Why law and gospel?

 Here's why😊.

Verse for the week: “It is good for me that I was afflicted,
    that I might learn your statutes.” Psalm 119.71

Prayer for the week: “Almighty, everlasting God, you have given us the promise of your divine life.  Bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, that, quickened by your word, we may lay hold on eternal life by strong faith in your Son, and in him be saved; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2^nd ed. (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verllag, 1948), p.170)

Bible reading for the day: Hosea 5.15-6.6 (Hosea’s prophetic vocation began in the last years of the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC) and continued through the disintegration of the kingdom until its ultimate fall to the Assyrians in 722/721 BC. Hosea preaches strong condemnation of Israel matched equally by God’s steadfast love for his beloved yet unfaithful people.)

^5.15 I will return again to my place,
    until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
    and in their distress earnestly seek me.

^6.1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
² After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
³ Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
    his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
    as the spring rains that water the earth.”

⁴ What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
    What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
    like the dew that goes early away.
⁵ Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
    I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
    and my judgment goes forth as the light.
⁶ For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: you are not after our religious sacrifices or vain offerings; you are after our fear, love and trust… so you interposed yourself for our sake… you got your own Son struck down and raised up for our rescue. Thank you! Each day, by the word of your mouth tear me where I need to be torn, heal me where I need to be healed. By your steadfast love, teach me the same. 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=VGoypOMLZ9Y&ab_channel=Koine 

“I am the Lord your God,” Ex 20.2

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: You shall have no other gods before me.

What does this mean?  We are to fear, love, and trust God above anything else. (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)

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.