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; on the night
of his betrayal and arrest, Jesus is praying for us.)
19 And for their
sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be
sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for
these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their
word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that
the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The
glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be
one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in
me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know
that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father,
I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where
I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved
me before the foundation of the world. 25 O
righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and
these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known
to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the
love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Prayer for the day: Gracious and almighty Father, behold
the depth, the riches, the breadth of your love: before the foundation of the
world you loved Christ and gave him as the head of your church. Thank you that
in him we are one. In the midst of a world that does not know you, keep on
making yourself known to us and through us… that the world may know that you
sent Jesus for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. In his name 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=v-AzLnm1Tws&ab_channel=MartijndeGroot
“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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