Crown of Life Church at the Laurels Sunday: First Sunday in Lent Date: February 17, 2013

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1 Crown of Life Church at the Laurels Sunday: First Sunday in Lent Date: February 17, 2013 Greetings: Introduce yourselves Opening Prayer (Read aloud together): Dear God, we are so thankful that you have brought us together again, for this time of worship and meditation in your Word. As we gather together Lord, we are reminded that we are here because you have called us out of darkness into your wonderful light. Assure us Lord, of your mercy and ever-present forgiveness. Help us to look to the cross, and remind us that Your Son Jesus died and rose again, to give us the victory over our sins, over the devil, and over this evil world. Help us to walk in your path, the path you have set before us in Jesus. Keep us close to you and close to one another. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Absolution: Dear friends, God s Word tells us if we are in Christ, we are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. Because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, His death and resurrection, God assures you that your sins are forgiven. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hymn: LSB #427- In the Cross of Christ I Glory 1 In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow ring o er the wrecks of time. All the light of sacred story Gathers round its head sublime. 2 When the woes of life o er take me, Hopes deceive, and fears annoy, Never shall the cross forsake me; Lo, it glows with peace and joy. 3 When the sun of bliss is beaming Light and love upon my way, From the cross the radiance streaming Adds more luster to the day. 4 Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure By the cross are sanctified; Peace is there that knows no measure, Joys that through all time abide. OLD TESTAMENT READING: Deut. 26:1-11 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and say to the priest in office at the time,

2 I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us. The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me. Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Hymn: LSB #718-Jesus Lead Thou On 1 Jesus, lead Thou on, Til our rest is won; And although the way be cheerless, We will follow calm and fearless. Guide us by Thy hand, To our fatherland. 2 If the way be drear, If the foe be near, Let not faithless fears o er take us; Let not faith and hope forsake us; For through many-a woe, To our home we go. 3 When we seek relief, From a long-felt grief, When temptations come alluring, Make us patient and enduring. Show us that bright shore, Where we weep no more. 4 Jesus, lead Thou on, Til our rest is won. Heav nly leader, still direct us, Still support, console, protect us, Til we safely stand, In our fatherland. NEW TESTAMENT READING: Romans 10:8b-13 But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

3 Hymn: LSB #923-Almighty Father, Bless the Word 1 Almighty Father, bless the Word Which through Your grace we now have heard. Oh, may the precious seed take root, Spring up, and bear abundant fruit! 2 We praise You for the means of grace As homeward now our steps we trace. Grant, Lord, that we who worshiped here May all at last in heav n appear. 3 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav nly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. GOSPEL READING: Luke 4:1-13 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered, It is said: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. DEVOTION FOR THE 1 st SUNDAY IN LENT The Great Temptation Written by Douglas J. Douma Text: Luke 4:1-13 Who is Jesus? Scripture teaches us that he was fully God, the only begotten Son of God, as a matter of fact. He has powers and wisdom that we cannot even begin to comprehend, and for those and many other reasons, he deserves our undivided honor and worship. But while it is good to always be mindful of the divine nature of Jesus, we should not forget he was also made fully man. He is God Incarnate, and he is the Word of God made flesh. In our passage today from St. Luke s Gospel, the devil shows that he knows how to tempt the flesh of a human. Satan knew that the man Jesus, having spent 40 days in the wilderness without food, was hungry. This surely is a grand understatement! Sometimes we fast for a day or a weekend and we are extremely hungry. Jesus too, as a man, was surely

4 experiencing more than just a typical level of hunger. After 40 days he must have been very hungry, ravenously hungry. And it is here, at his apparent weak point, which the devil comes to tempt him to turn stone into bread and satisfy his hunger. Jesus s human nature is shown in his hunger, but his divine nature is referred to in that he could even turn stone into bread, if he chose to. Here, one would think Jesus would just perform the miracle and get the devil off his back and to satisfy his hunger pains. But the devil knows Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus knows this devil knows this. He did not need the miracle to prove himself, and wasn t about to give in to Satan s temptations. Thus, Jesus relies on the authority, the word of God in the Scriptures, to reply to the devil. Man shall not live on bread alone. Life is sustained by God. Again the devil tempts Jesus. His approach changes from appealing to physical hunger to appealing to the hunger for power than men have. Again, Jesus relies on the authority, the word of God in the Scriptures, to reply to the devil. He tells Satan and reminds us that all power and glory belong to God alone; Jesus already has dominion over the world it was not the devil s to give away, nor is it ours to try to claim. The third and final temptation shows a change of approach from the devil. He may have been thinking, If Jesus is going to quote Scripture, I will do likewise. I will play his game and try to beat him at it. But it is to no avail; Jesus has the answer again from the Scriptures. He knows the truth because he embodies the Truth. Christ IS the Truth. In this, Jesus shows over and over again his continuity with the God of the Old Testament, the God of Scriptures. He shows that he is the word of God made flesh, and that his flesh is not weak to the devil s temptations. It is critical to note that even the devil quotes Scripture. This shows us that Scripture can be used inappropriately. Not always are verses well used. Often times in Scripture we see only part of the full understanding when we read a single verse or passage. We need other verses to round out the full teaching of our Lord. Jesus does not deny the truth of the verse the devil quotes, but adds to it with additional words from the Scriptures which completes the meaning. Scripture can surely be used incorrectly. Often I ve seen Scripture being used like a wooden club to club people over the head. People beat others down with rules, laws, and judgments without sharing the grace of the Gospel. People use selected bits or pieces Scripture to attack their opponents or to belittle others. This is an improper use of Scripture. We should never use Scripture to attack someone. This is why it is so important that we spend significant time in our lives to read and understand more of the Bible and to see the Bible as a whole, not a series of bits and pieces. If we know just a few bits and pieces but are ignorant of the rest we don t see the full picture. If we only know that sin is wrong, but do not know that we should minister to even sinners, we will focus only on condemnation and not on Gospel proclamation.

5 Jesus gives us a great example in this passage of how we should respond to temptation and questions in our lives. He always looks to the word of God. God is the all-knowing creator of the world and all of us people. He knows what is good for us. Rather than looking for answers within ourselves or from the experts in the various subject fields in the world, we should look to the Bible as our guide because it is here that we have the very Word of God to direct us. As you go through your day, your week, and your life, remember God s words to us in Proverbs 3 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) + Hymn: LSB #790 - the Almighty the Almighty, the King of creation. O my soul, praise Him, for He is your health and salvation! Let all who hear now to His temple draw near, Joining in glad adoration! who o er all things is wondrously reigning And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining. Have you not seen all that is needful has been Sent by His gracious ordaining? who has fearfully, wondrously, made you, Health has bestowed, and when heedlessly falling, has stayed you. What need or grief ever has failed of relief? Wings of His mercy did shade you. who will prosper your work and defend you; Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend you. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do As with His love He befriends you. Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him! All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen sound from His people again; Gladly forever adore Him! The Lord s Prayer (Pray aloud together) Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen. Visit! Get to know one another and be blessed!