Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3 ESV)
Prayer of Confession
O God, you search me and know
me. You know my going out and my coming in. As I come before you this evening,
it is in the knowledge that you know the weight and value of all that I did
today even better than I do. Help me to confess my sins to you – sins of my
thoughts, … sins of my words, … sins of my deeds. Do not let me try to hide
anything from you out of fear of your judgement. Rather let my fear of you
drive me to confess freely and fully because while you alone are the only one
with the right and authority to judge and condemn me eternally, you have chosen
to give me mercy, love and forgiveness in Jesus’ death and resurrection. While
I have sinned against you and offended you deeply, you have chosen to give me
your Spirit as a Comforter who leads me to your grace. Forgive my sins for
Jesus’ sake, and by the working of the Holy Spirit, fix my sinful life. Amen.
Catechism Reflections
The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God
above all things.
When we talk about gods we mean anything from which we expect the good things
in our lives and in which we take refuge when things go wrong. In Luke
12:13-34, Jesus talks about people seeking good and taking refuge in some false
gods in their lives.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher,
tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But
he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over
you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and
be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told
them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced
plentifully, 17 and he thought to
himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And
he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones,
and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And
I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said
to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the
things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So
is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Be Anxious
22 And he said to his
disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For
life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider
the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the
birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add
a single hour to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you
are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the
rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin,[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But
if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little
faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and
what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all
the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows
that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his[c] kingdom, and these things will be
added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell
your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with
moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does
not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Listen to that part again that
says, “Your Father knows that you need them” and it is his “pleasure to give
you the kingdom.” Jesus’ redemption gives you all of God’s good gifts and it
shows God’s commitment to you. Idolatry has, at its heart, a distrust, a lack
of faith that God can really provide for you. In Jesus, you can see how far he
will go to save you, and you can know he will not leave you or forsake you.
Questions for Meditation
What does this reading teach
you?
What does this reading lead you
to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or
attitude does this reading challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to
have a richer impact on your life through this reading?
Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer
“Give us this day our daily
bread.”
Heavenly Father, You give daily
bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in
this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily
bread with thanksgiving. Make us mindful of all that You give us that has to do
with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes,
house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout
children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good
weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful
neighbors, and help us to always give thanks to You; in Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
Verse of Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. (2 Cor. 13:14 ESV)
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