Third Sunday in Lent

February 28, 2016

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, consider the worthy desires of your humble servants. Reach
out to defend us from evil by the word and work of your majestic right
hand. Grant this, we pray, through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 33:7-20
So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel.
Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning
from me. 8If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and
you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked
person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
9
But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn
from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have
delivered your soul. 10And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel,
Thus have you said: Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us,
and we rot away because of them. How then can we live? 11Say to them, As
I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn
back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? 12And
you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous
shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of
the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and
the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
13
Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in
his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be
remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14Again,
though I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, yet if he turns from his
sin and does what is just and right, 15if the wicked restores the pledge, gives
back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not
doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16None of the sins that
7

he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is

just and right; he shall surely live. 17Yet your people say, The way of the
Lord is not just, when it is their own way that is not just. 18When the
righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.
19
And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just
and right, he shall live by this. 20Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not
just. O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.
Psalm 85
1
You have been gracious to your | land, O LORD,*
you have restored the good for- | tune of Jacob.
2
You have forgiven the iniquity | of your people*
and blotted out | all their sins.
3
You have withdrawn | all your fury*
and turned yourself from your wrathful | indignation.
4
Restore us then, O | God our Savior;*
let your anger de- | part from us.
5
Will you be displeased with | us forever?*
will you prolong your anger from | age to age?
6
Will you not give us | life again,*
that your people may re- | joice in you?
7
Show us your mer- | cy, O LORD,*
and grant us | your salvation.
8
I will listen to what the LORD | God is saying,*
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their | hearts to him.
9
Truly, his salvation is very near to | those who fear him,*
that his glory may dwell | in our land.
10
Mercy and truth have | met together;*
righteousness and peace have | kissed each other.
11
Truth shall spring up | from the earth,*
and righteousness shall look | down from heaven.
12
The LORD will indeed | grant prosperity,*
and our land will | yield its increase.
13
Righteousness shall | go before him,*

and peace shall be a pathway | for his feet.

Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into
Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and
all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock
that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, with most of
them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire
evil as they did. 7Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written,
The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 8We must not
indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three
thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some
of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10nor grumble, as some of
them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11Now these things
happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our
instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12Therefore let anyone
who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No temptation has
overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not
let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also
provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
1
There were some present at that very time who told {Jesus} about the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2And he
answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners
than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3No, I tell
you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4Or those eighteen
on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they
were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell
you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 6And he told this
parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking
fruit on it and found none. 7And he said to the vinedresser, Look, for three
years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it

down. Why should it use up the ground? 8And he answered him, Sir, let it
alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9Then if it
should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.
Lessons for Next Week:Isaiah 12:1-6; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21;
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Temptation 101
Recognizing, Realizing, and Running
Temptation is a condition common to every human being. Even our Lord
Jesus was tempted, in fact, more, and more intensely, than all other human
beings combined.
Temptation is not sin. Martin Luther is alleged to have said concerning
temptation, You cant keep the birds from flying over your head, but
you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair. The Lord
Jesus taught us to pray that God would not lead us into temptation, but
this should not be interpreted as meaning that we will never be tempted.
We will. And we are, every day of our lives.
Temptation represents a change point in our walk with the Lord.
Whenever we find ourselves in temptation we have a choice to make. We
can either remain loyal to God and continue along the way He has marked
out for us. Or we can rebel, worship the flesh and the devil, and fall out of
step with the Kingdom and Spirit of God.
Do we have birds nesting in our hair today? Have we created a safe haven
for sin? What if the cover and veil was lifted and our sins were exposed
today? Like minions were are attracted and cannot help ourselves. Listen
again to our confession today...
Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I
have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what
is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment
both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in
my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner...Amen.

(WELS)
Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean.
We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have
done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our
whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly
deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son,
Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that
we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your
holy name. Amen.
Simply put. God I have screwed up. I have missed the mark. I have run
into the depths of sin. I deserve whatever punishment is deemed just for
the sins I have committed. I am a sinner in need of your grace.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Examine how we worship as Lutherans. We begin with the confession.
Can someone tell me why we do this? Our need to seek God's grace is
right before our eyes. Before we can dare to stand in His holy presence we
need to come on bended knee and seek His grace. As we prepare to come
to Christ in the Sacrament we need to hear the pronouncement of the law
that we are sinners in need of only what Jesus can give. If we say we
have no sin we deceive ourselves and the Truth is not in us, but if we
confess our sins God who is faithful and just WILL forgive our sins and
CLEANSE us from all unrightousness.
This is meat and potatoes food for the soul! God himself is present as we
gather around Word and the Sacrament. He comes to bind up the broken
heart, free those chained to sin, and give liberty to all if the Son sets you

free you are free indeed!

Application
1. Do not be unaware!
1. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers
were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all
were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate
the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink.
2. Know what sin is, what triggers your fall, and know the very
one who frees you from the power of sin, death, and the
devil.
3. 9But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not
turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will
have delivered your soul. 10And you, son of man, say to the house
of Israel, Thus have you said: Surely our transgressions and our
sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can
we live? 11Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why
will you die, O house of Israel?
4. But that the wicked turn from their ways and live. How will they
know if we do not preach, teach, and guide others to the saving
knowledge of our Lord Christ?
5. The church has become afraid to talk about sin, death, and the
devil. If we don't talk about, even though everyone is challenged
by sin, it will just go away right?
2. Sin does not have the final word!
1. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking
fruit on it and found none. 7And he said to the vinedresser, Look,
for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and
I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? 8And
he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around
it and put on manure. 9Then if it should bear fruit next year, well
and good; but if not, you can cut it down.

2. Sir let it alone, allow me to fertilize it, and give it another chance.
3. Do you believe in a God of second, third, and abundant chances?
4. Although I give The Message translation a hard time these words
from Romans 6:12-14 make clear what God is up to in the Gospel
today: That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you
conduct your lives. Dont give it the time of day. Dont even run
little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw
yourselves wholeheartedly and full-timeremember, youve been
raised from the dead!into Gods way of doing things. Sin cant
tell you how to live. After all, youre not living under that old
tyranny any longer. Youre living in the freedom of God.
3. Turn your hearts, homes, and places of worship to the Lord!
1. Will you not give us | life again,* that your people may re- |
joice in you? Show us your mer- | cy, O LORD,* and grant us |
your salvation. I will listen to what the LORD | God is
saying,* for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to
those who turn their | hearts to him. 9Truly, his salvation is
very near to | those who fear him,* that his glory may dwell | in
our land.
2. O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you
see? There's light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant
and free! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful
face, and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the
light of His glory and grace.