Luke (2025)

And for our reading from the Old Testament, I invite you to turn to the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 60. And our reading will be verses one through seven. Isaiah 60, one through seven. Listen to this. This is the very Word of God. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. But the Lord will arise upon you,…

Jeremiah 13, verses 12 through 17. Listen to this. This is the very word of God. You shall speak to them this word. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, every jar shall be filled with wine. And they will say to you, do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine? Then you shall say to them, thus says the Lord, behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land, the…

And take your Bibles, please, and turn to the book of Leviticus. If you’re using the Pew Bible, the reading will be found on page 98 of that Pew Bible. We’ll be reading from Leviticus chapter seven, starting in verse 28, and reading through verse 36. Leviticus 7, 28 through 36. Listen to this. This is the very Word of God. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his…

Our Old Testament reading is from Psalm 51. That quintessential prayer and psalm of repentance. Psalm 51, and we will read verses one through 10. Listen to this. This is the very Word of God. To the choir master, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from…

Before our Old Testament reading, please turn to the book of First Kings. In our evening worship service, not long ago, we went through the book of First Kings together. So if you’re with us on the occasion upon which the sermon was from First Kings 17, these words will be very familiar. Our reading is 1 Kings chapter 17, verses 17 through 24. At this point, Elijah had been living in the home of a widow who had a…

And for our Old Testament reading, turn to the book of Psalms, where our reading will be Psalm 67. Psalm 67. Listen to this. This is the very word of God. to the choir master with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. That your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God.…

Listen to this. This is the very word of God. Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it. And he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants…

a good bit of what we sang in that hymn and some of what our brother Tim prayed as he led us in prayer this morning. And both our Old Testament reading and New Testament reading are all oriented around the theme of vision, of sight, the ability to see as over against blindness. I would have chosen Be Thou My Vision for one of our hymns this morning, but we just sung it a couple of weeks ago. So…

and turn with me once again to the Psalms for our Old Testament reading. And that will be Psalm 112. Psalm 112, we’ll read the whole Psalm. And let’s give careful attention to this because this is the very word of God. Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in…

And for our Old Testament reading, please turn to the book of Deuteronomy. Chapter 9. And we will read this morning verses 1 through 12. Deuteronomy 9. 1 through 12. Listen to this. This is the very word of God. Here, O Israel, you are to cross over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom…