[Sunday's Worship Service and Scripture Readings]

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The Second Sunday in Lent 3-1-26

He remembers his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.

Seek the LORD and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He is the LORD our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be forever. Amen.

He remembers his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.

 

Collect 

O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

[Genesis 12:1-7]  Then the LORD told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.  2 I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.  3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you." 

4 So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.  5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth-- his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at Haran-- and finally arrived in Canaan.  6 Traveling through Canaan, they came to a place near Shechem and set up camp beside the oak at Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I am going to give this land to your offspring. " And Abram built an altar there to commemorate the LORD's visit. 

 

[Romans 4:1-8, 13-17]  Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What were his experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith?  2 Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? If so, he would have had something to boast about. But from God's point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride.  3 For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous."  4 When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers earn what they receive.  5 But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.  6 King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous:  7 "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.  8 Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord."… 13It is clear, then, that God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God's law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 So if you claim that God's promise is for those who obey God's law and think they are "good enough" in God's sight, then you are saying that faith is useless. And in that case, the promise is also meaningless.  15 But the law brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)  16 So that's why faith is the key! God's promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we follow Jewish customs, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.  17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, "I have made you the father of many nations." This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who brings into existence what didn't exist before.

 

 

[John 3:1-17]  After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee,  2 came to speak with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."  3 Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."  4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"  5 Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 

 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.  7 So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again.  8 Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."  9 "What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.  10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?  11 I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us.  12 But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven?  13 For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.  14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole,  15 so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.  16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

 

 

 

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