DEVOTIONS - lhm.org

1 660 Mason Ridge Center Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141-85571-800-876-9880 year s Lenten DEVOTIONS , Suffering Servant, show Christ walking with us. Taking on our humanity, the Savior enters a world hostile toward God and blackened by sin. Stepping into our darkness, Jesus was the light of men. Bearing our punishment, He was lifted up on the cross, and there He died, rising three days later in resurrection 2022To print additional copies of this devotional booklet, go to 2022 Lutheran Hour MinistriesLutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations and the Nations to the Church.

2 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, Engli sh Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Capitalization of pronouns referring to the Deity has been added and is not part of the original English Standard Version GIFT HELPS US IN BRINGING CHRIST TO THE NATIONS AND THE NATIONS TO THE CHURCH. THANK YOU!Please send your tax-deductible gift payable toin the : Lutheran Hour Ministries 660 Mason Ridge Center Dr., St. Louis, MO 63141in Canada: Lutheran Laymen s League of Canada 270 Lawrence Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario N2M 1Y4My Lenten Gift to Boldly Tell the Good News of Salvation through Christ!

3 I enclose the following gift to support efforts of Gospel outreach:r $100 r $50 r $25 r $15 r Other $ _____ 22 CDB06LE Name: _____Church or Organization Name:_____Church Name and Address:_____City: State or Province: Zip Code or Postal Code:_____Lenten DEVOTIONS were written by Dr. Kari Vo. Brought to you in partnership with Lutheran Hour MinistriesAs an added feature, these DEVOTIONS have reflection questions for each day s message. These can be used for self-study or as prompts for discussion when reflecting as a group. 48 Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022 SERVANT OF THE LORDFor He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.

4 He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces .. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:2-3a, 4, 6)This is part of the famous Song of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53. God gave the prophet Isaiah a vision of what Jesus would be like of how He would save God s people from the power of wasn t what people were expecting. In God s eyes He was like a root out of dry ground we would say, like a drink of cool water on a hot day.

5 But to us? He was nothing special. And so we ignored Him rejected Him and then turned on Him and put Him to death on a cross. That was the end of Him, we thought. Who could have predicted the resurrection?Isaiah did. And now we rejoice, because we finally understand Jesus was bearing our sin, taking our grief and sorrow on His own back. He is God in the flesh, come in the form of a Servant, to give us life life that will last Lord, give me a heart that trusts in You. Amen. Reflect & Discuss What do you think Jesus looked like? Why? Do you think you would have recognized Him for what He was, if you had been alive then?

6 What are you hoping for, during these days of Lent? 1 easter Monday, April 18, 2022 THE JOY OF GODThat very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus .. Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? And He said to them, What things? And they said to Him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth.

7 (Luke 24:13a, 15b-19a)I love to see the joy of Jesus, on this, the day of His resurrection. With each new visit He sees the people He loves go from grief to overflowing joy, as they realize they have Him back against all hope. Now, with our salvation finally won, there is time for play even a bit of teasing. The two disciples walking to Emmaus come in for the worst of it. They have heard about the resurrection, but they do not believe it though they can t stop talking about it! What a great time for Jesus Himself to walk up beside them, unrecognized, and start asking innocent questions. What are you talking about? And Cleopas says the most embarrassing thing ever: Are you the only one in all Jerusalem who hasn t heard the news?

8 To which Jesus says (as if He didn t know!) What things? I can just see Him shaking the sleeve of His robe a little further down, to hide the nail-holes!Jesus joy is one of His best gifts to us, and not something to miss. He died for our sins, yes and He has risen for our eternal life, joy, and blessedness with Him forever. Thanks be to God!Lord, thank You that You give us not just forgiveness, but love, joy, and life forever. Amen. Reflect & Discuss Do you tend to think more about your sins or about God s goodness and mercy? Why? How does Jesus joy make a difference in your life? Thursday, March 3, 2022 STARTING WITH A BANGAnd He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.

9 And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read.. The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove Him out of the town .. so that they could throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went away. (Luke 4:16, 28-30)I wonder what Mary thought. This was apparently Jesus first sermon to the hometown folks in Nazareth. At first everyone gushed over Him. What gracious words! What a wonderful preacher! Not a bad reception ..And then Jesus ruined everything.

10 He quoted them several cases from the Old Testament, where people were suffering and God sent His prophets to help them. But in each story, the people they helped were foreigners Gentiles not good upstanding people of God like themselves. Jesus made His point crystal clear God had sent Him to seek out and save not just the Jews, but the whole they tried to throw him off a was bad news to the Nazarenes is good news to us, because Jesus has had us, all the people of the world, in His heart from the beginning. You are not an afterthought. Jesus came for You, and for me, and for all humanity, to save us and even the people of Lord, thank You for Your love that includes us!