Easter Tuesday

Easter Tuesday, April 3, 2018                                         Psalm 2

Our Psalm for today is appointed to be read on Christmas and Easter. Two high days on the church calendar. You cannot separate these two events. They teach the same message. 

What God did not become. He could not save. And so, He comes into the world as one of us. Jesus came into the world. To be counted with sinners. To save sinners. 

At the right time, God our heavenly Father would send His only Son. Jesus would enter into our world. Breaking into time and space. He came to be your substitute. He would live the perfect life for you. He would die the death that you deserve. And there, at a cross, He would trade your sin, your misery and your guilt for His perfection and work out what you and I could never, ever do! 

Yes, Jesus has done for you better than what you could ever do for yourself. When settling the issue with sin, Jesus acts alone. He dealt with the issues of your brokenness Himself. Period. With no help from anyone. The Father sends His own Son to the cross. Jesus bore your sin. He carried it alone. – To the cross of Calvary. There He died for you. 

There He wins salvation for the entire world. And on the third day. He rose from the dead to prove to you that this freedom. This forgiveness. This new life. Has been credited to you.

Hymn: I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Lutheran Service Book 461:8)
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same;
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives;

I know that my Redeemer lives!

Break in sunder, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the chains of our sins; that, taking upon us Thy light yoke and easy burden, we may serve Thee, with fear and reverence, all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 1

Almighty God, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You overcame death and opened to us the grate of everlasting life. We humbly pray that we may live before You in righteousness and purity forever;  2

1 © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

2 Collect for Easter Sunrise, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Easter Monday

Easter Monday, April 2, 2018                                 Psalm 100:5

The Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. His faithfulness lasts to all generations. The Lord reigns. The Lord lives. Great is His faithfulness. 

For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting;
      and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
He declares that we should never be weary in praising
          him, seeing his mercies toward us last forever.

Hymn: Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious (Lutheran Service Book 548:1)
Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious!
Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life!
Death hath now no power o’er us,
Thou hast conquered in the strife.
Thanks because Thou didst arise
And has opened paradise!
None can fully sing the glory
Of the resurrection story.

We rejoice in thee, O Lord everlasting, with gladness and exultation, beseeching Thee, that while the gates of our hearts are thrown open in Thy praise, they may also be flung wide to receive Thy mercy and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen. 1

Praise God. His mercy endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. “The Lord is God” and “The Lord is Good.” Let the whole earth sing and be glad.

O God, in the paschal feat You restore all creation. Continue to send Your heavenly gifts upon Your people that they may walk in perfect freedom and receive eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 2

 1. © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

 2. Collect for Easter Monday, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018    1 Chronicles 16:8-16

Three psalms are arranged specifically to emphasize Israel’s thanks for the Lord’s merciful deeds. Recite this psalm to express your thanks to God, including specific examples of His mercy in your life. For His steadfast love, which He professes to you through His beloved Son, truly endures forever. 

 1 Chronicles 16:8 8 “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!” Thanksgiving ought to be the attitude each person has, for we each have received much to be thankful. This is certainly the attitude that God’s people ought to have as God has lavished His steadfast love upon us through Jesus Christ.

Hymn: Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands (Lutheran Service Book 458:1)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands
For our offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand He stands
And brings us life from heaven.
Therefore let us joyful be
And sin to God right thankfully
Loud songs of Alleluia!

Blessed be the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. 

Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrated with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 2

1. Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2. Collect for Easter, Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday, March 31, 2018       Job 14:7-14

After some species of trees are cut down, they will sprout new shoots (suckers) from their roots. Isaiah also uses this picture to describe the Savior coming from the “stump of Jesse” (the father of King David and ancestor of Christ Isaiah 11:1-2) Centuries later, long after the royal line of David seemed dead, Jesus would fulfill these words. 

Contrary to what religions of reincarnation (e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism) teach an individual does not come back. The Bible teaches that we die once and then face the judgment. (See Hebrews 9:27) 1

The message of Hebrews 9:28 points to the nature of the atonement that Jesus did while he was on earth. In that time, he came down to the level of humanity and went through every experience, and later died once and for all in sacrificial ways. The sacrifice was a one-time event and after that he went to be with God. In the eschatological moment, Hebrews informs readers that Christ will come for the second time and when he comes, there will be no repeat of the sacrifice but it will be a time to usher in salvation to those who have remained faithful, whether in the sleep of death or in their physical life (verse 28).

Hymn: Upon The Cross Extended (Lutheran Service Book 453:5)
Your soul in griefs unbounded
Your head with thorns surrounded,
You died to ransom me.
The cross for me enduring;
The crown for me securing,
You healed my wounds and set me free.

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen  2

1  Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis 

 2 Collect for Holy Saturday, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Good Friday

Good Friday, March 30, 2018 Genesis 22:1-8

Our Old Testament reading - is a familiar one; the testing of Abraham. When we New Testament believers hear this account, it reminds us of our Savior Jesus. – The Lord Will Provide –He supplies a substitute for Isaac. The ram is caught by its horns, and thus remains unblemished, the perfect sacrifice. Likewise, the Lord offered up His Son Jesus on the cross to be our substitute. He was the perfect sacrifice, unblemished by the taint of sins.

The great hymn of the Reformation, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB #656), reminds us that, though the devil is a formidable foe, one whom we are unable to overcome on our own, he has been defeated by the Word made flesh, our Savior Jesus. ‘Our victory has been won; The Kingdom ours remaineth.’

Hymn: Lamb of God, Pure and Holy (Lutheran Service Book 434:3)
Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer,
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o’er us;
Have mercy on us, O Jesus! O Jesus!

Almighty God, Graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 1

  1. Collect for Good Friday Lutheran Service Book © 20016 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, 29 March, 2018    Exodus 12:1-14

Passover marks a new era for the people of Israel and foreshadows the new spiritual Israel in Christ, the perfect Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. (See 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 7:27) 1

The lamb’s slaughter takes place at twilight, literally “between the evenings” (12:7). It is the hour of transition between day and night, a time of ending and beginning. The lamb’s blood upon the doorposts of the Israelites’ houses similarly marks transition. These houses are not their permanent dwellings. They provide short-term protection. But their most important feature is the doorway, site of entry and exit. The life-blood of the lamb marks that exit, protecting, hallowing, and preparing their departure from slavery in Egypt. From death to life.

Hymn: Jesus, Greatest at the Table (Lutheran Service Book 446:5)
Jesus gave to His disciples
A commandment that was new;
“Show My love to one another,
Do as I have done for you;
All the world will know you love Me
As you love each other too.”

O Lord, I am in need of a Shepherd to seek and save me, for I am a straying sheep. You are the Good Shepherd who seeks and saves the lost. Save me, O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 

O Lord God, who hast left unto us in a wonderful Sacrament a memorial of Thy Passion, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so use this Sacrament of Thy body and blood that the fruits of Thy redemption may continually be manifest in us.

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before He suffered, instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1 Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2 Collect for Maundy Thursday, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Wednesday of Holy Week

Wednesday of Holy Week, 28 March, 2018 Psalm 67

The Psalm of the day express the fact that God’s salvation is for all people. The psalmist begins with the familiar Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24–26), a blessing originally applied to the children of Israel, but then extends it to all people: that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations.

The promise of the Holy Spirit is a promise that all nations will be gathered into the church of the living God. David gives us a taste of what is to come as he pictures for us folk—from every tribe, kindred, and nation—coming to the holy hill of the Lord. The nations sing the praise of God; they see the good things done to His chosen ones.

Hymn: O Love, How Deep (Lutheran Service Book 544:5)
For us, by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He born the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.

Show the light of Thy Countenance upon us, O Lord, and pour Thy blessing abundantly into our breasts; that our hearts, bedewed with the gladness of Thy light, may know Thy way upon earth, and be glad in the full knowledge of the holy faith among all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen. 1 

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave His body to be whipped and His face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

 1. © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

 2. Collect for Wednesday of Holy Week, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Tuesday of Holy Week

Tuesday of Holy Week, 27 March, 2018                      Isaiah 49:1-7

Witnessing to all nations. The Lord calls His servant, Israel, to bring the light of salvation to the nations. Here we have the second of the servant songs in Isaiah. The servant tells how the Lord called and chose him before he was born. For the task of restoring Israel, he was equipped with a mouth “like a sharp sword” and was made like “a polished arrow.” Yet, he feels that his labor was in vain. Then the Lord speaks to him and becomes his strength. However, the Lord has broadened his task to bring light and salvation not only to Israel but also to the whole world.

