The Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity, 2025 – Without Communion – Page 5
Zach Engleman
The Invocation p. 5
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 7
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 9
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
The Apostles’ Creed p. 12
The Offertory p. 12
Announcements
The General Prayer p. 13 and Prayer for the Congregation
The Lord's Prayer p. 14
The Collect
The Benediction
Prayers and Announcements
In our prayers – Pastor Jackson is dealing with many challenges right now. Sarah and Ed Buck, Surgery recovery – Bill and Ginny, Pastor Jim and Chris Shrader, Dr. Lito Cruz and family, Lori Howell, Alicia Meyer, Tom Fisher.
Tom Fisher’s birthday was November 5. Anita Engleman’s birthday is November 12.
KJV Philippians 1:3-11
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart;
inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all
are partakers of my grace.
8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all
judgment;
10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without
offence till the day of Christ.
11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory
and praise of God.
KJV Matthew 18:23-35
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take
account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten
thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife,
and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and
forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him
an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay
me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience
with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, Iforgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity
on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that
was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive
not every one his brother their trespasses.
Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity
O almighty, eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one
of a thousand, when Thou contendest with us; but with all our hearts we thank Thee,
that Thou hast taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Thy dear Son Jesus Christ,
and made Him to atone for it: We pray Thee graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to
govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may live according to Thy will, in neighborly love,
service, and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur
Thy wrath, but always find in Thee a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end.
Amen.
Jesus summarizes the Law, fulfills Old Testament prophecy, and thereby teaches God’s
gracious will that we need to believe on Jesus for forgiveness.
Let us pray – Gracious and Heavenly Father – please help us to understand the
meaning of Christ’s teachings and the Gospel message which it conveys to us in our
lives today. Amen.
Beloved Congregation:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Epistle reading for this Sunday emphasizes the importance of prayer and fellowship
among Christian friends. The Apostle Paul recalled his friends in Philippi and the
thought of them. His service to them gave him strength to endure the bonds and
hardships at that stage in his life. As we reflect on the message from the opening of this
Epistle, let’s keep in mind the blessings and duty of stewardship we have towards
Christians in our lives, which could include our spouses, children, pastors, and friends.
Let us also consider friends and acquaintances we have who are not yet Christians and
pray for them to come to the knowledge of the truth.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Thanking God for other believers in our lives is something Christians do when they
recognize how much of a blessing other Christians are to them, but Paul sets a great
example here for us to follow and press even further.
Henry Eyster Jacobs describes thanksgiving as acknowledging and confessing God’s
gifts, which is something we do in prayer.
We just had All Saints Day and can still easily recall Christians who have had incredible
impacts on our lives and the examples they gave us to follow. We can all look back and
be thankful for those in our lives who planted the seed and nurtured us with patience to
become Christians and to walk daily with Christ.
There was a movie in the year 2000 named Pay it Forward. It was an inspiring movie
about an idea a young boy had about being helped by others. When people help those
in need, the person being helped typically wants to commit to paying the helper back.
However, in this movie, the boy presents the idea of paying a good deed forward
(instead of backward) to another person who will be in need on another day. The movie
was based on a simple concept and inspired the viewers to express kindness to others
as a civic duty. The civic duty has an initial good deed that keeps getting “paid forward”
around society.
As Christians we know that our deeds do not make us righteous before God. Only faith
in Christ can do that. However, this concept from the movie probably originated from
the Christian worldview. We know the initial good deed is that “God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
As Christians, we are motivated to love and care for others since we are lights of the
world. We love what God did for us and try to help others.
Galatians 6 says:
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them
who are of the household of faith.”
Paul here is looking forward in stewardship towards the congregation he guided. He is
trying to encourage them in this letter and inform them of his prayers and thanksgiving
for them. They were very good stewards and helped Paul advance the Gospel out of
their abundant giving and support.
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Paul is being a great example here of joy in prayer for Christian fellowship.
Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, said that for the Second Commandment – Thou
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless that taketh His name in vain- We should fear and love God, and not curse,
swear, use witchcraft, lie or deceive by His name, but call upon His name in every time
of need, and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
Paul experiences the joy of a Christian in his communion with God. He wrote this letter
while he was in prison. The church at Philippi was founded by Paul about ten years
earlier and was an area known for mining gold and silver. The city was named after
Phillip II of Macedon who was Alexander the Great’s Father. Phillip II conquered the
city from Krenides in 356 BC. It also had some agriculture and was famous for its
wealth, influence, status and important history. The population perhaps had a very
small contingent of diaspora Jews, many descendants of Roman army veterans,
indigenous Greeks, and migrant merchants. The city was a free city that was exempt
from Roman taxes. Although they were a colony, they were allowed to govern
themselves as an extension of Rome. It was the first church Paul founded in
Macedonia. In Philippi, in 42 BC, Octavian and Antony defeated Cassius and Brutus.
Then Octavian defeated Antony in 31 BC and the Roman Republic soon became the
Roman Empire. He had visited with them about three or four years prior to writing this
letter to them. Paul, Silas, Timothy and possibly Luke had missionary work in Philippi.
