Pr. DFD : October 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022

Morning Prayer #42

# 42 - Job Part 2

Satan Takes Job's Property and Children

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants [c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Footnotes:

Job 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17

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). © WELS used by permission for personal and congregational use.

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Morning Prayer #41

Job Pat 1

Job's Character and Wealth

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed [a] God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan [b] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Footnotes:

Job 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9

Job 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2

Job 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17

Luther's Seal © Higher Things

Monday prior to Proper 27

[1]

Psalm 115:2-4, 8, 17-18 antiphon, Psalm 115:11—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. We trust in God because He holds Himself to His Word. We trust in Him because He has proven Himself to be faithful; faithful to His Word, faithful to His promises, faithful to His people.

Psalm 115 – The Lord our Help and Our Shield

Psalm 115 is a continuation of the collection of the Egyptian Hallel psalms (Psalms 113-118) sung by the Jews during their Passover celebrations. It therefore makes up part of the hymns which would have been sung by Jesus and His disciples on the night He was betrayed and arrested, the night before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26). It is especially meaningful to consider this psalm in the heart and on the lips of Jesus during those great moments.

Regarding the structure of this psalm, the opinion of the majority of scholars is that the psalm is liturgical, intended to be sung by alternating groups of worshipers: the priests, the high priest, the people, and so on. [2]

The goodness and greatness of God are brought out in the lessons for next Sunday. According to the Gospel (Luke 20:27-40) we serve an eternal God - A God of the living. God is eternal life and all who live in Him have this life. His glory is seen in His conquest of death. In the Old Testament lesson (Exodus 3:1-15) Moses encounters the living Lord through the burning bush. The bush is on fire yet is not consumed. Moses is commanded to take off his sandals for he is standing on holy ground. In the Epistle (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17) God is a faithful God a God of steadfast love. The days are getting shorter. The end of the church year is approaching. We are in the midst of harvest. The eternal and faithful Lord has prepared for Himself a harvest of souls. Will you be numbered with His saints? Our good and gracious God has a destiny for you. He is the God of glory. [3]

Collect for Psalm 115: Lord God, creator and ruler of the universe, you have entrusted the care of the earth to its people. Grant that your children, surrounded by signs of your presence, may live continually in Christ, praising you through him and with him, now and forever, Amen. [4]

Collect for Reformation: Almighty God, Who, through the preaching of Thy servants, the blessed Reformers, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine forth; Grant, we beseech Thee, that, knowing its saving power, we may faithfully guard and defend it against all enemies, and joyfully proclaim it, to the salvation of souls and the glory of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Amen- [5] -31 October 2022

[1] Image of the cross, © Ed Riojas Higher Things

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-115/

[3] Lectionary Summary LCMS Commission on worship

[5]Ibid, Collect for Reformation

Proper 27 Series C

Proper 27 Series C

(November 6 -12)

Exodus 3:1–15

2 Thessalonians 2:1–8, 13–17

Luke 20:27–40

The Triune God Curbs Evil and Overcomes Death with Resurrection

Christians live as “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36), for the Lord our God “is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38). “Those who deny that there is a resurrection” (Luke 20:27) neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God, but the baptized faithful know “that the dead are raised” (Luke 20:37). For the Lord, who was, and is and is to come, knows Israel’s sufferings and has “come down to deliver them” (Exodus 3:8). Moses reveals the name of Yahweh to God’s chosen people, by which He is “remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:15). In contrast to that sacred remembrance of His name, St. Paul warns against the antichrist, who “takes his seat in the temple of God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). That lawless man preaches and practices the activity of Satan. Christians, however, are comforted by the coming of the Lord Jesus, who slays the antichrist and refutes his false doctrine “with the breath of his mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). By His preaching, “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Hear, receive and believe God’s promise of love, comfort and good hope.

Heretical Resurrection Beliefs (Luke 20:27-40)

Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege

At least three heretical beliefs about resurrection are associated with this Sunday’s Gospel. Verse 27 explains, “There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection.” This is the first of such wrong-headed beliefs associated with this reading: That there is no resurrection. Truly, as attested by both the Old and New Testaments, the bodies of dead human beings—even though they have returned to dust—will rise from the dead on the last day. The Sadducees, the “scientific” and “political” sect of ancient Judaism, did not believe this. Likewise today’s world—though it believes in the myth of evolution which claims life spontaneously rose from dust—refuses to believe that the Creator can resurrect a body. Yet Christians know that God who originally made man from dust has of course no difficulty in raising dust-scattered Adam—and all his descendants—from the dead.

