Time in the Word
September 24-29 2012
September 24-29 2012
Proper 21
Preparation for next week, Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Preparation for next week, Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday’s Theme is Tolerance. In the Old Testament lesson Moses
tolerates the giving of the Spirit. In the Epistle, James calls for intolerance
of wickedness. In the Gospel, Jesus approves a non-follower’s use of His name.
Coupled with tolerance is an underlying theme of resistance. Jesus urges to get
rid of anything that causes us to sin while in the Old Testament lesson the
Israelites complain about the monotony of daily manna. James condemns the sin
of arrogance and persecution of the poor.
Collect for Proper 21
– Everlasting Father, source of every
blessing, mercifully direct and govern us by Your Holy Spirit that we may
complete the works You have prepared for us to do; through Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
Collect for this Sunday, Pentecost 17—
O God, without whose blessing we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things
direct and govern our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A prayer for God to guide us
– Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with Your most gracious favor, and
further us with Your continual help, that in all our works begun, continued,
and ended in You we may glorify Your holy name and finally, by Your mercy,
obtain eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
A prayer for steadfast faith–
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, of Your tender love towards us sinners You
have given us Your Son that, believing in Him we might have everlasting life.
Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this
faith to the end and come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For the Hope of Eternal life in Christ –Almighty, everlasting God, whose Son has assured forgiveness of sins
and deliverance from eternal death, strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our
faith in Christ increase daily and we hold fast to the hope that we shall not
die but fall asleep and on the last day be raised to eternal life; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
For those in distressed - Almighty
and everlasting God, the consolation of the sorrowful and the strength of the
weak, may the prayers of those who in any tribulation or distress cry to You
graciously come before You, so that in all their necessities they may mark and
receive Your manifold help and comfort; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
A Prayer for Peace: O
God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works proceed,
give to Your servants that peace which the world simply cannot give that our
hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended by
You, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Monday, 24 September 2012—Psalm
135:1-3, 13-14, Antiphon, Psalm 135:13 –Your Name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. Psalm 135 is a call to praise the
Lord – the one and only true God, the Lord of all creation, the Lord over all
the nations, Israel
Tuesday, 25 September 2012—Psalm
104:27-35; key verse v24—. How many are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom
You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. The psalmist recalls
the fifth day of creation. (Genesis 1:20-23) The realm of the sea is
structurally balanced with the celestial realm, (see Vv. 2-4) as the other
boundary to the realm of earth. And the Lord orders each day of your life as He
has promised to guide and sustain you.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012— Numbers 11:4-6; 10-16, 24-29 – Moses
tolerates the giving of the Spirit. The Lord provides seventy elders to assist
Moses in meeting the needs of the people and gives his spirit to others than
the seventy. The Israelites are in the wilderness and complain to Moses that
they have only manna and no meant. Moses takes the complaint to God who orders
Moses to bring seventy elders to the meeting place outside the camp. Some of
Moses’ spirit was given to the elders and they began to prophesy. Two men,
Eldad and Medad, were not invited to the meeting of the seventy. While in the
camp, they received the Spirit and prophesied. Joshua was jealous for Moses and
asked him to stop the two. Moses refused and wished that all of the people had
the spirit and were prophets.
Thursday, 27 September 2012— James 5: (1-12) 13-20 – James calls
for intolerance of wickedness and a return to God for the avoidance of evil.
This lesson continues where last Sunday’s Epistle has stopped. James urges his
readers to turn to God and away from wickedness. Among the evils we are to
avoid are judging others, boasting, and injustice to the poor.
Friday, 28 September 2012—Mark 9:38-50 – Jesus approves a
non-follower’s use of His name to cast our demons. He urges the extermination
of those sins that result in hell. The first part of the Gospel (Vv. 38-41)
obviously parallels the Old Testament lesson. It deals with Jesus’ approval of
a non-disciple casting out demons in Jesus’ name. The next section (Vv.42-48)
deals with Jesus’ “little ones” – not children but his disciples or new
converts. The point is that any sacrifice is worth eternal life rather than
going to hell forever which is described as eternal torment. A third section of
the reading deals with salt. It is a
call to radical obedience rather than to accommodation to the world.
In Christ you are
free. There is much Christian liberty and freedom the child of God can
experience in this life. The Lord wants His followers to enjoy the fullness of
life. All that God created is good. However, if any part of us or any habit causes
us to sin, we are to get rid of it. It would be better to abstain and deny
ourselves certain pleasures and privileges than to allow one pleasure to ruin
the whole. When should we allow our Christian liberty to be exercised? When
might you deny yourself certain “freedoms” for the sake of someone else? How
might we better live balanced lives?
Saturday, 29 September 2012— John 14:2; 1 John 4:19; John 8:12 - The
hymn, Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower. (LSB 694) Having seen what the Lord has done, having experienced
His goodness and mercy, having entered into His presence we are now called to
praise the Name of the Lord which is expressed in this wonderful hymn.
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 and Lutheran
Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House and from Lutheran Worship © 1980
Concordia Publishing House.
Schnorr Von Carolsfeld
woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use
Lectionary Preaching
Workbook Series B – John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima , OH
No comments:
Post a Comment