A Prayer for aid against
temptation—O God, You justify the ungodly and desire not the death of the sinner.
Graciously assist us by Your heavenly aid and evermore shield us with Your
protection, that no temptation may separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus,
our Lord.
A Prayer in times of
temptation—Almighty and everlasting God, through Your Son You have promised us
forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Govern our hearts by Your Holy Spirit
that in our daily needs, and especially in all time of temptation we may seek
Your help and, by a true and lively faith in Your Word, obtain all that You
have promised; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.
A Prayer for humility—O
God, You resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Grant us true humility
after the likeness of Your only Son that we may never be arrogant and prideful
and thus provoke Your wrath but in all lowliness be made partakers of the gifts
of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
For blessing on the Word—Lord
God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and
peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving
faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip,
and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve
the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The theme for
the Fourth Sunday in Lent is Salvation by Sight. On the fourth Sunday in
Lent we begin to see the cross in the distance and learn of its healing power
of salvation by grace. As Moses raised a brazen serpent, Jesus must be raised
up on a cross. The upraised serpent in the Old Testament lesson brought healing
through the forgiving love of God. This took place simply by looking to the
upraised serpent. The cross brings eternal life to those who look to the cross
with the eyes of faith in the Gospel lesson. With Christ we are raised to
heavenly places where we see the riches of grace in the Epistle lesson.
Salvation comes simply in a look – a look at the cross and a look in faith.
Salvation is the theme of the Psalm of the Day. The Hymn of the Day is based on
John 3:16, a verse from this week’s Gospel lesson. Next Sunday’s lessons
present us with tremendous texts as Ephesians 2:8 and John 3:16 as well as
basic themes; salvation by grace, the cross, the amazing love of God, and the
healing power of forgiveness.
Monday, 5 March 2018—Psalm
27:3-5; antiphon, Psalm 27:1—The
antiphon for Sunday’s Introit, Wait for
the Lord; be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord,
reflects David’s confidence and faith in the Lord,
exhorting all people also to place their trust in the Lord. This psalm is the entire psalm from which the Introit
was taken. This is a psalm of David, a plea for deliverance from his enemies – evil men who breathe out
violence and advance against him to
devour his flesh. David boldly asserts that he is not afraid, for the Lord is his light and salvation. What is the source of David’s confidence?
Continual fellowship with God. Our best defense against the assault of our
enemy, the devil, is to follow David’s example: worship in the house of the Lord.
In the day of trouble, He will keep
us safe in His dwelling.
Tuesday, 6 March 2018—Psalm 107:1-9 key verse, verse.1—Give
thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures for ever. In all
things we are encouraged to praise and return thanks to the Lord, especially in
light of Christ’s redeeming work He did for us on the cross.
Wednesday, 7 March 2018—Numbers
21:4-9—Sight of the uplifted serpent brings healing. The complaining
Israelites are healed of their serpent bites by looking at Moses’ upraised
bronze serpent. Because of the Israelites’ rebelliousness – speaking evil of
Moses and God – the Lord sent
poisonous serpents among the people. They were bitten and many died. When Moses
interceded with the Lord on the peoples’ behalf, the Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze snake; when the
people looked upon it in faith that the Lord
would deliver them from the snakes, they were spared. There was nothing magical
about the snake. The healing came from God alone, and depended on faith in His
Word.
Thursday, 8 March 2018—Ephesians
2:1-10—Sight of the exalted Christ reveals the riches of God’s grace. Our
lesson teaches that salvation is a gift of God’s grace received by faith.
This passage is justly famous
among Lutherans, for it clearly shows that our salvation is in no way dependent
upon our works, but solely upon the incomparable
riches of God’s grace. What a turnabout!
We, who were dead in our transgressions, have been
made alive in Christ! Even more, we
have been seated with Christ in the
heavenly realms.
Friday, 9 March 2018—John
3:14-21—Sight of Christ crucified results in eternal life. Eternal life
comes to those who believe in the crucified Son of God. During Jesus’
conversation with Nicodemus, He explained how God had showed His love and mercy
to a rebellious people by providing the remedy for the deadly snakes. Like the
bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, Jesus, the Son of God,
would be lifted up on a cross to provide the remedy for sin and death for all
people. However, those who have no faith – those who reject the Word of God –
condemn themselves.
Saturday, 10 March 2018— John
3:16-18—The hymn of the Day is God
Loved the World So that He Gave.—Here is a wonderful Gospel hymn. The first
stanza restates the “Gospel in a nutshell,” John 3:16. The following four
stanzas expand upon the first, proclaiming the love of God for sinners – a love
so deep that He sacrifices His own Son in our stead that we might have
everlasting life. It clearly proclaims Holy Baptism as the means by which our
Lord grants forgiveness to us unworthy sinners. Stanza 6 expresses our grateful
response to God’s grace poured out upon us in a hymn of praise to the Holy
Trinity.
Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent—Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose mercies are new unto us every
morning, and who, though we have in no wise deserved Thy goodness, dost
abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul, give us, we pray Thee,
Thy Holy Spirit that we may heartily acknowledge Thy merciful goodness toward
us, give thanks for all Thy benefits, and serve Thee in willing obedience;
through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and
the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Prayer for the 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, on Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing Lima, OH
Illustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in Pictures).
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