Bethany Lutheran Church
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #198 He's Risen, He's Risen
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Righteous art Thou, O Lord: and upright are Thy judgments.
Deal with Thy servant: according to Thy mercy.
Psalm. Blessed are the undefiled in the way:
who walk in the Law of the Lord.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations
of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God;
through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord:
and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.
V. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made:
and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Access through Faith in Him
8. By faith I call Thy holy Table
The testament of Thy deep love;
For, lo, thereby I now am able
To see how love Thy heart doth move.
9. What higher gift can we inherit?
It is faith's bond and solid base;
It is the strength of heart and spirit,
The covenant of hope and grace.
10. This feast is manna, wealth abounding
Unto the poor, to weak ones power,
To angels joy, to hell confounding,
And life for us in death's dark hour.
11. Thy body, given for me, O Savior,
Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed,
These are my life and strength forever,
By them my hungry soul is fed.
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 # 361 O Jesus, King
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 # 361 O Jesus, King
In Our Prayers
- Those dealing with diabetes and metabolic disorders; Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Randy Anderson, Kermit Way, .
- Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris went to Columbus, Ohio, for the funeral of his sister Charlotte.
- Brett and Amy Meyer celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary on October 7th.
KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.
Access through Faith in Him
KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
Two things worked against Jesus, in the eyes of the Pharisees. One was His popularity with the crowds, based on His healing miracles and His teaching. The other problem was His way of refuting salvation based upon works of the Law. According to Lenski, Jesus came because of the invitation, and this was a meal, not just eating some bread. We still use the term "break bread" as a term for a large meal. Jesus came because the Gospel is the opposite of the Law, and His work was to oppose the false notions of salvation by the Law.
Although many talk about, teach, and advocate grace and forgiveness, our society is dominated by the works of the Law. People will warn others against walking on linoleum of the school's emblem - even funnier - barriers are around this sacred symbol so all know - do not put your unclean shoes on this sacred letter. Meanwhile, all kinds of things happen and they are excused by "we are known for our shenanigans." Modern Pharisees watch to make sure their one law is observed 100%.
2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
As we will be exploring on Vimeos, there are good ways to understand and appreciate details in the Scriptures. In this case, the emphasis is not on the man and his thoughts, but on the Pharisees observing the scene. Jesus makes a point about their Law.
3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
From this verse we can see that this is a large gathering of people and leaders. It was normal for Jesus to heal people who were very sick, and this took place in various ways. Rather than just healing the man, Jesus asked a religious question. Is it against the Torah to heal this man on the Sabbath?
4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
This should have created a yes or no answer from the leaders because that is the nature of Jewish law, to have discussions and decisions. They had a sizeable crowd and a good audience to hear and to observe.
5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things.
The Law crowd could not answer because they knew how everyone felt about having an animal fall in a pit. On the other hand, they prided themselves on their strict observance of the Law. Jesus not only healed miraculously but also showed His power in front of the Law salesmen. So this is clearly an event where Jesus emphasized the meaning of His work and Word while others were afraid to be on one side or the other, knowing their Law attitude would make the crowd very upset.
7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
24. The Papists have commented on these verses in their own way and twisted this Gospel, saying: Yea, the Pope is to be the least or youngest, sitting at the foot and serving others; but that is to take place in the heart.
They pretended to sit at the foot and to serve others as the humblest; but withal they lorded it over all emperors, kings and princes, yea, trampled them in the dust; just as if emperors, kings, princes and rulers should not also possess in their hearts the humility of which the Lord here treats. They thus put on airs and make a show of their carnal interpretation. If they had any humility in their hearts their lives would bear testimony to it. Christ speaks here not of outward humility alone, for the inner is the source of the outer; if it is not in the heart it will hardly be manifest in the body.
25. Therefore the Gospel aims at making all of us humble, whatever and whoever we may be, that none may exalt himself, unless urged and elevated by regular authority. That is what the Lord wants to inculcate by this parable, directing it to all, be they high or low. In this spirit he reproves the Pharisees and others who desire high places and are ambitious to get ahead of others. They may accept honors when regularly elected and forced to accept high places. I make these remarks to contravene and discredit their false spiritual interpretations.
This parable not only describes the Church of Rome, with so many men pretending to be humble while parading their humility, but also the acts of being in charge of everything, demanding honor, and making sure of one's place in life. Even the disciples argued over who would be first when Jesus reigned over the world.
The Gospels prove that the most important part of Jesus' earthly ministry was His suffering and pain on the way of the cross, not only the horrible punishment, but also the mockery and shame. The Beatitudes are the opposite of human behavior because they are the teaching of the Savior.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Then we are blessed and rejoice because the prophets were persecuted the same way.
Faith in the Savior
Our basic response to needs is the law rather than faith in Christ. People want honor, security, and a peaceful life. The path is not trust in the material things - and honors - but trust in the Savior.
The Gospel comes to us, because nobody would make this up for themselves. In various ways, either from baptism or being taught, the meaning of Christ grows in us the way yeast grows in dough. Without the yeast, the dough may be baked, but it is hard as a rock, more like a brick or a weapon and having no taste. But with the introduction of yeast, the mix lifts itself up on bubbles and creates a delicious food that fills the room. Some are thinking about it now and saying, "That's a baker talking."
Faith Is Access to Christ
But the point is - faith in the Savior. That is access to God's grace, the meeting place with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, miracle worker, one who raised people from the dead, and rose Himself after dying from the cross and ascending to Heaven.
Whenever possible, I make a point of meeting famous people. My first was Richard Nixon during his first campaign. In Walmart-land I made a point of meeting two Chief Executive Officers and some others. The CEOs were a bit shocked and not welcoming that I walked up to THEM and shook their hands. I really thought that was funny, because one CEO kept saying to his workers at the meetings, "The customers are paying your checks." And I got to know one of the Walton heirs, supposedly worth $50 billion. She asked me to take a group picture of the heirs, so I did that, and took my own picture.
Compare that to total access to grace through Jesus Christ, any time, any place. That is so often overlooked by people - or even denied. Each one of us can call on the Savior and He will answer. He gives more than we can imagine and begins His help before we even think to ask. That is why we teach children to pray, to encourage that access to grace as they grow. Our daughters could not speak, but when the nurses tried to teach them about Jesus, the girls made it clear that they already knew.
The End
