Verse for the week: Whoever hears you hears me, and whoever rejects you
rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10.16
Prayer for the week: “Lord God, heavenly Father, you have bound us together in one body
through your Holy Spirit. Help us to
serve one another willingly and forgive one another from our hearts; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (K.B.
Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr der Kirched, 1st
ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p. 74).
Bible reading for the day: Colossians 2.6-15
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him
and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty
deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental
spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in
him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you
have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In
him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands,
by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having
been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the
dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,
having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the
record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside,
nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers
and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over
them in him.
prayer(based on
the TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty
Father, thank you for cancelling the law’s record against us and revealing
yourself fully in Christ Jesus, crucified and raised for the forgiveness of our
trespasses. Thank you! Guard me and my congregation from being taken captive by
philosophy, deceit, human b.s. …the devil, the world, and our sinful selves. In
baptism you’ve buried my old self and raised the new one… so keep building me
and my congregation up in the new life every day that the principalities and
powers may continually be put to shame and we may abound in thanksgiving. In
Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.
“What does baptism mean for daily life?”
It signifies that the old
Adam in us, together with all sins and evil desires, should be drowned by daily
sorrow for sin and repentance and be put to death, and that the new person
should come forth every day and rise to live before God in righteousness and
purity forever.
Where
is this written?
Saint Paul says in Romans,
“We 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” (Romans 6:4 ESV).
(from “The Small Catechism” by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola
Publishing, 2011)
benediction:
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish
abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph
3:20-21)
*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
R:
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