Our reading challenge for the day is 2 Chronicles 6-10. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
2 Chronicles 6 - In the dedicatory prayers for the temple, see how Solomon prays that God’s mercy would be upon his people and upon all who call on God. We would normally like to dedicate things for our service or for just our people. Solomon’s desire, and God’s desire, is that the mercy and grace of the Lord should be shown to all people everywhere.
2 Chronicles 7 - Even as God accepts the offerings Solomon makes at the consecration of the temple he continues to warn Solomon not to turn aside from the true faith. We likewise are to be on guard, not depending on our obedience, but depending on the Lord in whose grace we stand.
2 Chronicles 8 - Solomon has interesting situations, first with his wife the daughter of Pharaoh, then later with other wives. In chapter 8 he makes it clear that she, not being a partaker of the covenant of God, is not to be in the holy places. Later we will see that he is led astray by his wives and allows his identity to become confused. May we always be careful in our human relationships, looking to God and His will above all those allegiances we might have with other people.
2 Chronicles 9 - The author of Chronicles sees the riches of Solomon as a sign of God’s blessing upon him and on the kingdom of Israel. Yet not all was well. The kingdom was set up for strife and dissension.
2 Chronicles 10 - Between Jeroboam the son of Nebat and Rehoboam the son of Solomon both the southern and northern kingdoms are full of turmoil. How our leaders live out their lives before God makes a difference in the way our lives will be as well. May the Lord draw our leaders to himself.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 23 Day 2
Our reading challenge for the day is 2 Chronicles 1-5. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
2 Chronicles 1 - Even as Solomon seeks wisdom from God, he receives not only wisdom but riches. He busily works on a building program even as he enriches himself and the kingdom, taking on more and more of the trappings of other monarchs. What kind of trappings do we take on when God blesses us? Do they end up serving as nets and snares which will . . . well, trap us?
2 Chronicles 2 - God blesses different people with different skills. He brings specialists into contact with Solomon so they can do the fancy work involved in building the temple. We all do well to consider not only the gifts God has given us but also the gifts He has given others.
2 Chronicles 3-4 - There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into this temple. Consider the size of the building. It would fit inside most of our modern church buildings except it is very tall. The temple isn’t a place where people gather to hear the Word of God and worship together. It is a place where they would bring sacrifices which would be offered by the priest and received by God. The corporate life of Israel happens outside of the temple, in the community.
2 Chronicles 5 - The consecration of the temple is full of the praises of God because of his goodness and his everlasting mercy. In God’s presence none can stand. How do we consider God’s presence? Do we approach worship in a reverent way, knowing that when our Lord speaks and appears to his people we cannot possibly stand before him?
2 Chronicles 1 - Even as Solomon seeks wisdom from God, he receives not only wisdom but riches. He busily works on a building program even as he enriches himself and the kingdom, taking on more and more of the trappings of other monarchs. What kind of trappings do we take on when God blesses us? Do they end up serving as nets and snares which will . . . well, trap us?
2 Chronicles 2 - God blesses different people with different skills. He brings specialists into contact with Solomon so they can do the fancy work involved in building the temple. We all do well to consider not only the gifts God has given us but also the gifts He has given others.
2 Chronicles 3-4 - There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into this temple. Consider the size of the building. It would fit inside most of our modern church buildings except it is very tall. The temple isn’t a place where people gather to hear the Word of God and worship together. It is a place where they would bring sacrifices which would be offered by the priest and received by God. The corporate life of Israel happens outside of the temple, in the community.
2 Chronicles 5 - The consecration of the temple is full of the praises of God because of his goodness and his everlasting mercy. In God’s presence none can stand. How do we consider God’s presence? Do we approach worship in a reverent way, knowing that when our Lord speaks and appears to his people we cannot possibly stand before him?
Chapter 2 “The Means of Grace: The Presence of God”
The idea of a “means of grace” is not very familiar in the broadly evangelical Church culture of Western Christianity. Lutherans use the term “means of grace” a little differently than those other groups who use the term. While Veith doesn’t go into the specifics, Lutherans define a means of grace as having God’s word of command and promise as well as an earthly element. So we are able to define three different means of grace: Scripture, baptism, and communion. This does not mean that God doesn’t use other means to encourage his people, but the true encouragement in Christ comes through the Scripture.
Veith talks in detail about the Word of God as something with supernatural power. This makes some people uncomfortable. Confessing that words on a page have power to make spiritual change by their proclamation and reception by faith is not within the mainstream of our modern and postmodern thought. Yet the Bible consistently takes a view of the physical granting spiritual grace. Likewise in baptism water conveys the washing of sin, a spiritual benefit. And in communion we would confess that Jesus is truly present. Veith does not go as far as traditional Lutheranism in his statements, allowing for some other groups to say that they believe Jesus is truly present in communion, but truly spiritually present. A Lutheran view is that Jesus is present in true bodily substance, though imperceptibly, along with the bread and wine.
Veith talks in detail about the Word of God as something with supernatural power. This makes some people uncomfortable. Confessing that words on a page have power to make spiritual change by their proclamation and reception by faith is not within the mainstream of our modern and postmodern thought. Yet the Bible consistently takes a view of the physical granting spiritual grace. Likewise in baptism water conveys the washing of sin, a spiritual benefit. And in communion we would confess that Jesus is truly present. Veith does not go as far as traditional Lutheranism in his statements, allowing for some other groups to say that they believe Jesus is truly present in communion, but truly spiritually present. A Lutheran view is that Jesus is present in true bodily substance, though imperceptibly, along with the bread and wine.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 23 Day 1
Our reading challenge for the day is 1 Thessalonians 1-5. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
1 Thessalonians 1 - The fellowship of the believers with one another, looking to the Lord in faith, serves as a witness to the world that God has granted life and salvation through faith in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 2 - See the love that Paul, Silas and Timothy, the apostles, have for the people in Thessalonica. This mutual love and respect is based on the bringing and reception of the Gospel as God’s true word. What respect do we have for the Word of God and for those who bring it to us, as well as those who receive it with us or from us?
1 Thessalonians 3 - How do we react when someone is critically ill? We are concerned, we check on the person, we send others to check on the person, we notify all our friends to pray. How do we react when someone is shaken or weak in the Christian faith? Do we, like Paul, see that this is a very serious condition, worthy of all our care?
1 Thessalonians 4 - The resurrection of the dead is a great encouragement. I have had several opportunities in recent months to encourage people who have just been bereaved. In the most recent situation we were looking together at Jesus’ promises of resurrection. Sharing communion in the hospital room we observed that the gentleman who had died in Christ was himself in perfect communion with the Lord and was looking now to the resurrection of the body. Do we see our earthly death as the end? Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
1 Thessalonians 5 - The end of the world is a hot topic just now. Recall that the last day is a day of comfort and hope to the Christian. It is the day when our Lord will gather his people to himself and rescue them from all danger.
1 Thessalonians 1 - The fellowship of the believers with one another, looking to the Lord in faith, serves as a witness to the world that God has granted life and salvation through faith in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 2 - See the love that Paul, Silas and Timothy, the apostles, have for the people in Thessalonica. This mutual love and respect is based on the bringing and reception of the Gospel as God’s true word. What respect do we have for the Word of God and for those who bring it to us, as well as those who receive it with us or from us?
1 Thessalonians 3 - How do we react when someone is critically ill? We are concerned, we check on the person, we send others to check on the person, we notify all our friends to pray. How do we react when someone is shaken or weak in the Christian faith? Do we, like Paul, see that this is a very serious condition, worthy of all our care?
1 Thessalonians 4 - The resurrection of the dead is a great encouragement. I have had several opportunities in recent months to encourage people who have just been bereaved. In the most recent situation we were looking together at Jesus’ promises of resurrection. Sharing communion in the hospital room we observed that the gentleman who had died in Christ was himself in perfect communion with the Lord and was looking now to the resurrection of the body. Do we see our earthly death as the end? Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
1 Thessalonians 5 - The end of the world is a hot topic just now. Recall that the last day is a day of comfort and hope to the Christian. It is the day when our Lord will gather his people to himself and rescue them from all danger.
