Repent & Live
Collect for Proper 21 –Almighty God,
You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our
minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into
all truth;
Lord God heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You
relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live
according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
O God, You are the Strength of all who put their trust in
You. Mercifully accept our prayer, and because through the weakness of our
mortal nature we can do no good thing without Your help, grant us the help of
Your grace that, keeping Your commandments, we may please You in both will and
deed.
For Home and Family
Visit, we implore You, O Lord, the homes in
which Your people dwell, and keep far from them all harm and danger. Grant us
to dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels, and may
Your blessing be with us forever, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
A prayer before we study
the Word Almighty God, our
heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light
our search is in vain. Invigorate the study of Your holy Word that, by due
diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your
holy faith.
For Schools Almighty God, our heavenly Father, since You have
committed the care and nurture of children to Your people, graciously enlighten
those who teach and those who are committed to their instruction that they may
know the truth and trust in You all the days of their lives; through Jesus
Christ, our Lord.
Monday, September 19, 2011 – Psalm
147:1-5, Antiphon, V. 6 “The Lord lifts up the humble He casts the wicked to the
ground.” Those who acknowledge that they are without resources in and of
themselves, the Lord lifts up while others who trust in themselves will be cast
down. This is the definition of faith.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Psalm
25:1-10 -The Psalm appointed for next week has as the key verse, verse 6. “Be
mindful of thy mercy, O Lord, and of thy steadfast love, for they have been
from of old” The Psalmist
asks the Lord to remember the Lord’s long-standing mercy and love but not to
remember his long-standing sin.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 – Philippians 2:1-4, 14-18 -Turn from conceit to humility for unity. Paul in the Epistle
lesson appeals for unity in the Philippian congregation. Paul, in appealing for
unity, presents Jesus as the model of humanity and obedience. Paul pleads for
unity in the congregation at Philippi. He uses Jesus as an example of humility.
In this lesson Paul shows the dual reality of the humanity and divinity of
Jesus. His deity is indicated by the words, “in the form of God” and “equality
with God.” His humanity is expressed in the phrases, “emptied himself,”
“the likeness of men,” “in human form,” “obedient unto death.”
This humility and obedience led to Christ’s exaltation. It is God’s will that
every tongue confess Him as Lord. In the light of this, Christians are to work
out their salvation as God works in them.
What is the
solution to lack of church unity? Paul urges his people to have the mind of
Christ. His mind was one of humility demonstrated in His taking the form of a
servant and dying on a cross. Humility is expressed by considering others
better than yourself and being concerned more about others than yourself.
Arrogance and pride divide and cause trouble while humility draws together into
a unity.
Friday, September 23, 2011 – Matthew
21:23-27 -The sinner who repents enters the Kingdom of God. The Gospel lesson tells of two
sons, one of whom repented and entered the Kingdom even though at first he
disobeyed the Father. In the Parable of the two sons we learn a valuable lesson
concerning sin and an appeal to turn to God for mercy. With this parable, Jesus confronts the
religious leaders of His time (priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees) who
condemn Jesus for His association with sinners (publicans, prostitutes, and so
on). This one son who says, “I go” but does not, represents the religious
leaders. The other son who says, “I will not go” but later changes his mind and
obeys, represents the sinners. Moreover, Jesus points out that when the
religious leaders saw sinners repenting upon hearing John the Baptist, they
still did not repent. Consequently, the sinners will enter the kingdom before
the leaders will.
Here is a case
of repentance in action. One son refused to go to work in his father’s
vineyard. Then he changed his mind and went to work. This about-face, change of
mind from disobedience, from no to yes, from going in the wrong direction to
turning in the right direction is the meaning of repentance. When the religious
leaders heard the Baptist’s call to repentance, they did not heed it, while the
sinners of the day did. It was shocking to the professional religious leaders
that Jesus claimed the sinners and not the religious ones were in the kingdom.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 –John 8:31 -This passage is the inspiration for the hymn. “Lord Keep Us
Steadfast in Your Word.” Faith clings to the Lord and His teaching.
We are called to be faithful; faithful to the Lord, to His Word, to each other.
Lutheran Worship Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis MO © 1980 pg. 83
Lectionary
Preaching Workbook Series A by John
Brokhoff © 1980 CSS Publishing Lima OH pg. 253
Image
© Ed Riojas Higher Things
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