Is there something more you need?

 God's call of you is sufficient.

Verse for the week: “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1.17

Prayer for this week: Lord God, you reveal your glory under the sign of its opposite: the humiliation of your Son, crucified and raised for our forgiveness. As he brought gladness and healing to his people, give us these same gifts and lead us to freely confess his name to all; that they too, may come and see eternal life in Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen.   

Bible reading for the day:  I Corinthians 1.1-9 (Paul was called not by his own decision or will, but by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ… and to write this letter to the church in 54 or 55 AD, during his third missionary journey. )   

 ¹ Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 ⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer (based on TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Father, it’s your call, not mine, that does it ALL. Through your faithful work in Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and your calling of me and of your church… sinners like us are called holy and brought into fellowship with you. Thank you!  Repent me and my congregation of thinking we need more than what you have already given us. Send us out and make your faithfulness evident in our speech and knowledge so that more persons may call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I ask this in his name, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a classic hymn which gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o

“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in unity with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily forgives abundantly all my sins and the sins of all believers. At the last day, he will raise me and all the dead and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true! (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:
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.