Proper 21 - Pentecost 16

Proper 21 – Pentecost 16

Luke 16:19-31 

29 September 2019

Grant O Lord, that as Your Son Jesus Christ prayed for His enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive Your forgiveness. To that end, Lord Jesus, bless Thy Word that we may trust in Thee. Amen. 1

Jesus continues to explain to us what it means to be merciful. He shows us the gracious, generous heart of the Father who is kindhearted. Full of compassion. 

As we hear the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the words of the Magnificat; the song of Mary, come to mind, “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has sat down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away.” (Luke 1:46-55)   

Paul warns us concerning wealth. “Not to be haughty, nor to set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches,” but “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” (1 Timothy 6:17–18). Covetous desire for what God has not given is idolatry and “a root of all kinds of evils.” (1 Timothy 6:10). Contentment belongs to faith. By which the Christian has “great gain” in godliness. (1 Timothy 6:6). Neither poverty nor riches are virtues! Your best life now is an American religion.

A certain rich man dressed in purple, living splendidly in fine linen feasts lavishly every day. At his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus. A meager beggar. Covered with sores. Lazarus finds himself at the rich man's gate.   Lazarus only desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. 

The rich man's neglect of Lazarus signals his failure to "make friends for himself when the day of changed circumstances comes and worldly wealth shall fail.” That critical day. When circumstances change awaits us all. Lazarus is carried away to Abraham’s side. The rich man too is buried.

The Rich man now begs for what he did not give; mercy, care, relief from suffering.  He cried "Kyrie Eleison! Lord, have mercy!" but did NOT receive it. He still thinks Lazarus is there to serve him! 

Note the contrast. Lazarus is given a name. Which literally means, "He (whom) God helps."  The rich man is simply plopped into the ground. 

‘Our whole Christian life should be forgiving debts: money, sins, whatever.  Some debts are small. Others huge! Some debts we treat as only a trifle. Hardly a drop in the bucket. So insignificant we scarcely and barely take notice.   Others leave scares, which last a lifetime.

There is only one way forward. The debts of our enemies must be treated as the debts of the poor. Our enemies will not have enough to pay us. If these debts cannot be paid (and they can’t), then they can only be forgiven. And here we come to the verse from Proverbs: “He who gives to the poor makes a debtor of God.” The Scriptures add: “And He will pay him.”(Proverbs 19:17)’ 2 

Lazarus. Forsaken. Ignored. Forgotten. Reminds us of that One man, that certain One who, “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; Surely he has borne our grief’s and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5

The point of the parable is to warn the self-centered. And point to the Scriptures as the only resource for planning ahead. Worldly wealth failed, showing the need for a better, more lasting basis of hope. Our only hope is in Christ. Who went to the cruel and bloody cross. And then rose again from the dead. 

The written word of God. The law and the prophets. Are all we have. God's Word is now available. It calls us to faith. It will not fail.  It is Christ's testimony to the judgment and salvation that He will work for you.  His Word abides when all fails. It is eternal. His promise of salvation creates saving faith. His Word reveals His plan for eternity.

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Words – 775

Passive Sentences –8% 

Readability – 81.6%

Reading Level – 4.0 

llustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in Pictures). © WELS used by permission for personal and congregational use.

1 Collect for Friday of Lent 2,   http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm

2 Pr. Ken Kelly, from a homily for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity - Johnstown PA

Time in the Word - Proper 21

Pentecost 16– Proper 21
23-28 September 2019

Concerned Christians

The lessons give us a picture of people in luxury, affluence, and leisure but without concern for the less fortunate. In the Gospel, the rich man (known to many as “Dives”) has no concern for the hungry man at his palace gates; the dogs have more compassion for Lazarus than he does. The Old Testament lesson shows us a people enjoying the height of prosperity but who have no concern for the future of the nation. In the Epistle lesson we are admonished not to be concerned about worldly possessions but about the attainment of spiritual values. This is driven home in the words of the hymn to the day “Lord, Thee I love with all my heart.” The theme of this day speaks to our American culture a people with more wealth comforts and leisure than any other nation in world history. Yet are many in our country still looking for contentment?

