Higher Things Daily Reflections

September 2, 2010 - Thursday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ephesians 2:1-22

And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. (Galatians 3:17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. So, you're a Christian because Jesus died for you and saved you. But how do you stay a Christian? There are many preachers out there who would tell you that it is Jesus who saves you, but then you have to start living a good life to be and remain a Christian. It's like they start with Jesus, but end up with you and what you have to do.

St. Paul says that we are saved because of a promise—a promise made to Abraham that his offspring (Jesus way down the road) would be the Savior. That promise was made long before the Ten Commandments were given. But some people figured that once the Ten Commandments were given, that was how you got right with God. Paul tells the Galatians that it's not that way at all! God didn't start with a promise and end up by telling you to do something you couldn't do.

So, why did He give the Ten Commandments? To put you under judgment. To show you your sin and your need for a Savior. The Commandments teach us that in and of ourselves we are doomed. But Christ kept the commandments. He kept them perfectly and then paid the price for our breaking them. He lived our life and died our death. On the Cross He suffered our punishment and took away all of our sins.

Now, as you struggle against sin, as you do the hard work of learning to love God and your neighbor, don't be fooled that such effort is how you stay a Christian. In fact, when you fail at those things, especially, you really need to know that what saves you, what forgives you, what makes you right with God and makes you a Christian, is what the Lord has done for you and promised you. That's the promise of your Baptism which says you are His child. It's the promise of absolution in which he declares you not guilty. It's the promise of His Supper in which He promises to live in you and raise you up in the last day.

You are saved by Christ. You are kept in the faith by Christ. His Word. His gifts. All Jesus for you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

It [the Gospel] is the pow'r of God to save From sin and Satan and the grave; It works the faith which firmly clings To all the treasures which it brings. (LSB 580:4)

September 1, 2010 - Wednesday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19; Ephesians 1:1-23

[A bishop must...] hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. (Titus 1:9 from the Table of Duties: To Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, you'll find some pages called “The Table of Duties.” This is a set of Scripture passages that describes the various responsibilities that the Lord gives to people in various callings. The first entry is for pastors. Pastors are supposed to be faithful, to use sound teaching, to comfort you and encourage you, while at the same time shutting down those who contradict God's Word.

Now, you are probably not a pastor, so what good are these words to you? They are life! Christ forgives your sins and makes you a Christian through the Word and Sacraments your pastor administers. It is by His Word, given through your pastor, that the Holy Spirit gives you life, gives you faith, and saves you. It is the message of the Cross—Jesus crucified for your sins—that your pastor preaches by which the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and makes holy the whole church on earth.

Now the devil wants nothing else than that no one believe in Christ, trust in His forgiveness, and have peace. So he stirs up all kinds of false doctrine, fake preachers and crazy ideas that sound almost Christian, but ultimately are not. That's why the Lord gives you a pastor: to defend you and protect you from any teaching that would lead you astray and tear you away from Christ!

What joy that the Lord delivers His salvation to you in the means of grace, that your pastor gives out. What joy that the salvation won for you by Christ the crucified is bestowed upon you through this pastor. And what comfort and relief that your pastor works hard, by God's grace to protect you from what is false and deadly. The Table of Duties teaches us what a pastor should do. And we learn, as is always the case with Jesus, that this is all given and done for you! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Send, O Lord, Your Holy Spirit, On Your servant now, we pray; Let him prove a faithful shepherd That no lamb be led astray. Your pure teaching to proclaim, To extol Your holy name, And to feed Your lambs, dear Savior, Make his aim and sole endeavor. (LSB 681:1)

August 31, 2010 - Tuesday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:8-15

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Then the men who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Here are the original Good Samaritans. They were from Samaria and helped these poor captives by taking care of them after their captors abandoned them. You were born abandoned. The Devil likes to fool your sinful flesh into believing that he's got all the answers, but then he slips away and leaves you on your own. Just so, all the false gods we make for ourselves leave us right when we need help the most. The things of this world don't take care of us. They give us up for dead.

Then the Lord finds you. He sends His Son, who dies for your sins, takes you and clothes you in righteousness and makes you His own. Where the devil, the world, and even our own sinful flesh would leave us for dead and abandon us, it is the Lord who rescues us and takes care of us like nothing and no one else.

