The Theme for Lent 3 is “A Life of Repentance.” In the Old
Testament lesson (Ezekiel 33:7-20) the prophet is told that he has been called
to be a watchman, to speak of warning. If he fails to call men to repentance,
he is responsible for his brother’s fall. In the Epistle (1 Corinthians
10:1-13), Paul calls his hearers to repent to avoid destruction. In the Gospel
(Luke 13:1-9), Jesus warns us to repent before it is too late or perish.
Collect for Lent 3 – O God, whose glory it is always to have
mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the
unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.
Collect for a Church Anniversary – Almighty God, You have
promised to be with Your Church forever. We praise You for Your presence in this
place of worship and ask Your ongoing blessing upon those who gather here.
Dwell continually among us with Your holy Word and Sacraments, strengthen our
fellowship in the bonds of love and peace, and increase our faithful witness to
Your salvation.
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.
A prayer before worship – O Lord, our Creator, Redeemer, and
Comforter, as we come to worship You in spirit and in truth, we humbly pray
that You may open our hearts to the preaching of Your Word, so that we may repent
of our sins, believe in Jesus Christ as our only Savior, and grow in grace and
holiness. Hear us for His same.
Monday, 22 February 2016—Psalm 5:4-8, Antiphon, Psalm 1:6:
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will
perish. In keeping with our theme – a life of repentance – the antiphon reminds
us that the righteous will be saved but the wicked will perish. They will
perish for they do not repent. Implicit in the destinies of the two lifestyles
are the destinies of those who choose them. This will be further explained in
the Old Testament lesson for the week.
Tuesday, 23 February 2016—Psalm 85; key verse, verse 8:
I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His
people His saints – but let them not return to folly. When we repent, we take
responsibility, we show remorse, we repair what we can, and we repeat not! This
is what the psalmist is driving at when he says, “but let them not return to
folly.” When we repeat, when we return to visit from whence we came, we provoke
God’s displeasure again. Thus, we need to ask the Lord to send us His Holy
Spirit to lead us into right living. And when we fall or fail, we need to
confess our sin, repent, and rely on His grace to save us. This is the pattern
of a life of repentance.
Wednesday, 24 February 2016—Ezekiel 33:7-20–When confronted
by the Lord, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Genesis 4:9] Ezekiel is
called to be a watchman. He is to warn his fellow citizens of the sure
destruction, which is to come. If they repent, they are spared. If they refuse
to repent, they will be punished, but Ezekiel will not be held liable. However,
if he chooses not to warn his brothers, they will surely be punished yet he
will be held responsible for his brother because he failed to warn them. We
have a responsibility to preach both Law and Gospel. God will judge each
individual whether righteous or wicked. God takes no pleasure in punishing.
This is his alien work. (This will hurt me as much as it hurts you) But it is a
part of God’s nature. We are our brother’s keeper. Each will be judged
individually yet there is a moral obligation toward our neighbor to sound the
alarm of the coming judgment.
Note: our congregation was chartered on February.25.1838
Thursday, 25 February 2016—1 Corinthians10:1-13–St. Paul
pleads with his hearers to turn from their sin (repent) to avoid destruction.
He uses lessons to be learned from the Israelites’ experiences in the
wilderness. The gist of Paul’s pleading: don’t think that just because you were
baptized and receive Holy Communion, you are safe from sinning. Look at the
Israelites who were baptized into Moses and ate supernatural food. They
perished for their sins. Christians can sin, too. Pride goes before a fall. Do
not be smug and think you have it made, that nothing can happen to you, and
that you are safe from God’s judgment. Yet God will provide an escape from
temptation to sin that you need not perish. As Christians, you need to live a
life of daily repentance.
Friday, 26 February 2016 – Luke 13:1-9–Repent before it is
too late. Judgment is delayed to allow time for repentance. The parable of the fig tree emphasizes God’s
forbearance and patience in waiting for repentance. The emphasis is on the plea
of the vinedresser to give the tree more time to produce before its
destruction.
Suffering and tragedy do not necessarily follow sin. A natural
catastrophe like the tower of Siloam and man’s violence like Pilate’s massacre
of those in the acts of worship do not imply that the victims were special
sinners deserving this fate. All need to repent. Whether or not they are
victims of disaster, all are guilty of sin. Thus, unless all repent, they will
perish like the victims of the tower and the massacre.
Saturday, 27 February 2016—Mark 15:29-30; Isaiah 53:4-5:11—
Sunday’s hymn is Jesus Refuge of the Weary (LSB 423). This much-loved Lenten hymn is a meditative
song drawing the listener to reflect not only on Christ and His cross but also
upon its effect on the Christ’s life. Meditate upon what Christ has offered you
– His life, His love in exchange for your sin.
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 and Lutheran
Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C – John Brokhoff ©
1979 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH
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