The promises of God are a cornerstone of our Christian spirituality. These beautiful statements from the Lord serve as a beacon of hope and guidance for us in every aspect of our lives (for fuller description, click on image above).
Comfort My People, Isaiah 40.1-11
In gentleness and care, God is announcing the coming of his Messiah, declaring comfort for his people, the ending of her warfare, and the hope of deliverance, Isaiah 40.1-11.
Invocation
We ask you, Lord and Master, to be our help and succor. Save those who are in tribulation; have mercy on the lonely; lift up the fallen; show yourself to the needy; heal the ungodly; convert the wanderers of your people; feed the hungry; raise up the weak; comfort the faint-hearted. Let all the peoples know that you are God alone, and Jesus Christ is your Son, and we are your people and the sheep of your pasture; for the sake of Christ Jesus. Amen.
~ Clement of Rome (Fox, p. 86) Fox, Selina Fitzherbert. A Chain of Prayer Across the Ages: Forty Centuries of Prayer, 2000 B.C.-A.D. 1916. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1943.
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.
Sunday: Gen. 25; 1 Chron. 1.28-34
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 85.1-2, 8-13
Old Testament (or Acts [during Eastertide]): Isaiah 40.1-11
Gospel: Mark 1.1-8
New Testament: 2 Peter 3:8-15a
Click here for all of this week’s Scripture readings
God is speaking to his people today in a gentle and reassuring voice that their long-awaited Lord will return to save, to heal, and to make all things all right again, Isaiah 40.1-11.
Reflection
Today, there is a gentle and reassuring voice from God speaking to his people. The message is about the long-awaited return of the Lord, who will bring salvation, healing, and restore everything to its rightful place. God is announcing comfort to his people, urging them to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. He reminds them that his words never end, and that his return will be a blessing.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,
Begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father,
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became human.
Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified.
Who spoke by the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin,
and we look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. Amen.
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
May the bright beams of thy Word, O Lord, pierce every veil that darkens our hearts; may thy Word search us, convince, correct and comfort us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ James Ferguson (Ferguson and Wallis, p. 6) 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
Isaiah 9.6-7 (ESV)
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Book Reading and Reflection
I know that’s true in my own efforts at fathering. Despite my best intentions to follow through on family commitments, inevitably some other pressing concern arises to wreck the plans we’ve made together and take me away from home. Even though I try very hard not to make explicit promises I might not be able to keep, still my kids are disappointed when the expectations that I encouraged are dashed by unexpected circumstances—some of my own making. I want to help you catch a vision of a very different kind of father, the eternal Father who never fails to fulfill his word. No matter what obstacles arise, he never loses sight of his goal: to form and fashion a human family to share in the infinite love of the Trinity. As we consider what the Scripture tells us about how God has fathered his people over the ages, we should realize more fully just how great is God’s personal love for each and every one of us, as members of his covenant family.”
~ Hahn, Scott, A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture. Servant Publication, Ann Arbor, MI: 1998, page 129.
The Messiah Shall Come, Isaiah 9.6-7
The Lord will provide a chosen child who will be the Messiah, the anointed one of God.
Let God Arise! Focus
The Mighty Deeds of the Lord, Luke 1.46b-55.
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