disciples?” See, the Pharisees had a problem, a righteousness problem. They figured they had a corner on it and wouldn’t stand for anyone else butting into their corner. But that formerly blind beggar would not be cowed by their projected piety and, with his question, earned their revulsion. Subsequently, they cast him out. Challenging religious authorities carries risk no matter the generation. They can be vindictively protective of their projected piety. Yet, Jesus, the Word of God, comes with his true righteousness even to the religiously rejected… even to those who challenge displays of projected piety.

Prayers from one who hides his impiety behind displays of projected piety…

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, grant that in him I have all the piety needed for life in this creation and the next, and that I receive him from the pulpit, the font, and the altar. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, grant me to be secure in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and not cowed into seeking a righteousness of my own. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, open my eyes to the blindness of the world even as you open my ears and end my own deafness so that I may hear your Word and, in turn, declare it before the world. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, give me eyes to see the truth of my neighbors’ needs, ears to hear their laments, and hands set to work useful to them. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, hold me in that true righteousness—the righteousness of faith in Christ—let me not look to the work of my hands to secure such righteousness. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, grant that the Institute of Lutheran Theology receive its true righteousness from its preaching and teaching of Jesus Christ, him crucified, and him alone. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, my true righteousness lies in Jesus Christ, keep me in that righteousness all the days of my baptism so that I eagerly and hopefully await his glorious appearing. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

The Fourth Sunday of Lent A, March 19, 2023

13 March 2023

Scripture contains many admonitions that God’s people, “Return to the Lord your God” (Dt. 4:30; 2 Chr. 30:9; Joel 2:13; Hos. 14:1; Mal. 3:7; among others). In this soliloquy by the Lord, delivered through the prophet Isaiah, the people learn that they have been turned back (vs. 17). This “turning” is to their shame. It exposes their idolatry and their trust in other gods (vs. 17). The people’s true God has done this work of turning in their midst, but the people have been too deaf… too blind… to hear and see this work that their Lord had done (vs. 18-20). Their Lord did all these things in turning them back to himself, not for their sake, but for his righteousness’ sake (vs. 21). The Lord accomplished these mighty deeds through his Word (law) for its own glory (vs. 21).

This is no subtle and restrained Word issued by the Lord. He himself compares it to the unrestrained cries of a woman in labor (vs. 14). This Word is as obvious as mountains laid waste and rivers dried up (vs. 15). These mighty acts of his Word make plain that the Lord does not forsake his people (vs. 16) even though they have trusted in idols and claimed other gods. The Lord is a true husband to his people… a jealous husband who will not let them go. He will not forsake them but will assert his claim upon them for his own righteousness’ sake. He will be true to himself, even as his people cannot be true to him.

Such is the Lord who has claimed you in Jesus Christ. He will be true to you even as you are untrue to him. All your idolatry… all your sin… all your pursuit of other gods… all of that will not drive your Lord away from you. He remains your true husband… faithful and true to his bride though she is unfaithful and untrue to him. The Apostle Paul preaches this so eloquently in his letter to the Romans, “…nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (cf. Ro. 8:31-39). Your Lord, your loving, faithful, trustworthy, and jealous husband will not forsake you but in Jesus Christ, his Word Incarnate, turns you back to himself time and again… not because you are righteous but because your Lord is righteous to himself.

Table Talk: Discuss how this “turning” must be the Lord’s work.
Pray: Heavenly Father, so use your Word upon me that I would be turned from my idolatry and held fully in your faithfulness. Amen

Isaiah 42:14-21 English Standard Version

For a long time I have held my peace;

I have kept still and restrained myself;

now I will cry out like a woman in labor;

I will gasp and pant.

15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn the rivers into islands,

and dry up the pools.

16 And I will lead the blind

in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them.

17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,

who trust in carved idols,

who say to metal images,

“You are our gods.”

18 Hear, you deaf,

and look, you blind, that you may see!

19 Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf as my messenger whom I send?

Who is blind as my dedicated one,

or blind as the servant of the Lord?

20 He sees many things, but does not observe them;

his ears are open, but he does not hear.

21 The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,

to magnify his law and make it glorious.

Undergrad Partnership with Mount Carmel Ministries

10 March 2023

Christ College and Mount Carmel: Partners for Undergraduate Programs

ILT’s Christ College began offering bachelor and associate degrees in the fall of 2020. In this coming fall of 2023, Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, MN will be offering a residential campus experience for Christ College students. This partnership means that Christ College students can live at Mount Carmel while earning a degree from Christ College. They will live among a community of Christian students in which they will be supported in their Christian faith.

