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
We Gentiles, who were separated from Christ and alienated from Israel, have been brought near by the blood of Christ, Eph. 2.11-13.
Invocation
Gracious and eternal God, fill your holy Church universal with all truth, and in all peace. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, purify us where we are corrupt. Direct us where we are misguided, and reform us where we are wandering far from you. Reunite us as one in your Son, again, O God, and receive glory through us as we wait on You. Amen.
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.
Monday: Rom. 10-13
We Gentiles, who were separated from Christ and alienated from Israel, have been brought near by the blood of Christ, Eph. 2.11-13.
Reflection
Though many of us are by our physical nature non-Jews (Paul’s rendering of “Gentiles in the flesh,” v. 11), God has reconciled us through the blood of Christ. Though we were separated from Christ, alienated from Israel, and outside the bounds of God’s promises and covenant, Christ has reconciled us and made peace for us through the blood of his cross.
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
Thank you, good and eternal God, for making us, even Gentiles, fellow heirs and members of your holy Church. Please purify us, and set us apart today to honor you in all we do and say, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Lead us into your truth, and exalt your name through us today. Amen.
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.
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