Old Testament – Isaiah 51:1-6
Once again, we meet our friend Isaiah. Here in this passage Isaiah tells us to
remember who we belong to and what God can do. Isaiah reminds his readers
that the entire Jewish nation came from one man, Abraham, and one woman,
Sarah. Also Isaiah says God will rebuild the country of Israel which had been
destroyed in war. Israel will again be a happy place where singing is heard.
God speaking through Isaiah tells us to listen to Him. He says He brings salvation
and justice to all the world even faraway places. God then speaks of the future
when He will bring about a new world and the old world will just wear out.
Old Testament – Psalm 138
This psalm is one of the last to be written by King David. It is not known exactly
when or why David wrote this psalm. It starts out thanking and praising God.
David thanks God for helping him out in a time of trouble. For this week we focus
on the last verse (Verse 8). In this verse David says God saves him in the middle
of trouble. Also David says God’s love is eternal and that God will never give up
on David. This psalm shows us that we can always thank and praise God. It also
tells us that God’s love for each of us is eternal and God will never give up on any
one of us.Psalm 138 has been set to music for hundreds of years.
Below is a version of Psalm 138 that has been sung for over 300 years. It is sung in Westminster
Abbey. Enjoy the beautiful church and the wonderful singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNqvpM2MFYM
New Testament – Romans 12:1-8
Paul tells us that everything we do is important to God and should be done for His
glory. In God’s eyes, there is no job too ordinary or too small. Paul uses the
picture of a human body to show how each of us is important to the entire
church. He reminds us that each part of our body works the best when it works
together. Paul tells us that whatever God has for us to do we need to do our best
job.
New Testament – Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus asks his disciples who they think He is. Poor Jesus! He gets some really
strange answers. Then Jesus asks them who they think He is. His disciples who
were his best friends couldn’t say who Jesus was. Think of how sad that must
have made Jesus. Finally, Peter says “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.”
Jesus knew that God had revealed this directly to Peter. Jesus then tells Peter
that he is set apart (blessed) and will become the leader of the new church.
When Peter said Jesus was the Messiah, Peter was confessing Jesus is the Savior
of the world. We, too, also need to confess Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Below is a video acting out Peter’s confession.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ljSWD3rMAA
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