“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” The Word of God is the foundation of our faith. By His Word, God creates and strengthens faith in us so that we may be preserved from sin and false belief. Without His Word we can neither believe nor remain in the faith. Like the fire needs oxygen or it will be extinguished, faith needs the Word of God or it will be snuffed out under the oppression of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.
To that end, a weekly devotional, “Faith in the Word”, that I have prepared for our congregation will be sent out via email and will also be made available on this website and on our Facebook page. The purpose of this devotional is to aid us as a congregation in hearing and learning together the Word of God as He commands us to do for our salvation in the Third Commandment. It is put together in such a way as to be folded like a booklet if you desire. We will be using it before Bible Studies and meetings of the congregation and each family is to use it daily in their homes. Each week we will work on learning by heart portions of the Small Catechism and various Bible verses. It isn’t “necessary” to do all the portions every night. But do something. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” These efforts will most certainly bear great fruit in your family and in our congregation. God is pleased when we devote time to His Word and blesses us through it. A short video will be put on YouTube walking through “Faith in the Word” and it’s various parts. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. It will take time to get comfortable with it but it will be worth it.
May God bless us as together we hear and learn His Word and may God the Holy Spirit cause it to bear much fruit.
In Christ,
Pastor Ulmer