“The Hope of the Gospel: Life-Changing Power that Can Heal Your Relationships”
Sande, Ken & Kevin Johnson Resolving Everyday Conflict. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011.
Chapter 2 “The Hope of the Gospel: Life-Changing Power that Can Heal Your Relationships”
Trying to obey the Bible’s commands to love one another seems impossible. We read passages like John 13:35, John 17:23, and John 17:21 and we realize that we do not have the kind of impact on our world that Jesus is talking about. In fact, we are often trying to love one another in our own power, not in Jesus’ power. We follow our world’s patterns and end up being seen by the broader community as people who aren’t so different from anyone else. But Jesus lays out something distinctive for us.
Lutherans have classified this for generations as a right distinction between Law and Gospel. As Sande and Johnson put it, we do actually know what is right. But we don’t have the power to do it. Jesus gives us commands. Yet while we can understand them we are not able to follow them. Our following the Law of God will never save us (Romans 8:3) and even if our current obedience to God’s Law could wipe out past sins we aren’t going to be able to keep the Law well enough. We are commanded by God to live at peace. And we can’t do it.
Enter the Gospel, what God has done for us, as opposed to what we do for God. The Gospel tells us that Jesus is the one who has made peace with us. He is the one who has wiped away the alienation that existed between man and God (Colossians 1:21-22). It is very simple, though it is not something we could do. John 3:16 points out that God loved us by having Jesus perish on our behalf so we could believe and live in him. We confess that we cannot earn God’s approval (Romans 3:20, Ephesians 2:8-9), that Jesus paid for our sins (Isaiah 53:1-12, 1 Peter 2:24-25), and that Jesus gives us his perfect righteousness. As we live in that Gospel we end up living as people who have been transformed by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:15).
Of course, despite being changed by the Gospel we don’t live consistently as Christ’s chosen people. We would find this life much easier if we did. The good news is that we continue to repent and believe and our Savior continues to cleanse us from sin. Living as a Christian is an ongoing activity (Colossians 3:12-15) in which we strive to put on the character of our Lord. We pray for one another as Paul prayed for his disciples in Ephesians 3:16-19 that we may see and know the power of Christ dwelling in our hearts. Then we repent, pray to believe, and ask the Lord to use us as his instruments, loving our enemies (1 John 3:16, Luke 6:27-28), resolving conflicts (Romans 5:8, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 18:15), confessing our faults (1 John 1:8-9), and seeking to be witnesses of God’s mercy (2 Corinthians 5:15-21).
The great good news is that the Gospel changes us, even in this world.
Discussion Questions:
1) In what area of my life to I see right now that I need the Gospel?
2) Are our attempts to keep God’s Law necessarily bad? Why or why not?
3) How would the Lord work through me to care for others?
4) Is there someone I can work with to memorize and discuss the Scriptures in this chapter?
Chapter 2 “The Hope of the Gospel: Life-Changing Power that Can Heal Your Relationships”
Trying to obey the Bible’s commands to love one another seems impossible. We read passages like John 13:35, John 17:23, and John 17:21 and we realize that we do not have the kind of impact on our world that Jesus is talking about. In fact, we are often trying to love one another in our own power, not in Jesus’ power. We follow our world’s patterns and end up being seen by the broader community as people who aren’t so different from anyone else. But Jesus lays out something distinctive for us.
Lutherans have classified this for generations as a right distinction between Law and Gospel. As Sande and Johnson put it, we do actually know what is right. But we don’t have the power to do it. Jesus gives us commands. Yet while we can understand them we are not able to follow them. Our following the Law of God will never save us (Romans 8:3) and even if our current obedience to God’s Law could wipe out past sins we aren’t going to be able to keep the Law well enough. We are commanded by God to live at peace. And we can’t do it.
