Verse for the week: “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.” John 1.17
Morning prayer: “Almighty God, loving Father, you govern all things
in heaven and earth and make all things new through your almighty word. Transform our sinful nature and all our
doings by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may please you and attain
perfect joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Otto Schlisske, Christliche
Unterweisung im Jahr der Kirche (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1949), p.99 )
Bible reading for the day: John 1.29-42
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and
said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This
is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was
before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I
came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And
John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it
remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to
baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and
remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have
seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his
disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this,
and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and
said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which
means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come
and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed
with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the
two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41
He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the
Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus
looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called
Cephas” (which means Peter).
Prayer (based on TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty Lord, thank you for taking away
the world’s and my sin by your Lamb, your son Jesus. Thank you! Repent me and my congregation of following
old religious systems of sacrifice instead of following him. Use me and my congregation to bring others to
you…that they too, may see what you have in mind for them and be changed into your
disciples. I ask this Jesus’ name, amen.
I believe in the Holy Spirit…
What
does this mean?
I
believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my
Lord or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel,
enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true
faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian church on earth, and preserves it in unity with Jesus Christ in the
one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily forgives abundantly all my
sins and the sins of all believers. At the last day, he will raise me and all
the dead and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in
Christ. This is most certainly true! (from
The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola
Publishing, 2011)
Benediction: The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in
believing, that we may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Romans
15.13)
*There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s
people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin
Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid
Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria , MN
T:
thanksgiving
R:
regret (repentance)
I:
intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P:
plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives
one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps
one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment