Livestream at 8:30am
Bulletin for the service

Prayer of the Day
O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life. Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Scripture readings
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm 22:23-31
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

"Life to the Dead"
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38

Abram and Sarai were 99 years old when God gave them new names and promised to make an everlasting covenant with them. That surprising pronouncement must have seemed unbelievable. How can this be? Jesus tells the disciples that he, the Messiah, will endure great suffering, be rejected, and then be killed by those in authority, and yet three days later will rise again. That surprising pronouncement no doubt seemed unbelievable. How can this be? Jesus continues to explain that his disciples must take up their cross and lose their life to find it. How can this be? In baptism we are joined to that death, marked with his cross, and given resurrection life. In those waters the promise God made to Abraham and Sarah is fulfilled again and we get a new name. How can this be? It is God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” who has done it.

Hymns

 In our prayers we remember Lutheran Disaster Response.