|
|
|
We Are God's Offspring
The true God has been revealed to the whole world through the life and death of Jesus Christ (Acts 17:22-31). Because Jesus is Lord, we are blessed, even when we suffer (1 Peter 3:13-22). God cares for us and listens to our prayers, so we offer our gratitude and confess what he has done for us (Psalm 66:8-20). We find freedom and take joy in his commandments through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-21).
|
|
"Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver...Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!”
Commentary on Psalm 66
Augustine, Calvin,
Craig Satterlee, Spurgeon
Audio
Psalm 66, Acts 17,
1 Peter 3, John 14
Spotify Playlist
Psalm 66
|
|
And although the entrance is "straight and narrow," once inside we see a vast and limitless space, greater than any other anywhere. We have been told of these things by eyewitnesses and heirs. They speak of their trials and distresses: "You have placed afflictions before us," but then they add, "You brought us into a spacious place," and "You gave us space in our distress."
-Athanasius, commenting on Psalm 66, Festal Letters 9
|
|
|
Lectionary Resources
"I will not have you orphans. This passage shows what men are, and what they can do, when they have been deprived of the protection of the Spirit. They are orphans, exposed to every kind of fraud and injustice, incapable of governing themselves, and, in short, unable of themselves to do anything. The only remedy for so great a defect is, if Christ govern us by his Spirit, which he promises that he will do. First then, the disciples are reminded of their weakness, that, distrusting themselves, they may rely on nothing else than the protection of Christ; and, secondly, having promised a remedy, he gives them good encouragement; for he declares that he will never leave them when he says, I will come to you, he shows in what manner he dwells in his people, and in what manner he fills all things." - John Calvin
|
|
|
Collect for The Sixth Sunday of Easter
"O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen." - The Book of Common Prayer
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|