Verse for the week: Our Savior Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light. II Timothy 1.10
Prayer for the week:
“Our Lord Jesus, you have endured the doubts and foolish questions
of every generation. Forgive us for trying to be judge over you, and grant us
the confident faith to confess you as Lord. Amen” (Lutheran Book of Worship).
Bible reading for the day: Matthew 21.33-46
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master
of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a
winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into
another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew
near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And
the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned
another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than
the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally
he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But
when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And
they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When
therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put
those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other
tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have
you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people producing its fruits. 44 And the
one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on
anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests
and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about
them. 46 And although they were seeking to
arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a
prophet.
Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious
and almighty Father, thank you that you are the Lord of the vineyard and that
you have redeemed sinners like us to be your pleasant planting… your
tenants. Repent me and your church of
not heeding your Word from your servants and from your own Son… repent us of
seizing your promised gift by claiming a righteousness of our own. Indeed crush us… and by your grace bring
forth from us the marvelous new wine of your vintage. I ask this in Jesus’
name, amen.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the
Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord.
He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin,
death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy
and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this
in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him
in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen
from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly
true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing,
2011)
Benediction: The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Phil 4.7
*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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