Wilhelm's space

+ The Lord be with You +

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:20

Collect for the 5th Sunday after Easter:

O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them;  through the same Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

LSB Altar Book Pg.898

Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray in His Holy Spirit

1 Our Father, Thou in heav’n above, Who biddest us to dwell in love,
As brethren of one family, And cry for all we need to Thee;
Teach us to mean the words we say, And from the inmost heart to pray.

2 All hallowed be Thy name, O Lord! O let us firmly keep Thy Word,
And lead, according to Thy name, A holy life, untouched by blame;
Let no false teachings do us hurt; All poor deluded souls convert.

3 Thy kingdom come! Thine let it be In time and in eternity!
O let Thy Holy Spirit dwell With us, to rule and guide us well;
From Satan’s mighty pow’r and rage Preserve Thy Church from age to age.

4 Thy will be done on earth, O Lord, As where in heav’n Thou art adored!
Patience in time of grief bestow, Obedience true in weal and woe;
Our sinful flesh and blood control That thwart Thy will within the soul.

5 Give us this day our daily bread, Let us be duly clothed and fed;
And keep Thou from our homes afar Famine and pestilence and war,
That we may live in godly peace Unvexed by cares and avarice.

6 Forgive our sins, that they no more May grieve and haunt us as before,
As we forgive their trespasses Who unto us have done amiss;
Thus let us dwell in charity And serve each other willingly.

7 Into temptation lead us not. And when the foe doth war and plot
Against our souls on ev’ry hand, Then armed with faith, O may we stand
Against him as a valiant host Through comfort of the Holy Ghost.

8 Deliv’rance from all evil give, And yet in evil days we live.
Redeem us from eternal death, And, when we yield our dying breath,
Console us, grant us calm release, And take our souls to Thee in peace.

9 Amen! That is, so shall it be! Strengthen our faith and trust in Thee
That we may doubt not, but believe That what we ask we shall receive.
Thus in Thy name and at Thy word We say: “Amen. Now hear us, Lord.”

Martin Luther 1483-1546 translated by Catherine Winkworth

The Introit teaches us to pray with God´s Holy Word:

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us.
Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving.
Let us shout out to him in celebration.
For the Lord is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.
The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and worship.
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture, the sheep he owns.
Today, if only you would obey him.
He says, “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors challenged my authority, and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.’
So I made a vow in my anger, ‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”

Psalm 95

God´s Holy Word according to Moses

The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go quickly, descend, because your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them—they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people. Look what a stiff-necked people they are! So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”

But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’” Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people.

Exodus 32:7-17

St. Paul writes to his student Timothy (Sermon)

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 

Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time. For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle—I am telling the truth; I am not lying—and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

So I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.

1. Timothy 2,1-6a

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 

So he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be honored;  may your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread,  and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation.”

Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ Then he will reply from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’I tell you, even though the man inside will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s sheer persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11 (1-4) 5-13

Prayer of the Church

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Heavenly Father, You have redeemed Your servant Mose and all of Israel, and You continue to gather Your Church from the ends of the world. Help us declare, proclaim and utter this great salvation in speech and song to the very ends of the earth. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, protect Your Church from complacency, anxiety over worldly concerns and fear of persecution. Grant us zeal for the house of God and peace through Your promises. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father in heaven, You have given us a mirror of Your love in the vocation of mothers who nurture, guide and raise their children in all things good. Bless them in their calling. Sustain them through weary and difficult times. Remember in compassion all who are barren, and bring them comfort through the children of Your Church. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord of all, bless our nation and its citizens. Give us good leaders, satisfying work, loving families, and a peaceful and quiet life that glorifies Your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, You are the Author of life and the Great Physician. According to Your perfect will, grant health to those who are ill. Give grace to the grieving and the dying in their hour of need. [We pray especially for Mark, Matt, Hans-Jörg, Markus, Vadym, June, Hamid (Syrer), Vivian and her family, Natalia Zubrytska & her children – Melena & Kyrill, for Friederike & Olly, for Christoph and Detlev & Bilyana and Matthias and those we name in our hearts.] Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, You tied Your Word to the bronze serpent, promising that whoever looked upon it would live. In the New Testament, You have tied Your Word of promise to water, bread and wine, that whoever receives these in faith receives the forgiveness of their sins. Teach us to love and cherish Your humble Means of Grace, remembering our Baptism and receiving Your Supper often. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, You have attended to the voice of our prayers, for You have commanded us to pray and have promised to hear us. Let Your mercy comfort and sustain us in prayer, that we may heartily and fervently pray to You at all times and in all places, not doubting but trusting in Your promise; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

LCMS One-Year-Series Prayers of the Church: Rogate, 14th May 2023.

+ Dominum vobiscum +

The Lord bless Thee, and keep Thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon Thee, and be gracious unto Thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon Thee and give Thee peace.

Numbers 6,24-26 (4th Book of Moses)