What to do with your sin...

Verse for the week:
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32.1

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, Christ Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. In him your reign has broken in for us in our iniquity and for this troubled world. While we yet wait for the fulfillment of your kingdom, rescue our bones from our own bondage and hide us in Christ; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bible reading for the day:  Psalm 32 (the setting is the week leading up to Jesus’ passion. He has just entered Jerusalem, the city of peace, where he will be flogged and crucified.)

¹ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.      Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.      Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance.      Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
⁹ Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, in Christ alone you forgive and cover my sin, you reduce my iniquity to zero and finally remove all my deceitfulness. Thank you, thank you. A bit in my mouth can only curb so much; you will to have all of me: heart, mouth, deed, and life. So dear Father, teach me to confess my sin rather than cover it up… that I may rejoice and be glad in you. 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=xQMo8TDFxiQ

“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 might be his own, live under him in his kingdom,
And serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,
Just as his is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.  (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.