The area did not have enough Jews to form a synagogue as the tradition required at
least ten men so the few Jews and God-fearing Gentiles would meet for prayer by the
Gangites River. Water was common for ritual washing before worship. The
missionaries sought out these people meeting for prayer to plant the Gospel in the area.
We can trace out the missionary work in Acts and see that Lydia was the first Christian,
followed by the Philippian jailor and his family. The church apparently grew and was
able to offer substantial support to Paul’s work. According to this letter, Epaphroditus
had made a long journey to visit Paul from Philippi with an offering of money and Paul
sent this letter back with Epaphroditus to the Philippians, probably dictating the letter
while Timothy wrote it. Epaphroditus seems like a rare name today, but it was quite
common for the Greeks in those days.
Luke 24:32 exemplifies a situation where the disciples experienced their heart burning
inside them from the Gospel message:
“And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us
by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
Luther, as he expounded this lesson, wrote:
“The godly Apostle expresses himself, pouring out the depth of his heart- a heart filled
with the real fruits of the Spirit and of faith. It burns with love and joy whenever he sees
the Gospel recognized, accepted, and honored, and the Church flourishing. Paul can
conceive for the converts no loftier desire – can offer no greater petition for them than
to implore God they may increase and persevere in the Gospel faith.”
We reflect upon fellowship with other believers, pray for them, and are thankful for them
being in our lives.
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
True fellowship is what happens when we are around other Christian believers, we can
share our beliefs, and we encourage one another. The Philippians shared in Paul’s
labor in ancient times by offering support through money- including this time and at
least two other times- and there was the visit of Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus had an
illness and recovered before returning to the Philippian church. Paul called for unity and
joy in the church. Despite his suffering, Paul is quite positive and hopeful throughout
the letter.
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Paul was confident that God would continue working in those who remained on the true
vine. He is reiterating the doctrine of the means of grace – from God – God performs
the action through Word and Sacraments to keep the believer in the faith, just like what
Paul taught in Romans 10 on gathering people to Christ as long as we do not resist the
Spirit and depart from the faith by our own action.
From pruning grapevines at my family’s farm here in Missouri, I know for sure that vines
grow very wildly and need a lot of trimming up in the early spring.
Jesus is the True Vine from John 15:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that
beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you”
Here Christ tells us that the Word acts upon us and prunes us – sanctifies us- like the
work of a husbandman because we are abiding branches of Christ.
"In the Word of God there is not only a speaking about God, but in and through His
Word God Himself speaks to us, deals with us, acts upon us. Therefore the Word of
God is also an efficacious means of grace through which God regenerates, converts,
and sanctifies man. This efficacy the Word of God possesses always; it is always united
with the Word, never separated from it. The effect which God intends through the Word
is indeed not always attained, but this is owing to no lack of efficacy in the Word, but
solely to the resistance of man; for man has the power to resist God and to prevent His
Word from accomplishing the effect which He intends."
E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p. 27.
Paul’s confidence that God will continue working in the lives of the Christians in Philippi
is reminiscent of Jesus’s conclusion in John 17 where he lost none:
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they
are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they
may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me
I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be
fulfilled.
7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart;
inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel,
As an example of Christian suffering being in bonds, Paul knew the world’s response to
the Gospel message. He endured much hardship in his life in order to extend the
Gospel to the world.
Paul proclaimed the whole counsel of God to his mission churches, like what he
described to the elders at Ephesus in Acts 20:20:
“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and
have taught you publicly, and from house to house”
Jesus warned us in John 15:
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”
Paul recounted in 2 Corinthians 11:
“Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night
and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own
countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in
perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness.”
The text for today continues to say:
ye all are partakers of my grace.
The growth of the church and mission work is something that is difficult and something
to be thankful for.
Whether an evangelist is in prison - like so many Christians are in countries that prohibit
Christianity- or free, God gives the increase.
1 Corinthians 3 teaches:
“ 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that
giveth the increase.”
A frequent issue today is people looking at big buildings or large gatherings of people,
envying them, and automatically thinking “that wealthy congregations must be doing
everything right.” Unfortunately, this falls into the “prosperity gospel.” The true measure
of success is faithfulness to God’s Word. He will give the increase according to His will
and according to His own measure and timing, whether a congregation is wealthy or big
or not.
We have an example in the animal kingdom of a father nurturing his young. The African
bullfrog male does a lot for his young. After fertilizing the eggs, the dad stays around to
care for the tadpoles. Then, once the tadpoles are hatched and able to move, the
bullfrog actually digs channels in the shallow water to move the tadpoles to deeper,
cooler water to protect them from the heat. Afterwards, the bull frog will dig a moat
around the tadpoles’ pool to help preserve the water and keep it from drying up. The
determination exhibited by this animal is shocking. Evolutionists are still puzzled today
that there could be so much sophistication programmed into the behavior of the bullfrog
that instinctively knows what to do. If this small animal is so protective of its young, and
Paul deeply cared for his spiritual descendants, we can be assured that God will protect
us as His children- given the many promises we have from Him.
