Worship Notes for the Second Sunday in Lent, 2015

Thursday after the First Sunday in Lent

February 26, 2015

Blessed Lententide

Once again our unseasonable weather has led to the canceling of a worship service, this time our Wednesday evening Lent service (2/25). The roads weren’t as bad as the weathermen said, but there was no way to know. At least everyone on our e-mail list received a printed copy of the message along with the e-mail notifying them of the cancelation. It seems everyone got the word as no one showed up at church (where I was just in case). Once again, the loss of a worship service means the loss of an offering. Please remember to compensate for this by giving more this coming Sunday. The bills still need to be paid.

This coming Sunday will be the Second Sunday in Lent (March 1). We will be using the Service of Prayer and Preaching for our liturgy (page 2602). This is a service of the word, not a communion service. The appointed lessons are Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 5:1-11; and Mark 8:27-38. The appointed Psalm is Psalm 22:23-31 (the antiphon is verse 22).

The sermon text is Mark 8:35 and the sermon is titled “Martyrs.” Our opening hymn is “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” (LSB 422). Our sermon hymn is “Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses” (LSB 667). The closing hymn is “Just as I Am, without One Plea” (LSB 570). The sermon hymn is one of those that we have learned.

Below is a video from the Lutheran Warbler singing our opening hymn, “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” (LSB 422).  

What follows is a synopsis of the OT, Epistle and Gospel lessons, provided by the synod. After that, are the readings themselves. Finally, there are some additional notes of interest.

By the Cross of Our Lord Jesus, We Inherit Life Everlasting with God

In His covenant with Abraham, the Lord promised to be with him, to bless him and to make him “the father of a multitude of nations.” It is “an everlasting covenant” in Christ Jesus, the seed of Abraham who is blameless before God Almighty. All who believe in this Lord Jesus are the offspring of Abraham and are blessed “throughout their generations” (Gen. 17:1–7), because the Christ has suffered many things. He was rejected and killed, and after three days He rose again (Mark 8:31). To comprehend this theology of the cross, we must set our minds “on the things of God,” and not “on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Therefore, having been “reconciled to God by the death of his Son,” much more “shall we be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). Baptized into His cross and resurrection, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” and by faith we rejoice in the hope of His glory (Rom. 5:1–2).

Psalm 22:23-31 (22)

²²          I will tell of your name to my brothers;

                        in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

²³          You who fear the Lord, praise him!

                        All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

                        and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

²⁴          For he has not despised or abhorred

                        the affliction of the afflicted,

            and he has not hidden his face from him,

                        but has heard, when he cried to him.

²⁵          From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

                        my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

²⁶          The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

                        those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

                        May your hearts live forever!

²⁷          All the ends of the earth shall remember

                        and turn to the Lord,

            and all the families of the nations

                        shall worship before you.

²⁸          For kingship belongs to the Lord,

                        and he rules over the nations.

²⁹          All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

                        before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

                        even the one who could not keep himself alive.

³⁰          Posterity shall serve him;

                        it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

³¹          they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

                        that he has done it.

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

^17:1        When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, ²that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” ³Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ⁴“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. ⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. …

¹⁵          And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Romans 5:1-11

^5:1         Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ²Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and ⁵hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶           For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Mark 8:27-38

²⁷          And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

³¹          And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴          And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. ³⁶For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Some Additional Notes

• Our adult Sunday morning Bible study continues its look at the “spirituality of vocation.”

• At our voters’ meeting this past Sunday we established policy for Lamb of God in reference to marriage practices. Our policy is in line with the larger Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. However, it also recognizes that the Council of Presidents is working on guidelines, and obligates us to revisit our policy once these guidelines are available.

• Our Stations of the Cross have been posted in our yard.

• The March newsletter is now available on this blog.

• Our Lenten worship services are each Wednesday, 7:00 pm, preceded by a community supper, which begins at 6:15 pm. When you arrive at church Sunday, you will notice a beautiful new banner in the front of the church inviting the community. The theme for the homilies this Lent is “The Hymns of Lent.” We are looking at the teaching in some well-known Lenten hymns. This Wednesday’s homily will look at the theology behind “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” LSB 425.

• Our seasonal Choir has its practices following our Wednesday worship services. New singers are always welcome.

• Remember, we have pledged to pray for our neighbors. You can get a list of your 100 your closest neighbors from pray4everyhome.com. If you have no internet access, speak with Rachel Swain or Kitty Rickert and they will sign you up and get you a list.

• The Board of Evangelism encourages our members to greet our visitors before our worship services begin. Think of it as welcoming someone to your home.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Rickert