1st Sunday of Lent                March 9th, 2025

 

Prayer of the Day

Holy God, you journey with your people through the wilderness days of our lives. Guide us by your Spirit that we might repent and return to you; believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.​

 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

“When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord your God that I have come into the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 Then we cried to the Lord the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O Lord, hast given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

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Psalm 91:1-13

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
   who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
   my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
   and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
   nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand;
   but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
   and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,[a]
   the Most High your habitation,
10 no evil shall befall you,
   no scourge come near your tent.

11 For he will give his angels charge of you
   to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
   lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
   the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

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Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13

 8 But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); 9 because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. 13 For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10 for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

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Sermon Title: "Temptation, Jesus, and Wilderness... God With Us, and God Within Us"

It's true that everyone has their own "wilderness" to navigate... everyone has temptations in which we wrestle with on a daily basis. In our Gospel, we find Satan, the adversary, tempting Jesus with bread, safety, and power. Each time, Jesus turns to God and gives God the power and glory in the face of this temptation. May we have the same ability to turn from temptation, and turn TO GOD while remembering His presence which abides in us and who helps us navigate the "wilderness" of our lives!  ~PL

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