Verse for the week:
Our Savior Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light. II Timothy 1.10
Prayer for the week:
“Our Lord Jesus, you have endured the doubts and foolish questions
of every generation. Forgive us for trying to be judge over you. Grant us the
confident faith to confess you as Lord. Amen” (Lutheran Book of Worship).
Bible reading for the day: Matthew 21.33-46 (parable means “to
throw alongside.” The purpose of a parable is not for you to figure it all out,
but to get the truth past your pride and into your ears.)
“Hear another parable.
There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it
and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went
into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew
near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And
the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first.
And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his
son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But
when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come,
let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they
took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When
therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They
said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the
vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them,
“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing
its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will
be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests
and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about
them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious
and almighty Father, thank you for claiming me and my congregation as your
pleasant planting and for setting Christ in place as the cornerstone of your
church. You do everything for the sake of your beloved vineyard… and our pride
must be tripped up by Christ. So for the sake of your marvelous work, have at
us and tend to us with your word, in Jesus’ name we pray amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a new hymn that gives
further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnRwGwQqUDI
“Thy will be done…”
What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer, but
we pray in this petition that it will also be done among us.
How is this done? God's will is done when he hinders and defeats
every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self that
would prevent us from hallowing his name and oppose the coming of his kingdom.
And God’s will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps us steadfast in
his Word to the end of our earthly lives. This is his good and gracious
will. (from The Small Catechism,
by Martin Luther)
Benediction: The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Phil 4.7
T: thanksgiving
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