“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, …’ “
-Isaiah 65: 1-9
First Reading by Pastor Mark Lund
-Isaiah 65: 1-9
First Reading - Pastor Mark Lund
Judgment and Salvation
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations - a people who continually provoke me to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens and bring incense on alters of brick; who sit among the graces and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too scared for you!’
Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
“See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
I will pay it back into their laps - both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds.”
This is what the Lord says:
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.”
-Isaiah 65: 1-9
Epistle Readings by Pastor Mark Lund
-Galatians 3:23 - 4:7
Epistle Reading by Pastor Mark Lund
Children of God
Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and their heirs according to the promise.
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
