Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
The almighty and merciful God
bless us and keep us this night and evermore. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
O God, you teach us that if we
say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we
confess our sins, You are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I long to be cleansed of my sins which I
recognize in my thoughts, words, and deeds. Please forgive me for Jesus’ sake,
because He shed His blood for me and the Scriptures teach that the blood of
Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Strengthen me by the work of Your
Holy Spirit, so that I may live a holy life and turn away from sin. I pray
these things in the strong and beautiful name of Jesus, Your Son and my Savior.
Amen.
Catechism Reflections
When I teach confirmation class,
the main text book that I use is Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. I point out
to the students that the Bible is a big book and not all the information is of
the same importance. (Consider: is knowing that Nimrod was a mighty hunter
(Gen. 10:9) as important as knowing that Christ died for sins, once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1Pet 3:18)?) A catechism is
a helpful tool to summarize some key points, the basics of the faith.
Early on, catechisms were
written to prepare people for confession. They often contained some catalogue
of sins, like the Ten Commandments or the Seven Deadly Sins, information about
God like the Apostles’ Creed, and a lesson on prayer in the form of the Lord’s
Prayer. Luther had a slightly different emphasis. While the catechism he wrote
can certainly be used to prepare for confession, it is actually more of a guide
to the life of faith.
Over the next few weeks as we
examine the Small Catechism in our evening devotions, we will look at it as a
reflection and summary of the basics of the Christians faith.
For Luther the main things that
every Christian should know are referred to as the Six Chief Parts. They
include: The Ten Commandments as a summary of God’s Law, The Apostles’ Creed
which introduces us to God as our Creator, Savior and as the one who makes us
holy, The Lord’s Prayer as words of faith to cry out to God, and Baptism, Confession,
and the Lord’s Supper as the means by which God delivers faith, life and
salvation to believers.
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
“Thy kingdom come”
O God, everlasting Father, Your
kingdom comes even without our prayer, but, please, let it come to us, too!
Please give us Your Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we may believe Your Word,
and live godly lives here in time and there in eternity. Amen.
Verse of Benediction
May the blessing of the eternal
God be upon us, and upon our work and worship; His light to guide us, His
presence to strengthen us, His love to unite us; Now and always. Amen.[1]
Comments