Friday, August 2, 2013

Worship Notes for Pentecost 10 - 2013



Thursday after Pentecost 10
August 1, 2013

The Lord be with you

This coming Sunday is the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. For our liturgy we will use Matins (page 219). Our lessons will be Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21, and Psalm 138:1-14 (antiphon verse 4). Our sermon will be titled “If, Then” and the text will be Colossians 3:1. Our opening hymn will be “This Is the Day the Lord Has Made” (LSB 903). Our sermon hymn will be “Renew Me, O Eternal Light” (LSB 704). Our closing hymn will be “Almighty Father, Bless the Word” (LSB 923).

If all goes according to plan, we will receive Cyril Kendrick into membership Sunday.

Below is a video of our sermon hymn, “Renew Me, O Eternal Light.” It is performed by the Lutheranwarbler.


In our prayers, we will remember The Roman Catholic Church and their leader Pope Francis. We will remember the persecuted believers in Oman. We will remember Emily Goddard, our missionary in South Africa. Emily writes, “I would appreciate prayers for God to open the hearts of the community where I serve and that He would use me as a tool to spread His love and the Gospel to the people of South Africa. I also ask for prayers to prepare me for all that lies ahead. And, please pray for the school, including its teachers, administrators, students and families.” We will continue to remember the churches in our denomination. This week we lift up before our Lord Mt. Olivet & Peace, Washington DC; St. Paul, Annapolis, MD; Berea, Baltimore, MD; and Island, Hilton Head Island, SC. We will continue to remember all those who have been misled by our cultures advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion. We ask, not only that the Lord turn our country around, but also that he bring healing to the lives damaged by our current culture. We will remember the modern slave trade and ask God to bless all efforts pleasing in his sight to end this sinful practice. We will also remember the Lutheran Malaria Initiative as we seek to end Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

In our Sunday morning Bible study we are in our second read through of the Gospel of Luke. We are using the “book” method of studying Luke. This means we are giving our own titles to the book, and small sections, seeking to capture in our own words, the message of Luke. Everyone is welcome to join us and provide your own section titles. In discussing the titles of our choice and why we like them, we are discussing the themes of Luke. Bible study (reading) begins at 9:00 am.  

Preview of Lessons
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-26
Solomon continues to write about the emptiness of the pursuits the world holds up to us as meaningful. In this portion of the reading, Solomon realizes that everything you might accumulate is passed on to others when you die, and you have no idea if they will be wise or foolish. One might think of our Constitution. So we are to be content with what God has given us, thanking the Lord. As Jesus once said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-26, 34).

Colossians 3:1-11
The lectionary continues through Colossians. This reading is the foundation for the sermon, so I’m not going to say much. It is basically a passage about how we live as Christians.

Luke 12:13-21
This reading picks-up where last week’s reading ended. In speaking of material possessions, Jesus warns us to “be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” This not only relates to our Old Testament lesson, but also “what is earthly” (according to Paul in our epistle lesson) who tells us to “put to death” “covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Lesson Synopsis (from the LC-MS)
Faith in Christ Is Rich toward God
To live for earthly things “is vanity and a striving after wind,” and work that is driven by such vanity “is an unhappy business” (Eccl. 1:13–14). The man who lives like that has nothing to show for “all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun. … All his days are full of sorrow” (Eccl. 2:22–23). So, too, your “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5), makes a god out of that which cannot give you life or happiness. For “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But “Christ who is your life” (Col. 3:4), in giving you Himself, gives you all the wealth of heaven. Instead of striving to lay up treasures for yourself, be “rich toward God” in Him (Luke 12:21).

Tidbits

  • Our Vacation Bible School, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” will begin Monday. The story of Aron Ralston, and adventurer who had to go to extreme measures to live, will be used to relate truths from the Bible. This VBS is designed with Adults and Youth in mind. We begin at 6:30 and go for an hour and a half. Refreshments will be available.

  • Remember, we are all on “Walkabout” all summer long. So, keep walking in your neighborhood, and beyond. When you see someone, say hello. If you don’t know them, introduce yourself. It is that simple.

Well, I pray we will see you Sunday.

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert

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