A second resurrection heresy is the belief which holds to the immortality of the soul, but not to the immortality of the body. Today many “religious” people, including many who call themselves Christian, hold to this pagan belief espoused even by pagan Romans in Christ’s day. This heretical belief is that eternal life is simply the soul living forever, and the body, after death, is recognized to be merely the container for the soul in this life; they believe that once we die the body is no longer necessary. The Sadducees, though not believing in the resurrection, at least held to the Biblical doctrine that body and soul must be together. Thus the Sadducees understood that if there is eternal life it is an endless life that includes body and soul together forever. Our text can only be understood if one grasps the necessity of this unity of body and soul. Jesus, proving the resurrection, quotes Moses, “…he [Moses] calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living…” If Jesus were merely referring to departed spirits, this would be the opposite of proving the resurrection! To the Jewish hearers our Lord’s quote from Moses did NOT mean God is the God of the departed spirits of the Patriarchs, but it meant that the departed patriarchs are to be viewed as ultimately resurrected bodies, for God is not the God of the dead.

A third heresy that some attempt to draw from this text is that humans become angels in the next life. This cannot be true because angels are merely spirit-beings, and we will be beings with resurrected bodies. This heresy comes from misreading the text, for Jesus does not say that we will be angels, but that we will be equal to angels. The angels are immortal, and in this respect we will be equal to the angels, for we too will be immortal…having immortal bodies, and in this respect very different from angels!

Other than the testimony of the entire Scriptures, what is the proof for all of this? It is the death and resurrection of Jesus. For our salvation He entered that unnatural state of death, and his corpse was laid in a tomb. On the third day His body—yes His physical body—rose from the dead. Scriptures repeatedly attest that His is an immortal body (e.g. Rom. 6:9), and it is indeed a body that can walk, talk, eat, be touched, etc. His body was not simply a container for His soul in this life, nor did He become an angel after death, but He—the first man to rise immortal—is like the angels in their immortality. We, connected to Him in Baptism, “shall be like him [resurrected immortal], because we shall see Him as He is.” [1 Jn. 3:2]. Succinctly: We “believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

Luke 20:27

Προσελθόντες δέ τινες τῶν Σαδδουκαίων, οἱ [a]ἀντιλέγοντες ἀνάστασιν μὴ εἶναι, ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,

Luke 20:28

λέγοντες• Διδάσκαλε, Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν, ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ ἔχων γυναῖκα, καὶ οὗτος ἄτεκνος [b]ᾖ, ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ.

and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man[a] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

Luke 20:29

ἑπτὰ οὖν ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν• καὶ ὁ πρῶτος λαβὼν γυναῖκα ἀπέθανεν ἄτεκνος•

Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.

Luke 20:30

καὶ [c]ὁ δεύτερος

And the second

Luke 20:31

καὶ ὁ τρίτος ἔλαβεν [d]αὐτήν, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἑπτὰ οὐ κατέλιπον τέκνα καὶ ἀπέθανον•

and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.

Luke 20:32

ὕστερον [e]καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἀπέθανεν.

Afterward the woman also died.

Luke 20:33

[f]ἡ γυνὴ οὖν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τίνος αὐτῶν γίνεται γυνή; οἱ γὰρ ἑπτὰ ἔσχον αὐτὴν γυναῖκα.

In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

Luke 20:34

[g]Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς• Οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου γαμοῦσιν καὶ [h]γαμίσκονται,

And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,

Luke 20:35

οἱ δὲ καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε [i]γαμίζονται•

but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,

Luke 20:36

[j]οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποθανεῖν ἔτι δύνανται, ἰσάγγελοι γάρ εἰσιν καὶ υἱοί [k]εἰσιν θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως υἱοὶ ὄντες.

for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons[b] of the resurrection.

Luke 20:37

ὅτι δὲ ἐγείρονται οἱ νεκροὶ καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐμήνυσεν ἐπὶ τῆς βάτου, ὡς λέγει κύριον τὸν θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ [l]καὶ θεὸν Ἰσαὰκ [m]καὶ θεὸν Ἰακώβ•

But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Luke 20:38

θεὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων, πάντες γὰρ αὐτῷ ζῶσιν.

Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”

Luke 20:39

ἀποκριθέντες δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων εἶπαν• Διδάσκαλε, καλῶς εἶπας•

Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”

Luke 20:40

οὐκέτι [n]γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.

For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Time in the Word - Proper 27

God of Glory

Time in the Word
October 31 – November 05, 2022
Proper 27

Collect for Sunday O Lord, we pray that the visitation of Your grace may so cleanse our thoughts and minds that Your Son Jesus, when He shall come, may find in us a fit dwelling place; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

God of power and mercy, protect us from all harm. Give us freedom of spirit and health in mind and body to do Your work on earth. WE ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen

A Post – Pentecost Collect: Living God, Your almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy and pity. Grant us the fullness of Your grace to lay hold of Your promises and live forever in Your presence; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Collect for Psalm 148: God Most High, by Your Word You created a wondrous universe and through Your Spirit You breathed into it the breath of life. Accept creation’s hymn of praise from our lips, and let the praise that is sung in heaven resound in the heart of every creature on earth, to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Monday, 31 October 2022—Psalm115:2-4, 8, 17-18 antiphon, Psalm 115:11—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. We trust in God because He holds Himself to His Word. We trust in Him because He has proven Himself to be faithful; faithful to His Word, faithful to His promises, faithful to His people.

Tuesday, 01 November 2022—Psalm 148 — Let the angels praise God. Let the sun, moon and stars praise God. Let the heavens shout, Hallelujah! Everything that it owes praise to the Creator; the angels in heaven, sun, moon, and stars; nature, the deep, every creature on earth and all mankind.

Wednesday, 02 November 2022—Exodus 3:1-15— The Lord promises Moses to come down and to rescue His people. Notice in verse 12 the Lord promises I will be with you. The Hebrew word translated “I will be” is the same as the one translated “I am” in verse 14. The sign the Lord gives to Moses is a visible proof or guarantee that what God has promised He would surely fulfill.

Thursday, 03 November 2022—2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17— Paul wishes that God’s blessings may come to His people. In a day of discouragement, depression, and despair many feel there is no hope out of their troubles. Some consider themselves or others as hopeless. Hope disappears when we think that things will never improve. Are we doomed to things as they are? But, there is hope, for hope is not based on us or on the world but on God. Hope is a gift of God. If we go to god, we can have hope. For hope is ultimately based on God’s nature. In verse 16 two eternal truths are brought forward. God loves us in Christ and God has saved you through the grace of Christ.

Are we a praying people? Prayer is a two-way communication between God and the believer. It should also be a two-way deal among Christians. As one prays for another, the other reciprocates in prayer. We need to pray for each other, for we all are in need of prayer. In our lesson Paul prays for his people and he asks them to pray for him. Here is an ideal situation between a pastor and the people. It would also work in the family and on the job.

Friday, 04 November 2022 - Luke 20:27-40 — Heaven lacks a number of things; no stress, no hunger, no tears. Best of all there is no cemetery there, because there is no need for one. Heaven is where the living God is and where His people live in and with Him. These people do not die but share eternal life with Christ. There is no death in heaven because God is a God only of the living as people live in and to God. (vs. 38)

Saturday, 05 November 2022—2 Corinthians 12:9 -Matthew 8:23-27 - Our Hymn is “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.” (LSB #715). This background of our hymn written in 1870 lies in the work of Edward Hopper, during his ministry at the “Church of the Sea and the Land,” in New York. He was noted for his work among the sailors, to whim he devoted the last years of his ministry in the Presbyterian Church. In common with many hymns, “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” was first written as a poem. It was first published in The Sailor’s Magazine in 1871 and later came to be used in hymnals. The second stanza of the hymn suggests the miracle of Jesus calming the waves, when He was with His disciples on the sea. The way of life is compared to a voyage on the sea. There are great waves threatening to destroy, rocks upon which our ship may break. But the power of Jesus in our hearts can smooth the waters and carry us on to safety in the harbor of Heaven.

