SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
DEVOTION, READINGS and PRAYERS
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2023
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.
Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. Psalm 68:19-20
NEWS: Today I am having surgery on my right eye. Likely Devotions will not be sent out for at least a few days, but it all depends on how things play out. Thank you to everyone for their prayers for Margie and I. We truly appreciate it!
Tomorrow evening we have our next midweek Lenten service. Our church doors open at 5:30 PM for prayer time, followed by a Potluck meal at 6 PM in our Community building. Our service then takes place at 7 in the sanctuary. Pastor Joel continues his sermon series on the book of Jonah. Please plan to join us!
PRAYERS: Today we pray for the Woodward family: Carole, Eric and Bruce.
READINGS: Micah 7; Psalm 68; Luke 4:1-13
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“FOOLISH?”
[Jesus said] “There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard … and leased it to tenants … When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” (Matthew 21:33b-39)
The foolishness of the master in this story always bothers me. The tenants have a long pattern of murdering servants. How could anybody be stupid enough to believe they would respect his son? Of course they’re going to kill him. And they do.
One could almost say the same of God for sending Jesus. Why do that? Of course we were going to torture Him and put Him to death on a cross. As sinful human beings, we have a long track record of abusing the innocent. And Jesus being the Son of God didn’t change that.
But God knew what we would do—knew it from before the foundation of the world. It wasn’t naivete that brought Jesus into the world—it was love. God would use our predictable evil for His own purposes, to bring about the greatest reversal that ever was. Jesus’ death and resurrection would completely remake us—changing us from wicked tenants into forgiven, innocent children of God.
WE PRAY: Lord, open my eyes to Your love. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* Give an example of a predictable evil you know about.
* Why do you think God sent so many prophets before His Son?
* Why does God choose to use our evil to produce His wonderful good?
Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Today’s Bible Readings: Numbers 9-11 Mark 14:1-26
Luther’s Morning Prayer
In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father through Jesus Christ your dear son, that you have protected me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you that you would also protect me today from sin and all evil, so that my life and actions may please you completely. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
After singing a hymn or whatever else may serve your devotion, you can go about your day joyfully!
Luther’s Evening Prayer
In the evening, when you go to bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today, and I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me tonight. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
You can now go to bed quickly and cheerfully.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Our church website is: https://www.svlchurch.org/
Below is our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/shepherdofthevalleyoceanside
Here is the website for Lutherans for Life: https://lutheransforlife.org/
Here is the website for Lutheran Hour Ministries: https://www.lhm.org/
Lutheran Public Radio is listener supported and has two channels, one for sacred music and the other for talk, including news, current issues, politics and spiritual matters from a Lutheran perspective. Hosted by Pastor Todd Wilken, Issues, Etc. airs live Monday thru Friday from 1 to 3 pm Pacific, with the “Best Of” running at other hours: https://lutheranpublicradio.org/
KFUO is the listener supported radio station owned and operated by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Based in St. Louis, their format consists of teaching, preaching, ministry and sacred music: https://www.kfuo.org/
A very blessed Tuesday to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us
Pastor Joel at pastor@svlchurch.org
