Sermon for Invocabit, 1st Sunday In Lent 26-February-2023

INVOCABIT – The First Sunday in Lent
In the Garden man exalts himself to be a god in place of God. (Gen 3:1-21) He succumbs to the temptation of the devil, and eating of the forbidden fruit he receives death. But in the sin-cursed wilderness God humbles Himself to become man in place of man. (Mt 4:1-11) He does not eat but fasts and bears the onslaughts of the devil for us that we may be restored to life. Jesus stands as David in our place to do battle against the Goliath Satan. (I Samuel 17:40-51) Though outwardly Jesus appears weak, yet He comes in the name of the Lord of hosts. He draws from the five smooth stones of the books of Moses and slings the Word of God. The stone sinks into the forehead, and the enemy falls. In Christ we are victorious over the devil. Let us therefore not receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor 6:1-10), but seeing that we have a great High Priest, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain help in time of need (Heb 4:14-16).

Introit: (Psalm 91:1-2, 9-10, 13; Antiphon: Psalm 91: 15-16)
Pastor: When he calls upon Me, I will answer him; I will rescue him and honor him.
Congregation: With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
P: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
C: I will to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
P: Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High, who is my Refuge–
C: No evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
P: You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
All: Glory be to the Father an to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
P: When he calls upon Me, I will answer him; I will rescue him and honor him.
C: With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
(Note: The Gloria In Excelsis is not sung during Lent.)

Collect of the Day
O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that, following our Savior, we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

  • Genesis 3:1-21 +
    Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (2) And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, (3) but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (4) But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (5) For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (8) And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” (10) And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (11) He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (12) The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (13) Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (14) The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. (15) I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (16) To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” (17) And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; (18) thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. (19) By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (20) The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. (21) And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
    Gradual (Psalm 91:11-12)
    He will command his angels co- | ncerning you * to guard you in | all your ways.
    On their hands they will | bear you up,* lest you strike your foot a- | gainst a stone.
  • 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 +
    Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2) For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (3) We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, (4) but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, (5) beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; (6) by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; (7) by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; (8) through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; (9) as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; (10) as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
  • Lutheran Confessions Responsive Reading: The Smalcald Articles (1537) +
    P: What do we believe, teach, and confess concerning sin (Smalcald Article Part 3: Article 1)?
    C: Here we must confess, as Paul says in Romans 5:12, that sin originated from one man, Adam.
    By his disobedience, all people were made sinners and became subject to death and the devil.
    This is called original or the chief sin.
    P: The fruit of this sin are the evil deeds that are forbidden in the Ten Commandments [Galatians 5:19-21]. These include unbelief, false faith, idolatry, being without the fear of God, pride, despair, utter blindness, and, in short, not knowing or regarding God. Also lying, abusing God’s name, not praying, not calling on God, not regarding God’s Word, being disobedient to parents, murdering, being unchaste, stealing, deceiving, and such.
    C: This hereditary sin is such a deep corruption of nature that no reason can understand it. Rather, it must be believed from the revelation of Scripture. (See Psalm 51:5; Romans 6:12-13; Exodus 33:3; Genesis 3:7-19)

Tract (Psalm 91:1, 4, 15-16)
P: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
C: He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
P: When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
C: With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

  • Matthew 4:1-11 +
    Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (2) And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (3) And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (4) But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (5) Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple (6) and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (7) Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (8) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (10) Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (11) Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

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