Thursday after Pentecost 12
August 20, 2015
The Lord be with you.
This coming Sunday is Pentecost 13. It is also the
Commemoration of Samuel. As with all “commemorations,” there are no special
lections assigned. We will remember this Old Testament judge/prophet in our
prayers. If you would like to read a bit about Samuel and how his very life
pointed to Jesus, follow this link to a post I made back in 2012 (Samuel).
We will be using Divine 3 for our liturgy (page 184). This
is a communion service. You may prepare for the Lord’s Supper by reviewing “The
Sacrament of the Altar” in your Small
Catechism. Our appointed lessons are
Isaiah 29:11-19, Ephesians 5:22-33 and Mark 7:1-13. I’m sure you have noticed
by now that the Epistle lessons have been coming from Ephesians for several
weeks. I’m sure you have noticed that I’ve been using the Epistle lessons for
the sermon. I will continue the pattern, using Ephesians 5:33 for my text. The
sermon is titled “Marriage.”
Our opening hymn will be “Oh, Blest the House” (LSB 862). Our sermon hymn will be “O
Father, All Creating” (LSB 858). Our
closing hymn will be “Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way” (LSB 857). We will have only one
distribution hymn because it is rather long. It will be “Jesus, Christ, Our
Blessed Savior” (LSB 627). All the
tunes are well known by the congregation.
Our adult Bible class is working through the study, Word:
God Speaks to Us. The author is John T. Pless and it is part of the Lutheran
Spirituality series published by Concordia Publishing House. This Sunday we
will begin the second lesson, “The Words That Kill and Give Life.” Some of the
questions we will be answering are: “What will the Law not do? What will it
do?” “What is the ‘righteousness of God’ and how is it made manifest?” “How
does Isaiah demonstrate the connectedness between Word and Spirit?”
Participants are asked to read 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 to prepare for class. We
have extra study guides. Join us and be blessed by the Word of God, which is a
means of grace.
Below is a video of Cathy Kerner singing the first verse of
our sermon hymn, “O Father, All Creating.”
What follows is a synopsis of Sunday’s lessons, provided by
the synod, then the lessons. Following the readings are some additional notes. Don’t
forget to check out the other posts from earlier this week. There are posts
from Synod and District, reviews, and other local posts (like one I put up
yesterday “In Defense of Denominations.” One way to share who we are at Lamb of
God is to share our blog. You can even link one or more of our posts to your
personal facebook (or other social media) page. Find one you like and share it.
The True Tradition of the Church Is the
Ministry of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, Her Savior
The
true tradition of the Church is the Gospel, which is the preaching and
administration of Christ Jesus. Other traditions, although not commanded by
God, may serve and support that sacred tradition of the Gospel. But the Church
dare not “[reject] the commandment of God” in order to establish or hold
to “the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8–9). Sinful people attempt to draw
near to the Lord “with their mouth” and to honor Him “with
their lips,” while their hearts are far removed from Him (Is. 29:13). Yet,
He is “the Holy One of Israel,”
who brings about salvation by His cross. Therefore, “the wisdom of their
wise men shall perish,” but “the deaf shall hear” and “the eyes
of the blind shall see” (Is. 29:14–19). This mystery of Christ is profound,
for He is the Husband of the Church, and He is her Savior. Not because of any
works that she has done, but solely for the sake of His great love, He “gave
himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the
washing of water with the word” (Eph. 5:25–26).
Isaiah 29:11-19
11 And
the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is
sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I
cannot, for it is sealed.” 12And when they give the book to one who
cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 And
the Lord said:
“Because
this people draw near with their mouth
and
honor me with their lips,
while
their hearts are far from me,
and their
fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore,
behold, I will again
do
wonderful things with this people,
with
wonder upon wonder;
and the
wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and
the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
15 Ah,
you who hide deep from the Lord
your counsel,
whose
deeds are in the dark,
and
who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You
turn things upside down!
Shall the potter
be regarded as the clay,
that the
thing made should say of its maker,
“He
did not make me”;
or the
thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He
has no understanding”?
17 Is
it not yet a very little while
until
Lebanon
shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and
the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In
that day the deaf shall hear
the
words of a book,
and out of
their gloom and darkness
the
eyes of the blind shall see.
19 The
meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and
the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
Ephesians 5:22-33
22 Wives,
submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is
the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is
himself its Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also
wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands,
love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that
he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, 27so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without
blemish. 28In the same way husbands should love their wives as their
own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the
church, 30because we are members of his body. 31“Therefore
a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh.” 32This mystery is profound, and I am saying
that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of
you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her
husband.
Mark 7:1-13
7:1 Now
when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from
Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that
were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the
Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition
of the elders, 4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not
eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe,
such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5And
the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6And
he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This
people honors me with their lips,
but
their heart is far from me;
7 in
vain do they worship me,
teaching
as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You
leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And
he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in
order to establish your tradition! 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your
father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely
die.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother,
“Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)—12then
you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13thus
making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And
many such things you do.”
Some Additional
Notes
- Information for our September newsletter is due Sunday.
- Keep Praying for your Neighbors and Walking your Neighborhoods.
- The District Lutheran Women’s Missionary League will be having a retreat this weekend (August 21-23) up at Camp Lynn Haven. May the Lord bless their time together.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Rickert
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