Themes of Faith from the Second Sunday in Lent

Prayer Intention

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word

Genesis 15:1-6

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Philippians 3:20-21

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Luke 13:31-34a, 35b

Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ... I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

The following video is an elaboration of the final phrase of the above text in Latin. It is the Benedictus from the Mozart Requiem in D Minor, presented here by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Herbert von Karajan



Suggestion from Kelly Demo

"Lent is a great time to reflect on God’s will for us in our lives. How do we try to thwart God’s plans for us? How has God pursued us to make his plans come to fruition? What is God’s plan for our lives?" [Soure: blog of the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging http://www.cfcausa.org ]