Enter the Gospel, what God has done for us, as opposed to what we do for God. The Gospel tells us that Jesus is the one who has made peace with us. He is the one who has wiped away the alienation that existed between man and God (Colossians 1:21-22). It is very simple, though it is not something we could do. John 3:16 points out that God loved us by having Jesus perish on our behalf so we could believe and live in him. We confess that we cannot earn God’s approval (Romans 3:20, Ephesians 2:8-9), that Jesus paid for our sins (Isaiah 53:1-12, 1 Peter 2:24-25), and that Jesus gives us his perfect righteousness. As we live in that Gospel we end up living as people who have been transformed by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:15).
Of course, despite being changed by the Gospel we don’t live consistently as Christ’s chosen people. We would find this life much easier if we did. The good news is that we continue to repent and believe and our Savior continues to cleanse us from sin. Living as a Christian is an ongoing activity (Colossians 3:12-15) in which we strive to put on the character of our Lord. We pray for one another as Paul prayed for his disciples in Ephesians 3:16-19 that we may see and know the power of Christ dwelling in our hearts. Then we repent, pray to believe, and ask the Lord to use us as his instruments, loving our enemies (1 John 3:16, Luke 6:27-28), resolving conflicts (Romans 5:8, Matthew 5:23-24, Matthew 18:15), confessing our faults (1 John 1:8-9), and seeking to be witnesses of God’s mercy (2 Corinthians 5:15-21).
The great good news is that the Gospel changes us, even in this world.
Discussion Questions:
1) In what area of my life to I see right now that I need the Gospel?
2) Are our attempts to keep God’s Law necessarily bad? Why or why not?
3) How would the Lord work through me to care for others?
4) Is there someone I can work with to memorize and discuss the Scriptures in this chapter?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sermon for 6/2/12
Sermon “God Proclaims His Gospel”
Lord, let us see your face, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Have you ever been confronted with something great and amazing? Maybe you've been amazed by watching a big thunderstorm. Maybe you've been impressed by the actual size of a mountain range when you'reclose to it. Maybe you're one of those men who knows the awe and wonder of an antique car that runs flawlessly, true romance indeed. Or maybe you're like my son-in-law who is amazed by the beauty of the structure of proteins. These are just a few examples of ways God has revealed his glory, ways that our Lord shows that he is the creator and sustainer of all, that he is the one in whom all things hold together. God reveals his glory to us in things that are greater than we can imagine. We saw a few examples of that in today's Scriptures.
In Isaiah we saw that when our Lord comes to us he calls us to repentance. His glory fills the temple and we are undone. He reveals himself and Isaiah sees that he is defiled and unworthy. God comes on the scene and all of a sudden we realize that we are insignificant little beings without hope in this world. We see that we cannot possibly stand in his presence. We need our Lord to cleanse us and forgive us. Isn't that exactly what we confessed earlier in today's service? Just as he did in Isaiah's case, he will work in us. We confess our sins and he is faithful to forgive our sins. He is the one who purifies us from all our sin. Is that always a pleasant process? Not really. We don't like being cleaned up. We don't like having those rough edges worn off. We don't like having our evil dug out of us. Notice in Isaiah that the angel took the coal with tongs and applied it to Isaiah's mouth. Is this fearful? What will your reaction be if I take something out of the fire and move it toward you? Of course I'm not God's angel and it is not a coal from the fire of God's altar. But when our Lord promises cleansing it isn't always something we want. He promises to forgive us our sin, but he tells us to confess it. Really? Confess THAT?? I don't even want God to know about THAT part of my life!! But I've got news for you, in case you hadn't noticed. Our Lord knows everything. He already knows what we need to confess. He already knows our sin and shame. He knows it better than we do. He knows and cares enough to die in our place. Jesus calls us to repentance so he can apply his forgiveness to us. That's the means he uses. Confess before the Lord! He will forgive freely.
