What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Only Servants
Paul worked as a missionary bringing the good news about Jesus to the people of Corinth for the first time. He spent a lot of time there teaching the basics of the Christian faith. He faithfully and diligently shared how Jesus forgives sins by his death and resurrection from the grave.
After Paul left, another gospel worker came to Corinth: a man named Apollos who was a gifted and passionate preacher. He watered the seed that Paul planted. Both Paul and Apollos were talented in their own ways, but the people in Corinth had picked their favorites.
One said, “I like Paul.” Another, “I like Apollos better.” Still another, “I like this other teacher best.” The Corinthians were doing what people still do today. They made too much of the messenger and too little of the God who sent the message.
Paul brings them back to reality. He and Apollos are only servants. They did not make the seed grow; only God could do that.
It is natural to have preferences for preachers. Some are fiery, some are thoughtful. Some make you laugh; some make you think. Some are great storytellers, and some preach verse by verse.
But the best preacher is the one who faithfully shares God’s Word with you. A preacher’s style cannot save you. A preacher’s personality cannot forgive your sins. A clever illustration cannot raise the dead. Only God can make faith grow, and God does that through the Word of Christ.
When the Word is preached faithfully, Jesus gives you what you need most. He gives you the law that exposes your sin. He gives you the gospel that forgives your sin. He gives you himself. One servant plants, another waters, but God makes it grow.
Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for faithful servants who bring me your Word. Help me listen past human style and hear the saving voice of Jesus. Amen.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11
Watered with the Word
It doesn’t look like much from a distance, just a white line on the horizon. But as you get closer, the line has contours and dips and domes. It turns into a white ridge of snow-covered mountains. That snowpack may look quiet and still, but in the spring and summer months, it’s doing an important job. Melting.
In places like the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the snowmelt is crucial for area agriculture. As snow melts, water runs down into rivers and reservoirs. It waters farms and orchards and carries communities through the dry months of summer.
God says his Word works like that. Rain and snow do not fall from the sky and return without watering the earth. They accomplish God’s purpose. So does his Word. It may not look powerful. Bible passages read around the family dinner table. A devotion next to a hospital bed. A Sunday sermon.
But God says his Word does not return empty. That promise is great comfort, especially when we feel spiritually dry. Maybe your faith feels weak. Maybe guilt has hardened your heart. Maybe grief has left you cracked and tired.
God’s Word is not powerful because of how strongly you feel it. It is powerful because God is working through it. The same Lord who sends rain to make the earth bud and flourish sends his Word to give faith, forgiveness, peace, and life.
The good news of Jesus is not empty. Jesus’ death for your sins was not empty. His promise to forgive you is not empty. He left the tomb empty so that every promise he made is fulfilled.
So, use God’s Word. Read it. Speak it. Share it. Rest in it. God will use it for his purpose.
Prayer:
Lord, water my dry heart with your Word. Make faith grow in me and use your Word through me to comfort others with Jesus. Amen.
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7
Easy to Find
My children love to play hide-and-seek. They can get creative with their hiding spots. But when I play with my three-year-old, and it is my turn to hide, I keep it simple. I might leave a foot sticking out from behind the chair or make a little noise from the next room. At age three, she does not have a long enough attention span to seek more than a few minutes. So, I make sure that I am not too hard to find.
When Isaiah says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found,” we might picture God as someone who is hidden far away, waiting to see whether we can find him. But God is not playing that kind of game. He is not trying to make himself hard to find. He is calling out to us. He is near.
The problem is not that God has hidden himself too well. The problem is that sin leads us to look in the wrong places. We search for peace in our own plans. We search for comfort in distractions. We search for validation by making excuses or comparing ourselves to others. We go our own way and trust our own thoughts.
But God calls us back. “Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them.” We find him in his Word, in his promises, in the good news of Jesus.
Jesus did not come to stay hidden from sinners. He came near. He came into our world. He went to the cross to pay for our wandering ways and sinful thoughts. He rose so that mercy and pardon would not be hard to find but freely given.
So, seek the Lord where he promises to be found. Call on him. Open his Word. Hear his promise. He is not hard to find. He is near with mercy in Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord God, when I seek peace and forgiveness in the wrong places, call me back through your Word. Thank you for coming near with mercy and free pardon in Jesus. Amen.
A twofold celebration in Germany On Sunday, June 14, I had the privilege of attending the 150th anniversary of our sister synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche or ELFK). This was […]
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Five new district presidents elected Five new district presidents were elected during the 12 WELS district conventions held this June. Each WELS district holds a convention once every two years, in the year between synod […]
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Taste of Missions celebrates worldwide mission reach Taste of Missions 2026 celebrated the worldwide reach of WELS mission work, gathering people in person and online for worship, missionary stories, fellowship, and the commissioning of 11 new home […]
WELS Christian Aid and Relief announces humanitarian aid grants WELS Christian Aid and Relief approved a record $634,757 in humanitarian aid grants for fiscal year 2026-27. WELS Home Missions will receive $103,490 in assistance, and $531,267 will go to […]
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers gave us a warm welcome. 18 The next day, Paul went with us to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard this, they praised God. [1]
Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and all of them are zealous observers of the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, since you are telling them not to circumcise their children or follow our customs. 22 So what is to be done? [2] They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 So do what we are going to tell you.