Sources: Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Collect for Pentecost 24 from Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C by John Brokhoff © 1979 CSS Publishing Lima OH
For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NYThe Story of 50 Hymns © 1934 By General Mills, Inc Minneapolis, MN
Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Reformation observed

Matthew 11:12-19
The price of Freedom

O God, Your infinite love restores to the right way those who err, seeks the scattered and preserves those whom you have gathered. Of your tender mercy pour out on your faithful people the grace of unity that, all schisms being ended Your flock may be gathered to the true Shepherd of Your Church and may serve You in all faithfulness.[1]

The word “freedom.” is quite literally, tossed about these days. When we mention this word “Freedom”, it come with individual rights and choices. Some in our culture will use this word, “freedom’ to imply there should be no limits, no restrictions, not cost for autonomy and liberty.

Some associate “Freedom,” with license, assuming that self-determination and independence implies no responsibilities or accountabilities.

On this Reformation Sunday, there is a sense of Freedom purchased for us by the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we consider the price of Freedom.

1. Freedom comes at a cost – Freedom is not free. It is bought with a price.

And the precious blood of Christ paid for the cost of freedom. And the price that was paid to redeem you; set you free from the wrath of an offended God, to cover the cost of the penalty of your sin, to reconcile you back to God was the cost of the precious blood of Jesus.

The Savior paid for you redemption with His own blood. “You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God’s” thus St. Paul teaches. – 1 Corinthians 6:20

Yes, you were bout with a price. It cost the Savior something with which to redeem you. The price that was paid to redeem you set you free from the wrath and penalty of sin. The price to reconcile you back to God was the cost of blood, which was shed by Christ at Calvary.

The writer to the Hebrews explains,” Neither by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. “

2. The price Christ’s blood came ironically with the kiss of betrayal.

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Yet in His innocent suffering and death, the blood of Jesus will cleans you of all sin. This the Scriptures teach us; “In him we have redemption through his bold, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. “ -Ephesians 1:7

“Knowing that you were ransomed from your futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. – 1 Peter 1:18-129

He himself bore our sin inn his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live unto righteousness. By His wounds, you have been healed. – 1Peter 2:24

For our sake, He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:231

3. That freedom is forgiveness in Christ.

In Christ, all sin is forgiven period, its freedom from paying an unpayable sin debut and so much more- You receive freedom from evil’s allure. Freedom from hell. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from lying, cheating, steeling.

The freedom of clarity when the fog of faulty thinking is lifted.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” – Revelation 5:9

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. -Isaiah 53:5

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— -Galatians 3:13

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10:45

The Savior grants you freedom to forgive yourself and the freedom to forgive others.

The Savior’s forgiveness allow you to walk out of the jail cell that is your pride into the freedom to forgive others. Christ forgives you so you are now free to forgive others around you and to walk in that forgiveness which brings you true freedom.

By grace through faith in Jesus, the Father forgives you. Joyfully you receive this forgiveness. Then you offer kindness, compassion, and mercy to others forgiving as Christ has forgiven you. Christ’s forgiveness is a cycle of freedom. The freedom you find in forgiveness is the freedom to love others, to forgive more freely as Christ has set you free.

Words-895

Passive Sentences – 13%

Readability – 75.2%

Reading Level -6.8

[1] Collect for Reformation

Friday, October 28, 2022

Saturday prior to Reformation

[1]

Sunday’s hymn of the day, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB #656) is Luther’s great battle hymn of the Reformation. Based on the Psalm of the day, Psalm 46, it reflects complete confidence in God, even when faced by a host of devils and the earthly adversities they bring. They can harm us none, for they have been felled—defeated—by one little Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Prayers for defending the Church from error: O Christ, our defender, protect us from all those whose plans would subvert Your truth through heresy and schism that, as You are acknowledged in heaven and on earth as one and the same Lord, so Your people, gathered from all nations, may serve You in unity of faith; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, You would have all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. By Your almighty power and unsearchable wisdom break and hinder all the counsels of those who hate Your Word and who, by corrupt teaching, would destroy it. Enlighten them with the knowledge of Your glory that they may know the riches of Your heavenly grace and, in peace and righteousness, serve You, the only true God; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for unity of faith: O God, Your infinite love restores to the right way those who err, seeks the scattered, and preserves those whom You have gathered. Of Your tender mercy pour out on Your faithful people the grace of unity that, all schisms being ended, Your flock may be gathered to the true Shepherd of Your Church and may serve You in all faithfulness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for spiritual renewal: Almighty God, grant that we, who have been redeemed from the old life of sin by our Baptism into the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, may be renewed by Your Holy Spirit to live in righteousness and true holiness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

Collect for Reformation: Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.[2]

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Morning Prayer #40

Ruth

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz,8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Friday prior to Reformation

[1]

John 8:31–36—Sunday’s Gospel speaks of the freedom we find in the Truth of Jesus Christ. All of us were born into slavery—the slavery of sin. But Christ has set us free from our bondage by His atoning sacrifice. The One who declares, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life tells us here that the Truth shall set us free. The Truth has set us free: the Truth which embodied in Christ Jesus and the Truth which He declares to us in His Word. We are free, indeed!

Jesus offers discipleship and freedom to those believing in Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The previous verse tells us that many believed in Him (John 8:30). Jesus spoke to those who had that beginning of belief, telling them what they needed to continue in belief.

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed: If we will be Jesus’ disciples, we must abide in His word. There is no other way. To be a follower of Jesus – the Word made flesh – is to abide (to live in, to dwell in, to make your home in) His word.

This too is another statement reflecting the unity between the Father and the Son. Jesus called men to abide in His word. In the mouth of anyone other than Jesus, these words would be absurd.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free: This is the result of abiding in the word of Jesus. We prove ourselves to be His disciples and we know the truth, and God works His freedom in our life through His truth. The freedom Jesus spoke of doesn’t come from just an academic pursuit of truth in general; but from abiding in His word and being His disciple.

There is nothing like the freedom we can have in Jesus. No money can buy it, no status can obtain it, no works can earn it, and nothing can match it. It is tragic that not every Christian experiences this freedom, which can never be found except by abiding in God’s word and being Jesus’ disciple.[2]

Collect for Friday of the week of Pentecost 19: Thou hast brought us to this place, O God, by al our several ways, ever keeping faith with us, for all our unfaithfulness. God before us still, we beseech Thee, by Thy Word and Spirit, leading us from this day forth where it shal please thee. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen [3] -28 October, 2022

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-8

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Morning Prayer #39

Sampson Part 2

Judges 15-16

(Selective Verses)

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.”14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.

4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

Thursday prior to Reformation

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Romans 3:19–28—Theologians use a Latin phrase that describes our relationship with God’s Holy Law: “Lex semper accusat,” that is, ‘the Law always accuses’. This is because none of us sinful humans can obey God’s Law perfectly. Both our original sin and our actual sin condemn us.

But there is a righteousness before God apart from the Law and apart from ourselves and anything we do. This righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to us through faith in the propitiating death of Christ on our behalf. Because of Christ’s fulfillment of the Law, and His blood which He shed for us, God declares us ‘not guilty’.

Summation: The law cannot save us from our sin and the penalty it deserves.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. V.19

Whatever the law says: Paul points out that this horrific description of man’s utter sinfulness come to us in the law; and it is intended for those under the law, to silence every critic and to demonstrate the universal guilt of mankind – that all the world may become guilty before God.

It says to those who are under the law: If God speaks this way to those who had the law, and attempted to do the law, it is evident that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.

Remember that many Jewish people of Paul’s day took every passage of the Old Testament describing evil and applied it only to the Gentiles – not to themselves. Paul makes it clear that God speaks to those who are under the law.

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight: The law cannot save us. The law can’t justify anyone. It is useful in giving us the knowledge of sin, but it cannot save us.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have tried to justify themselves by the deeds of the law. In the Garden of Eden Adam tried to make himself presentable to God by making coverings out of fig leaves – and he failed. In Job, the oldest book of the Bible, the problem is presented clearly: how can a man be righteous before God? (Job 9:2). God makes part of the answer clear here through Paul – the answer is not in the performance of good works, in the deeds of the law.

How we need to deeply understand this – that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified!

· This means that the law, having been broken, now can only condemn us – it can never save us.

· This means that even if we could now begin to perfectly keep the law of God it could not make up for past disobedience, or remove present guilt.

· This means that keeping the law is NOT God’s way of salvation or of blessing under the New Covenant.

For by the law is the knowledge of sin: J.B. Phillip’s paraphrase of this phrase is striking. He writes, “it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are.”[2]

Collect for Thursday of the week of Pentecost 19: O Blessed Jesus, you know the impurity of our affection, the narrowness of our sympathy, and the coldness of our love; take possession of our souls and fill our minds with the image of yourself, break the stubbornness of our selfish wills and mold us in the likeness of your unchanging love, O you who alone can do this, our Savior, our Lord and our God. Amen [3] -27 October, 2022

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/romans-3/