What else does the Lord do when he confronts us? He calls us to questioning. Sometimes we need to ask him what he is doing. Sometimes we need to ask him what we are doing. Like Nicodemus, sometimes when we are amazed we simply need to seek clarification. Even he, a teacher of God's Law, needed to ask about the grace of God. We don't really understand it. But what does our Lord say? He tells Nicodemus that he works out his grace in a particular way. I think I've probably said this before here, but if you're like me you don't remember when someone tells you once. Remember John 3:16? Jesus doesn't use a word to say that God loves the world “so much” that he sent his son. He says that God loves the world “in this way” - that he sent his son. That isn't the way we would probably love the world. We'd do something else. The possibilities are endless. If we wanted to devise a way to save the world from sin, I'm sure we could think of lots of ways. How did God do it? He did it by arranging that God the Son would come and die, taking upon himself all the sin of the world, and paying the penalty for that sin himself. Then he would put his own righteousness and love upon us, so that as we believe that Jesus has given himself for us we see that he really has. God has loved the world. And he tells us how. Nicodemus needed to ask. Likely we do also.
How does God's glory confront us? He does it through Scripture. He does it through showing himself in his creation. How does God give us his comfort? How does he resolve our repentance? How does he answer our questions? He does it in His Word. He does it in his living Word, Jesus, crucified and risen for us, giving himself again and again on the altar in communion. What does Peter have to say in Acts? He says that God has revealed himself in history and finally in the person and work of Jesus we receive forgiveness and all that we need for life and salvation. Jesus as revealed in Scripture is God himself, coming to accomplish God's purposes. This drives us to repentance so we can receive God's forgiveness. It also should drive us to a careful study of the Scriptures. It is through the Word of God that we realize who we are in the eys of God. It is through the Word of God that we realize what our Lord has done in this world on our behalf.
How are we going to look to our Lord if we do not know the Word of God? That's why I've been challenging people in reading the Bible. That's why we are having a very serious, hard-hitting teen Bible class starting this Wednesday. The young people in our church and community deserve to know about this New Testament, the collection of writings that give us very specific revelation of our Savior, the collection of writings that sprang from the group of people who, as we read in Acts, “turned the world upside down.” Our young people deserve to know how to read and understand the Scripture better. And that goes not only for the teens in our own church, but I have asked them and will continue to ask them to invite their friends, Christian or not, because we're going to look at what is is those Christians believed in the early years, why they believed what they believed, and what it influenced them to do in their society, forming charitable organizations, hospitals, food relief, adoption agencies, groups who would work together for good in their community. Do we want to see people living with purpose? Let's get ourselves and others plugged into God's Word! Let's fill this building with people studying the Scripture and praying, people who are then ready to go out and show Christ's mercy to our community. Let's see the men's group thriving and leading us in worship, study, and service. Let's see that the women's circles pour themselves into the Scripture and prayer, doing acts of charity diligently. Let's see our young people trained in the things of the Christian faith so they can live a godly life and defend the faith before their peers. It all starts as we look to our Lord, revealed in Scripture, coming to us in Word and Sacrament, showing himself to be the mighty, holy Lord, calling us to repentance and faith.
Are we ready to receive from our Lord? Are we ready to lay down our ideas of what makes us good and worthy, preferring to be cleansed by him, forgiven? Are we ready to stop trying to save the world by our suffering and rather see that our Lord and Savior Jesus suffered on our behalf to give us his perfect righteous love? Are we ready to let our Lord use us as his instruments of mercy? Then let us confess our common faith together, turn to him in hope, and see that he has presented himself to us, the greatest offering of all, laid on the table, to feed us with forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Pray with me, please.
Our Lord God, you have shown your glory to us. Grant us repentance, that we may confess we are not able to govern our lives rightly. We confess that we have sinneed before you. Take the coal from your altar. Burn away our evil. Present us before you as a holy offering. We pray that in your grace you would look upon us and see the perfect righteousness of your Son Jesus Christ. This we pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Lord, let us see your face, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Have you ever been confronted with something great and amazing? Maybe you've been amazed by watching a big thunderstorm. Maybe you've been impressed by the actual size of a mountain range when you'reclose to it. Maybe you're one of those men who knows the awe and wonder of an antique car that runs flawlessly, true romance indeed. Or maybe you're like my son-in-law who is amazed by the beauty of the structure of proteins. These are just a few examples of ways God has revealed his glory, ways that our Lord shows that he is the creator and sustainer of all, that he is the one in whom all things hold together. God reveals his glory to us in things that are greater than we can imagine. We saw a few examples of that in today's Scriptures.
