Prayer for the 5th Sunday of Easter:
O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to
be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what
You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed
where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
A Prayer for Agriculture: Almighty God,
You blessed the earth to make it fruitful, bringing forth in abundance whatever
is needed for the support of our lives. Prosper, we implore You, the work of
farmers, grant them seasonable weather that we may gather in the fruit of the
earth and thus proclaim Your goodness with thanksgiving. May we see by this
noble vocation that with Your help they feed the world. And cause all those who
give thanks over their food to treat those who produce it with both honor and
respect; through 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.
The theme for the Sixth Sunday of
Easter is found in the Gospel. Jesus commands us to love one another. As usual
the Gospel lesson gives the key to the theme of the week. Jesus commands us to
love each other. Peter in the first lesson thanks God for His love for all men,
both Jews and Gentiles. John in the Epistle reminds us that everyone who
believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. The Psalm of the Day calls
for a new song to the Lord because of His steadfast love to His people. The
Hymn of the Day asks that we might be filled with Jesus’ love and pity.
Collect for the Sixth Sunday in Easter –
O God, the giver of all that
is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are
right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
Monday, 30 April 2018—Psalm
66:1-,8-9, 20; antiphon, Psalm 66:16—The
antiphon calls for us to listen to the voice of Him who has saved us, “Come
and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for my soul.” Worship here defined is the proclamation of
what God has done in praise of God within the context of the worshiping
congregation. As we prepare for next Sunday, this is our central purpose in
gathering together.
Tuesday, 1May 2018—Psalm 98 key verse, verse 1—“Sing
to the Lord a new song.” This psalm is a call to celebrate with joy the
righteous reign of the Lord.
Wednesday, 2 May 2018—Acts
10:34-48—Peter’s Vision in which all kinds of food which would include both
clean and unclean animals (according to Leviticus 11) is depicted in the
woodcut on this week’s cover.
The Word of the Lord has now
come to both Jewish and Gentile believers. Gentiles had received the same gift
as the Jewish believers. This was unavoidable evidence that the invitation to
the kingdom was open to Gentiles as well as to Jews. The early Jewish Christians failed to
understand that the Gospel was for Gentiles as well as for the Jews, and that
they would share alike in the benefits of redemption.
The mention of Gentiles “speaking in tongues” is a fulfillment of
Acts 1:8. The prophecy was given that the Holy Spirit would come and the
disciples would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and into the Gentile
world. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, the disciples spoke in
other languages (Acts 2:5-12). Acts 8:14-18 reports of an incident occurring in
Samaria. The Holy Spirit had come upon people in some noticeable way. There is no mention of tongues but Peter and
John are summoned. What had happened in Samaria was to be verified by those who
had given testimony in Jerusalem. Christianity continued to expand to new
geographic regions and include more people.
The third and final time tongues
is mentioned in the book of Acts occurred in the city of Ephesus. Paul found
some disciples who followed the teachings of John the Baptist. They didn't know
about the Holy Spirit, so Paul informed them more fully, and taught them that
John told people to believe in Jesus (Acts 19:1-4). "On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord
Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and
they spoke in tongues and prophesied" (verses 5-6). Now that the
Spirit was poured out in a remote place like Ephesus there is no further
mention of believers who would speak in tongues in the book of Acts. The
prophecy of Acts 1 has been fulfilled.
Thursday, 3 May 2018—1 John
5:1-8—John begins by telling us, “Everyone
who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Faith in Jesus as
the Christ is a sign of being born again just as love is. John wrote at a time
when members of a family were closely associated as a unit under the headship
of the father. He could, therefore, use the family as an illustration to show
that anyone who loves God the Father will naturally love God’s children.
May 4, is the day the church remembers one of our pastors. Friedrich Wyneken is one of the founding fathers of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, along with C.F.W. Walther and Wilhelm Sihler. Born in 1810 in Germany, Wyneken came to Baltimore in 1838 and shortly thereafter accepted a call to be the pastor of congregations in Friedheim and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Supported by Wilhelm Loehe's mission society, Wyneken served as an itinerant missionary in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, particularly among Native Americans. Together with Loehe and Sihler, he founded Concordia Theological Seminary in 1846 in Fort Wayne, IN. He later served as the second president of the LCMS during a period of significant growth (1850-64). His leadership strongly influenced the confessional character of the LCMS and its commitment to an authentic Lutheran witness in the United States.
Friday, 4 May 2018—John
15:9-17—This is a continuation of Jesus’ last discourse with His disciples.
It is appropriate that one of His last messages was one of love. His disciples
are to love as the Father loved Jesus and as He loved His disciples. This love
is expressed in keeping the commandments and in the sacrifice of self for a
friend. Because we are His friends, Jesus shares all. By His choice, we are His
friends. One privilege of this friendship is having prayers answered. If we are
disciples and true friends of Jesus, we will love as He loved us.
Saturday, 5 May 2018— Psalm
145:15-16; Revelation 19:1; Titus 3:4-7—The hymn of the Day is “Alleluia! Let Praises Ring”{LSB 822}.The
kindness of God, His undeserved mercy, and His grace is the reason why God did
not simply banish fallen man but acted to save Him. When using the word love,
Titus will use the Greek word philanthrapia,
the love for mankind. God so loved the world that He sent His Son Jesus. Thus
this hymn will fit in nicely with the theme for the Day.
Sources:
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House and Lutheran Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B John Brokhoff © 1981
CSS Publishing Lima, OH
Illustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, © WELS
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