and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!” Psalm 103.1
Prayer for the week: O God, holy and eternal, you call us into the fellowship of that holy
suffering by which your dear Son, our Savior, conquered sin, death and the
power of the devil. Grant that we may trust his passion, accept the cross as
his disciples, that your holy will be done among us; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen. [K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2nd
edition (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verlag, 1948), p. 249, revised]
Bible reading for the day: John 16.33 - 17.19 (picking up from yesterday’s reading)
16.33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In
the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have
overcome the world.
17.1When Jesus had spoken these words, he
lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has
come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you
have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to
all whom you have given him. 3 And this is
eternal life, that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified
you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And
now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I
had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your
name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they
were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now
they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For
I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them
and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have
believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for
them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have
given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are
yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am
coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you
have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While
I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I
have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the
son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But
now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they
may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I
have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they
are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do
not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them
from the evil one. 16 They are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify
them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As
you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for
their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in
truth.
Prayer for the day: Gracious and almighty Father, all
glory, praise, and honor belong to you and your Son. Thank you for sending
Jesus and for giving us to him. While we
are in this world, rescue me and your whole church from the constant temptation
to seek our own glory. Sanctify us in your word, dear Lord, rather than in the
soil of ourselves and our words… and send us back out into the world in Jesus’
name. Amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a hymn that gives further voice
to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRbBr211xGY&ab_channel=Koine
“I believe in Jesus Christ…”
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ – true God, Son of the Father from eternity,
and true man, born of the virgin Mary – is my Lord.
At great cost, he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and
condemned person. He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil –
not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent
suffering and death.
All this he has done that I may be his own, live under him
in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.
This is most certainly true. (from The
Small Catechism, 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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