‘Given for you’: August LW

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(LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

There are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes we also stumble. Therefore, the Sacrament is given as a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so that it will not fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger.” Martin Luther wrote these words in his Large Catechism (V 23–24) about the Lord’s Supper.

In Holy Communion, Christ offers us forgiveness, life and salvation, refreshing and sustaining us day in and day out, throughout our lives as Christians. The August issue of The Lutheran Witness (LW) walks through the Christian’s “Life in the Sacrament,” with articles on:

The elements of bread and wine;

What the Lord’s Supper actually does for us;

Practical advice for preparing to receive the Sacrament;

The Lutheran teaching about communion versus the Roman Catholic and Reformed teachings; and

How, at the Lord’s table, we commune “with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven” (including our loved ones who have died in the Lord).

This issue also includes the first installment of a new series called “Commonplaces.” In this series, inspired by the tradition of the “commonplace book,” we will compile quotes from Scripture, our Lutheran Confessions and Lutheran hymnody around the issue’s topic, to accompany the articles and enhance your reflections.

We pray that this issue enriches your contemplation of the gifts Christ brings to you week after week in His Holy Supper — on Sunday morning, and on all the other days of your life, until that day when you may say to Him, as you have sung to Him so many times across the years, “Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face” (Lutheran Service Book 631).

To subscribe to the print LW, and to read select print content and additional web-exclusive articles, visit witness.lcms.org.

Posted Aug. 20, 2025