(printed on bulletin insert on November 24, 2024)
As the final Sundays bring another Church Year to its end and Advent again leads in a new one, a number of opportunities re-present themselves to you for the deepening of your faith and your daily devotional life. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) This means that not only is faith created by the Holy Spirit using the Word to awaken dead hearts, but that by the Word He sustains and grows the faith that He gives.
Daily devotion to the Scriptures is an essential joy in your life as a Christian. This weekly blue sheet is designed to help you in various ways and this time of year is the perfect opportunity to begin to use it to your benefit if you aren’t already doing so.
Out of all that is printed weekly on the insert, I encourage you this year to pick up the Bible Readings for the Week , and with good reason. This schedule of readings is based on a three-year cycle developed by Pastor Peter Bender of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, WI, that takes you through foundational Old Testament and New Testament texts, primarily focused on the Books of Moses and the Gospels. Each week in the bulletin is similar to this example from the first week of Advent:
Bible Readings for the Week: (Theme: OT stories)
Day Reading Additional Reading
Sun Ad Te Levavi: Matthew 21:1–9
Mon Genesis 1:1-19 John 1:1-13
Tue Genesis 1:20-31 John 1:14-18
Wed Advent Midweek: Matthew 3:1-6 James 5:7-10
Thu Genesis 2:1-7 John 1:19-28
Fri Genesis 2:8-25 John 1:29-34
Sat Populus Zion: Malachi 4:1–6 Romans 15:4–13
Sunday – A single re-reading of that morning’s Gospel text. Great for review.
Monday through Friday – The primary column (Reading) is typically five days of passages that progress you through the three-year over-arching reading plan of the biblical narrative. Note: when there is a feast day or special midweek service (as in Advent and Lent) one day may be dedicated to the readings heard in that day’s special service.
Saturday – These are the Old Testament and Epistle readings that will be heard the very next morning in the Divine Service. Our family also enjoys reading the Gospel that night, too, so that Sunday’s texts are fresh in our minds as we come to worship. (see Next Sunday on the insert if you want to prepare with the upcoming Sunday’s hymns, psalmody, and/or readings.)
A suggestion on how to use these Bible readings at home
I highly recommend and encourage every household to set aside at least one slot of time everyday to be together for devotion in prayer and God’s Word. Our church has resources available for you to use for family devotions and I would be overjoyed to be invited to your home to show you how to use them.
In LSB is a section called “Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families” beginning on page 294. It has simple texts for devotions at a time of day of your choice. If you are a morning person, use the Morning page (295). A night person? Use the Close of the Day page (298). These single-page devotional orders are quite brief, yet pack a wonderful punch for your faith life. Each has a slot for “An appointed reading…” This is where you would read aloud the Bible text listed in the Reading column in each week’s blue insert. That column is the one that will take you through the three-year course through the overarching biblical narrative laid out by our Lord. If you’re hungry for more Scripture, add in the blue sheet’s Additional Reading. It is there for more exposure to the books of the Bible that supplement the main narrative ones, such as the Prophets and the Epistles.
“Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families” is in your hymnal, but we also have laminated standalone copies available in the narthex that are easy to tuck into your Bible for quick reference. Take one. Take many. We can easily order more. These devotions of daily prayer can easily be done in 15 minutes or less, but your rewards will be timeless. Here’s a summary example of one of the daily prayer orders, the one for Morning:
· Invocation
· Responsive portions of psalms (provided)
· A hymn or full psalm (optional)
· Reading
· A portion from the Small or Large Catechism (optional)
· Apostles’ Creed (in back cover of hymnal)
· Lord’s Prayer (in back cover of hymnal)
· Prayers for others and ourselves
· Concluding prayers (provided)
· DONE!
The Lord bless you in your home devotional life and keep you steadfast in His Word and faith all the year long!
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.