Collect for the Sixteenth Sunday of Pentecost: Grant, merciful Lord, to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Father, You show Your almighty power in Your mercy and forgiveness. Continue to fill us with Your gifts of love. Help us to hurry toward the eternal life Your promise and come to share in the joy of Your kingdom. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen

Collect for Proper Twenty-one: 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; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

Collect for Psalm 146: God of glory and power, happy indeed are those who have put their trust in You. Shine the brightness of Your light upon us, that we may love You always with a pure heart and praise Your forever; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer against the love of money: Almighty God, heavenly Father, You have called us to be Your children and heirs of Your gracious promises in Christ Jesus. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may forsake all covetous desires and the inordinate love of riches. Deliver us from the pursuit of passing things that we may seek the kingdom of Your Son and trust in His righteousness and so find blessedness and peace; through Jesus Christ, or Lord.

Morning Prayer Readings for this coming week

September 23 Reading #25 Joseph reveals himself- Genesis 44-45

September 24 Reading #26 Jacob in Egypt- Genesis 45-47

September 25 Chapel Day

September 26 Reading #27 Birth of Moses- Exodus 1-2

September 27 Reading #28 Call of Moses- Exodus 2-3

Catechism Review: Commandments 9 & 10

Parents: review the Story and Commandment with your student each day

Monday, 23 September 2019—Psalm 119: 73-75 antiphon, Psalm 119:76—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, Let Your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promises to Your servant. Christ will comfort us even in the midst of great testing and affliction. The Hebrew term for unfailing or steadfast love denotes befriending. It is an appeal to God’s unfailing love, His kindness and mercy which was demonstrated by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, 24 September 2019—Psalm 146 — The focus is on God, the hope and help of His people, utterly dependable, caring for all in need. God reigns. While I live I will praise God. I will sing praise to God while I have any being. The grand outburst of Hallelujahs, with which the book of Psalms comes to a climatic close, is carried over to the end of the Bible itself, and is echoed in the heavenly choirs of the redeemed (Revelation 19:1, 2, 4, 6).

Wednesday, 25 September 2019—Amos 6:1-7— Woe to the affluent who have no concern for the nation. Our Old Testament speaks of the American condition today in many respects. Like Israel of the 8th Century BC, American is a people of ease, comfort, luxury and affluence. It is a law of life that like causes produce like effects. American is in danger of the same fate as Israel: judgment, decline, and destruction. Who will sound the alarm as a watchman in the night? Will America take heed?

Thursday, 26 September 2019—1 Timothy 6:6-19— Timothy is charged to seek spiritual values. There are countless people who have no aim in life, no purpose, no reason for living. Others have low aim, such as the massing of world possessions. Some aim only to make as much money as possible, own at least one home, get a higher education, or climb the ladder of success. 

What is the aim of a Christian? Paul would suggest the Christian’s aim in life is to seek the highest values – vs. 11 and to fight for the faith vs. 12 while we keep the Lord’s commandments –vs.14.

Friday, 27 September 2019—Luke 16:9-31 — The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It the parable we have a description of wealth and total depravity. This is a description of today’s world. On the one hand is America’s wealth giving us the highest standard of living in the history of the world. On the other hand, we have a third world of poverty and hunger. It could be that the so-called wealth, either nation or individual, is really the poor man as was the case in the parable. Americans may be the richest on earth, but they can be suffering from the poverty of abundance.

Saturday, 28 September 2019—1 John 4:19 - Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart, (LSB #708). The Christian’s only focus is upon Christ. When we fear, love and trust in Him above all things then we are content. Read the words of stanza three. This is a powerful evening prayer one which has been prayed with many a Christian on their death bed. When we pray these words confidently we truly are at peace with God and with ourselves. 

“Lord, Let at last Thine angels come, To Abr’han’s bosom bear me home, That I may die un-fearing; And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep Until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me, That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My Savior and my fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, And I will praise thee without end."

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Sources:
-Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
-Collect for Pentecost 17 from Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House
-Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C by John Brokhoff © 1979 CSS Publishing Lima OH 
Collect for Psalm 146 For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
-Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use

Pentecost 16 - Proper 22 Time in the Word

The Vineyard of God’s People

In the Lessons for this week, we look at evil confidences, which cannot stand under the light of God’s Holy Law. God’s people constitute a vineyard. The Gospel and Old Testament lessons complement each other in the use of a vineyard as a metaphor for God’s people. In both the vineyard is at fault; in the gospel, the tenants refuse to render fruit; in the Old Testament. The fruit is wild. In the Epistle lesson, the wild fruit are those who are “enemies of the cross of Christ” and serve as an example of the right kind of fruit Christians produce. Because God’s vineyard is His people, He has the right to ask for proper returns from the vineyard. Both the Old Testament lesson and the Gospel pronounce judgment upon the vineyard for failing to produce the fruit of acknowledging Christ as Lord and the fruit of justice.

