Daily readings for March 13 - 19, 2010

Day Bible Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Fourth Sunday in Lent  Genesis 41:28-57; Mark 11:20-33
March 14 Genesis 42:1-34, 38; Mark 12:1-12
March 15 Genesis 43:1-28: Mark 12: 13-27
March 16 Genesis 44:1-18, 32-34; Mark 12:28-44
March 17 Genesis 45:1-20, 24-28; Mark 13:1-23
March 18 Genesis 47:1-31; Mark 13:24-37
March 19 Gen. 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11



Looking forward to the Fifth Sunday in Lent March 21, 2010

Ezekiel 37:1-14: In the Nicene Creed we confess that the Holy Spirit “is the Lord and giver of life,” the very “breath of God” by which we live. In this prophecy, Ezekiel sees the resurrection of the body on the last day at which time the dead will be raised and the Holy Spirit will breathe new and immortal life into the bodies of the dead.

Romans 8:1-11: The Holy Spirit not only gives life to our bodies, but also life to our souls. It is the Holy Spirit who creates faith and who leads us in the way of faith. To be “in the Spirit” or to be “led by the Spirit” is to be led by faith in the Gospel of Christ and in daily repentance for sin. To be “led by the Spirit” means that, through faith in the Gospel, the Spirit brings forth in us the “fruits of faith” in love and good works, even as the Spirit is the source of our resurrection from the dead.

John 11:1-45: Jesus allowed Lazarus to die “for the glory of God” that He might raise him from the dead. In the sign of Lazarus coming back to life again, Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Lord of life. He is the conqueror of death because He is the source of forgiveness. Since sin brings death and separation from God, where there is forgiveness of sins there must also be life and salvation. Jesus, therefore, confesses to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”