Beautiful losers...

Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.  Acts 2.36

Prayer for the week:  Almighty and everlasting God, you have redeemed us and sent us as your own witnesses to an alien generation that nonetheless belongs to you. Rescue us from despair, deliver your sons and daughters from fear, and make us preachers of Christ in broad daylight; through the same, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Matthew 10.24-39

 ²⁴“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³² So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for putting Jesus above us, not the other way around. Repent me and my congregation of fearing the cost of your name and of loving anyone more than we love you.  Free us to be great big losers: beloved disciples who hourly lose our lives for your sake… and thereby find our whole new life in you. In Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic hymn that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS909US909&q=praise+to+the+lord+the+almighty&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiAtcjVsdT_AhX7mWoFHbZJCRIQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1522&bih=746&dpr=1.25#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:90b6718d,vid:VGAaRtkovZQ

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)

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.