In Isaiah we saw that when our Lord comes to us he calls us to repentance. His glory fills the temple and we are undone. He reveals himself and Isaiah sees that he is defiled and unworthy. God comes on the scene and all of a sudden we realize that we are insignificant little beings without hope in this world. We see that we cannot possibly stand in his presence. We need our Lord to cleanse us and forgive us. Isn't that exactly what we confessed earlier in today's service? Just as he did in Isaiah's case, he will work in us. We confess our sins and he is faithful to forgive our sins. He is the one who purifies us from all our sin. Is that always a pleasant process? Not really. We don't like being cleaned up. We don't like having those rough edges worn off. We don't like having our evil dug out of us. Notice in Isaiah that the angel took the coal with tongs and applied it to Isaiah's mouth. Is this fearful? What will your reaction be if I take something out of the fire and move it toward you? Of course I'm not God's angel and it is not a coal from the fire of God's altar. But when our Lord promises cleansing it isn't always something we want. He promises to forgive us our sin, but he tells us to confess it. Really? Confess THAT?? I don't even want God to know about THAT part of my life!! But I've got news for you, in case you hadn't noticed. Our Lord knows everything. He already knows what we need to confess. He already knows our sin and shame. He knows it better than we do. He knows and cares enough to die in our place. Jesus calls us to repentance so he can apply his forgiveness to us. That's the means he uses. Confess before the Lord! He will forgive freely.
What else does the Lord do when he confronts us? He calls us to questioning. Sometimes we need to ask him what he is doing. Sometimes we need to ask him what we are doing. Like Nicodemus, sometimes when we are amazed we simply need to seek clarification. Even he, a teacher of God's Law, needed to ask about the grace of God. We don't really understand it. But what does our Lord say? He tells Nicodemus that he works out his grace in a particular way. I think I've probably said this before here, but if you're like me you don't remember when someone tells you once. Remember John 3:16? Jesus doesn't use a word to say that God loves the world “so much” that he sent his son. He says that God loves the world “in this way” - that he sent his son. That isn't the way we would probably love the world. We'd do something else. The possibilities are endless. If we wanted to devise a way to save the world from sin, I'm sure we could think of lots of ways. How did God do it? He did it by arranging that God the Son would come and die, taking upon himself all the sin of the world, and paying the penalty for that sin himself. Then he would put his own righteousness and love upon us, so that as we believe that Jesus has given himself for us we see that he really has. God has loved the world. And he tells us how. Nicodemus needed to ask. Likely we do also.
How does God's glory confront us? He does it through Scripture. He does it through showing himself in his creation. How does God give us his comfort? How does he resolve our repentance? How does he answer our questions? He does it in His Word. He does it in his living Word, Jesus, crucified and risen for us, giving himself again and again on the altar in communion. What does Peter have to say in Acts? He says that God has revealed himself in history and finally in the person and work of Jesus we receive forgiveness and all that we need for life and salvation. Jesus as revealed in Scripture is God himself, coming to accomplish God's purposes. This drives us to repentance so we can receive God's forgiveness. It also should drive us to a careful study of the Scriptures. It is through the Word of God that we realize who we are in the eys of God. It is through the Word of God that we realize what our Lord has done in this world on our behalf.
How are we going to look to our Lord if we do not know the Word of God? That's why I've been challenging people in reading the Bible. That's why we are having a very serious, hard-hitting teen Bible class starting this Wednesday. The young people in our church and community deserve to know about this New Testament, the collection of writings that give us very specific revelation of our Savior, the collection of writings that sprang from the group of people who, as we read in Acts, “turned the world upside down.” Our young people deserve to know how to read and understand the Scripture better. And that goes not only for the teens in our own church, but I have asked them and will continue to ask them to invite their friends, Christian or not, because we're going to look at what is is those Christians believed in the early years, why they believed what they believed, and what it influenced them to do in their society, forming charitable organizations, hospitals, food relief, adoption agencies, groups who would work together for good in their community. Do we want to see people living with purpose? Let's get ourselves and others plugged into God's Word! Let's fill this building with people studying the Scripture and praying, people who are then ready to go out and show Christ's mercy to our community. Let's see the men's group thriving and leading us in worship, study, and service. Let's see that the women's circles pour themselves into the Scripture and prayer, doing acts of charity diligently. Let's see our young people trained in the things of the Christian faith so they can live a godly life and defend the faith before their peers. It all starts as we look to our Lord, revealed in Scripture, coming to us in Word and Sacrament, showing himself to be the mighty, holy Lord, calling us to repentance and faith.
