Advertise on podcast: Zion Lutheran Sioux Falls

AS WE GATHER:  Consider a time in your life when someone showed you mercy. When was that, and what was it like?  Perhaps it was for a late homework assignment in school, forgiveness when you dropped the ball on a project at work, or maybe even forgiving a loan of some sort. Mercy is compassion and forgiveness    toward someone who either doesn’t deserve it or actually deserves punishment. In the Book of Ruth we     consider what it means to be shown undeserved mercy. Boaz had mercy on Ruth and Naomi. God works through Ruth and Boaz to selflessly provide for others’ needs. This narrative demonstrates God’s heart toward the lowly and helps set the context for David’s reign.  Christ has had greater mercy on us by providing        forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation for His people. God works through Christ and His Means of Grace to provide His gifts. He also works through others who work His mercy in the world.                                                

On Easter evening and again the following Sunday, because the disciples saw Jesus alive, they knew the resurrection was real, and they believed in Him. They were then able to witness to their faith in spite of opposition and persecution from the Jewish council. Though grieved by various traits, it was the “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3) that enabled the Early Church to      rejoice. The reality of the resurrection becomes evident to people around us as we live out our faith, confessing Jesus as Lord and offering peace and forgiveness in His name. As they come to faith, they join us and “have life in His name” (John 20:31).

We give thanks to God, the Father for the victory over death and the grave He has granted to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. On this day Christ destroyed the power of death for all who believe in Him by His glorious resurrection from the dead. All the angels of heaven now sing His praise: the One who has been crowned the victor!

With great celebration the throngs of people welcomed Jesus, but they did not comprehend that His gift of life would come at the cost of His own death.  We are not in the dark about what awaited Jesus.  We know that His great love for us was tested in death on the cross.  We know that Jesus was not victim, but the willing Savior who was determined to pay the price for our redemption.  Today we celebrate the great love that our King has for us.

These scriptures form a powerful trajectory from death to life. Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones reveals humanity’s inability to save itself from the "grave" of sin. Romans 8 identifies the solution… the Holy Spirit, who dwells in believers to conquer death. This sequence finds its climax in John 11, where Jesus’ authority over the tomb proves He is the Resurrection and the Life. Every bone gathered and every tear shed leads directly to Christ, who conquers the "final enemy" to give us eternal breath.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Judges 16:4-31.  God grants Samson great strength to defeat the enemies of God’s people. Seeking to overcome Samson, the Philistines bribe Delilah to find the source of Samson’s strength. Samson deceives Delilah each time she tries to uncover the secret, but he finally reveals the key to his power. Shorn and blinded by the Philistines, Samson is brought to entertain thousands of revelers at the feast to Dagon. Identifying the house’s supporting pillars, Samson prays, and God grants him power to bring down the temple, killing everyone.  Samson’s death brought about the temporal rescue of God’s people. Jesus’ sinless sacrifice and death brought about the eternal rescue of God’s people from eternal death.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Judges 4.  Judge Deborah urges Barak to gather 10,000 troops to go up against Sisera’s army of 900 iron chariots. When the battle turns against Sisera, he flees on foot, seeking refuge in Jael’s tent. Snoozing beneath a rug, Sisera meets his end at the hand of Jael as she pegs him through his temple to the ground.  In Christ, God chose to use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. In Him, we poor sinners are brought high and given a new identity that will never fade.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Joshua 5:13–6:27. Confident in their wall, the people of Jericho shut themselves up inside the city. Following God’s unusual battle plan, Joshua gathers the priests, trumpets, ark of the covenant, and people. Six days they march once around the city, then seven times on the seventh day, giving a shout at the conclusion of the last circuit. The city walls come tumbling down, and the Israelites wipe out the citizens and livestock while plundering precious metals for the tabernacle. Yet Rahab and her family are spared. Christ, the greater Joshua, though He has the power to judge us for our sins also has the power to save. By the cross, He has forgiven God’s children their sins and has promised us deliverance from eternal death.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Joshua 2. As they prepare to enter the Promised Land, Joshua sends two spies to explore Jericho. Rahab, a prostitute, first hides the spies from the authorities, and later she helps them escape out her window in the city wall. Because of her faithfulness, the spies promise to spare Rahab and her family when the Israelites come to occupy the city. God saved His spies in Jericho through the unlikely and unexpected Rahab. God has saved us, His people today, through the unexpected and undeserved sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Numbers 13:1–2, 25–14:24. Moses chooses one man from each of the twelve tribes and sends them to spy on the land God has promised. The spies report a land of great plenty but occupied by mighty, fearsome people. Despite Caleb and Joshua’s pleas to seize the land promised to them, the people rebel. Moses pleads for mercy, and God promises to care for His people. At the same time, He condemns the Israelites to forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Of all the adults, only Joshua and Caleb will live to enter the Promised Land.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Exodus 25:1–19; 40:1–8, 34–38. Moses begins the process of building a portable house for the Lord by gathering offerings from the Israelites. God provides detailed instruction for the creation of the ark of the covenant as well as the other fixtures of the tabernacle. When the tabernacle is finally assembled, the glory of the Lord descends on the tabernacle in the form of a cloud. As long as the presence remains, the people remain in that place.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Exodus 31:18–32:35. Atop Mount Sinai, Moses receives the Law from God. Meanwhile, the Israelites grow impatient and convince Aaron to create a golden idol. When God sends Moses down from the mountain, Moses sees the people’s wan-ton worship and smashes the stone tablets. The people are punished for their idolatry. Moses returns to Sinai to plead God’s mercy for the people. Moses interceded for God’s people at Sinai. Jesus interceded for all people on the cross, bearing the punishment for our sins.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Exodus 17:1-7. Having moved their camp from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, the Israelites face a new challenge—no water. Despite His daily food supply, the people doubt God’s ability to provide water for them and their livestock. Moses cries out to the Lord, who instructs him to strike the rock with his staff. Moses does so and water pours out, providing all that the people need. God provided life for His people in the wilderness through the water from the rock. He provides eternal life for us through Christ, the Rock of our salvation.