Who is Jesus? This is the question the world must address. At just the right time, a time set by the Father, He sent His Son, to be born of a woman. Jesus was truly human; He was born under the law to be subject to the Jewish law. Now those who are called by the Gospel are incorporated into the family of faith. Outside might be cold and gloomy. The landscape appears to be lifeless. Yet new life is granted to us as we see Jesus who entered our world to be our Savior to win us back to full favor with the Father.

Hymn: Glory Be to Jesus (Lutheran Service Book 433:2)
Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind!

Almighty and everlasting God, grant us grace to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s Passion that we may obtain the pardon of our sins.

Almighty and everlasting God, grant us grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s Passion that we may receive the pardon of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

O God, by the passion of Your blessed Son You made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 

1.  Collect for Tuesday of Holy Week, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Monday of Holy Week

Monday of Holy Week, 26 March, 2018                  Isaiah 42:1-9

God chooses and delights in His Servant. God chooses His servant to be the light of the nations. Epiphany is the season for world outreach with the Gospel. The Lord describes the character and work of His Servant. This is the first of four servant songs in Isaiah. In verses 1-4 the Servant is described as chosen and well-pleasing to the Lord, Spirit-filled, patient, and faithful. In verses 5-9, the work of the Servant is to bring the light of salvation to the world, justice, and He shall be a covenant of the people. As the Servant was anointed with the Spirit, Jesus at His baptism received the Holy Spirit. As the Servant was “chosen, in whom my soul delights,” at His baptism, God’s voice said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” As the Servant was given a task (vv. 6-7), Jesus’ ministry began at His baptism.

Hymn: We Sing the Praise of Him Who Died (Lutheran Service Book 429)
To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who amid so many adversities do fail through our own infirmities, may be restored through the Passion and intercession of Your only-begotten Son.

Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first He suffered pain, and entered not into glory before He was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 1

1. Collect for Monday of Holy Week, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018            Zechariah 9:9-12

Jerusalem has promised that her king is coming to bring peace to the nations. Rejoice (v. 9). What is there to rejoice about? Can we rejoice over the shortage of energy, the arms race, the pollution of the earth, the racial unrest, and political corruption? God gives Israel reason to rejoice — a world ruler is coming in peace for the peace of the world. If we could have world peace, a world government of justice, a ruler of compassion, we would have reason to shout with joy. Has this King not come in Jesus? Christians should be a celebrating people.

Hymn: No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet (Lutheran Service Book 444:3)
What fading flow’rs His road adorn;
The palms how soon laid down!
No bloom or leaf but only thorn
The king of glory crown.
The soldiers mock, the rabble cries,
The streets with turmult ring,
As Pilate to the mob replies,
“Behold, behold your King!”

Almighty God, You have given us this good land as our heritage. Grant that we remember Your generosity and constantly do Your will. Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action. Make us who come from many nations with many different languages a united people. Defend our liberties, and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom that there may be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; in troubled times do not let our trust in You fail; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen 1

Almighty and ever living God, in Your tender love for the human race You sent Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of His great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of His suffering, and also share in His resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1.  Collect for our Nation, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2.  Collect for Palm Sunday, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Saturday of Lent 5

Saturday of Lent 5, March 24, 2018 Ezekiel 37:21-28

God will restore the kingdom through new hope and faith. According to chapter 34, it will be unlike any earthly dominion in that these will not be a succession of rulers, but only one Shepherd or King – God’s “servant David” Jesus Christ. His unending rule will claim the allegiance of the nations the world over. Jesus fulfills this prophecy of His messianic reign when He spoke of “one flock, one shepherd in John 10:16. (See Galatians 3:26-29)  1

The prophet foresees a time when the two divided kingdoms of the Jews (Israel/Ephraim and Judah, the Northern and Southern kingdoms) will be united into one and forever and when all those living abroad who belong to Israel will come back. This will be a feature of the Messianic age.

