"A person who is not yet nothing, out of him God cannot make anything." - Martin Luther
Verse for the week: “Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in
your righteousness!” Psalm 143.1
Prayer for the week: Almighty and merciful Father, each day bury us with Christ by baptism
into the death of our will, in order that, just as He was raised from the dead
by you, we too might walk in newness of life; through Jesus Christ, your Son,
our Lord. Amen.
13.1And the people of Israel again did
what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave
them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a certain man
of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his
wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the
angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you
are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a
son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine
or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for
behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his
head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he
shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines…”
16.28Then Samson called to
the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and
please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the
Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped
the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight
against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his
strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in
it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had
killed during his life. 31 Then his brothers and
all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried
him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had
judged Israel twenty years.
Prayer for the week: Dear Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you alone are
blessed forever. Out of a barren womb you choose to make your power perfect… to
give strength… and to take it away at the right time… and use it as YOU see
best: for our condemnation and redemption. Thank you, Father. So, I must boast
now all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. In
Christ alone I pray, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved hymn that gives
further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9-UNer6MQ&ab_channel=HadleighBaptistChurch
“Thy will be done…”
What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is indeed done without our prayer; but
we ask in this petition that it may be done also among us.
When does this happen? God’s will is done when he hinders and
defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful
self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the
coming of his kingdom.
And his will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps
us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will. (from
The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)
Benediction: Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord! Psalm 106.48
*This is now
our congregation’s 99th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading
from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.
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