Sunday 18. October 2014
Trinity 18
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let Your face shine, so that we may be saved! (Psalm 80,19 ESV)
God commanded us to set aside one day a week devoted to His worship. Christians have set aside Sunday to worship the Triune God for that is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead.
As the psalm reminds us, our day of worship is less about us worshipping God and more about Him blessing us. This is why Lutherans coined the phrase Gottesdienst as a term for the worship of God. It is usually translated into English as "Divine Service" but it literally means "God's Service"; it is God's service to us.
God blesses us in many ways on Sunday. In particular, He blesses us with the preaching of His Word and through the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord's Supper. Through these means of grace, God's face shines upon us and He gives out to us the salvation won by Jesus on the cross.
We also pray, sing hymns and mutually edify one another in our Divine Service. We may think such things are of no concern if we miss them week after week, but they really are God's way of blessing us. This is why we should be encouraged to worship God each week: to receive His blessings, be assured of His forgiveness and be mutually uplifted by our Christian brothers and sisters who help us bear our burdens.
Prayer: O Almighty and Most Merciful God, preserve us from all harm and danger so that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish what You want done; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. (A72, Treasury of Daily Prayer)
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