Grace Church
Thursday, August 17, 2023
Thursday, August 17, 2023

God’s Judgement

Monday, January 13, 2025

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 3: How Many Persons Are There in God?

Answer: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Read

Psalm 7, Isaiah 59:1-16, Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Psalm 7
A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
    The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Isaiah 59:1-16
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us,
    and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
    We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
    we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
    we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
    we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
    We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
    and testify against us.
    Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
    We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
    carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
    and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
    and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
    and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
    to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
    and his justice sustained him.

Romans 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
A New Way to See (p.334)

Meditate

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)


Pray

God Almighty, we praise You for Your justice and mercy. Though we are unworthy sinners, by Your grace You have made a way for us to be holy and blameless in Your sight. Lord Jesus, You alone have fulfilled the Law. Thank you for being our perfect sacrifice and giving us Your perfect righteousness. Enable us by Your Spirit to boast in Christ, uphold the Law, and walk in the way of Your Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?

Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?

Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Read

Psalm 7, Isaiah 59:1-16, Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Psalm 7
A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
    The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Isaiah 59:1-16
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us,
    and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
    We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
    we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
    we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
    we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
    We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
    and testify against us.
    Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
    We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
    carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
    and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
    and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
    and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
    to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
    and his justice sustained him.

Romans 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
A New Way to See (p.334)

Meditate

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)


Pray

God Almighty, we praise You for Your justice and mercy. Though we are unworthy sinners, by Your grace You have made a way for us to be holy and blameless in Your sight. Lord Jesus, You alone have fulfilled the Law. Thank you for being our perfect sacrifice and giving us Your perfect righteousness. Enable us by Your Spirit to boast in Christ, uphold the Law, and walk in the way of Your Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?

Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Read

Psalm 109, Isaiah 53, Acts 1:12-26 (NLT)

Psalm 109
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O God, whom I praise,
    don’t stand silent and aloof
while the wicked slander me
    and tell lies about me.
They surround me with hateful words
    and fight against me for no reason.
I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them!
They repay evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.
    Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
When his case comes up for judgment,
    let him be pronounced guilty.
    Count his prayers as sins.
Let his years be few;
    let someone else take his position.
May his children become fatherless,
    and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars
    and be driven from their ruined homes.
May creditors seize his entire estate,
    and strangers take all he has earned.
Let no one be kind to him;
    let no one pity his fatherless children.
May all his offspring die.
    May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;
    may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
May the Lord always remember these sins,
    and may his name disappear from human memory.
For he refused all kindness to others;
    he persecuted the poor and needy,
    and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
He loved to curse others;
    now you curse him.
He never blessed others;
    now don’t you bless him.
Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,
    or the water he drinks,
    or the rich food he eats.
Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;
    may they be tied around him like a belt.”

May those curses become the Lord’s punishment
    for my accusers who speak evil of me.
But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,
    for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
    because you are so faithful and good.
For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is full of pain.
I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
    I am brushed off like a locust.
My knees are weak from fasting,
    and I am skin and bones.
I am a joke to people everywhere;
    when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
Let them see that this is your doing,
    that you yourself have done it, Lord.
Then let them curse me if they like,
    but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
    But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
    may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,
    praising him to everyone.
For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them.

Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Acts 1:12-26
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

Help me, O LORD my God! Save me because of Your unfailing love. (Psalm 109:26)


Pray

Heavenly Father, vengeance is Yours alone. I will not trust in my own strength but put my confidence in You. I know that You will not abandon me because You gave up Your only Son for my sake. In the midst of my heartache, remind me that nothing can separate me from Your love in Christ and that through Christ I will overcome. Enable me by Your Spirit to follow Christ by loving my enemies mercifully and sacrificially. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 38: What is Prayer?

Answer: Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 24: Why Was it Necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to Die?

Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 24: Why Was it Necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to Die?

Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Read

Psalm 7, Isaiah 59:1-16, Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Psalm 7
A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
    The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Isaiah 59:1-16
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us,
    and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
    We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
    we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
    we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
    we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
    We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
    and testify against us.
    Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
    We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
    carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
    and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
    and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
    and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
    to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
    and his justice sustained him.

