Sunday Devotional 3.29.20

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OPENING PRAYER:

Begin by praying together. Fathers and group leaders, lead your family or group through the following prayer requests and the written prayer that follows.

Lead yourself or family in Prayer

Thank God for his goodness and faithfulness in all seasons.

Thank God for his goodness and faithfulness in all seasonsPray for those who are suffering from the CoronavirusPray for provision for those who’s jobs have been affected by this pandemic Pray for protection of friends and family (by name) pray for wisdom for the leadership of our church, and pray for wisdom for the leadership of our city, county, state, and country. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to not live in fear but to rest in the peace of Christ.

Pray for those who are suffering from the COVID-19 virus.

Prayer

Pray for provision for those whose jobs have been affected by this pandemic.

O Lord, support us all the day long through this trouble-filled life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in your mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen. Amen.

Pray for protection of friends and family (by name).

Meditation

Read through aloud with your family and focus on how this Psalm shapes the way we understand God (example: what does this psalm say about God? This Psalm says that he is our refuge and strength. What does it mean that he is our refuge and strength?) Also pay attention to how we are to live in light of who God is (example: v.2 “therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way”). Read through the Psalm out loud together and then discuss the questions below.

Pray for wisdom for the leadership of our church, and pray for wisdom for the leadership of our city, county, state, and country.

ESVA Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to not live in fear but to rest in the peace of Christ.

Questions: What is God doing in this Psalm?(example: “he makes me lie down in green pastures”)What does the Psalmist (David) say about himself? (example: “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” )What comfort does this Psalm offer you and your family during this time?

Pray for the people of Exodus Church to stand strong in the gospel and not give way to fear.

Pray for the people of Exodus Church to stand strong and not give way to fear.

Prayer

Devotion: The Lost Bride

Lord, let our hearts not be troubled by that which is outside of our control, but let us rest knowing that you are the Sovereign One who is in control of all things. Lord, would you renew our joy this morning, that we might praise you with hearts that have feasted on and are satisfied by the glories of your gospel! Amen

The story of the Lost Bride is a story that demonstrates the lengths our Lord and Savior has gone to redeem us from the power of Satan, sin and death. Read the story aloud to yourself, your family, or your community group and then answer the questions at the end of the story. I want to encourage fathers to read this story to your family. Mothers, don’t hesitate to interrupt in order to make sure your kids understand the story. Explain it to your kids in terms and concepts they will understand. For example, make sure your kids understand that Yahweh is God’s proper name in the OT. The dust settled as Yahweh clapped his hands together to knock off any remaining clumps of dirt and soil. He had just finished forming from the dust of the ground the crowning glory of his creation. There, lying lifeless upon the newly created earth, was the first image in Yahweh's holy garden-temple. Yahweh breathed into the nostrils of this image, and from dirt came life, from the dust of the ground came the first priest, Adam. Adam breathed his first breath and opened his eyes to see the glory of Yahweh’s creation. Yahweh himself welcomed Adam into the newly formed world, he showed him the Garden and all of its wonder. He led him to the middle of the Garden where the two sacred trees stood. He offered him the fruit from the Tree of Life and told him he would have to wait to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yahweh told Adam that if he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil before he was ready that he would become a slave to death. Yahweh loved Adam with an eternal covenantal love. To reflect this intense love he had for his image bearer, Yahweh put Adam into a deep sleep, a death sleep, and tore open his side and removed one of his ribs. From his rib, Yahweh formed a bride for Adam. A bride who not only came from his side but would be by his side in all the work Yahweh gave him to do. The bride Yahweh gave to Adam was a bride who would set his heart on fire with the flame of Yahweh. The bride Yahweh gave to Adam was a living symbol of how humanity is to love and submit to Yahweh, her true husband. The marriage bond between Adam and Eve was given to reflect the union God would have with his creation, with all humanity. Adam and Eve loved one another, they loved and served each other, and everything they did reflected Yahweh's love for his bride. However, something went wrong, something happened that fractured what Yahweh had put together. Adam disobeyed Yahweh by allowing a dragon to enter the Garden and deceive his bride into eating from the tree God told him not to eat from. Adam watched passivly as his beautiful bride took the fruit into her hands and ate it. He waited, and when he saw that eating the fruit didn’t kill her, he took some for himself and ate it as well. At that moment, the dragon’s deception worked. Sin entered the world, and through sin came the curse of death. The curse was a relentless force; it wrapped its thorny vines of death around every part of Yahweh’s glorious creation. What Yahweh had declared good now had the venom of the curse running through its veins. This curse was a cruel master, powerful, and left nothing unaffected. Every emotion, every relationship, every part of creation now waged war against that which is good, true, and beautiful. Adam and Eve, along with all humanity, was Yahweh’s love, his bride. Yet, the power of the cruse severed Adam and Eve from the covenant bond they had with each other and with God. What was once perfect unity became hostility, what was once love became agony and anger. The bride Yahweh loved no longer returned to him his affection. For the bride had given herself to another. She had allowed herself to be embraced by the arms of a stranger, and her loyalty to her true husband faded. Death now claimed power over his bride, and she began to wither and wilt, no longer clothed in the glorious garments of her Creator, she no longer feasted at the table with her Beloved. Death stripped her bare and abused her, he forced upon her the scars of guilt and shame. The bride was lost, she could no longer even recognized the sound of Yahweh’s voice. She wandered in the howling wasteland of depravity and grew weak as she was fed only scraps at the table of demons. Like an orphan lost in the wilderness of sin, the bride found her home in the valley of the shadow of death.. Sin was her master - her beauty faded, her desire for her true husband was gone, and her life was incarcerated in the chamber of death. Though she had broken covenant with her bridegroom, though she had embraced the arms of another and her unfaithfulness and lusting raged, Yahweh, the true husband, never forsook his vow to her. He was never unfaithful. He never failed to love her. And he refused to leave her chained to the walls of the chamber of death. He would redeem her, and he would fight for her. He would save her from the power of Satan, sin, and death. For Yahweh to redeem his bride, he had to go get her. The power of the curse was so strong that the bride could not respond to His call, for her ears were deaf. She could not return to his open arms, for her eyes were blind. And she could not get up and walk to him, for her legs were useless. She could do nothing, for she was dead. She lay in the chamber of death as a corpse. For Yahweh to redeem his bride, he would have to enter the chamber himself. He would have to die. The Apostle Paul tells this story in Ephesians Chapter 2,“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”Apart from the limitless power of King Jesus, the true husband, the bride--you and I-- are dead in our trespasses and sins. We have no ears to hear, nor eyes to see, nor legs to walk, for we are dead in the chamber of death. Upon the cross Jesus fought his way into the chamber, he picked up the lifeless body of his bride and in his own body he took her death, he took her curse, her guilt, her shame. He absorbed in himself everything that had enslaved her to death. He did this because he loved his bride--you and me--with an eternal, unrelenting, never failing, covenantal love. The beautiful part of this story is that though no one had ever escaped the chamber of death before, though no one had ever defeated or conquered the power of the curse, the great King, by the immeasurable power of God, conquered the grave. With his bride in his arms, King Jesus broke down the walls of the chamber of death and was resurrected from the dead!Paul goes on“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”Jesus Christ has conquered the grave. He has risen, and he has risen with his bride in his arms. The bride is now free, and she sings with one voice as the choir of the redeemed, “O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?” For Jesus has won; he has defeated death in the grave. He now rules from the right hand of the Father and is given honor and glory.Those who believe are no longer enslaved to the chamber of death but are seated with him in glory, having been raised with him. Those who have not believed in the death-defying good news of the gospel are still enslaved by the chains of death. And now the bride calls out to those who are still in the shackles of sin, “Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” May the power of the resurrection raise us all to follow Christ as new creations, living in the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. Questions: What part of the story connected with you and why? The Bible describes marriage as a symbol of our relationship with Christ. What comfort can we have in this “covenant” relationship we have with Christ? What should Adam have done when he saw Eve eat the forbidden fruit? (Hint: What did the second Adam do when his bride was cursed?)

ESV4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. 16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

47 MEDITATION

, like and 96–99, celebrates the sovereignty of Yahweh over the whole earth. What a powerful and comforting truth for our hearts today! God is sovereign over everything, there not a single molecule in all the earth that exists outside of God’s control!

ESV

Psalm 47 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

As you read through this Psalm focus on how the Psalmist responds to God’s kingship. He calls us to rejoice, to sing songs of joy, and to clap our hands in a celebration of God’s rule and reign.

Read the Psalm aloud and then discuss the questions that follow.

Psalm 47 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Questions:

Verses 1-2 is a call to rejoice and praise God for he is the king over all the earth. What does it look like for your life to be lived in light of his kingship?

Read through the Psalm and notice what God has done or is doing and then ask, “what does this mean for me today”

V.3 He subdued peoples under us...

V.4 he chose our heritage for us...

V. 5 God has gone up with a shout...

V.8 God reigns over the nations

V.8 God sits on his holy throne

We see what God has done or what he is doing, now look to see how we are to respond to these realities

We have seen what God has done or what he is doing. Now, how does the Psalm call us to respond to these realities?

Devotional: I am The Bread of Life

Tyndale Bible Dictionary “I Am” Sayings

The “I am” statements found in the Gospel of John are the bread of life or the living bread (6:35, 48, 51), the light of the world (8:12; see also 9:5), the gate (10:7, 9), the good shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, the truth and the life (14:6), and the vine (15:1, 5).

I am the bread of life (6:35, 48, 51)

This need for food, our growling bellies, is a constant reminder of our need for God. In the same way we will parish without food, we will likewise parish without the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Jesus says in , ...“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus has given us himself as the bread of life, for Jesus himself is the food we must consume in order to have life. It is Jesus himself that nourishes the hungry soul; Jesus is the bread that gives life to his people.

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

So often we look to feed our souls something other than Jesus. We so often think that we can fill our hungry hearts with entertainment, successes, physical health, friends, financial security, and so on. However such “meals” only result in a malnourished soul that wilts and withers. As the people of God we must feed upon Christ, for he is the bread of life!

John 6:48 ESV

48 I am the bread of life.

John 6:51 ESV

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

I am the light of the world (8:12; see also 9:5),

I am the door (10:7, 9),

I am the good shepherd (10:11, 14),

I am the resurrection and the life (11:25),

I am the way, the truth and the life (14:6),

I am the vine (15:1, 5).

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

How is God pictured in this Psalm?

When God created Adam, he created him hungry. Adam came into existence with his stomach growling for food. So what does God do? Right after breathing life into Adam, he brings him to the Garden of Eden and shows him all the delicious food there was to eat. Adam's first meal was the fruit God gave him in the garden. Not only was Adam created hungry, but we all born with empty stomachs needing food. When babies are born, they, like Adam, are born hungry.

Even when we look at the death and resurrection patterns in life, we see that we are symbolically reborn each morning into a new day. And when we wake up, we wake up hungry; we wake up needing to eat. Some of us will be pretty cranky until we fill up our hungry stomachs with food. This need for food reminds us that God created us as dependent beings. To survive, we need something from outside of ourselves brought into ourselves to sustain us. We need air to breathe, we need water to drink, and we need food to eat.

How does David respond to God’s actions in this Psalm?

David says there are two things he will not do: First, “I shall not want” and second, “I will fear no evil” - what is it that gives David the strength and confidence to say he will not want and he will not fear evil?

This need for food, our growling bellies, is a constant reminder of our dependence on and need for God. In the same way that we will perish without food, we will likewise perish without the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Whenever we feel the pains of hunger, or hear our stomachs saying, "Feed me!" we should be reminded of our dependence on and need for Jesus. Jesus says in ...“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus has given us Himself as the bread of life, for Jesus himself is the food our dependent selves need. It is Jesus himself that nourishes the hungry soul; Jesus is the bread that gives life to his people.

...“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus has given us Himself as the bread of life, for Jesus himself is the food our dependant selves need. It is Jesus himself that nourishes the hungry soul; Jesus is the bread that gives life to his people.

It really is amazing how our physical hunger echoes our spiritual hunger.

So often, we look to feed our souls something other than Jesus. We so often think that we can fill our hungry hearts with entertainment, successes, physical health, friends, financial security, and so on. However, such “meals” only result in a malnourished soul that wilts and withers away. We must feed upon Christ to have life, for we are entirely dependent upon the bread of life to sustain us both now and into eternity. There are many spiritual diets out there, but only in Christ will we find the living food, the all-satisfying, soul-feeding, resurrecting bread of life!

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made.

daily evening prayer 51

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

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