“I shall gather them together from everywhere and bring them home” a sentence which is echoed in the Gospel when John says that Jesus will die “not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God”. They will give up all their sinful ways and all forms of idolatry and abominations, with which they had been plagued for so many generations, and will be cleansed by God.

Hymn: O Darkest Woe (Lutheran Service Book 448:6)
O Virgin Son,
What Thou hast won
Is far beyond all telling;
How our God, detested, died,
Hell and devil felling.

Almighty God, You alone speak the words of eternal life. Save us, Lord, for we cannot save ourselves. 

O Lord, in Your goodness You bestow abundant graces on Your elect: Look with favor, we entreat You, upon those who in these Lenten days are being prepared for You Holy Baptism, and grant them the help of Your protection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1  Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

 q Collect for Saturday of Lent 5,  http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Friday of Lent 5

Friday of Lent 5, March 23, 2018 Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah trusts God to deliver him from those who oppose his preaching.  Here is one who wants to quit but cannot. He decides not to preach but he finds himself driven to keep going. It is like a fire in his bones that must be expressed or explode! He is driven by an inner voice. The love of Christ, faith of God, the sense of obedience, impels, and compels one to witness regardless of popular acceptance.  Faith overcomes fear. In the midst of persecution, Jeremiah puts his trust in God’s deliverance from his enemies. He was sure God would vindicate him and his oppressors would be eliminated. His trust was justified, for when he was released from the dungeon, Jeremiah exulted, “

Praise the Lord!” (v. 13).

Psalm 79:9 is the inspiration for the hymn “Lord of our life and God of our salvation.” {LSB 725}.  Taken from a prayer for God to heal and forgive His people and to redress the violent acts of their enemies. When we are attacked by slander, persecution, and the temptations of the devil, our world, and our own sinful self, we turn to Him who is our safe refuge, the Rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ the righteousness one.

Hymn: Ride On, Ride On in Majesty (Lutheran Service Book 441:3)
Ride on, ride on in majesty
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wond’ring eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.

O Lord, you relieve our necessity out of the abundance of your great riches: Grant that we may accept with joy the salvation you bestow, and manifest it to all the world by the quality of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 1

1. Collect for Friday of Lent 5, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Thursday of Lent 5

Thursday of Lent 5, March 22, 2018 Genesis 17:1-8

Abram’s name is changed to Abraham as the Lord gives him the covenant of circumcision. The covenant is God’s. God calls it “my covenant” as He initiates and established it. God has covenanted to keep His promises. The Lord gives us His pledge to be the protector of His people and the One who provides for their well-being and guarantees their future blessings.   

The Lord calls Abraham to walk before Him and be blameless. We do this today through our adoption into the family of God by faith in Christ.  

Hymn: A Multitude Comes from the East and the West (Lutheran Service Book 510:1)
A multitude comes from the east and the west
To sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord’s invitation.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!

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. 1

O God, You have called us to be Your children, and have promised that those who suffer with Christ will be heirs with him of Your glory: Arm us with such trust in him that we may ask no rest from his demands and have no fear in his service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1. Collect for the blessing of the Word, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2. Collect for Thursday of Lent 5, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Wednesday of Lent 5

Wednesday of Lent 5, March 21, 2018 Psalm 90:13-17

Psalm 90 is a psalm written by Moses, and is a great comfort in times of sadness. It starts out with a confession that the Lord abides with us always; “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Verses 12–17 are a prayer for the continuation of God’s favor, and the wish that He would carry out His work of salvation and bless His people’s undertakings to that end.

In Mark 10:17–22 A rich young man was off in his thinking from the very start, when he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Inheriting eternal life is not a matter of our doing; it is a gift of grace. Jesus tried to show the man that he could not earn his salvation, by directing him to the commandments. Yet, the young man persisted in his self-righteousness by proclaiming that he had kept them all from his youth. Still, Jesus looked on him with love and compassion, as a wayward sheep. He directs the man to the First Commandment, by asking him to give up all he had. This young man loved the things of the world more than the things of God, and so he went away sorrowful. How can any person enter the Kingdom of God? Not on his own merits, for with man it is impossible…but all things are possible with God.

Hymn: The Head that Once Was Crowned With Thorns (Lutheran Service Book 532:6)
The cross He bore is life and health;
Through shame and death to Him;
His people’s hope, His people’s wealth,
Their everlasting theme.

