Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed
her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might
present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:25-27 ESV)
Make the sign of the cross as
you say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.”
A Morning Prayer
Lord Jesus, on Saturday morning
You rested in the tomb, the painful work of our redemption completed on the
cross, and You awaited Your glorious resurrection on Sunday morning. Please
bless us with refreshment today, give us peace such as the world cannot give
but is only available through faith in You. Let the events of the day give You
glory, and do not let the tasks of today distract us from anticipating the joy
of going to Your house tomorrow. Let Your Spirit rest upon us so that today we
may walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel. Amen.
I Believe …
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, died and was buried. He
descended into hell. The third
day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Reign of the Lord's
Anointed
2 Why do the nations rage[a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the
heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break[b] them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break[b] them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.[1]
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.[1]
Psalm 2 deals with the
questions: Who is God? Who is your god? In whom or in what do you trust? What
is the power or authority that directs your life? It sets this question in a
political context. The nations are in turmoil, the peoples meditate on empty
things, and the political powers, kings and rulers, stand against the LORD and
against his Anointed.
The psalm is describing worldly
order standing in hostile opposition to the LORD, and not only the LORD, also
his Anointed. That word, Anointed, translates the word meshiach, from which we get our word Messiah. The powers of this
world oppose the fullness of God and his Christ. They imagine that they are
harsh tyrants, like they themselves are, and in so doing they find God
confronts their opposition with derision and power.
Why? Why do they oppose him?
They see his reign as oppressive. This attitude goes all the way back to the
Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the fruit from the Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The man and the woman saw that the fruit was
desirable and they felt it would be good to be like God. In our sin, we don’t
merely desire to be like God, we want to be gods – that is, we want to have the
authority to determine what is good or evil.
The kings and rulers want to
burst bonds and cast away the ropes that hold them – bonds and ropes they see
belonging to the LORD and his Messiah. What are these bonds and ropes? They are
God’s Word which proclaim right and wrong. They are the message that calls us
to repentance and mercy. They are the proclamation that the Creator has
designed us for himself, and put us in relationship with one another – we have
a responsibility to him and to our neighbors to love them. These ropes and
these bonds are God’s Law and Gospel. They are the Law which command and
direct, which remind us that some things are not permissible in God’s sight.
They are the Gospel that proclaims God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation to
us. And I suspect that it is the Gospel that the world hates most, because it
is here that we learn most clearly that we are not gods, but that we are
impotent and incapable of saving ourselves … even as we also learn that we are
deeply loved and the LORD’s Messiah shows his authority through the cross and
empty tomb. The old sinful nature in us chafes to need a Savior.
“Blessed are all who take refuge
in him.” Who is him? The Son. The Messiah. The Anointed one. When we pray, this
is what we are doing. We take refuge in the LORD. We take refuge in Jesus.
Question for Meditation
What does this reading teach you
about Jesus, what He said and did, or what He wants His followers to believe?
What does it teach you about God’s love and forgiveness?
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?
Prayer
Pray
for your church, the pastor, and the staff.
Pray
for the needs of your fellow church members – parents, children, youth, the
elderly, the ill, and the dying.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace who
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by
the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good
that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb. 13:20-21 ESV)
Question
When do you find yourself tempted to trust in earthly
powers (including yourself) instead of in the LORD and his anointed?
[1] English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV®
Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a
publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Comments