Christ alone is our righteousness

Verse for the week: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant.”  Psalm 25.14

Prayer for the week: Dear heavenly Father, hallow your name among us: see to it that your Word is taught in its truth and purity and that we as your children live in harmony with it; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 1 (Psalm 1 serves as a preamble to the entire collection of 150 songs. It contrasts the way of the righteous and of the wicked. There is not a single prescriptive or imperative verb in the entire psalm. Every verb is indicative, every verse is descriptive.

“Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, there is indeed a river whose streams make glad and enliven; this river is Christ Jesus himself. Christ alone is the way of the righteous. Thank you that it is your will to plant us in him. In season and out, deliver me and my congregation from claiming a righteousness of our own… keep us planted in him who is our righteousness; through the same, Jesus Christ 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=92D8K6Mkmzo&ab_channel=GlendaleAZSDAChurch

The First Commandment, with a Promise

“I am the Lord, your God. You shall have no other gods besides me.” Exodus 20.2

What does this mean for us?  We are to fear, love, and trust God above anything else. (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.