Verse for the week: “You would shame the plans of the humble poor, but the Lord is his refuge.” Psalm 14.6
Prayer for the week: “Merciful God, you resist the
proud but give grace to the humble. Help
us to trust you utterly, to rest our hope and confidence in you, and to serve
you with pure hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr
der Kirche, 2nd ed.
Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p. 193).
Bible reading for the day: Ephesians (2.8-10)
5.15-33
2.8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
5.15 Look
carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,16 making
the best use of the time, because the days are evil.17 Therefore
do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do
not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with
the Spirit, 19 addressing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the
Lord with your heart,20 giving thanks always and for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting
to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit to
your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the
husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church,
his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as
the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to
their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives,
as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that
he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of
water with the word, 27 so that he might
present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In
the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the
church, 30 because we are members of his
body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”32 This
mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the
church. 33 However, let each one of you love
his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious
and almighty Father, thank you: my life and faith are a gift of your grace…
your workmanship, not mine. Thank you! Repent me of the foolishness and pride
by which I would try to turn them into my own work. Bear out your grace for me
in such a way that I may walk in my vocation as a husband/wife just as you have
prepared for me to do. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that
gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuYhHdmubBE
The Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that in matters of sex we are
chaste and disciplined in our words and actions, and that husband and wife love
and honor each other. (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther
©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)
Benediction: The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. II Cor 13.14
*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). The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
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