kneeling fisherman

kneeling fisherman

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

The meal of freedom

Verse for the week: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”  Mt 20.28

Prayer for the week:  Almighty God, by the blood of the lamb, you give us what we cannot earn or deserve: forgiveness of our sins, life, and salvation. Send your Holy Spirit and grant us to believe with joy what the scriptures proclaim, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Exodus 12.1-14

 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Prayer (based on TRIP* method):  Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for the true Passover Lamb who is Jesus; for taking away our sin through him and guarding my household against the destroyer with Christ’s life-giving blood. Thank you!  Repent me and my congregation of dawdling in our old bondage… of lagging and malingering when you are already executing your will for us.  Each day, call us out of our old slavery and into the freedom of following you… and use us to pass this freedom on to our children and grandchildren. In Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.

Hymn: an excerpt to whet your appetite: https://www.baytonemusic.com/audio/RockHymnal/07_He_ll_Be_There.mp3

What is Holy Communion?

It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat and drink, as it was instituted by Christ himself.

Where is this written?

Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul say:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying:

            Take and eat, this is my body, which is given for you.

            Do this in remembrance of me.

Again, after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying:

            Take and drink of it, all of you.

            This cup is the new testament in my blood,

                        which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

            Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

(from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

 Benediction:  Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.  Amen.  II Thess 2.16-17

  

*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:
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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