About Mount Carmel Ministries

Mount Carmel was founded in 1938 by young adults for young adults as the summer home of the Lutheran Bible Institute. It was built with the mission of Bible education, spiritual growth, prayer, and training in service to God in whatever career one was called to. Mount Carmel, now a beautiful year-round facility, can provide places to live, meals, daily rhythms of prayer, fellowship, and a Christ-centered community of grace and encouragement for college students attending Christ College.

Why is ILT Offering Undergraduate Programs?

There are many today who believe that the Western Tradition, and Western Christianity as a part of it, does more harm than good. But the faculty of Christ College believe that there is much wisdom and knowledge to be taken from the Western Tradition. There are many lessons learned throughout the history of the West, both from its successes as well as its failures. A foundational education in theology, history, literature, philosophy, and logic adds to the ability to engage in the issue we face today.

Christ College offers majors in Ministry, Humanities, Entrepreneurial Studies, Biblical Studies, History of Religion, and Theology. While each of these majors stand on their own, they are also useful for preparing to go to seminary or graduate school. Christ College students can enter seminary up to a year early with the dual credit program. This would allow students to complete their undergraduate and seminary degrees in as few as 6 years for dedicated full-time students.

Tuition & Scholarship Opportunities

The cost for an undergraduate degree is very competitive. The total tuition for a year is $12,200. There are scholarships available, however, that can cut this cost in half. Pre-Seminary students with a GPA over 3.0 would only pay $6,200 a year in total tuition. There is also additional financial assistance based upon financial need. The staff of ILT are committed to making an education at ILT available to everyone. Financial need should never be the only reason not to study at ILT, in any program.

This coming school year, there is also a scholarship for students who live at Mount Carmel provided by Ray Grabanski/Progressive Ag. This scholarship will provide the first ten students who apply and live at Mount Carmel with an additional $2,000 scholarship.

The faculty of Christ College are excited about this partnership with Mount Carmel. We hope that it will provide many young men and women with the opportunity to learn from the Great Tradition and to be able to live out whatever vocations God calls them to throughout their lives.

Learn More

To learn more about the Christ College undergraduate programs, please contact Joel Williams by emailing him at jwilliams@ilt.edu.
To learn more about housing at Mount Carmel, please contact David Blackstad by emailing him at campus@mountcarmelministries.com.

The Third Sunday in Lent A

6 March 2023

Jesus speaks to this woman with an imperative. He commands her. She, in turn, is caught by surprise, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jn. 4:9). The woman is right. Jesus does break social convention: a male Jew just didn’t initiate a conversation with a female Samaritan. It was taboo. Jesus, however, didn’t much care for protocol. Manners and social convention get swept aside when it comes to matters of the kingdom… matters of the living water… water welling up to eternal life. Protocol, manners, and social convention all fall under the heading of “tone”—that is, how we pitch our conversations to avoid the harsh realities between us and within us. In most circumstances, “tone” helps us to move through our daily encounters without constant friction and confrontation. In matters of the kingdom… in matters where Jesus is concerned… in those matters, confrontation is necessary. The old sinner must be confronted with the harsh reality of its death in sin no matter how much the old sinner is offended by that confrontation. Only the dead know the resurrection to eternal life.

Prayers from one whose old sinner is all too eager to complain, “tone,” whenever the harsh reality of being dead in sin becomes too offensive…

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, so use your Word of Law and Gospel upon me that the full offense of my death in sin is revealed and I am delivered into the new life in Christ. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, as the God of both my death and my life, grant to me the confidence to trust you and your Word, “He who believes in me will live, even if he dies.” Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, put your Word in my ears that your Holy Spirit would work faith in my heart. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, use me in these days of my baptism so that my neighbors benefit from your use of me. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, use me to be the voice delivering the Word of your Kingdom into the ears of my neighbors so that they, too, would receive the living waters of Jesus Christ. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, continue to lead the Institute of Lutheran Theology into a bold proclamation of your Word as Law and Gospel. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the God who kills and makes alive, during these days of my baptism continue working my death in sin and the being raised to new life upon me so that I would rest in the confidence of your mercies being new every morning. Amen

The Third Sunday of Lent A, March 12, 2023

6 March 2023

The people thirsted. On their wandering through the wilderness, a dry desert wilderness, the people ran out of water. They needed a drink. Their children needed a drink. Their livestock needed a drink. All suffered. There was no water to be had so the people grumbled against Moses (vs. 2) and their grumbling tested the Lord, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (vs. 7). Now this grumbling, quarreling, and testing might seem petty to us who look back on the people’s situation with the broad perspective of history. Surely, the Lord was among his people. He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:22). He provided manna for bread (Ex. 16:31) and quail for meat (Ex. 16:13). Their clothes and their sandals did not wear out because the Lord intervened (Dt. 29:5). Surely, the people knew by these blessings that their Lord was among them.