8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
Paul says that God is His record. His record is sure, and he is on solid ground. James
says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Paul was consistently striving
towards his goals. He was trying to remain a believer so he would not be castaway -
per 1 Corinthians 9 where he was urging Christians to obtain their prize of salvation- yet
also he was bringing Jews first and then the Gentiles to Christ as the Apostle to the
Gentiles.
Let’s relish these words. Sometimes we overlook incredible passages. We have our
ongoing Bible studies on Daniel and Revelation. These books have very exciting and
shocking passages of prophecy and accounts of the future.
However, this phrase from Paul that says he greatly longs after this congregation in
Philippi exhibits the best of all interactions we can hope for and imitate in our
congregational life today, especially considering our sinful nature that we are all battling
each day. Paul is genuine in his attitude towards the congregations he nurtured. How
nice would it be if more congregational leaders were like this. Just about all of us have
stories of local churches having either minor issues or major issues where we have
seen church leaders bite and devour each other. We are reminded of our sinful, fallen
race. We see outward sins, and we know that we share in that same sinful nature.
The first thing we need to do to become a Christian is to confess our sins to God in
repentance.
1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us.”
As Christians, we daily repent and feel genuine sorrow over our sins. We cling to Christ
our Savior in faith because we know we can never be righteous on our own or by our
own works.
By the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and receive
salvation.
Paul continues in the text for today:
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all
judgment;
Head knowledge and love in our heart should go together as the Holy Spirit transforms
us through the Word. We learn the precious truths of the Bible, and we apply them in
our lives.
We ask God in His prayer that He gave us – The Lord’s Prayer- to forgive us our sins as
we forgive others and to not lead us into temptation but to deliver us from evil. God
does all of that for us. God our Father loved us and send us His Son. God the Son
redeemed us and set us into a right relationship with God the Father again. God the
Holy Spirit is ever present with us, guides us, and leads us so that we do not yield to the
temptations. When we fall, He picks us up again and brings us back to Himself through
the call and working of the Word and Sacraments.
2 Peter 1 illustrates this by linking virtue to knowledge:
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Christians are to judge right and wrong based on God’s Law. The congregation at
Philippi was an ideal congregation in many aspects, since it was assisting Paul a great
deal. It was appreciative and genuine in its concern for the spread of the Gospel to
people in other areas.
10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without
offence till the day of Christ.
Christ summarized the Law into two commandments. We are to love God and to love
our neighbors as ourselves.
If we love God, we abide in His Word.
Approving things that are excellent here in the text for today means faithfulness to
God’s teachings. We are to follow God’s Word and distinguish between what is true
and what is false teaching.
This goes right along with what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:19:
“For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be
made manifest among you.”
Being sincere and without offense is what we strive to do in response to God’s message
as we remember His plan of salvation.
In the Old Testament, we see consistency with God calling on His people to lead holy
lives as well. In Micah 2, the prophet called the Jewish leaders to express true sincerity
and care for the people instead of taking advantage of people of lesser means.
We also see this in the Psalms, including Psalm 16 where it says:
7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night
seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be
moved.
Reins means the “inmost part of our being.”
Christ tells the disciples from John 4:
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Worship was so important to the wandering Israelites even before they had a more
permanent temple from Solomon. The tabernacle was what they used while they were
nomads in the desert. They had to move it as they journeyed in the wilderness. It had
beams on the front and back and a tent made of sackcloth, goat and ramskins over the
sides. The tabernacle was 45 feet long and 22 feet high. They also had the table of
showbread, the Ark of the Covenant, a large bronze laver for ceremonial cleansing, the
altar of incense, and the golden lampstand. There was a curtain draped over the
entrance to the most holy place to prevent curious people from seeing inside. It is quite
impressive that they were willing to move all of this heavy tent material around with
them in the desert in addition to their own personal tent shelters.
The Old Testament history is important to remember as an example since Christianity is
the fulfillment of Judaism.
Today, we share in the Old Testament desire to worship in sincerity. We are to worship
in Spirit and in Truth. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” God was in the midst of the
Israelites along the desert journeys, and He is surely with us today since we have His
promises.
11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory
and praise of God.
Jesus transforms us by the Gospel and we as Christians live lives of thanksgiving,
bearing fruits and knowing that Christ died for us and rose again.
What are these fruits of righteousness?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
The fruit naturally comes from faith. A good tree will bear good fruit.
First comes the tree, then comes the fruits. If a tree has good fruit, then it is a good tree
because it was made good by God. Fruits from the Christian are good because the
Christian is a new creation by God through faith.
The question for today, based on this text, is how we will be faithful to the Scriptures
and allow ourselves to be transformed by the Gospel message, knowing its truth and
the persecution endured by our spiritual ancestors like Paul and others. Will we be able
to let God use our lives as His instruments to inspire others to receive the Gospel and to
“pay it forward.” Romans 6:11 says, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Amen.
