The first psalm we read this morning (Psalm 19-23) summarizes my daily experience. 

• I sit in my rocker in our sunroom, looking out at nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). I am always reminded by the natural world around me that there must be a Creator, an Intelligent Designer, who made all of this. 
• I sit in my rocker, reading the Bible. "The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold" (Psalm 19:9-10). The Word of God convinces me over and over again that it is trustworthy and precious, especially as I read Psalm 22, the Messianic Psalm in which the Son of God speaks through King David and describes his personal experience on the cross of Good Friday and the victory of Easter. Prophecy and fulfillment assure me that I am reading from the book in which the Creator God reveals himself. 
• I sit in my rocker, thinking and praying over the days that are past and the day ahead. My conscience convicts me of my errors, unintentional sins that brought pain to me and those around me. I am concerned about the power of sin in my life. "Who can discern his errors? Forgive me hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me" ((Psalm 19:12-13).
• I sit in my rocker, praying to the Creator who has revealed himself as my Kinsman Redeemer, my closest relative who has come to save me. "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). 

The natural world announces God's power.

The Word announces God's love.

Our conscience announces our need for a Savior.

When we listen to these voices daily, our words and our meditation will be pleasing to our Redeemer, our Brother who has come to rescue us. 

Now read our New Testament lesson: Luke 17:11-37.

What is the leprosy that is devouring you today?

• An addiction?
• A bitterness and anger that never goes away? 
• Unrelenting anxiety? 

What are you trying to hide? What fills you with shame? Whatever it is, it can be so much like leprosy, making you an untouchable. You may be in church every Sunday, but you feel like a hypocrite. “If anyone really knew me, I would not be welcome here.”

Let us come together in worship and cry out as an assembly of lepers: Jesus, Master, have pity on us!

Feel the Savior reach out and touch you. “Be clean” as he speaks words of forgiveness through the pastor or as he allows you to taste forgiveness in the body and blood, the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.

This cleansing allows us to look forward to the end of the world in confidence. When Jesus comes back, I will be taken to be with him because he has claimed me as his own.

And when will the end of the world be? Don’t worry, it will be obvious that the end has come, like vultures circling a dead carcass.

"Where a dead body is, there the vultures will gather." This was likely a proverbial saying in Jesus' day. When I was in Africa, we drove by an elephant dead in the middle of the road. Later that day on a river cruise, our guide pointed to vultures circling and mentioned that was where we saw the elephant. The end of the world will be like that – it will be obvious.

Don’t be afraid as you see the signs of the end of the world – wars and rumors of war, the love of many growing cold, false teachers leading people astray. They are just announcing that the Day of the Son of Man will be revealed – a day that we can celebrate for we have been cleansed of all our sin.