Zion Lutheran Sioux Falls

The Reading of the Day is from Genesis 24:1–4, 10–28, 50–67. Abraham tasks a faithful servant with finding a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s homeland. The servant prays for a sign and waits at a well outside the city of Nahor. Rebekah appears, offering to draw water for both man and beast—the sign the servant had asked for. Rebekah invites the servant to come to her family home. Having received gifts from Abraham, Rebekah’s family sends her to Isaac with their blessings. God provided a bride for Isaac and so supported His promise to Abraham. Christ is our Bridegroom, who will return one day for the Bride, His Church, and will take us to our eternal dwelling.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Genesis 22:1-19. God had blessed Abraham with the son he had waited for his entire life; yet now God asks the seemingly impossible—sacrifice your son to Me. By faith, Abraham takes Isaac to the mountain, trusting God, who was able to raise his son from the dead. Abraham completes the test, and God provides the sacrifice. Christ is the ultimate sacrifice, substituting His perfect, sinless life for our sinful lives to save us from the just wrath of God for eternity.

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7. The Lord and two angels appear to Abraham in human form, promising the birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah within the year. Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac, as the Lord fulfills His promise of generations to come and the promised future Offspring—the Savior, Jesus. God was faithful to give Abraham and Sarah their promised son in Isaac. God is faithful to us in giving us His promised Son, Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham, who fulfilled God’s promise from of old to redeem His people.

The Reading of the Day is from Genesis 15:1-6; 17:1-21. God reassures Abram of His promise to bless the earth through Abram’s offspring. God changes his name from Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of many nations”) and institutes circumcision as the sign of His continued covenant with Abraham. Despite Abraham and Sarah’s advanced age, God promises they will have a son of their own. God promised to send a Savior to crush Satan’s power over us. Jesus is the promised Offspring of Eve. He fulfilled this promise and defeated Satan by His work on the cross

Our Bible Reading of the Day is Genesis 1:26-2:25. God creates man in His own image with His own hands and breathes in him His own breath. Formed from the dust of the ground, Adam needs more than just animal companionship. So, our heavenly Father makes the perfect complement to man, creating woman from Adam’s rib, and places them in the garden. Christ, true God and true man, has come into the world to forgive us our sins and to begin to restore to us the image of God once again.