Pentecost 17, Series C September 19, 2010
Lessons for Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (LSB Proper 20)
Amos 8:4-7 ~ The Lord called to task those in Israel who oppressed the poor for their own personal gain.
Psalm 113 (antiphon: verse 3)
1 Timothy 2:1-15 ~ Good works which should adorn our lives are prayer and care for kings and all people.
Luke 16:1-15 ~ We should use our resources as wisely to provide for eternity as we do for tomorrow.
GATHERING THE TEXTS: What is the Bottom Line?
The question is, how does it all add up? Speaking by his prophet Amos, God declared the bottom line to be not the amount of worldly goods we gather, but rather our kind and honest treatment of those in need. Jesus’ parable teaches that the bottom line is how we consistently use our possessions for the good of the Kingdom. St. Paul wrote to Timothy that the bottom line is the ransom Christ paid for our redemption, which in turn moves us to work for peace through our prayers and possessions.
PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: I thank You, Lord, that You add the value of Your love in Christ Jesus to the value of my life. Help me see that life is more than the sum total of what I have, that it is shaped by the way I use Your gifts to bring blessings of faith and wholeness to the unfortunate. Amen.
STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: The Shakers gave their “Hands to work and Hearts to God.” Can we do anything less than dedicate our gifts to support our prayers on behalf of “kings and all people” that they may be led to faith?
OFFERING PRAYER: With heartfelt prayers we come, O Lord, to ask
That You establish peace within our land,
And we will give our labors to the task,
And offerings, too, to see Your Kingdom stand.
CONVICTION AND COMFORT: God has given us many resources, including our material goods and our prayer life, to use toward His Kingdom goal that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Instead we use our power and wealth to accumulate more and even attempt to use prayer to bolster our self. In contrast, Jesus expended all His worth, even His life’s blood, to ransom us from eternal destruction. By God’s grace we are given new opportunities to expend ourselves in the service of God’s Kingdom of grace.
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