Trinity 18, 2025.

 

The Hymn # 12                 This Day At Thy Creating Word                    

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Reward them that wait for Thee, O Lord: 

and let Thy prophets be found faithful.

Hear the prayer of Thy servants: and of Thy people Israel.

Psalm. I was glad when they said unto me: 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee, mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #613               Jerusalem the Golden

From Lord to Lord 

Communion Hymn # 307              Draw Now and Take the Body of the Lord 

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #56         Christ Who Comes with Heaven Adorning

        

Announcements and Prayers

• Therapy, diagnosis - Lorie Howell, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Sarah Buck, Dr. Lito Cruz and family.

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Only One Lord

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

Jesus took over the debate to make the Sadducees look foolish, effectively. This is one of the long-standing hobbies in Judaism, to see who can debate most favorably. The person who silences the other wins - and it can be fun. A lady in grocery-mobile bumped lightly into my cart at the check-out. She said, "Watch out. I have a doctor." I said, "I have a lawyer," and she laughed with the others behind her. In traditional English, that is called rhetoric. So in this case the crowd wanted to see who would ultimately win. There are a number debates like that in the Gospels. John 9 is a complete story and also humorous.

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

These are the two great loves - love for God the greatest of all, and love for our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. These are great and overwhelming. So many things get in the way of what matters the most. We can easily make the smallest the most significant. My change away from Old Testament teaching is a concentration of Scriptures alone. 

So - as we tiptoe into Revelation, the Scriptures throughout the Bible reflect upon that mysterious and final book of the Bible. Revelation - without doubt - the most beautiful and most overwhelming of all the Scriptures. Right in the middle is the Virgin Mary and the Infant. No wonder the Rationalists mock the birth of Jesus and the Crucifixion. The

Lorie Is in the Highly Specialized Hospital

Lorie is dealing with a very difficult cancer, which also has a very specialized treatment, with pills swallowed to address the malady. I am asking that you pray for Lorie, Terry, members, family, and friends.

"Gracious Heavenly Father, give her speedy cures for this malady and comfort to give her wellness. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Bethany Lutheran Church, Springdale, Arkansas

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Reading the Revelation of St. John

 

Revelation can be one of the most perplexing of the New Testament books. The following can help to see how Revelation itself is gathering of the entire Bible - not to be avoided. 

1. John was the "Apostle Jesus Loved," so his work, through the Holy Spirit has special value for all of us. He wrote the Fourth Gospel, 1 John and 2 John and 3 John, with Revelation as final work of the New Testament.

2. I have had two very interesting sets of Lenski's New Testament commentaries. The first one had Revelation with partially burned covers torn, held together with tape. The recipient of that set, when I sent it to him, found the Book of Revelation to be quite interesting and appropriate.

3. My current Lenski set is worn but in good shape. However, the Revelation volume is so shiny new in every way that I wonder if that reader ever touched it. Those two must be the extremes. 

4. It would be a great shame for anyone to bypass the last volume because of its sweeping passages and phrases from the Bible.

5. I would start Revelation with Chapter 12, which is the center of Human Destiny. That is when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and the Christian Faith began to grow with astonishing speed, starting from Judaism and spreading to the world through the written New Testament, preaching, and teaching.

6. The first eleven chapters of Revelation include a critique of cities of that era.

7. The end of each chapter has a very good transition into the next chapter, such as Chapter 11's last statement.

11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Beginning of Chapter 12

12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

We should remember the ending of each chapter and the beginning of each.

Norman Rockwell

              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I had one of those famous Normal Rockwell experiences, reminding me of one of his famous works. It began with a college student - writing class. Years later, one son was fixing computers as a hobby, the other repairing cars. Three computers were upgraded within an hour. 

The former student wondered about two very heavy items I wanted to pass along. Soon the second student came over, and the student's husband was there, with a little boy there to rev up Charlie Sue, terrier extraordinaire.

The freezer was not too heavy for them, so an ultra-heavy coffee table was soon uplifted in two parts. I did my part, a very small part, and the three pieces were loaded. 

Charlie Sue was eager to show up The Park! - so we had to chase her around to get everyone back (using only part of the cul-de-sac). 

        Soon everyone was packed up and off they went to home, a great example of the whole family working together with only a few words and the pick-up.

Charlie Sue, famous park hunter.