Collects for Proper 22 – Gracious God, You gave Your Son into the hands of sinful men, who killed Him. Forgive us when we reject Your unfailing love, and grant us the fullness of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one god, now and forever.

Gracious God, You gave Your Son into the hands of sinful men, who killed Him. Forgive us when we reject Your unfailing love, and grant us the fullness of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

O God, whose almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy and pity, grant us the fullness of Your grace that we may be partakers of Your heavenly treasures.

A prayer for Agriculture: You bless the earth to make it fruitful, bring forth in abundance whatever is needed for the support of our lives. Prosper; we pray the work of farmers as they bring food to our table. Grant them seasonable weather that they may gather in the fruit of the earth, and thus proclaim Your goodness with thanksgiving. Cause all people who give thanks over their food to treat those who produce it with honor and respect. May we see by this noble vocation that through them You feed the world.

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.

Monday, September 26, 2011 – Psalm 118:22-24-Antiphon, V. 1:“O Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.” – This is a call to praise the Lord. David offers a song of thanksgiving for deliverance and victory. The people rejoice over what the Lord has done. Thereafter, the king speaks his final word of praise. (See verse. 28) We praise and exalt the Lord because He is mighty to save. This is why He is good – His mercy, His steadfast love endures forever.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 – Psalm 80:7-19 - This week’s Psalm has as the key verse, verse 7. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant He cherished (Isaiah 5:7). After making a lament over the Lord’s severer punishment of His people the Psalmist looks to the Lord who will vindicate His own as He restores, and makes His face shine upon them that they might be saved.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – Isaiah 5:1-7 - God’s people receive judgment for evil fruit.  Confidence in violence and bloodshed leads to judgment. In the Old Testament reading, God’s judgment upon His people is shown for their failure to produce proper fruit. The prophet sings a love song to God regarding God’s vineyard, his people. God is his “beloved.” God loves His people. Proof of this love is that God’s vineyard, His possession, is His people. Out of love, God accepts and owns His people. And look what God has done for His people! He has placed a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug the ground, cleared away the stones, and planted it with the best vines. Then He built a watchtower and a wine vat. God is love and He deals lovingly with His people: claiming them as His own, and providing for them by giving them the best of everything to be fruitful.

Thursday, September 29, 2011 – Philippians 3:4b-14 – God’s people strive to be examples worthy of Christ. Confidence in the flesh cannot stand. Forgetting the past, Paul presses on toward the goal of Christ and lives as an example for others. Paul defends himself as a Christian of the first order through the mercies of God. Yet, he does not think he has it “made,” but keeps striving for complete devotion to Christ by becoming one in the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ. Because he imitates Christ, he is able to ask his people to imitate him in both faith and life.

Though we are in the world, we belong to the kingdom of heaven. When Christ returns, He will transform our earthly bodies to spiritual bodies.

Paul uses this phrase “I press on” twice in this passage. It must have been important to him in getting across his plan. He is not idly waiting for perfection to come to him. He is not neutral. He is urgent, pursuing, and energetic in getting to his goal. To become like Christ is a process over a lifetime — ever striving to be like Christ in every area of life. At the same time, Paul would say that God was in him pressing on, working in him. A Christian dare not be content with his life. He is ever seeking to improve it.

Friday, September 30, 2011 – Matthew 21:33-46 - God’s people refuse to return God His due. Confidence in one’s own faith will fail. This is another parable of the kingdom. It is an allegorized parable. The vineyard is Israel. The tenants are the religious leaders. The servants are the prophets. The son is Jesus. The murder was the cross. Jesus is saying that time after time God has sought to redeem his people through the prophets, but each effort was in vain. In desperation, He sent His Son whom they crucified. This is in accord with the psalmist who says the rejected stone became the cornerstone. The outcome of it is that the religious leaders of Israel will lose the kingdom, which will be given to those who produce the fruit of righteousness. Because of their rejection of Christ, the Jews lost, but the Gentiles gained the kingdom.