Think of all the things that happened to these poor captives to help them, just as Jesus has done for you. They were clothed and anointed. You were clothed with Christ and anointed in your baptism. They were given sandals; you have been given the Gospel which is the “sandals of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). They were given food and drink. You eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus. They were brought to their brethren at that city. You have been brought into the holy Christian church.

It is the Lord who comes and takes care of us—takes care of you. He will not abandon or forsake you. He will never leave you. And He will not let the enemies of this world destroy you. No, your Lord saves you. Rescues you. His death and resurrection and the forgiveness He won, delivered in His holy gifts, mean that you who were once abandoned captives in this world are now citizens of His everlasting kingdom. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; Within His wounds I find a stay When Satan's pow'r assails me; And by His footsteps led, My path I safely tread. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way. (LSB 716:5)

August 30, 2010 - Monday of the 13th Week after Trinity

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Luke 10:23-37

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5,33-34; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24

Then [Jesus] turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it." (Luke 10:23-24

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have seen and heard more than Adam or Noah or Abraham or David or even John the Baptist ever did. All of those Old Testament saints believed in the Savior who was going to come some day. They believed in Him, but never saw Him. Even John, whom we heard about yesterday, was denied the glorious witness of the risen Jesus.

But not you. You know what has happened. You know what they knew, but did not get to see fulfilled—that the Son of God became man and was born of the Virgin Mary, that He suffered, was crucified, died and was buried and rose again the third day. There is great joy in living in the time when, by the witness of the New Testament, we can see the promises of God fulfilled in Christ.

So are you blessed? Do you feel special? Or is all that Jesus stuff not such a big deal. At least not as exciting as your team's latest victory? That party coming up at your friends? That late night that made you sleep in, instead of getting up for church? The truth is, we have been blessed to see what kings and prophets didn't and often don't give it a second thought, like we're flipping past it as we race through the channels on TV.

Repent. Consider what it means that you've seen God's plan unfold in Jesus Christ. And it is precisely what He has done for you that rescues you from such disinterest and every other sin. It is the Blood of Christ sprinkled on you in Baptism and drunk at the altar from the cup that rescues and forgives you for such indifference. It is the very Word of God which forgives your sins and joins you to the church of which you and all Christians and Old Testament saints are a part—the Body of Christ. Rejoice, dear Christian, not that you are more special than they are, but that you have seen what they did not and that all together we are the people of God in and through Jesus Christ. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

The God of Abr'ham praise, Whose all sufficient grace Shall guide me all my pilgrim days In all my ways. He deigns to call me friend; He calls Himself my God. And He shall save me to the end Through Jesus' blood. (LSB 798:3)

August 29, 2010 - The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:42-12:19; 2 Corinthians 7:1-16

But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" (Mark 6:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No, Herod, that's not John raised from the dead. It's Jesus. If you had really paid any attention to John when he was preaching, you would know that. John the Baptist wasn't born to point to himself. He was born to point to Jesus. John's message was simple. He preached a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus showed up, John declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John was the last prophet of the Old Testament, pointing to the coming Christ. John was also the first prophet of the New Testament, pointing to Christ and proclaiming that Jesus was the Savior.

Herod loved to hear John preach. He was even sorry when he had to kill John to keep the oath he made to his stepdaughter after she danced for him. But for all the seeming attention Herod paid to John, he completely missed the point of his preaching. John preached repentance and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Herod paid no attention to that. For Herod, John was a form of entertainment. Unfortunately, he ended up beheading him when he was no longer convenient to have around.

That's how it is with most who hear the preaching of Christ, the Lamb of God. The Good News is that the Lamb of God, Jesus, takes away the sins of the world. Herod's sins. John's sins. Your sins. He takes them away by being sacrificed on the Cross. Sadly, most people don't want that Jesus. They don't want that preaching. They want to be entertained and told how great they are or can be. They don't want repentance and forgiveness.

