We are the church of the living God in Jesus Christ, Eph. 2.11-22.
We who believe, Jew and Gentile, living, dead, and yet unborn, are the church of the living God in Jesus Christ, recipients of God’s eternal grace, reconciled by the blood of Christ into one body, and incorporated as the new temple of God, a dwelling place for the triune God.
Our Focus Today
As disciples of Jesus we must continue in the word of the Master, John 8.31-36.
Invocation
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.
~ Lutheran Service Book, Collects of the Day-Feast Festival and Occasion (Murray, p. 342), Murray, Scott R. A Year with the Church Fathers: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2011.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Chronological Scripture Readings for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the entire Bible in one year in chronological order.
Tuesday: Rom. 14-16
Lectionary Readings for Today
Our readings from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Epistles are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Lord’s Day.
Psalm: Psalm 46
Old Testament (or Acts [during Eastertide]): Jer. 31.31-34
Gospel: John 8.31-36
New Testament: Rom. 3.19-28
Click here for all of tis week’s Scripture readings
As disciples of Jesus we must continue in the word of the Master, John 8.31-36.
Reflection
Only through a focus on the very words of the Master can we ever truly prove ourselves to be his disciples. We cling to him through his words, and through abiding in his Word we will come to know the truth and be set free through it. Only through the Son of God can we know real, true freedom.
Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*In the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, the term catholic refers to the Church’s universality, through all ages and times, of all languages and peoples. It refers to no particular tradition or denominational expression (e.g., as in Roman Catholic).
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Benediction
Almighty God, we beseech thee to hear the prayers of thy Church in this place and throughout our land, which thou hast made a land of light and a treasure-house of thy mercies. Let thy Word preached prove swift and sure, passing from the ear to the heart, and from the heart to our life and conversation, that as the rain returns not empty, so neither may thy Word, but accomplish that for which it is given; to the glory of thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.
~ George Herbert (Ferguson and Wallis, 326) Ferguson, James and Charles L. Wallis, eds. Prayers for Public Worship: A Service Book of Morning and Evening Prayers Following the Course of the Christian Year. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Scripture Memory
Acts 17.29-31 (ESV)
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Book Reading and Reflection
“The New Testament describes how Jesus Christ supersedes the temple cult (Mark 14:58; 15:38; John 2:19–21), and how the church (his body) becomes the new dwelling place (temple) of God (1 Cor. 3:16–17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21–22). The sense that there is a physical side to spiritual life and activity, a sense that came from the temple, continued in New Testament worship. Early Christians rejected the nonphysical spirituality of the Gnostics and continued to express their spirituality through physical means. For that reason the sense of sacred place (church buildings), sacred rituals (the Eucharist), and sacred ministers (ordained persons) all stand in the tradition of temple worship.”
~ Robert E. Webber, Worship Old and New. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1985, page 526.
Let God Arise! Focus
We are the church of the living God in Jesus Christ, Eph. 2.11-22.
Visit our Church App for more information: Scan the QR Code below (if you have difficulty loading the app, click here for instructions how to get the app on your iPhone or Android)
