May 7-12, 2018
Preparation for next week, 7th Sunday of Easter
Prayer for the 6th Sunday of 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.
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 Ascension: Almighty 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.
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.
This coming Sunday will be the
Sunday after the Ascension. Jesus has departed and the church is on its own.
The disciples are left alone to confront the challenges of living in a fallen
world. Before He departs, Jesus prays for His friends. The First Lesson shows
the infant church with the problem of a vacancy in leadership and prays to the
ascended Lord for guidance in choosing a successor to Judas. Though Jesus has
ascended, Christians are not alone in the world. This thought is conveyed in
the Second Lesson as well as in the Gospel. The suggested hymn deals with the
church without the physical Jesus and urges the people not to fear, for God has
chosen to give them the kingdom.
Collect for the
Seventh Sunday in Easter O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph
far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit
of truth whom Y9ou promised from the Father, for You live and reigns with Him
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Monday, 7 May
2018—Psalm 27:1a, 4-5, 10, 14; antiphon, Psalm 27:7—The antiphon is “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious
to me and answer me!” The cry of the Psalmist is a prayer for deliverance
from treacherous enemies. These remain unspecified, whether from inside or
outside the kingdom or both. The chief weapon is a false charge intent on
discrediting the king. When people say all manner of things falsely against us,
we need not retaliate. Rather we are take our burdens, concerns, and sorrows to
the throne room of grace and be thankful as the Savior answers each petition
according to His perfect and good will.
Tuesday, 8 May 2018—Psalm 1 key verse v.6 —“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked
will perish.” This psalm verse gives us both Law and Gospel. The ways of
the wicked will be met with the full brunt of Law – the ultimate judgment for
unbelief and sin. The righteous, on the other hand, not by any merit on their
behalf but completely by grace,will be delivered on the last day. This of
course is Gospel. The destinies of two lifestyles are the destinies of those
who have chosen them.
Wednesday, 9 May 2018—Acts 1:12-26—The Post–Ascension church
prays for guidance. The church is living between Jesus’ departure and the
coming of the Holy Spirit. The time has come to fill the vacancy caused by
Judas’ suicide. The one to be chosen as a replacement is to be one who shared the
experience with Jesus from the time of His baptism to His Ascension and one who
can witness to the Resurrection. Two men met the qualifications: Joseph and
Matthias. God and not the church elected Matthias. The church merely asked the
ascended Lord which of the two He had chosen. After prayer, Matthias was chosen
to be one of the Apostles. The church’s leadership ranks were now filled and
ready for the Spirit’s coming.
Thursday, 10 May
2018—1 John 5:9-15—Everything we
do in life all boils down to faith. Faith is simply another word for “trust.”
Trust simply means to take God at His Word. Note and give special attention to
verse 10 which is critical. Anyone who
believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not
believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the
testimony god has given about His Son.
This is the same thing the Savior said to Nicodemus who came to visit
the Savior at night. Read John 3:15-18. See how clearly that this universal
truth is woven throughout the Scripture and that the Scriptures interpret
themselves namely that each passage explains the other more clearly. Forty
different men over a period of some 1,500 years wrote 66 books that in reality
make up one book. These books have one doctrinal viewpoint, one moral standard,
one plan of salvation, one program for the ages.
Friday, 11
May 2018—John 17:11b-19—The
Post-Ascension church confronts the world. In this high priestly prayer, Jesus
is aware that He is going to leave the world and His disciples will be left in
a fallen world. Think of what the world did to Him! Will not the disciples face
the same opposition? Naturally, the disciples would be afraid. Thus, Jesus
prays for His followers, not that they should be taken out of the world as He
is about to do, but that they should be protected from the Devil and the world.
He prays that they may be one as He and the Father are one. They are to be made
holy in His Word. As He was sent into the world, He sends them into the world
for the same purpose He was sent.
Saturday, 12 May 2018— Luke 12:32, Matthew 25:34; Psalm 103:3-5;
Matthew 28:20b – The hymn of the Day is “Have no fear, little flock”– {LSB 735} As the Easter season draws
to a close, we have no fear as our Lord
and Savior lives and reigns through all eternity. He has promised to send us
His Holy Spirit. Thus this new hymn reminds us that we are safe in His almighty
hand.
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing Lima, OH
Illustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, © WELS Permission to use this copyrighted item is limited to personal and congregational use.
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