The owner has a right to receive fruit from the tenants. People owe something to God. Time after time God comes for His due until finally He makes the ultimate appeal in His Son, Jesus. Rebellious tenants kill the Son in hope of taking over the vineyard. Here can be seen the patience of God, trying repeatedly to get the tenants to respond; here can also be seen the greed of people.

Saturday, October 1, 2011 –Matthew 25:1-13 - Our reading is the inspiration for the hymn “Rejoice, Rejoice Believers” (LSB 515)  The believer rejoices only in Christ. The days are getting shorter, soon the harvest will commence. We pray for the safety of all who work to bring food to our table. We also anticipate a harvest of souls. As God’s vineyard will be harvested at the end of days so look to Christ the lord of the harvest, the one in whom the believer rejoices. 

Sources:

Lutheran Service Book Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis MO © 2006

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 Rojas Higher Things

Pentecost 16 -- Proper 19

Factors of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the theme running through the lessons for this day. God’s attitude toward sinners is shown in Jesus association with sinners and in His joy when sinners repent. If God id not forgive sinners would be destroyed by God’s wrath. In the Old Testament lesson Moses intercedes for his people who are guilty of idolatry and convinces god not to wipe out His people. The means that God forgives and accepts them as His own people. Paul tells of the mercy of forgiveness he received by his faith in Christ even though he called himself a chief sinner.

Forgiveness is the key word for today. On the one hand, forgiveness discloses the nature of God – God is merciful. On the other, forgiveness reveals the nature of humans as sinners standing in need of forgiveness. God’s act is forgiveness. Our part is repentance. How easy is it to forgive? Some consider forgiveness to be a light, easy thing to do. There is much misunderstanding of how and when god forgives and of the place of repentance. Using all three lessons as a backdrop we will consider the factors of forgiveness.

The factors of forgiveness are:

1. Our need for forgiveness. [Epistle lesson] 1 Timothy 1:12-17 “I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted Him” v. 13 “I am the foremost of sinners”– v. 15
A. He received mercy despite his opposition to Christ.
1. Paul’s opposition was intense.
a. He was injurious.
b. He was a wanton persecutor.
2. We are no different.
a. Although we probably have not engaged in the persecution of which Paul was guilty we are no better than Paul because we are born with a sinful heart.
b. We fail to meet God’s standard and God has the right to punish us.
B. Mercy comes through Christ Jesus.
1. Christ came to save us.
a. He kept God’s Law for us.
b. He suffered on the cross the punishment for our sin. By His resurrection he testifies to the completion of redemption. God is merciful through Christ, in whom alone there is forgiveness, life, salvation.
2. Christ’s mercy comes to us individually.
a. We receive that mercy at our Baptism
b. Our faith in Christ’s mercy is strengthened through contact with the Word of God and participation in the Holy Communion.

Transition: There is the need for forgiveness. God has also supplied the means.

2. Means of forgiveness. [Old Testament lesson] Exodus 32:1-7 Moses succeeds in persuading God not to destroy the Israelites for their sin. Moses intercedes for his people. Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners says St. Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15
A. The people were so quick to change their allegiance.
1. They knew the Lord had lead them out of Egypt through Moses.
2. But as soon as Moses was absent from their eyes they demanded that Aaron erect and fashion another god.
B. Moses became angry with the people.
1. But he did not allow his anger to rule the day.
2. Instead he intercedes for the people asking that the Lord would have mercy upon them to forgive and restore them. “But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God O Lord, he said, why should Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom You swore by Your own self: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them and it will be their inheritance for ever. Then the Lord relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened. Vv. 11-14,
3. As Moses prayed for the people, we too are to pray for others pointing them to Jesus who was sent upon a mission to redeem and restore the people. Remember the last verse of our Epistle for this day, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He alone has the means to forgive.

Transition: The factors of forgiveness are simple. There is our need and the means which lead toward forgiveness. There must also be a response.

3. Response to forgiveness; repentance [Gospel lesson] Luke 15:1-10 The parable of the lost sheep and coin. “One sinner who repents” – Vv. 7, 10. Mark the Scripture well. “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents then over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent…I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

What is repentance?
A. I take responsibility for my actions.
B. I feel remorse. I experience Godly sorrow for what I’ve done.
C. I attempt to repair what I have broken to the best of my ability. The serenity prayer helps in this respect, “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change what I can the ability to know the difference.
D. I repeat not! I do not have license to go back and visit sin.