On this day when we remember John's death, remember also his preaching: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John pointed to Jesus. He points you to Jesus. The Baptizer points you to your Baptism and the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God. By this Lamb and his holy gifts you are saved. And as John the Baptist now wears the crown of life, so you will. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Our thanks for John the Baptist Who, till his dying day, Made straight paths for the Savior And heralded his way! In witnessing to Jesus Through times of threat or shame May we with faith and courage The Lamb of God proclaim. (LSB 518:24)

August 28, 2010 - Saturday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26; 2 Corinthians 6:1-18

Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed -- This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.(Psalm 74:2 from the Introit for Trinity 13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes it seems God forgets you, doesn't it? Or that maybe He's even forgotten His whole church. Everywhere you look, the world makes fun of Christians and other religions seem to be taking over. It seems like Christ's church is lost among a sea of hatred and persecution. God's Word is forgotten and neglected.

When we see that happening, we sing with ancient Israel, who also thought that God had forgotten them, “Remember Your congregation!” Remember us, Lord, and don't forget us!
But how could God forget you? How could He forget what His Son did for the world? How could God forget that His own Son was nailed to a Cross and shed His blood. How could He forget that blood-curdling cry of forsakenness that Jesus cried from Calvary? How could He ever forget you, who have been marked with His name at the font and fed with His Son at the altar?

The answer is that He can't! God doesn't forget you and He doesn't forget His church. The Lord doesn't forget His promises, but keeps them. When the Lord gathers us in the Divine Service and His Word is poured into our ears and His Son's Body and Blood are given us to eat and drink and when He hears our praises ring forth—the Lord remembers. He remembers and He comforts us with the promise that the world cannot overcome His church. Yes, not even the gates of hell itself shall overcome His kingdom! For this is a kingdom established by the blood of His Son, which blots out sin and death. This is a kingdom in which forgiveness and righteousness reign. This is the Lord's kingdom, which will never pass away even though heaven and earth will pass away.

Take comfort in that, dear Christian, that when it seems the little flock of God upon the earth is forgotten, it is not forgotten at all, but is safely in the hands of the Lord, who redeemed it and will come again to take us to be with Him forever. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

God's Word forever shall abide, No thanks to foes who fear it; For God Himself fights by our side With weapons of the Spirit. Were they to take our house, Goods, honor, child, or spouse, Though life is wrenched away, They cannot win the day. The Kingdom's ours forever. (LSB 657:4)

August 27, 2010 - Friday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Romans 10:9-17

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can't be a Christian without a pastor. That's right. That's what St. Paul says. How can you believe in Christ if He is not preached to you? Probably most of your friends go to churches where the exact opposite is taught. Faith is something personal that you discover on your own. It's between you and Jesus.

But that's not how the Lord does things. He doesn't give you life by spawning you in a forest and letting you grow up on your own. He gives you parents who give you life and provide for you. He doesn't shower money on you out of the sky. He gives you a job and a boss so that you can be provided for.

Just so, Christ does not expect us to fend for ourselves, figure Him out on our own and get some faith that way. No, He gives us a pastor, whose job is to preach and teach God's Word. To put God's Word into your ears. To baptize you and absolve you and feed you with Christ's Body and Blood. You can't get those things for yourself. But the Lord provides them for you through the man He has called to give those gifts to you.

This is for your comfort. When your sins trouble you, that pastor whom Jesus has called will remind you of your Savior's death on the Cross, which takes away your sins. When you are troubled and need guidance, more than just “advice” the world would give, your pastor is there to counsel you and teach you what the Lord's Word says, to strengthen you against the devil and your enemies. Indeed, your pastor, like your parents who gave you life and take care of you, is given to you by God to give you eternal life by giving you Jesus.

Most churches don't make much of preachers. But preachers are the means by which the Lord comes to us with His gifts. They aren't anything in themselves, but as they deliver Jesus faithfully and give out His forgiveness, pastors are essential—a gift from God for our salvation. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

The words which absolution give Are His who died that we might live; The minister whom Christ has sent Is but His humble instrument. (LSB 614:5)

August 26, 2010 - Thursday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 8:22-30,46-63; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Corinthians 3:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes you sufficient to pass your test? Did you study hard enough? Did you review enough flashcards? Take enough notes? Read and highlight enough in the textbook? What makes you sufficient to play on the team? Have you worked out enough? Practiced enough? Drilled enough? When it comes to the things of this world, hard work and practice make us sufficient and ready for the task.

