Bethlehem Lutheran Church River Grove, IL

In grateful response to God's grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities and the world. 

Martin Luther’s on Epiphany - Martin Luther regarded the Festival of the Epiphany as a joyful proclamation of the Gospel’s universal reach. For Luther, Epiphany was not merely a charming story about the visit of the Magi, but a profound revelation that the Christ born in Bethlehem is the Savior not only of Israel, but of all nations. The star that led the wise men signified God’s own initiative in drawing the Gentiles to Christ through His Word and promise, not through human wisdom or merit.

In his sermons and writings, Luther emphasized that Epiphany reveals who Jesus truly is: the incarnate Son of God and the King foretold by the prophets. The Magi, though learned and powerful by worldly standards, are brought to kneel before a poor child, teaching that faith bows before Christ in humility. Their gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—confess Christ’s kingship, divinity, an“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:9, ESV)

Extreme cold strips life down to essentials. We think about shelter, heat, and survival. We are reminded how little control we truly have and how dependent we are on gifts we cannot manufacture for ourselves. In such moments, Scripture directs us to the greatest gift God has given for our life and salvation.

God did not send advice, inspiration, or distant encouragement. He sent His Son into the world. Christ entered a creation made harsh by sin, where pain, loneliness, and death linger like an unrelenting winter. He took on real flesh, subject to hunger, exposure, and suffering. The Son of God knows what it is to feel the cold of this fallen world.

Yet His coming was not simply to endure it, but to transform it. At the cross, Jesus bore the full chill of our sin—the separation we deserved—so that we might live through Him. His resurrection is the promise that death’s frost has been broken, and that a greater spring is already unfolding.

In extreme cold, we cling to warmth that can fail. In Christ, we are given a life that cannot. Wrapped in His love, we live—not merely endure—through Him, now and forever.

This Sunday - THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Isaiah 9:1–4

1 Corinthians 1:10–18

Matthew 4:12–25

The Lord Manifests His Glory through His Office of the Holy Ministry

By His coming in the flesh and by His preaching and miracles, the Lord Jesus shines the light of His Gospel upon “the people who walked in darkness” and “who dwelt in a land of deep darkness” (Is. 9:2). He also has “multiplied the nation” and “increased its joy” (Is. 9:3) by calling disciples to Himself from the ends of the earth. For this purpose, He calls Peter and Andrew, with James and John, to follow Him and be “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). As Jesus did, they also go forth “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matt. 4:23). They preach the foolishness of the cross of Christ as the very power and wisdom of God. This word and preaching of the cross divides “those who are perishing” from “us who are being saved” (1 Cor. 1:18), but it unites the Church, the one Body of Christ, “in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

d sacrificial death, even at the outset of His life.

Luther also stressed the contrast between the faithful Magi and the unbelief of Herod and Jerusalem. This contrast illustrates how the Gospel is often received with joy by outsiders while being resisted by those who presume religious knowledge. Epiphany, therefore, exposes both faith and unbelief.

Above all, Luther saw Epiphany as a festival of consolation and mission. Christ reveals Himself so that sinners may know Him by faith, and the Church, enlightened by this revelation, is sent to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.

This Sunday - THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD

Isaiah 60:1–6

Ephesians 3:1–12

Matthew 2:1–12

The Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son

The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas, and yet it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. Where Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord, that is, on God becoming flesh, the Season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth, not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6).

Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and opened the gates of heaven to all who trust in him.

God accepts all who believe in Jesus even though there is no merit or worthiness in us.

So that we might believe in Jesus, God has given us the ministry, which is the preaching of Christ and the

Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these, God also gives us the forgiveness of sins.

When God brings people to faith, He also produces many good works in our lives. These are done, not to earn

grace, but to do God’s will and please him. We love him because he first loved us.

God has given every man, woman and child a calling in life. Within that calling He directs us, and through

His Word, strengthens us to live for Him.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. The Bible is free from all error and contradiction in all that it says.

The Word of God brings us to Jesus our Lord.