Note: These four steps; leading to repentance, come from Dr. Laura Schlesinger, she’s a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. She suggests; quite convincingly, that this is all we need to right a wrong. Yet, one component is missing. A 5th step is necessary; the final step, which separates Christians from the rest of the world; a step, which turns from following rules to establishing a relationship with the Father Himself. The 5th step necessary:

E. I receive redemption or reconciliation through Jesus Christ my Savior.

What are the factors of forgiveness? There are but three

Ø My need and God’s ability

Ø The means which come by way of the cross

Ø A response which comes through repentance and faith

To this end, help us gracious Lord!

Face of Christ

http://spiritlessons.com/Documnets/Jesus_Pictures/Jesus_Christ_Pictures.htm

Time in the Word - Pentecost 16 - Proper 19

Forgiveness is the theme running through the lessons for this coming week. God’s attitude toward sinners is shown in Jesus’ association with sinners and in His joy when sinners repent. If God did not forgive sinners would be destroyed by God’s wrath. In the Old Testament lesson the Lord promises to send a true shepherd who will not only tend to them but search them out and rescue them. Of course, our true shepherd is the good shepherd our savior Jesus Christ. God forgives and accepts His own people. In the Epistle Paul tells of the mercy of forgiveness he received by his faith in Christ even though he called himself the chief sinner. The basic factors of forgiveness are found in all our lessons. Forgiveness discloses the nature of God – a God of mercy. On the other hand, forgiveness reveals the nature of humans as sinners standing in need of forgiveness. God’s act is forgiveness. Our part is repentance.

Collect for the Sixteenth Sunday of Pentecost: Grant merciful Lord, to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed form all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen

Almighty God, our creator and guide, may we serve You with all our heart and know Your forgiveness in our lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One god, forever and ever. Amen

Collect for Proper Nineteen: Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom noting 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; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Collect for Psalm 119: Lord, You are just and Your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love You with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our Lord.

Prayer for likeness to Christ: O God, by the patient suffering of Your only-begotten Son You have beaten down the pride of the old enemy. Now help us, we humbly pray, rightly to treasure in our hearts all that our Lord has of His goodness borne for our sake that following His blessed example we may bear with all patience all that is adverse to us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for spiritual renewal: Almighty God, grant that we, who have been redeemed from the old life of sin by our Baptism into the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, may be renewed by Your Holy Spirit to live in righteousness and true holiness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Monday, 06 September 2010—Psalm 30:2-5; antiphon, Psalm 30:11a, 12b—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.” God answers and the psalmist David vows to prolong his praise forever. Dancing and joy replace wailing and sackcloth so that songs of praise not silence may attend the acts of God.

Tuesday, 07 September 2010—Psalm 119:169-176 —In the psalm for the day, David uses the Hebrew letter “Taw” to explain that it is the Lord who will direct and save His people. No one else can defend or save. As Psalm 119 is drawing to a close, prayers for deliverance now become dominant. Drawing the analogy of a shepherd rescuing the flock the Psalmist directs us to repent “I have strayed like a lost sheep Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commands.” (v. 176)

Wednesday, 08 September 2010—Ezekiel 34:11-24— The Lord makes a bold statement. He commits Himself to shepherd the flock. He promises to restore His people as He Himself will bring them out. This is all fulfilled in the person and work of our Savior Jesus as the Lord predicts that His servant David will be prince among them. This prophecy was written well after David had died. Thus a ruler like David and from his line, great David’s greater Son would shepherd the people. This prophecy can only be fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Under His rule and authority there would be one flock and one shepherd who would feed them with the bread from heaven. See John 6:32-40; 10:16 as Jesus fulfilled these words.

Thursday, 09 September 2010—1 Timothy 1:12-17— Paul witnesses to God’s mercy in forgiving him as chief of sinners. Here is a statement that everyone can and should accept. It sums up the whole mission and nature of Christ. We usually avoid general statements because investigation often shows that there are exceptions. Here there are no exceptions. This statement is most certainly true and should be accepted as the truth.

