The Sweeper

Verse for the week:
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,”  Psalm 135.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, in Christ Jesus your reign has broken in for us and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the day of the fulfillment of your kingdom, make your church a people humble and lowly who seek refuge in your name alone; through your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Zephaniah 1.1-6  Zephaniah preached to Judah & Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). His message proclaims clear judgment and hope. He decries pridefulness and lifts up the humble who call upon the Lord.

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

² “I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³ “I will sweep away man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and the fish of the sea,
and the idols with the wicked.
    I will cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
⁴ “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
⁵ those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by Milcom,
⁶ those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for stretching out your hand against our idolatry and infidelity. In Christ alone, you sweep these away from me and your church. Keep sweeping Lord… until I and your church fear, love, and trust you above all else. In Jesus’ name I pray, 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=ymKxTkrRNBA

“What does baptism mean for daily living?”

It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (from The Small Catechism, by 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.