Are we ready to receive from our Lord? Are we ready to lay down our ideas of what makes us good and worthy, preferring to be cleansed by him, forgiven? Are we ready to stop trying to save the world by our suffering and rather see that our Lord and Savior Jesus suffered on our behalf to give us his perfect righteous love? Are we ready to let our Lord use us as his instruments of mercy? Then let us confess our common faith together, turn to him in hope, and see that he has presented himself to us, the greatest offering of all, laid on the table, to feed us with forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Pray with me, please.
Our Lord God, you have shown your glory to us. Grant us repentance, that we may confess we are not able to govern our lives rightly. We confess that we have sinneed before you. Take the coal from your altar. Burn away our evil. Present us before you as a holy offering. We pray that in your grace you would look upon us and see the perfect righteousness of your Son Jesus Christ. This we pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 22 Day 5
Our reading challenge for the day is 1 Chronicles 25-29. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
1 Chronicles 25 - See how the music - the liturgy - is well cared for. These clans of musicians were appointed by God through human means to see that God’s people would faithfully sing His praises.
1 Chronicles 26 - As the nation of Israel has settled down with Jerusalem as its capital the Levites end up serving as civil servants in some ways. They keep the gates of the city and will care for the temple and its treasuries in one place rather than working with the tabernacle and moving from place to place.
1 Chronicles 27 - We see a sort of numbering of troop strength. Yet this one may not be incurring God’s judgment. Observe that the forces are divided out for service in different months. There is a legitimate civil reason for numbering these people, as it is important to keep the military forces balanced from month to month. It is also important to know how many people need to be fed, clothed, and housed while on duty. This is different from taking a wholesale census so as to find out how well the troops can defend the nation.
1 Chronicles 28-29 - See again the concern of the author of Chronicles. The religious life of Israel is first and foremost in these chapters, as David passes the kingdom and all the plans for a glorious temple to his son, Solomon. We know of the problems in David’s later years from Kings, but the author of Chronicles emphasizes the centrality of God’s provision and command through David.
We, like David, are at the same time saint and sinner. Though our lives may be plagued by sin and shame, at the same time we can look to the Lord in hope, being instruments of his grace.
1 Chronicles 25 - See how the music - the liturgy - is well cared for. These clans of musicians were appointed by God through human means to see that God’s people would faithfully sing His praises.
1 Chronicles 26 - As the nation of Israel has settled down with Jerusalem as its capital the Levites end up serving as civil servants in some ways. They keep the gates of the city and will care for the temple and its treasuries in one place rather than working with the tabernacle and moving from place to place.
1 Chronicles 27 - We see a sort of numbering of troop strength. Yet this one may not be incurring God’s judgment. Observe that the forces are divided out for service in different months. There is a legitimate civil reason for numbering these people, as it is important to keep the military forces balanced from month to month. It is also important to know how many people need to be fed, clothed, and housed while on duty. This is different from taking a wholesale census so as to find out how well the troops can defend the nation.
1 Chronicles 28-29 - See again the concern of the author of Chronicles. The religious life of Israel is first and foremost in these chapters, as David passes the kingdom and all the plans for a glorious temple to his son, Solomon. We know of the problems in David’s later years from Kings, but the author of Chronicles emphasizes the centrality of God’s provision and command through David.
We, like David, are at the same time saint and sinner. Though our lives may be plagued by sin and shame, at the same time we can look to the Lord in hope, being instruments of his grace.
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