No one can deny theses three statements; 1. “Christ came into the world” God became human. 2. “Sinners” the truth about every man, woman, boy and girl. 3. “Save” Christ came not to judge, condemn but to reconcile sinners back to God.

Friday, 10 September 2010—Luke 15:1-10— Twice in the Gospel for Sunday tells us of the joy in heaven when a sinner repents. We can see the smile on the Father’s face. The choirs of angels are singing. The archangel’s trumpets are blaring. How much joy is indicated when sinners repent in the average church today? Is there a party spirit of great joy when a person is baptized or confirmed or renews his faith? Evangelism is the happy time of the church because it is an echo of what goes on in heaven. So we ask why God is happen when we repent. God’s will is fulfilled. He desires everyone to return to Him for He loves each person. Repentance means a wayward child has come back. This makes God happy, for His will is done. God’s portion is His people. God is happy for the sinner’s sake. Prior to repentance the sinner was going down the road leading to death. Now he has avoided destruction and is coming to life, love and light. This is God’s desire for every person because He loves each.

Saturday, 11 September 2010— Acts 4:11-12 - Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, (LSB #575). The defense of the faith from the first Century to this 21st Century is the fact that Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. What the prophets of old foretold all find their completion in Jesus Christ. Therefore there is salvation in no one else. Jesus is not one of several options. There is no other name given among men by which we can be saved.

Today is a day for contemplation as it marks the ninth anniversary when the war on terror came to American soil. At the time members of our current confirmation class were entering kindergarten. College sophomores set to graduate in 2013 have this unique distinction – never in their lives have they not known of a time when Americans were not fighting a war in Iraq. Vigilance is still need. We pray for peace at the same time we pray for those who stand in harms way defending our liberties. Serious sacrifices have been called for by so many. Today reflect on the sacrifices others have made for you in the cause for freedom as we recall the ultimate sacrifice made by the Savior that we may be freed from sin and guilt.

Sources:
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Collect for Pentecost 16 from Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House
The image of Christ the Good Shepherd by Wm Dyce is found here: http://www.biblicalart.com/biblicalsubject.asp?id_biblicalsubject=789&pagenum1
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C by John Brokhoff © 1979 CSS Publishing Lima OH
For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

Pentecost 16 - Proper 20

Respect. Arethra Franklyn the queen of soul sang about giving it. Rodney Dangerfield the comedian complained that he never got it. Often we too, may feel that we get no respect – from our peers, from our parents, from our teammates, and from others around us. People often resort to bizarre means to get respect from others, but so often they end up as fools, still crying for – respect.

We are so concerned about getting respect from other people. What about respect from God? God respects all people in the sense that we all are important to Him. After all, He created us in still preserves us. Are we respectable enough by God’s standards to be in heaven one day with Him? How do we get from God the respect that makes us worthy of eternal life? Today our lesson asks the question how we get respect in God’s sight.

1. God’s respect is not earned.
A. Our humility and service do not measure up to God’s perfect standard.
1. Like the disciples, we would rather be served then serve.
2. Even when we serve, our motive is often self-serving.
3. We make comparisons: “I have served more than you have.” Pride creeps in to stain our service.
B. We labor under the false pretense if we think we can earn God’s respect by our humble serving.
1. Jesus refused to seek people’s respect under a false pretense. They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it (v.30)
2. The way to God’s respect is opened by honest admission that in ourselves we are not respectable people.

2. God’s respect is a gift.
A. Christ earned it for us.
1. He humbled Himself all the way to death on a cross to atone for our pride. for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again. (vs.31)
2. His rising from the dead guaranteed our respectability before God.
B. When we believe that Christ died and rose for us, we can be sure that God respects us as heaven-worthy people.
1. Christ has given us His humility in exchange in exchange for our smallness.
2. Christ has bestowed on us His greatness in exchange for our smallness.