“We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them with you, go through the ceremony of purification with them, and pay their expenses so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports that have been made about you, but that you yourself are carefully following the law. 25 As for the Gentiles who believe, we have sent them a letter about the resolution [3] that they should avoid food sacrificed to idols, blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality.”
26 The next day, Paul took the men and went through the ceremony of purification with them. He entered the temple to announce the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Paul Is Arrested
27 When the seven days were almost over, Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law, and against this place. And now he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together as a mob. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were looking for a way to kill him, a report went up to the commander of the cohort [4] that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the commander approached Paul, arrested him, and gave an order that he should be bound with two chains. He asked who Paul was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since the commander could not find out the truth because of the uproar, he ordered his men to take Paul away to the barracks. 35 When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. 36 The large number of people that was following kept shouting, “Away with him!”
Footnotes
Acts 21:20 Some witnesses to the text read the Lord.
Acts 21:22 Some witnesses to the text add A crowd is bound to come together, for they.
Acts 21:25 Some witnesses to the text add that they should observe no such thing except.
Acts 21:31 A cohort was a Roman military unit that usually consisted of six hundred men.
1 After we [1] tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we headed straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 When we found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing by on its south side, we sailed to Syria and put in to port at Tyre, because there the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 We located the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When our time there came to an end, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. We knelt down on the beach and prayed. 6 After saying good-bye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
To Caesarea
7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers [2] and stayed with them for one day. 8 The next day, we left and came to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 After we had stayed there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he came to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘This is the way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
12 When we heard this, both we and the local residents urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Since he could not be persuaded, we said nothing more except, “May the Lord’s will be done.”
In Jerusalem
15 After those days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, with whom we were to stay. He was from Cyprus and was one of the first disciples.
Footnotes
Acts 21:1 Luke is included.
Acts 21:7 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me due to the plots of the Jews. 20 You know how I did not hesitate to proclaim to you anything that would be beneficial for you or to teach you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have solemnly testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [1]
22 “And you see, now I am going to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit keeps warning me in town after town that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24 However, I consider my life as of no great value to me, so that I may finish my race and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus—to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “Now take note of this too. I know that none of you among whom I went around preaching the kingdom of God will ever see my face again. 26 Therefore I solemnly declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not hesitate to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God.
28 “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, [2] which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you. 30 Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore be always on the alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me. 35 In every way I gave you an example that, by working hard like this, we need to help the weak and to remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 After Paul said these things, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept very much, as they threw their arms around Paul’s neck and kissed him. 38 They were most distressed over the statement he made, that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Footnotes
Acts 20:21 A few witnesses to the text omit Christ.
Acts 20:28 Some witnesses to the text read the Lord.
1 After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. After saying good-bye, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 After he had gone through those areas and had spoken many words of encouragement to the people, he came to Greece 3 and stayed there three months.
Because a plot was made against him by the Jews just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied [1] by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, along with Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us [2] at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Eutychus Raised From the Dead
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul spoke to the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he continued talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus. He was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking for a long time. When he was sound asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, threw his arms around him, and said, “Do not be alarmed, because he is alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking for a considerable time until dawn, he left. 12 They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.
On to Miletus
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had arranged it this way, since he was intending to travel there by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 From there we set sail. We arrived off Chios the next day. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and [3] on the following day we came to Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
Footnotes
Acts 20:4 Some witnesses to the text add as far as Asia.
Acts 20:5 Luke is included.
Acts 20:15 Some witnesses to the text add after staying at Trogyllium.
21 After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit [1] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.
The Riot in Ephesus
23 During that time there was more than a minor disturbance about the Way. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little income for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this income. 26 You also see and hear that not merely in Ephesus but throughout almost the entire province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large number of people. He says that gods made by hands are not gods at all! 27 Not only is there danger that our trade may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered worthless. Then she will suffer the loss of her magnificence, although she is worshipped by the whole province of Asia and the world.”
28 When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with confusion, and with one goal in mind they rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 Some were shouting one thing, others another, because the assembly was in confusion. Most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 They made Alexander come out of the crowd. [2] It was the Jews who pushed him forward. Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry rose from all of them. For about two hours, they kept shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you need to be quiet and not do anything rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our [3] goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. 39 If you want to pursue something about other matters, [4] it should be settled in the legal assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, because we will not be able to give any reason for this disorderly mob.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Footnotes
Acts 19:21 Or in the Spirit
Acts 19:33 A few witnesses to the text read Some in the crowd gave Alexander instructions.
Acts 19:37 Some witnesses to the text read your.
Acts 19:39 A few witnesses to the text read If there is anything further that you want.
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On Sunday, June 14, I had the privilege of attending the 150th anniversary of our sister synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche or ELFK). This was […]
Five new district presidents were elected during the 12 WELS district conventions held this June. Each WELS district holds a convention once every two years, in the year between synod […]
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