Your Dry Bones...

 ...just how the Lord likes 'em😀

Verse for the week: “O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
    or the son of man that you think of him?”  Psalm 144.3

Prayer for the week: Dear heavenly Father, you speak to us through the Holy Scriptures. Grant that we may hear, read, respect, learn, and swallow them in such a way that the overwhelming glory and enduring benefit and comfort of the Word will help us grasp and hold the blessed hope of everlasting life, given us through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Ezekiel 37.1-14 (Ezekiel overlaps in time with Jeremiah; he was a priest deported to Babylon with other community elite ten years before the final exile.  He prophesied in Babylon from 593-571 BC.)

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, you know… you know the dry bones of our rebellion and idolatry. You take the dry bones of our nature and make faith where there isn’t any. By your Word you breathe real life into us… not just air in our lungs but trust in Christ rather than ourselves. Thank you. You speak, you declare… and it is done. So, keep declaring into my ears and the ears of your church… that these dry bones may live and praise you alone. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a little fun that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYb8Wm6-QfA&ab_channel=gestern48

“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 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.