3. God’s respect is demonstrated by us.
A. When we serve people who do not deserve our respect.
1. Willing to place ourselves last. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all (v.35)
2. Willing to serve without recognition or praise and thereby foregoing greatness as the world sees it. But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest (vs.34)
B. When we serve people who are not in a position to reward us for our service.
1. Little children are not in a position to reciprocate our service to them any more than we are able to pay God back for having served us in His Son. Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ (Vv.36-37)
2. Yet, when we serve even the least of God’s children, God respects our service for Jesus’ sake and graciously rewards us. (v.37)

A woman of some means gifted a great sum of money to charities and missions in her church. One day she decided to take a trip to visit some of the mission projects her money had so generously endowed. She visited a hospital where wonderful help was afforded to needy natives. She stopped at an orphanage where little children of the street were cared for. She went to a leper colony where a loving nurse was treating those who were suffering from the putrefying disease. She commented, more to herself then to the host, “My, I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” The nurse who was treating a patient answered, “Neither would I.” In the service of Christ to us, exemplified in the nurses’ service, we find the secret of greatness and the way to get respect in God’s sight.

Time in the Word - Penecost 16, Proper 20

Sunday’s Theme: The Christian and his opposition can be clearly seen in the three main readings for this coming week. In the Old Testament lesson, [Jeremiah 11:18—20] Jeremiah asks vengeance upon his enemies. In the Epistle, [James 3:13-4:10] Opposition has its source in worldly wisdom. In the Gospel, [Mark 9:30-37] Jesus goes to Jerusalem to face his oppressors. Christians live in a hostile world, for friendship with the world is enmity to God.

Collect for Proper 20 – O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, 14 September 2009—Psalm 37:5-7, Antiphon, Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. No matter what you are up against, trust in the Lord and He will sustain you. He will prove Himself worthy as you read the rest of the appointed readings for the coming week.

Tuesday, 15 September 2009—Psalm 54; key verse v4— It is the Lord who sustains my life. The Psalmist finds his life is threatened, as were Jesus’ and Jeremiah’s, and he finds God as his helper who rescues him from death. In our opposition God does not forsake those who trust in Him.

Wednesday, 16 September 2009— Jeremiah 11:18-20— Jeremiah asks vengeance upon his enemies. Jeremiah feels like a lamb led to the slaughter by his enemies and he asks to see God’s vengeance upon them. Jeremiah cries out for vengeance upon those seeking his life. God informs Jeremiah that his enemies were out to destroy him. Jeremiah felt like a “lamb led to the slaughter.” His enemies were offended by his preaching of judgment, doom, and the captivity of the nation. Like other prophets (Elijah and Amos), Jeremiah experienced persecution: beaten, threatened with lynching, imprisoned, and thrown into a pit to die. Even his family was a part of a plat to kill him. Jeremiah calls upon God not only for protection but for vengeance upon his enemies.

Thursday, 17 September 2009—James 3:13-4:10 — Opposition has its source in worldly wisdom. James says the wars, quarrels, dissension and strife have their source in earthly wisdom. It is a bad spirit that causes opposition. James will contrast earthly and heavenly wisdom. In this lesson James distinguishes between the types of wisdom. Earthly wisdom is characterized by ambition, rivalry, and selfishness. This kind of wisdom provides disorder and confusion. Heavenly wisdom comes from God. This wisdom is “pure, peaceable, gentle,” etc. The heavenly side; do not boast of themselves, but promote peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. The source of fighting and killing each other is the heart which is full of selfish desire.

Friday, 18 September 2009—Mark 9:30-37 — Jesus goes to Jerusalem to face his oppressors. Jesus again announces His approaching passion and teaches the disciples the meaning of greatness. On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus announces a second time that He is going there to suffer, die, and rise on the third day. To avoid being detained, he travels incognito. Unlike the first announcement, the disciples do not understand it and are afraid to ask Him the meaning of it. When the group reaches Capernaum, Jesus asked them what they were discussing during the walk. They were too embarrassed to answer, for they had discussed who would be Number One in the coming Kingdom. Jesus taught that the one ot be first must be last as a servant. To illustrate He takes a child in His arms, for in that day women and children were considered second-class citizens. Jesus makes the point that the greatest will minister to one like a child in His name, and when He does, He serves both Christ and God.

Saturday, 19 September 2009— Exodus 20:1-17 - Sunday’s hymn of the day, These Are the Holy Ten Commandments (LSB 581) Recall the Lord’s requirement of faithfulness to His Law.

Collect for Pentecost 16— Grant, merciful Lord, to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You withy a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, 0our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

A Prayer for grace to use our gifts – O Lord God Almighty, since You bless Your servants with various and unusual gifts of the Holy Spirit, grant us grace to use them always to Your honor and glory; 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.

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