Brothers and sisters, Greetings in the name of Jesus. I pray that you will take advantage of the opportunity to attend church this Sunday to receive the gifts of forgiveness God administers during the service. Throughout the summer we will continue with Sunday School and Bible study at 9 am, and worship at 10:30 am. We will try to keep posting the services on Facebook Live, archiving them for a month if you are unable to attend.
On May 9 we will follow the liturgy of Divine Service Setting Three beginning on page 184 in the LSB hymnal. Hymns chosen for the day are #462 All the Earth With Joy is Sounding; #716 I Walk in Danger All the Way; #641 You Satisfy the Hungry Heart; and #664 Fight the Good Fight.
Scripture lessons for the day are Psalm 130; Genesis 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; and Mark 3: 20-25.
Psalm 130 is characterized as a psalm of ascents, the type of song one would sing as they walked up the mountain approaching Jerusalem and climbed the steps to worship at the temple. The psalmist recognizes his sin and cries out, for he knows that he is not worthy to approach God. None of us are. Sin has separated us from Him. But the psalmist also trusts in the mercy and grace of God. He patiently and fervently prays for God’s redemption. Redemption means that an exchange takes place. Jesus has redeemed you, taking your sin to Himself, and in exchange He has given you His righteousness and favor before God. Jesus has released you from bondage to God’s curses and the power of the devil. Connected to Jesus, trusting in Him, God welcomes you into His presence, no matter what your past might be.
The Old Testament lesson from Genesis 3 describes events following Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience against God. Giving in to the serpent/devil’s temptation, they had eaten fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had forbidden them to do. As a result of their disobedience, sin entered the world. Sin is more than disobedient behavior. Sin is a condition and underlying attitude. The perfect human nature God created had become infected and corrupted by sin. All of mankind, including you and me, have inherited a rebellious nature that is sinful and unclean. As a result of the disobedience God condemned Adam and Eve and all their offspring, by separating them from Himself, and sentencing them to die. We deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment. But Sunday’s reading includes the good news that God included a follow-up promise. He would send a descendant of Adam and Eve who would crush the serpent. This special Offspring would overcome the curse of sin and save us from condemnation. Scripture reveals that this savior is Jesus the Christ, God’s own Son, born of the virgin Mary. The devil thought he had defeated Jesus when Jesus died on the cross. But Jesus overcame death, and defeated the devil’s efforts. Jesus has rescued you from the devil’s evil works.
The Epistle lesson is a portion of St. Paul’s second existing letter to the congregation in Corinth, southern Greece. Paul speaks of the afflictions we experience. He was quite familiar with suffering. Many of his afflictions were the result of the physical and verbal abuse he received from opponents to his preaching of the gospel. But we can easily imagine the emotional and spiritual affliction he also felt. He no doubt had questions about why God was allowing such things to happen. Paul compares our lives to a tent, reminding Christians that life in this world is temporary and tenuous, and eventually destroyed. But God is preparing a home in heaven with Him that is permanent and glorious beyond comparison. Jesus is the foundation of your eternal home. All other hopes of life and future are built on sand that will quickly crash down when the pressures of life are applied. Paul encourages you and each of us to not lose heart, but to hold to the promises of Jesus. Though the results of these promises cannot yet be seen, and may be in stark contrast to our current experiences, they are sure and eternal.
The gospel lesson is St. Mark’s account of an encounter between Jesus and scribes, who were considered experts in God’s Law. Jesus had been preaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons. So when He went home, a large crowd gathered around the house to see what else He might do. The scribes had been critical of Jesus’ works, and were looking for reasons to challenge Him and questions His authority. So they accused Him, saying He was from the devil and His ability to cast out demons was actually done in cooperation with the devil. Jesus accuses the scribes of blasphemy, for they were mis-categorizing His saving work as being devilish. They were sinning against God the Holy Spirit, saying Jesus had an unclean spirit. Jesus’ family hears all that He is saying and doing, and they conclude He must be crazy, for who can reasonably claim to be God? At the time they did not believe Jesus, and they wanted to silence Him. But Jesus rejects their efforts. And He declares that His true family consists of those who do God’s will, which includes believing in Him. Jesus is God in the flesh. He is not from the devil. As God promised to Adam and Eve, Jesus has come to destroy the devil and all his works and all his ways. The work has been essentially finished. WE are holding on, waiting for the last day when Jesus returns and completes His work by taking us to heaven. Recognize threats of the devil. He is strong. He wants to control your life. But Jesus has come, and by His death and resurrection He has bound the devil and through the waters of baptism has thrown him out of your life, so that He, Jesus, would now control your life and attitudes and behaviors. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help us follow Jesus, and fight against the devil’s assaults.
COLLECT: Almighty and eternal God, Your Son Jesus triumphed over our enemy the devil, and freed us from our bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us to do Your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Please let me know if you have any prayer requests or questions about the Scripture lessons. God bless you. Pastor Boster
