Author: THERESA JACOBSON

Listening for the Promise
Weekly Devotional

Listening for the Promise
Weekly Devotional

Baptism of Our Lord – January 10, 2027
“^4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ^5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 
- Romans 6:4-5 -
The excitement of Christmas has come and gone, and we’re at the time in the year when many of us make new goals for the new year.  We resolve to be more active, eat more nutritiously, read our Bibles more frequently, and so on.  And though with the anticipation of the new year ahead of us, we find ourselves in the midst of winter.  The short days and long darkness bring a sense of melancholy with them.  We find ourselves back in our old routines: school has begun again; we return to work, and everything seems to return to the regular grind.
It’s true that as we hear things and repeat things over and over again, they can become boring and mundane.  But on the other hand, repetition isn’t always a negative thing.  For example, we recite one of the creeds every week in worship, and we pray together the Lord’s Prayer.  With repetition, there is often a sense of comfort.  Much like the family traditions we look forward to each Christmas, we find comfort in the expected and familiar.  
Every year we remember the Baptism of Our Lord on the first Sunday following Epiphany (January 6).  And every year the second reading from the Epistles is the same: Paul’s letter to the Romans, the sixth chapter. It might seem repetitious to some, but as Lutherans we are reminded that baptism is not simply a symbolic act or our own decision for God. It is, as Martin Luther says, a divine grafting of the Christian believer to Christ.  It is a divine, life-giving act, where God physically and spiritually unites and “grafts” a believer into Christ. 
We are united with Jesus through death, the death of sin.  When Jesus becomes a part of our lives, we recognize our sinfulness and we confess it before God, so that we might receive his forgiveness.  And so, we are also united with Jesus through resurrection.  That sin is buried with Christ.  It dies with him on the cross.  But our forgiveness comes through his resurrection, through the bursting forth from the tomb.

Baptism of Our Lord – January 10, 2027
“^4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ^5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 
- Romans 6:4-5 -
The excitement of Christmas has come and gone, and we’re at the time in the year when many of us make new goals for the new year.  We resolve to be more active, eat more nutritiously, read our Bibles more frequently, and so on.  And though with the anticipation of the new year ahead of us, we find ourselves in the midst of winter.  The short days and long darkness bring a sense of melancholy with them.  We find ourselves back in our old routines: school has begun again; we return to work, and everything seems to return to the regular grind.
It’s true that as we hear things and repeat things over and over again, they can become boring and mundane.  But on the other hand, repetition isn’t always a negative thing.  For example, we recite one of the creeds every week in worship, and we pray together the Lord’s Prayer.  With repetition, there is often a sense of comfort.  Much like the family traditions we look forward to each Christmas, we find comfort in the expected and familiar.  
Every year we remember the Baptism of Our Lord on the first Sunday following Epiphany (January 6).  And every year the second reading from the Epistles is the same: Paul’s letter to the Romans, the sixth chapter. It might seem repetitious to some, but as Lutherans we are reminded that baptism is not simply a symbolic act or our own decision for God. It is, as Martin Luther says, a divine grafting of the Christian believer to Christ.  It is a divine, life-giving act, where God physically and spiritually unites and “grafts” a believer into Christ. 
We are united with Jesus through death, the death of sin.  When Jesus becomes a part of our lives, we recognize our sinfulness and we confess it before God, so that we might receive his forgiveness.  And so, we are also united with Jesus through resurrection.  That sin is buried with Christ.  It dies with him on the cross.  But our forgiveness comes through his resurrection, through the bursting forth from the tomb.

Sola Worship Resource — Weekly Devotional © 2026 Sola Publishing (www.solapublishing.org), written by Rev. Theresa Jacobson. Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 . Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sola Worship Resource — Weekly Devotional © 2026 Sola Publishing (www.solapublishing.org), written by Rev. Theresa Jacobson. Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 . Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.