Romans 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
A New Way to See (p.334)

Meditate

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)


Pray

God Almighty, we praise You for Your justice and mercy. Though we are unworthy sinners, by Your grace You have made a way for us to be holy and blameless in Your sight. Lord Jesus, You alone have fulfilled the Law. Thank you for being our perfect sacrifice and giving us Your perfect righteousness. Enable us by Your Spirit to boast in Christ, uphold the Law, and walk in the way of Your Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 24: Why Was it Necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to Die?

Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Read

Psalm 109, Isaiah 53, Acts 1:12-26 (NLT)

Psalm 109
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O God, whom I praise,
    don’t stand silent and aloof
while the wicked slander me
    and tell lies about me.
They surround me with hateful words
    and fight against me for no reason.
I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them!
They repay evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.
    Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
When his case comes up for judgment,
    let him be pronounced guilty.
    Count his prayers as sins.
Let his years be few;
    let someone else take his position.
May his children become fatherless,
    and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars
    and be driven from their ruined homes.
May creditors seize his entire estate,
    and strangers take all he has earned.
Let no one be kind to him;
    let no one pity his fatherless children.
May all his offspring die.
    May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;
    may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
May the Lord always remember these sins,
    and may his name disappear from human memory.
For he refused all kindness to others;
    he persecuted the poor and needy,
    and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
He loved to curse others;
    now you curse him.
He never blessed others;
    now don’t you bless him.
Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,
    or the water he drinks,
    or the rich food he eats.
Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;
    may they be tied around him like a belt.”

May those curses become the Lord’s punishment
    for my accusers who speak evil of me.
But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,
    for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
    because you are so faithful and good.
For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is full of pain.
I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
    I am brushed off like a locust.
My knees are weak from fasting,
    and I am skin and bones.
I am a joke to people everywhere;
    when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
Let them see that this is your doing,
    that you yourself have done it, Lord.
Then let them curse me if they like,
    but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
    But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
    may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,
    praising him to everyone.
For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them.

Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Acts 1:12-26
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

Help me, O LORD my God! Save me because of Your unfailing love. (Psalm 109:26)


Pray

Heavenly Father, vengeance is Yours alone. I will not trust in my own strength but put my confidence in You. I know that You will not abandon me because You gave up Your only Son for my sake. In the midst of my heartache, remind me that nothing can separate me from Your love in Christ and that through Christ I will overcome. Enable me by Your Spirit to follow Christ by loving my enemies mercifully and sacrificially. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 16: What is Sin?
Answer: Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law—resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Read

Psalm 7, Isaiah 59:1-16, Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Psalm 7
A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
    The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Isaiah 59:1-16
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us,
    and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
    We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
    we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
    we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
    we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
    We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
    and testify against us.
    Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
    We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
    carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
    and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
    and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
    and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
    to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
    and his justice sustained him.

Romans 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
A New Way to See (p.334)

Meditate

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)


Pray

God Almighty, we praise You for Your justice and mercy. Though we are unworthy sinners, by Your grace You have made a way for us to be holy and blameless in Your sight. Lord Jesus, You alone have fulfilled the Law. Thank you for being our perfect sacrifice and giving us Your perfect righteousness. Enable us by Your Spirit to boast in Christ, uphold the Law, and walk in the way of Your Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Friday, November 17, 2023

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?

Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 46: What is the Lord’s Supper?

Answer: Christ commanded all Christians to eat bread and to drink from the cup in thankful remembrance of him and his death. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the presence of God in our midst; bringing us into communion with God and with one another; feeding and nourishing our souls. It also anticipates the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in his Father’s kingdom.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Read

Psalm 7, Isaiah 59:1-16, Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Psalm 7
A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
    The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Isaiah 59:1-16
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest.
    The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
    and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
    and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
    and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
    and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
    and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
    Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
    or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
    and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us,
    and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
    We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
    we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
    we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
    we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
    We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
    and testify against us.
    Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
    We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
    carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
    and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
    and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
    and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
    to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
    and his justice sustained him.

