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 one
another 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 5.21-6.4 (Between 54-58AD, the congregation in Ephesus
was threatened by division caused by false doctrine. In the 5 chapter of his
letter, Paul declares that our baptism into Christ calls all of us to
submit to one another out of reverence for 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.
6.1Children,
obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor
your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that
it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers,
do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
Prayer (based on the TRIP* method): Gracious
and almighty Father, thank you for putting yourself under and onto the cross in
order to save sinners like us by your grace in Christ. Thank you! Repent me of all my attempts to put myself
above you and above my spouse or anyone else. Give me, my family, and my
congregation ears to hear you and teach us to submit to one another out of
reverence for Christ… that real love for one another may grow among us. 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.youtube.com/watch?v=MimsQtU-ccQ
The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father
and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God
is giving you.
What does this
mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not
show contempt for our parents and others in authority, nor provoke them to
anger, but respect, obey, serve, love, and honor them.
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
T: thanksgiving
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