The Theme
for Epiphany 3 “The Purpose of Your Life”
In the Old Testament lesson Ezra the scribe reads the Book of the Law in the
presence of the people. Reading
Collect
for Epiphany 3 Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our
infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us;
through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever
A prayer for steadfast faith –Almighty
God, our heavenly Father, of Your tender love towards us sinners You have given
us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to
grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end
and come to life everlasting.
A prayer for newness of life in
Christ – Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works
of darkness and put upon ourselves the armor of life, now in the time of this
mortal life, in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility,
that in the last day, when He shall come again in glory to judge both the
living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal. .
A prayer for Home and Family – Visit,
we implore You, O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep far from
them all harm and danger. Grant us to dwell together in peace under the
protection of Your holy angels, and may Your blessing be with us forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A morning prayer – Faithful
God, whose mercies are new to us every morning, we humbly pray that You would
look upon us in mercy and renew us by Your Holy Spirit. Keep safe our going out
and our coming in, and let Your blessings remain with us throughout this day.
Preserve us in Your righteousness and grant us a portion in that eternal life
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Monday, 21 January 2013—Psalm 102:18-22,
Antiphon, Psalm 102:13 – You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time
to favor her; the appointed time has come. The antiphon is the centerpiece
of the entire psalm. The psalmist’s distress was occasioned by the Babylonian
exile. Yet, he sees an appointed time – a time set by god for judgment and
deliverance to come. As we pray this prayer we too look for a time of
deliverance to come. We pray that deliverance might come to us now and
ultimately on the last great day, that day when we shall live beyond time and
space.
Tuesday,
22 January 2013—Psalm19:
(1-6) 7-14; key verse v14-May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be pleasing in Your sight O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. These
words are quite familiar – they are often uttered by the pastor before the
sermon. By these words the preacher is asking that he only proclaim God’s words
and not his own. By these words the hear asks that these words of the Lord
penetrate the heart and mind so that faith may be strengthened and nourished.
May the word of the Lord give us both direction and encouragement not only this
coming Sunday but throughout this New Year.
Wednesday,
23 January 2013—
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10– Notice
how the worship practices of Ezra and Nehemiah are quite similar to ours today.
Ezra the scribe reads the Book of the Law in the presence of the people. After
they heard the word they responded in two ways. First they feasted. Delicious
festive food prepared with much fat. The fat of sacrificial animals was offered
to God as the tastiest element of the burnt offering, the fellowship offering,
the sin offering and the guilt offering. The fat was not to be eaten in these
cases. They also remembered the poor and those less fortunate on these joyous
occasions. Likewise, we today respond in two ways. We come to a worship service
to hear the word. We eat the sacrifice of Christ in the Sacrament and then we
respond in sacramental living. In service we worship God. We respond by
reaching out to our neighbors and especially to those whose need is great. We
respond as the word of the Lord has taken root in our lives.
Thursday,
24 January 2013—1
Corinthians12:12-31a– The Christian finds his purpose in
the body of Christ. By the Spirit Christians are members of one body. The unity
of the church is the unity of Christ. We are one in Christ, as members of the
body of Christ. Regardless of our differences Jews, Greeks, bond, free, we are
all one. Last names cease when we enter the church door. We are one in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Paul will remind us in verse 13, “For by one Spirit we were baptized into one
body – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” The church is not a human
institution held together by its leaders and members’ contributions. If that
were the case the church would have died long ago. The Spirit calls, gathers,
enlightens, sanctifies, and preserves the church from age to age.
Friday,
25 January 2013 – Luke 4:16-30– Many today are seeking self-identity. They are
seeking to understand who they are and what their purpose in life is. Many do
not have a reason for living. They are confused because they are aimless. They
have no goals for life. As Christians, who follow Christ in all things, our
purpose in life should be the same as Jesus’ purpose. Luke tells us: Where
Jesus came from – He came from God to fulfill god’s promises. He tells us who
Jesus is – He is the Messiah, God’s servant – commissioned and called. He tells
us what Jesus was to do – preach the good news.
Saturday,
26 January 2013—- Matthew 16:24; 1 Peter 4:12-13;
Matthew 10:38-39; Romans 6:2-5, 8- Sunday’s hymn of the day is Let us Ever Walk with Jesus (685 LSB) The purpose of Jesus’ life was
fulfilled by the words of the prophet. The purpose of your life is that the
will of God might be fulfilled in us. Thus this wonderful hymn encourages the
believer to daily walk with the Lord, to follow Christ’s example and word that
daily we might be conformed to His will and way.
Prayers from Lutheran
Service Book © 2006 and Lutheran
Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House
Schnorr Von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS
permission granted for personal and congregational use
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C – John Brokhoff ©
1979 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH
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