Read
Psalm 140, Exodus 3:1-10, Luke 4:14-21 (NLT)
Psalm 140
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
Their tongues sting like a snake;
the venom of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude
O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from those who are violent,
for they are plotting against me.
The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way. Interlude
I said to the Lord, “You are my God!”
Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,
you protected me on the day of battle.
Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
or they will become proud. Interlude
Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
Let them be thrown into the fire
or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;
he will give justice to the poor.
Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence.
Exodus 3:1-10
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Jesus Storybook Bible:
Let’s Go! (p.208)
Meditate
But I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor. (Psalm 140:12)
Pray
God of justice and mercy, You are Lord over the flood. 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 struggles remind me that nothing, not even death, can separate me from Your love. Strengthen me with the truth that through trials you are making me more like Christ and that through him I will overcome. Deepen my trust in Your will and help me to follow you through the sea. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Take a moment to pray for others.
Sing
New City Catechism
Question 43: What Are the Sacraments or Ordinances?
Answer: The sacraments or ordinances given by God and instituted by Christ, namely baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are visible signs and seals that we are bound together as a community of faith by his death and resurrection. By our use of them the Holy Spirit more fully declares and seals the promises of the gospel to us.
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