Yet, let them get a little thirsty and they are quick to complain. Complaint and lament are a common condition among those who live in the flesh… among those living in this mortal, sin-broken creation. The people complained, even lamented having left Egypt… The people cried out, Moses cried out, and the Lord answered them. Moses struck the rock and water came forth: water plentiful enough for the people’s satisfaction.

The people thirsted. That statement calls to mind another who declared, “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28). Yes, Jesus on the cross, suffering and dying, thirsted, too. In his cry of dereliction—”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46)—Jesus lamented from the depths of his humanity. As Jesus Christ bore the sin of the world on the cross, bearing its weight for every person… you, me, the entire mass of humanity… carrying the weight of all that sin, Jesus legitimately lamented the perceived absence of God. Such is the human way… the way of sinners… sinners like me… like you… in the suffering and affliction put upon us by this world broken by sin, sinners do not perceive the presence of God. They must be told that God is with them and that he is for them.

Table Talk: Discuss the human condition of complaint and lament.
Pray: Heavenly Father, hear my prayer and relieve my thirst. Amen

Exodus 17:1-7 English Standard Version

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Theologian in Residence Gathering

3 March 2023

The inaugural meeting of the Christ School of Theology’s Theology in Residence Gathering is taking place on June 12-17, 2023, in Brookings, SD.

Christ School of Theology students are invited to join with fellow theologians, scholars and faculty as they engage in personal theological research. Participants will pursue their individual, theological research efforts while refining their research through conversations with fellow scholars and on-site faculty, combined with guided academic coaching and research support from the Christ School of Theology Dean of Library and Research. Participants and faculty will share a mid-day meal each day of the event where they will be able to enjoy the fellowship that nourishes the body, mind and soul.

This meeting is held in conjunction with Graduation week.
Other activities going on during the week of June 12-17 include:

Board Meeting: June 12-14, 2023
Alumni Association Dinner: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Graduation Ceremony: Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Graduation Dinner: Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Faculty Retreat: June 16 and 17, 2023

Please join us for all or any of these events!

To RSVP, please contact Kelli Anawski by clicking the button below.

RSVP

The Second Sunday of Lent A, March 5, 2023

27 February 2023

Free will belongs to God. Only the Lord asserts his will inevitably. No surprise, then, that the Lord exercises his will upon Abram. Listen to the ways the Lord asserts his will: Go! I will show you… I will make of you… I will bless you… make your name great… I will bless those… I will curse those… (vs. 1-3). Abram is the recipient of all this “willing” on the part of the Lord… and that “willing” is effective. The Lord said, “Go!” and Abram went. He went as the Lord had told him (vs. 4). As the Lord wills, so it is. As the Lord says, so it is.

All those expressions of the Lord’s will are to be played out over generations of people and centuries of time until the Lord’s will receive fulfillment in the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). This fulfillment of the Lord’s will now extends to you for you are the children of the promise (Ro. 9:8). You’ve received the righteousness of faith (Ro. 4:13). You belong to the families of the earth blessed by Abraham’s Seed, Jesus Christ (Ge. 12:3).

Now you, the children of the promise, wait in faith for the consummation of the Lord’s will when the Seed of Abraham appears in his glory. This faith is your righteousness; the Lord imputes it to you (cf. Ge. 15:6). This faith is the blessing all the families of the earth receive in Jesus Christ, Abraham’s seed.

And, oh what a blessing it is! In faith, you have the real presence of Jesus Christ in you as a redeeming reality. In faith, you are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:19). In faith, you are the new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). In faith, you have all the evidence you need of the things unseen (He. 11:1). In faith, you go as the Lord tells you just as Abram went for the Lord had told him (Ge. 12:4). So that you would have such faith, the Lord provides you with the ministry of Word and Sacrament. In that ministry, the Lord reveals his will toward you, establishing once again that he is your trustworthy God.

Table Talk: Discuss waiting in faith for the will of God to be fulfilled.
Pray: Heavenly Father, grant to me such faith in Christ that it would be all the evidence I need of the New Creation’s reality. Amen

Genesis 12:1-9 English Standard Version

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.