Living the Lectionary is a weekly devotional tool intended to give you ideas for living out the Word of God that we encounter on Sundays in worship.
About this Season and Series:
About the week starting November 15th: The 25th Sunday After Pentecost – The Throne of the Lamb – Jesus Christ gives us confidence to not only approach the Triune God, but also to approach a sinful world. Law: It is hard to approach either God or man with confidence when we know that our sins make us failures. Gospel: We have confidence when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. We need not tremble because we have not fulfilled all of the Law, but rather we thank Him for the confidence that we have in approaching Him. We need not tremble in facing the world, because we know the Creator is on our side.
Sundays After Pentecost/”The Gift of the Lamb” – The long season of the Sundays after Pentecost are split up into series here at University Lutheran, in the last weeks of this long season, we turn to a sermon series based on the Book of Hebrews called “The Gift of the Lamb”.
Reflecting on the Readings (readings are linked to text on ESVbible.com)
Daniel 12:1-3– The Revelation of the Resurrection – This section of Scripture is perhaps the first clear reference to what we know as “the Resurrection”. It is rich in picture language. What do you imagine as you read or listen to this text?
Psalm 16– Confidence and Goodness – It is shocking when the Psalmist says “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You.” But this is the confidence of the Christian, that although we have no good in ourselves, we have a goodness in Christ which is enough to give us courage to approach Him. What of your own “goodness” might you need to put away when you approach the Holy God? What of your good works make you self-righteous rather than truly righteous?
Hebrews 10:11-25 – Draw Near – The writer of Hebrews plays with the phrase “draw near”, first using it to describe what Christians are to do, drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, and then to describe the way in which the Day of the Lord, the day of Resurrection, is drawing near to us. How do each of these “drawing near” uses encourage or exhort you to further confidence in Jesus?
Mark 13:1-13– Confidence Under Trial – Jesus tells His disciples to be confident in the most stringent of times – being hauled before councils and synagogues. What are the trials in your life that Jesus might be calling you to approach with the confidence of knowing that He is with you?
Living the Lectionary Ideas
Learn: As the Church Year comes to a close, the readings begin to look towards the return of Christ in glory and judgment. What do you know and believe about this time that is coming for all people?
Do: Look specifically at Hebrews 23-25 and the exhortation there. How might you follow these things with your life? What do these things mean to you? How might they display a confidence in Jesus?
Live: All of the readings call us towards living a life of confidence with God, trusting that our relationship with Him is sure. How might you engender this character of confidence in God this week?
Local: Take a walk! Take a walk with a friend and/or a member of your local and simply talk about the things that you see.