Keep us, O Lord, from one generation to another, and let not us, who have clung to Thy foundation, be carried away with this present world, but arise to be our Comforter in trouble, and by the bestowal of joy wipe away our sorrows; 

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of Your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve You; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1 © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

 2 Collect for Wednesday of Lent 5, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Tuesday of Lent 5

Tuesday of Lent 5, March 20,  2018    Numbers 21:4-9

Moses guides God’s people in the direction of the Red Sea, away from the primary objective of the Promised Land. Rebellion begins anew. Our lives also persist in a pattern of rebellion, repentance and restoration. Those in Israel who repented received God’s salvation by looking at the sign of His mercy in faith. (v.9) What an excellent precursor of God redemption through the cross. Those who look upon the cross in faith are saved. 1   

The people name their sin and then ask Moses to pray for them. This role as intermediary is what Moses does best: facilitating communication between God and God’s people. In this story, God does not give the people what they ask for. They want Moses to get God to “take away the serpents from us” (Numbers 21:7). But the serpents do not go away, nor do they stop biting. Instead, God instructs Moses on how to heal the people who are bitten; they are still bitten, but they live. Deliverance does not come in the way that they expect.

Hymn: Jesus, in Your Dying Woes (Lutheran Service Book 447:15)
May we thirst Your live to know.
Lead us in our sin and woe
Where the healing waters flow;
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Gracious Lord, send Your Holy Spirit to deepen our faith in Christ; that we live by daily repentance and faith in Your Son.

Almighty God, through the incarnate Word You have caused us to be born anew of an imperishable and eternal seed: Look with compassion upon those who are being prepared for Holy Baptism, and grant that they may be built as living stones into a spiritual temple acceptable to You; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen  2

1. Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2. Collect for Tuesday of Lent 5, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Monday of Lent 5

Monday of Lent 5, March 19, 2018       2 Kings 4:32-37

The Shunammite woman passionately seeks the Lord’s help for her son by seeking out Elisha. When you seek the Lord in prayer, pour out your heart to Him. Bow before Him and make your petitions known. The Lord has made His heart known for you in the life, death and resurrection of His only-begotten Son our Savior.  1

In the Gospel from John, Jesus also started with loaves of barley to feed the hungry.  We also see that while Elisha fed one hundred, Jesus fed five thousand, and the text quantifies the amount left over as enough to fill twelve baskets.  The reading from the epistle to the Ephesians proclaims that this God is one who is able to do more than we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  The specific example from Kings is that God is able to provide food to people who are hungry and in need, according to God's word.

Hymn: In Peace and Joy I Now Depart (Lutheran Service Book 938:1)
In peace and joy I now depart
Since God so wills it.
Serene and confident my heart;
Stillness fits it.
For the Lord has promised me
That death is but a slumber.

Hear me, O Lord, when I cry to You. Answer me according to Your mercy. Amen 

Be gracious to Your people, we entreat you, O Lord, that they, repenting day by day of the things that displease you, may be more and more filled with love of You and of Your commandments; and, being supported by your grace in this life, may come to the full enjoyment of eternal life in Your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

1. Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis 

2. Collect for Monday of Lent 5,   http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Sunday of Lent 5

Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 18, 2018             Psalm 126

May God give us the expectation that times of sudden refreshment will come from Him. Perhaps now you are in a time of sowing with bitter tears. Do not despair of His grace. Trust in His power to do the unimaginable through overflowing kindness.1  

Augustine interprets the title, "A Song of Degrees, i.e. a Song of drawing upwards", of the drawing (going) up to the heavenly Jerusalem. This is right, inasmuch as the deliverance from the captivity of sin and death should in an increased measure excite those feelings of gratitude which Israel must have felt on being delivered from their corporeal captivity; in this respect again is the history of the outward theocracy a type of the history of the church. --Augustus F. Tholuck, 1856.

Hymn: Dear Christians One and All Rejoice (Lutheran Service Book 556:8)
Though he will shed My precious blood,
Me of My life bereaving,
All this I suffer for your good;
Be steadfast and believing.
Life will from death the vict’ry win;
My innocence shall bear your sin,
And you are blessed forever.

