Prayer for blessing
on the Word: Lord Jesus Christ,
giver and perfecter of our faith, we thank and praise You for continuing among
us the preaching of Your Gospel for our instruction and edification. Send Your
blessing upon the Word, which has been spoken to us, and by Your Holy Spirit
increase our saving knowledge of You, that day by day we may be strengthened in
the divine truth and remain steadfast in Your grace. Give us strength to fight
the good fight and by faith to overcome all the temptations of Satan, the
flesh, and the world so that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls;
for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever.Amen.
Prayer for those
outside the Church: Almighty and
everlasting God, You desire not the death of a sinner but that all would repent
and live. Hear our prayers for those outside the Church. Take away their
iniquity, and turn them from their false gods to You, the living and true God.
Gather them into Your holy Church to the glory of Your name; through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for seasonable
weather: Lord God, gracious and
merciful Father, because You have promised that You will hear us when we bring
You our cares, we implore You not to deal with us according to our sins but
according to Your mercy. Send seasonable weather so that in due time the earth
may yield her increase. Remind us ever to receive with thanks our daily bread,
trusting You as our gracious God; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the aged: Almighty God
and gracious Father, in Your mercy look on those whose increasing years bring
them weakness, anxiety, distress, or loneliness. Grant that they may always
know care and respect, concern and understanding. Grant them willing hearts to
accept help and, as their strength wanes, increase their faith with the
constant assurance of Your love through Jesus Christ, their Savior. Amen.
Prayers
from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
On Trinity Sunday, we make
special note of the work of all three persons of the Trinity who procure and
assure our salvation. A good supplemental reading to the readings for the day
is to be found in St. Paul ’s
epistle to the Ephesians, verses 3–11 of the first chapter. Paul explains how
the Father chose us in eternity and predestined us for salvation. The work of
redemption was accomplished through the shedding of blood—the blood of the Son
of God, who assumed flesh, that He might redeem us. The Holy Spirit has brought
us the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation, that we might trust in the
merits of Christ.Blessed be the Holy
Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him because He has shown
his mercy to us. (from Sunday’s
Introit)
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or
think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21 )
Monday, 21
May 2018—Psalm
16:8–11 ; Antiphon,
Liturgical Text—The
antiphon for Sunday’s Introit is an ancient liturgical text: Blessed be the
Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has
shown his mercy to us. The Triune God has first shown His mercy to us in
providing for our salvation, and our response is to give glory to Him.
Tuesday, 22
May 2018—Psalm 29 —This
psalm is a hymn of praise to the Lord for all His mighty acts, but
especially His mercy in blessing His
people with peace. When created, man was in perfect harmony with God. But
the fall made us His enemies. We
cannot restore peace with God; it is the work of the Holy Trinity alone: the
Father, who conceived the plan of our salvation, the Son, who came to earth and
died for our transgressions, and the Holy Spirit, who brings us into a right
relationship with God through the Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament.
Wednesday,
23 May 2018—Isaiah 6:1–8 —Isaiah received a vision of the Lord enthroned in His majesty and a call
to be a prophet of God. Because he is a Son of Adam, and therefore a man of
unclean lips, Isaiah is terrified to be in the Lord’s
presence, for it spells doom to those under sin’s curse.
But an angel sent by God absolves Isaiah of his sin
with a burning coal, and Isaiah accepts the mantle of prophecy. We, like
Isaiah, must acknowledge our sin and tremble before a holy God. But we must
also trust in the absolution won by the Son of God and pronounced by His called
and ordained servants.
Thursday, 24
May 2018—Acts 2:14a ,
22–36 —On
the Day of Pentecost, Peter was given power by the Holy Spirit to preach the
Word of God faithfully and authoritatively. He proclaims Christ crucified for
the forgiveness of sins and the redemption of sinners, and tells his audience, men
of Israel Psalm 16 , a portion of which serves as the Introit for
Sunday.
Friday, 25
May 2018—John 3:1–17 —Another man of Israel, Nicodemus, came to Jesus by
night, probably because he feared his fellow Pharisees. He had seen the signs
(miracles) that Jesus was able to do, and knew that such a one must have been
sent by God. Jesus tells Nicodemus how to be born from above, in Holy Baptism,
the washing of water with the Word of God. He also points to His own death,
again in fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. As God showed His love to
a rebellious, yet repentant people in providing the bronze serpent in the
wilderness (Numbers
21:4–9 ), so He shows His love by providing His Son, to take away a
problem far worse than snake bites, which kill only the body: Jesus Christ,
lifted up on the cross, takes away the sin of the world.
Saturday, 26
May 2018—Sunday’s hymn of the day, God Loved the World So
That He Gave (LSB 571) is John 3:16 set to music. Herein is
the sweet Gospel clearly proclaimed: Christ
Jesus saves your soul from death; That is the firmest ground of faith. The
final stanza rightly praises all three persons of the Trinity for their work in
accomplishing our salvation.
Collect for Trinity Sunday—Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us
grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a
true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us
steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Image © Higher Things
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