September

September 4, Pentecost 16 – Proper 18 ~ Divine Service Setting #1 with Holy Communion

“The Demands of Discipleship” ~ O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow Him,

September 11, Pentecost 17 – Proper 19 ~ Special Order of Service

“God’s Forgiveness” ~ Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom nothing is secure. Rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life;

September 18, Pentecost 18 – Proper 20 ~ Diving Service Setting #2 with Holy Communion 

“The Right Use of Money” ~ O Lord, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation;

September 25, Pentecost 19 – Proper 21 ~ Matins

“Concerned Christians” ~ O God, You are the strength of all who trust in You, and without Your aid, we can do no good thing. Grant us the help of Your grace that we may please You in both will and deed;

The busyness and complexities of life can be overwhelming at times. School has begun. Fall harvest is approaching. There are plans, deadlines and target goals to reach. Do you sometimes feel as if life is rushing by so quickly?  If so, rest in the safe hands of your Savior who became human for you.

When confessing the Nicene Creed, which is recited every Communion Sunday during the Divine Service,

we speak this little phrase, “…who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven and was made man and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man…” So, what does this say to us today, living in the early decades of the 21^st Century? What this expression says to us today is there was a nativity. In that manger, the Son of God didn’t just insert Himself into human activities. He inserted Himself in the grittiness of human flesh. He was also a person who knew pain and anger. He became angry Himself on occasions, and ultimately was the victim of anger. This life that you and I live; our struggles, our anger, our weakness, our woes; our Lord knows all, even our joys exactly. All this is true because Jesus is the God who became a man.

The incarnation changes everything. For we do not have a God who was too proud to know His people. Or, a God content to rule from a great distance. Or, a God whose majesty was too awesome for us to behold. We have just the opposite. Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, who experienced the very same humanity, the very same problems, and the very same challenges that we do. No, you do not walk this road alone. Jesus is the God who came down from heaven. He was that man. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” –Isaiah 53:3 Lean on Jesus. Lean on the everlasting arms of Jesus who became human for you.