By faith we rejoice God Lord in the sowing of Jesus body on Good Friday and the harvest of blessing He prepared on Easter morn.

Comfort Thy people, O Lord, and deliver us from the evil captivity of sin, that what we sow here in tears, we may reap in joy through Thy bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen. 

Almighty God, You alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant Your people grace to love what You command and desire what You promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 3

1. Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2. © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

3. Collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Saturday of Lent 4

Saturday of Lent 4, March 17, 2018           Jeremiah 11:18-20

The people break God’s covenant incurring the curses pronounced when their ancestors entered the Promised Land. Persistent apostasy can have only once outcome; God’s judgment. Yet the lord also stands ready to forgive His people and rescue them from impending disaster. If only they repent and return to Him in faith.1

Jeremiah’s laments are not unlike the typical blues song. They follow an artistic pattern that involves repeated expressions of hardship leading to a poetic transition in which the prophet expresses trust that God will vindicate him in some way. The prophet’s speech is followed by God’s response in Vv. 21-23. By the end of the passage, there is a sense of emotional resolution for Jeremiah, even if only temporary. Although Jeremiah’s poetic expression is not exactly the same as singing the blues as we know it, this pattern is well-established in biblical literature. Jeremiah’s confessions are very similar to the laments found in the Psalms (see Psalms 3-7)

Hymn: We Sing the Praise of Him Who Died (Lutheran Service Book 429:5)
The balm of life, the cure of woe,
The measure and the pledge of love,
The sinner’s refuge here below,
The angels’ theme in heav’n above.

Dear Father, grant us Your holy Spirit to work daily repentance in us and to keep us faithful to You. 

Mercifully hear our prayers, O Lord, and spare all those who confess their sins to You; that those whose consciences are accuse by sin may by Your merciful pardon be absolved; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2 

1. Lutheran Study Bible, © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

2. Collect for Saturday of Lent 4, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Friday of Lent 4

Friday of Lent 4, March 16, 2018                Psalm 34:15-22

In the antiphon (verse 11), David calls us to listen to him, that he may teach us the fear of the Lord: one who is not foolish, and acknowledges the Lord, will turn away from evil and do good; he will seek peace and pursue it. These righteous ones will the Lord deliver out of all their troubles.

Having received from the Lord Jesus Christ living bread, we seek to serve Him with holy fear, living as wise, not foolish ones, during our days on earth, and looking forward to the day when we leave this world below, and enter Heaven, where joys unmingled flow.

Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to life eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 1

Hymn: Here Us, Father, When We Pray (Lutheran Service Book 773:3)
Jesus, advocate on high,
Sacrificed on Calv’ry’s altar,
Through Your priestly blood we cry:
Hear our prayer, though they may falter;
Place them on Your Father’s throne
As Your own.

O God, Ruler of the angels and of all creatures, send forth Thine Angel to encamp round about us, that we, being guarded by His protection, may be delivered from the most evil death of sin; through the same, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. 2

O God, You have given us the good news of Your abounding love in Your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 3

 1. Collect for Proper 15 Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

 2. © 2005 Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

 3. Collect for Friday of Lent 4,  http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

Thursday of Lent 4

Thursday of Lent 4, March 15, 2018                        Exodus 32:7-14

Moses intercedes for God’s mercy on Israel.  This shows that Moses had grown in love for Israel. He makes intercession although God offered Moses another people but he did not accept it, he cleaves to the sinners, he prayers for the sinners. Moses argues that God’s justified destruction of Israel might cause the nations to blaspheme God and become even more alienated from Him.  Though God would be just in punishing Israel Moses cries for mercy. 

We too cry out for the Savior’s mercy. We ask that God would not deal with us according to our sin. We ask that the Lord would show mercy to our neighbor. We ask that God would be patient with an unbelieving world. This is the life of the Christian. Standing in the position of petitioning the God of grace to have mercy upon us all.  For whom will you plead for mercy today?  

Hymn: Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow (Lutheran Service Book 428:2)
Here the King of all the ages,
Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying,
Crucified by sin for me.

Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what You intend us to be and accomplish what You want us to do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 2

 1. Collect for Thursday of Lent 4, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm