Preparing for Worship - July 3, 2022

The Scriptures for this 4th Sunday after Pentecost call for us to praise and trust our Lord, for He is the one who brings hope and ultimate victory in our lives.

Psalm 66:1-7 calls upon “all the earth” to give “glorious praise” to God for His power and awesome deeds. The psalmist remembers God’s help for His people at the time of Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at the Jordan River. It may not seem like it, but the Lord “keeps watch on the nations” and there is a warning about judgment for “the rebellious who exalt themselves.”

The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 66:10-14. Isaiah has brought many warnings from God about judgment coming for the people of Israel because of their own sin and rebellion. Yet he was also able to speak from God about “comfort” and “peace” and “rejoicing” that would come through what would eventually happen in Jerusalem. “The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants” and “His enemies” will be defeated through the coming of Jesus, our Savior.

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 10:1-20, Jesus sends out His disciples to prepare the way for His message and saving work, “like lambs in the midst of wolves.” There will be those who resist and reject His message, but there will also be “sons of peace” who will come to trust in Jesus. As His Good News is shared, “Satan will fall” and “demons” and the powers of evil will be broken, ultimately through the saving work of Jesus Himself. “Rejoice,” above all, that the names of those brought to faith “are written in heaven.” Our eternal future is secure through Christ Jesus.

The Epistle lesson is from Galatians 6:1-10 and 14-18. Paul reminds us that our sins can be forgiven, even when we fail, and though we stand alone before the Lord, we can help one another and do good and encourage each other “in the household of faith,” as the Holy Spirit guides us. Above all, we keep our eyes on our hope, “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and what He has already done for us. He makes us “a new creation,” and we have “peace and mercy” and “grace” through Him who saved and sustains us.

Those at St. James will have an alternative Old Testament reading, from 1 Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath. Goliath is a giant and a leader of the Philistine army. He curses the true God and wants to fight anyone who will go up against him. No one in Israel has the courage except for a young boy, David, who said, “The Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” David felled Goliath with a stone and slingshot and then killed him, and the Lord gave victory to Israel. David eventually became king of Israel, and God fulfilled many promises through him and his descendants, finally with the coming of Jesus, who was from his family line and as both God and man won the ultimate victory over the worst enemies - sin and Satan and death - for us.