Prayer
for the week: “Lord,
you have promised to grant what we pray in the name of your Son. Teach us to pray aright and to laud and
praise you with all your saints in the fullness of life everlasting; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr der Kirched,
2nd ed. Kassel:
Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p. 152).
Bible
reading for the day: Romans 11.33-12.8
Oh, the
depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of
the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him
and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
12.1 I appeal to you therefore,
brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what
is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I
say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the
measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in
one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same
function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in
Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having
gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:
if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service,
in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the
one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in
generosity; the one who leads, with eager diligence; the one who does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Prayer
(based on T.R.I.P.
method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: by your mercy you
have put my brothers and sisters and me in our places: members of your body…sinners
beloved & chosen by you. Thank you!
Repent me of conforming to this world…of thinking more highly of myself than I
ought. Transform me and my brothers and sisters daily, hourly: change and renew
our minds…that we may offer our bodies and our calendars to you and for one
another as a living sacrifice. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved, classic
hymn that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Byp7aK2DA
What does
baptism mean for daily life?
It means
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: 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)
*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 www.dailytext.com). The method is founded on scripture and easy
to remember:
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.
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