But when it comes to the things of faith and eternal life, we'll never be sufficient. Have you loved God with your whole heart? Really? Except for despising His Word and not praying. Do you really love others as yourself? When there's something in return, perhaps. If we are to be sufficient before God, we need to measure up to the perfection of the Law. Have you kept all the Ten Commandments on your own? That will never happen.

So, we need a sufficiency not from ourselves and not inside of us. That's Jesus. His perfect life and His atoning death for your sins mean that your sufficiency is from Him. Baptism, Word, Body and Blood—all gifts of Jesus—mean that you have all you need. It's sufficient. It's enough. It's more than you need!

St. Paul knew that he could not be a pastor on his own. He didn't have the wisdom and strength and all the other things people think would make a good preacher. Yet, He had Christ. His sufficiency was from God. So is yours. Whenever you think you don't have much to offer God, rejoice! That's true! But what the Lord offers you is Himself and that is not only sufficient, but way more than enough for whatever you'll need in this life and the life to come. Jesus is sufficient for you. He is everything. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Thy righteousness, O Christ, Alone can cover me; No righteousness avails Save that which is of Thee. To whom save Thee, Who canst alone for sin atone, Lord, shall I flee? (LSB 565:5)

August 25, 2010 - Wednesday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Who receives this sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words "for you" require all hearts to believe. (Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes you ready and able to receive Christ's Body and Blood?

It's not your book knowledge. Just because you've studied and memorized your Catechism, that doesn't make you worthy to receive Christ's Body and Blood.

It's not what church body you belong to. Just because you might be a member of a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, doesn't make you worthy to receive this gift.

It's not because you think you are a Christian or claim to be one that makes you worthy. Lots of people say they are Christians, but that doesn't make it so.

It's not because your parents are in the church or because you wear the right clothes or because you have a good attitude or not.

No, to be a worthy recipient of Christ's Body and Blood is to think like this: “I am actually unworthy because of all my sins; I deserve no place at Christ's altar. Yet, He shed His blood on the Cross of Calvary for me and tells me to eat His Body and drink His Blood for the forgiveness of my sins.” In other words, all that makes you worthy is Jesus!

What makes you able to commune is that you are clothed with His righteousness in Holy Baptism. What makes you worthy is that your sins have been absolved by your pastor. What makes you worthy is Christ's own invitation to eat and drink for forgiveness, life and salvation. You don't come to receive this holy gift because it is owed you. You come because your Lord offers it freely as a gift to you—not because you are worthy, but because He is. And He is the One who has given and shed His Body and Blood for you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

I come, O Savior, to Thy table, For weak and weary is my soul; Thou, Bread of Life, alone art able To satisfy and make me whole: Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! (LSB 618:1)

August 24, 2010 - St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Luke 22:24-30

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-18; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. (Luke 22:24)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Can you imagine those disciples? Peter says, “I'm pretty much the leader of the Twelve.” James and John say, “No, we are! We're going to sit at Jesus' right and left!” Perhaps Matthew joined in, “Wait a minute! I've got business experience! I should be in charge!” Who knows what they said? It doesn't matter. There were certainly some of Jesus' apostles who seem to be more famous than the others. But perhaps it is in answer to this argument that the Holy Spirit doesn't really tell us anything else about St. Bartholomew, other than that he was an apostle. He was one of the Twelve the Lord ordained to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name to the ends of the earth.

Bartholomew was a witness of Christ. He saw Jesus and saw Him alive after His resurrection. We don't know anything else about him,but if he was an apostle then wherever he went, we can be sure that he proclaimed Christ crucified for sinners.

We don't need to know anything else about Bartholomew than that. Preachers don't preach so they can impress people and prove they are the greatest. Pastors aren't the most important people in Christ's church. They're just the ones He calls to tell preach and teach repentance and the forgiveness of sins, to baptize and to administer Christ's Body and Blood.