Romans 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
A New Way to See (p.334)

Meditate

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)


Pray

God Almighty, we praise You for Your justice and mercy. Though we are unworthy sinners, by Your grace You have made a way for us to be holy and blameless in Your sight. Lord Jesus, You alone have fulfilled the Law. Thank you for being our perfect sacrifice and giving us Your perfect righteousness. Enable us by Your Spirit to boast in Christ, uphold the Law, and walk in the way of Your Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 45: Is Baptism with Water the Washing Away of Sin Itself?

Answer: No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Read

Psalm 109, Isaiah 53, Acts 1:12-26 (NLT)

Psalm 109
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O God, whom I praise,
    don’t stand silent and aloof
while the wicked slander me
    and tell lies about me.
They surround me with hateful words
    and fight against me for no reason.
I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them!
They repay evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.
    Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
When his case comes up for judgment,
    let him be pronounced guilty.
    Count his prayers as sins.
Let his years be few;
    let someone else take his position.
May his children become fatherless,
    and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars
    and be driven from their ruined homes.
May creditors seize his entire estate,
    and strangers take all he has earned.
Let no one be kind to him;
    let no one pity his fatherless children.
May all his offspring die.
    May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;
    may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
May the Lord always remember these sins,
    and may his name disappear from human memory.
For he refused all kindness to others;
    he persecuted the poor and needy,
    and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
He loved to curse others;
    now you curse him.
He never blessed others;
    now don’t you bless him.
Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,
    or the water he drinks,
    or the rich food he eats.
Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;
    may they be tied around him like a belt.”

May those curses become the Lord’s punishment
    for my accusers who speak evil of me.
But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,
    for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
    because you are so faithful and good.
For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is full of pain.
I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
    I am brushed off like a locust.
My knees are weak from fasting,
    and I am skin and bones.
I am a joke to people everywhere;
    when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
Let them see that this is your doing,
    that you yourself have done it, Lord.
Then let them curse me if they like,
    but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
    But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
    may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,
    praising him to everyone.
For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them.

Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Acts 1:12-26
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

Help me, O LORD my God! Save me because of Your unfailing love. (Psalm 109:26)


Pray

Heavenly Father, vengeance is Yours alone. I will not trust in my own strength but put my confidence in You. I know that You will not abandon me because You gave up Your only Son for my sake. In the midst of my heartache, remind me that nothing can separate me from Your love in Christ and that through Christ I will overcome. Enable me by Your Spirit to follow Christ by loving my enemies mercifully and sacrificially. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 38: What is Prayer?

Answer: Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Friday, June 16, 2023

Read

Psalm 13, Lamentations 3:1-26, Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Lamentations 3:1-26
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
    that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
He has led me into darkness,
    shutting out all light.
He has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
    He has broken my bones.
He has besieged and surrounded me
    with anguish and distress.
He has buried me in a dark place,
    like those long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
    He has bound me in heavy chains.
And though I cry and shout,
    he has shut out my prayers.
He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
    he has made my road crooked.

He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
    waiting to attack me.
He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
    leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

He shot his arrows
    deep into my heart.
My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness
    and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

He has made me chew on gravel.
    He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
    and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
    is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
    for salvation from the Lord.

Matthew 27:45-54
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
The Sun Stops Shining (p.302)

Meditate

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:24)


Pray

Heavenly Father, You are our inheritance and joy. You are enthroned above all the kingdoms of the world and are preparing for us the Heavenly City. Forgive us for turning our eyes from Your promises and for envying the world. Thank you for granting us the faith to see Your Son and his work on our behalf. Enable us by Your Spirit to face our circumstances with faith and to faithfully walk in the way of the cross. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 24: Why Was it Necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to Die?

Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.

New to Daily Worship?

Here are some helpful guides to get you started:

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Read

Psalm 11, Isaiah 66:15-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NLT)

Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
The wicked are stringing their bows
    and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
    at those whose hearts are right.
The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
    What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth.
The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
    He hates those who love violence.
He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
    punishing them with scorching winds.
For the righteous Lord loves justice.
    The virtuous will see his face.

Isaiah 66:15-24
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
“All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Jesus Storybook Bible: 
Operation “No More Tears!” (p.144)

Meditate

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)


Pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Take a moment to pray for others.

 

New City Catechism

Question 24: Why Was it Necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to Die?

Answer: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life.

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