Author: TLC Secretary

Born From Above

March 5, 2023

AS WE GATHER
This is the Second Sunday in Lent, early in our six-week journey with Jesus to the Cross. Each week we focus on the penitential themes appropriate to this season. Today we listen in on a conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about the new birth from above that gives life to those born in sin. We are reminded of our own baptismal birth to new life in Christ and of the call of God to die daily to sin and rise in Christ to newness of life.

Bible Readings

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Genesis 12:1-9
(The story of how God called Abraham and His promise that Abraham would become the father of a great nation.)

EPISTLE READING: Romans 4:1-8, 13-17
(St. Paul describes how the righteousness of Abraham was given to him by grace through faith.)

HOLY GOSPEL: John 3:1-17
(Jesus goes to Nicodemus and tells him how to be born anew through water and the Spirit.)

Looking for a Scapegoat

February 26, 2023

AS WE GATHER
We begin our annual journey to the cross on this first Sunday in Lent. Though not part of Lent, Sundays in Lent carry the same penitential theme that characterizes our forty days of prayerful devotion and repentance. Today we consider the role of Jesus as our scapegoat—not the one whom we blame but the One whom God has sent to us to take the blame for our sin upon Himself. This gift of a Savior who has borne the full weight of our sin is the reason that we stand amid test, trial, and temptation. We have more than someone to blame for the wrongs of thought, word, and deed that we do—we have a willing Savior who has become our sin offering to set us free through forgiveness

Bible Readings

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Genesis 3:1-21 (The story of how the sin of our first parents stole us from God and made us captive to death.)

EPISTLE READING: Romans 5:12-19
(St. Paul describes the consequences of the fall and the hope created by the obedience, suffering, and death of our Lord Jesus.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 4:1-11
(Our Lord is tempted in the wilderness by Satan.)

Climbing the Wrong Mountain

February 19, 2023

AS WE GATHER
We are told that Jesus’ face shone like the sun. We can only look at the sun indirectly because the brightness causes us to close our eyes or turn away. As Jesus’ divinity shone through His humanity, the brightness was such that it forced Peter, James, and John to fall on their faces and avert their gaze in terror. Though we might be able to view the sun by looking askance at it or peering through darkened glass, the only way to view the Son of God is through the prophetic Word and the eyes of faith.

Bible Readings

OLD TESTAMEMT READING: Exodus 24:8-18 (Moses explains what it was like for him and the elders of Israel to stand in the presence of God and receive His instruction.)

EPISTLE READING: 2 Peter 1:16-21
(Peter explains what it was like to be in the presence of the divine majesty and what it was like to hear the Word directly from God.)

HOLY GOSPEL READING: Matthew 17:1-9
(Matthew explains what it was like for Peter, James, and John to stand in the presence of God with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.)

Of the Heart

February 12, 2023

AS WE GATHER
We are sinful from birth, and our hearts are not pure. Although evil thoughts and desires come from them, we know that God creates in us pure hearts by the blood of Jesus, whose death for our sins brings forgiveness and new life.

Bible Readings

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
(Moses offers a choice of life and good, or death and evil.)

EPISTLE READING: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
(Paul speaks of divisions in the church.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 5:21-37
(Jesus tells us that sin is not just outward actions, but originates in the heart.)

Light of the World

February 5, 2023

AS WE GATHER
As if the lights are being raised ever-so-gradually in a dark room, the Gospel readings for each Sunday in Epiphany shed a little more light on Jesus and on us. Today, and for the next several Sundays, we hear Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, and His words reveal Him to us, as well as teach us about ourselves. Today, Jesus tells us that we are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” Salt seasons and preserves; as followers of Jesus we are called to season the world with the gifts of the Spirit and to preserve the ways of God in an often hostile world. Light shines; as followers of Jesus we are called to let the light of our good works shine to the glory of God. In a time when we are tempted to think that Jesus came to abolish all rules and laws, Jesus reminds us that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Bible Readings

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 58:3–9a (True and false fasting)

EPISTLE READING: 1 Corinthians 2:1–12
(Wisdom)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 5:13–20
(Salt and light)

Waiting Patiently

January 29, 2023

AS WE GATHER
Although Jesus does not say “blessed are the patient” as He speaks that special list of attributes of God’s people that we know as the Beatitudes, the fruit of patience underlies the “blessed are” statements He does mention. It takes patience to be merciful and to act as peacemakers. Staying calm when being persecuted for righteousness’ sake takes patience. Enduring unfair criticism takes patience as well. There may even be a need for patience as we share with the saints in the worship life of the Church. May it be fully evident among us at all times!

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT: Micah 6:1–8
(God’s great deeds have not been reflected in His people’s lives.)

EPISTLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:18–31
(Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes)

The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand

January 22, 2023

AS WE GATHER
Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17). God’s kingdom exists wherever He is. Today God’s kingdom comes to us through His Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. We experience God’s Kingdom every day as He continues to provide us with everything we need and we look forward to experiencing God’s kingdom in all of its fullness when Christ returns.

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 9:1-4
(For to us a Child is born)

EPISTLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18
(Divisions in the Church and the power of God to save)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 4:12-25
(Jesus begins His ministry and calls the first disciples.)

Some Lamb!

January 15, 2023

AS WE GATHER
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” were the words John the Baptist spoke the day after he baptized his cousin, our Lord Jesus Christ. John reminds us of the global significance of Jesus’ coming to fulfill what Isaiah (49:6) wrote, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Jesus lowered Himself to be a human being so that through His life, death, and resurrection everyone who believes in our Lord Jesus Christ might be saved and lifted up to be with Him in heaven where the Lamb sits on the throne.

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 49:1-7
(It is too small a thing for you to be My servant)

EPISTLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
(The grace of God)

HOLY GOSPEL: John 1:29-42
(Behold, the Lamb of God)

Baptism: A Matter of Death and Life

January 8, 2023

AS WE GATHER
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This free gift of God takes us from certain death to a life that never ends. For many of us the gift was given to us in the water and Word of Holy Baptism when we were infants. For others this gift came to us later in life after hearing God’s Word and being baptized. We remember Jesus being baptized and beginning His journey that took Him to death on the cross and a place in a grave before He came back to life on that first Easter, setting the pattern for resurrection given to all who follow Him. As the apostle Paul reminds us in our Epistle reading today, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 42:1-9
(The LORD’s Chosen Servant)

EPISTLE READING: Romans 6:1-11
(The apostle Paul reminds us of the freedom we have in Jesus Christ.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 3:13-17
(The baptism of Jesus.)

A Time for Beginnings

January 1, 2023

AS WE GATHER
The occurrence of an appointed Festival of the Church Year on a Sunday provides the congregation a unique opportunity to reflect thoroughly on the meaning of the day as it shapes their life of faith. The two traditions of the day converge- the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus and New Year’s Day. These two combine in a complimentary way, inspiring the theme, “A Time for Beginnings.” The infant Jesus begins the suffering that will be a continuing part of His life and saving ministry as He undergoes circumcision according to the Law. The New Year begins with the assurance that we will be embraced continuously by His abiding presence, grace, and forgiveness. It is a time to “rejoice the old—and embrace the new.”

Bible Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT:
Numbers 6:22-27 (Moses blessed the people of God.)

EPISTLE READING:
Galatians 3:23-29 (We are heirs of God’s promise in Christ Jesus.)

HOLY GOSPEL:
Luke 2:21 (Jesus’ circumcision and naming on the eighth day)