Bartholomew (or Nathanael, as he is called in John's Gospel) was called by Jesus to be a witness to Christ. As far as we know, he died as a martyr to the name of His Lord. Bartholomew, like all the apostles, is truly great not because he wielded some earthly authority or could out-argue the other apostles! His greatness was in his being a man through whom Christ's Word came to sinners and saved them. All praise to Christ for Bartholomew, through whom Christ went to the ends of the earth. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

All praise for him whose candor Through all his doubt You saw When Philip at the fig tree Disclosed You in the law. Discern, beneath our surface, O Lord, what we can be, That by Your truth made guileless, Your glory we may see. (LSB 518:23)

August 23, 2010 - Monday of the 12th Week after Trinity

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Isaiah 29:17-24

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 3:1-15; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22

The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 29:19)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Most religious people aren't very humble. Most religious people think they're pretty good people because, after all, they've got God figured out and they know that they do what He wants. These are the people that always seem to think that, because they go to church and know some stuff about religion, they're better than others. How about you? Do you ever think that way? Of course you do. It's easy to think you're better than that kid over there who doesn't go to church, but instead just gets into trouble all the time.

But, Isaiah doesn't say the proud and righteous will rejoice in the Holy One. He says the humble will. The Holy One of Israel is Jesus. Jesus comes not to be proud and haughty. He could. He's the Son of God after all. If anyone has a claim to looking down on others it should be Him. But instead He humbles Himself. He is born of poor parents. He comes to serve and to give His life and die on the Cross to take away our sins. Jesus is our Savior by being our servant. All true humility there.

Therefore, abandon your pride and thinking you're “all that” because you are a Christian. Rather, learn true repentance again, which says, “I really am an awful sinner and deserve nothing from God. Yet, by Christ's death and resurrection, He rescues me and saves me.” When you are nothing but a low down, dirty, rotten sinner, then your joy will increase as you see what sort of a Savior you have. The more sins you've got, the bigger a Savior Jesus is!

So rejoice in the Holy One of Israel! He saves you not because of you, but because that's what He does. His water, word, Body and blood are gifts so humble, and yet so powerful, that they rescue you from sin, death, devil, hell and even your pride! The Holy One of Israel came, Jesus Christ your Lord, to save you. Having heard that with your open ears, now let your tongue loose to rejoice and sing! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Not unto us, not unto us be glory, Lord; Not unto us but to Your name be praise; Not unto us but to Your name all honor be giv'n For matchless mercy, forgiveness, and grace. (LSB 558:1)

August 22, 2010 - The 12th Sunday after Trinity

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today's Reading: Mark 7:31-37

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. (Mark 7:33)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Gross! Spitting. Touching tongues. Putting your fingers in somebody else's ears! It doesn't sound very pleasant. But Jesus doesn't do squeamish. He takes this deaf man aside, spits, touches his tongue and sticks his fingers in His ears. What's going on? What saves this man? He's got the Word of God—literally, Jesus—in his ears and on his tongue!

His problem is our problem. Even if we can hear, we are deaf to God's Word. Even if we can talk we use our mouths to curse, instead of bless, to say worthless things, instead of speaking God's Word. So how is this man saved? How are we saved? By the Word of God going into our ears and the Word of God going onto our tongues.

Jesus isn't squeamish about coming amongst us sinners. In the beginning, the Lord Himself came down and made man out of mud. In the fullness of time, He sent His Son, who was not afraid to actually take on a human nature, become a man, be born, suffer and die and rise for your sins. Jesus gets in the mud pit with us sinners to be like us, to carry our sins, and to suffer and die for them.

Now He does the same thing to you to rescue you from spiritual blindness and dumbness—puts the Word in your ears in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel and puts the Word on your tongue, His own true Body and Blood, given you to eat and drink. And not with spit now, but with Baptismal water, the Lord gives you Himself and rescues you from sin and death.

We suffer the very same problem as this poor man: We are deaf and dumb, unable to hear God's Word and speak and sing His praises. But the Lord has opened your ears and loosed your tongue by His saving gifts so that now you can rejoice to hear Christ and confess Him, to hear the Good News that your sins are forgiven and to praise Him with your tongue. He has done all things well for you! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and merciful God, whose gift it is that Your faithful possess all things pertaining to faith and life, we implore You that we may so faithfully cling to Your promises in this life that we fail not finally to attain to Your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity 12)