Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.” Psalm 47.1-2
Prayer for the week: Dear heavenly Father, preserve your beloved, rebellious children from loving
the sound of our own words. Each day, keep the promise of our baptism: pluck us
from the soil of ourselves and plant us by the stream of living water who is
Christ crucified and raised for our forgiveness, life, and salvation; through
the same, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Bible reading for the day: Jeremiah 18.1-12 (Jeremiah
prophesied in Jerusalem from 627-580 BC, during the time of Josiah and the last
kings of Judah. His family, descendants of the deposed priestly line of
Abiathar (I Kings 2.26-27) lived in Anathoth, a small town only three miles
from Jerusalem. He interacted frequently with kings and other leaders. The Lord
used Jeremiah’s mouth to denounce Israel’s and Judah’s apostasy, idolatry,
rejection of the law, breaking of the covenant, and dependence on the temple.)
1The word that came to Jeremiah
from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down
to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my
words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's
house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And
the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand,
and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to
do.
5 Then the word of
the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of
Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares
the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in
my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I
declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break
down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation,
concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of
the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if
at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build
and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight,
not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended
to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am
shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return,
every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they
say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one
act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
Prayer for the day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank
you that you are the potter and we your clay… and not the inverse. Rescue
me and your whole church from the stubborn vanity of our evil hearts. According
to your will and wisdom, pluck us up, break us down, build and mold us… in the
image of Christ, your dear Son, our Lord. 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=xzbTc8A7sRI&ab_channel=Koine
“Thy kingdom come…”
What does this mean?
God’s kingdom comes indeed without our praying for it, but we ask in
this petition that it may come also to us.
When does this happen? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father
gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and
live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever. (from The Small
Catechism, Martin Luther)
Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure
in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149.4
*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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