Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 11 2020 To

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 11, 2020

To God be the Glory 1. To God be the glory, great things He has done; So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life an atonement for sin, And opened the life gate that all may go in. Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

To God be the Glory 2. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

To God be the Glory 3. Great things He has taught us, great things He has done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; But purer, and higher, and greater will be Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Confession and Absolution

Invocation P C In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Exhortation P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. P C P Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. C

P Almighty God, our maker and redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. C O most merciful God, who has given Your only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by Your Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of You and of Your will and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Declaration of Grace P C Almighty God, our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe on His name He gives power to become the children of God and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen.

Introit P I will praise the LORD as long as I live; C I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. P I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; C my soul shall exult in my God, P for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; C he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, P as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, C and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. P I will praise the LORD as long as I live; C I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Gloria Patri C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Kyrie C Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.

Gloria in Excelsis P C Glory be to God on high: and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee, for Thy great glory. O Lord God, heav’nly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.

Gloria in Excelsis C Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord. Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Salutation and Collect of the Day P C The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. P Let us pray. Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C Amen.

First Reading 6 On Isaiah 25: 6– 9 this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

Isaiah 25: 6– 9 for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. ” P C This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Gradual P He will command his angels concerning you C to guard you in all your ways. P Bless the LORD, O my soul, C and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Epistle Revelation 3: 14 -22 To the Church in Laodicea 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes,

Revelation 3: 14 -22 so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ’” P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

Alleluia C Alleluia.

The Holy Gospel P C Matthew 22: 1– 14 The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter. Glory be to Thee, O Lord. The Parable of the Wedding Feast 1 Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding

Matthew 22: 1– 14 feast. ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. ’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding

Matthew 22: 1– 14 garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? ’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen. ” P C This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

Apostles’ Creed C I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the

Apostles’ Creed C Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life T everlasting. Amen.

Have Thine Own Way 1 Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way! Thou art the Potter; I am the clay. Mould me and make me After they will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.

Have Thine Own Way 2 Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way! Search me and try me. Master, today! Whiter than snow, Lord, Wash me just now, And in the presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine Own Way 3 Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way! Wounded and weary, Help me, I pray! Power all power, Surely is thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine Own Way 4 Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way! Hold o’re my being, Absolute sway! Fill with thy Spirit. Till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me!

"Laodicea: A Church That Needed to Repent" Revelation 3: 14 -22

As we come to the end of our sermon series today our focus is on the church at Laodicea. To understand the words of our Risen Lord we must first grasp this important fact about Laodicea, namely, the story of Laodicea is the story of great success. This was a city of considerable wealth. It is a point well-illustrated by the city’s response to a devastating earthquake. In 61 A D the city was literally laid waste. Like several other cities in the region, it was offered assistance by the Roman government. Laodicea, however, completely refused all assistance in rebuilding. It decided to rebuild the shattered city from its own resources. Here was a city that was so rich it needed no outside help to rebuild. The prevailing attitude of the citizens of Laodicea may be summed up in the words of Christ in Revelation 3: 17, “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing…”

It is not overstating the point to say these people were so well off they needed no help from anyone. Bible commentators write that the Laodiceans had adopted the attitude that money could buy anything, and they had so much of it that they believed themselves to be self-sufficient. As one Bible commentator put it, “these people saw themselves as needing neither the help of God nor man. ” And it was surely this haughty attitude that Christ identified as the crux of the problem at Laodicea. Challenging the prevailing attitude of the Laodiceans Christ tells these Christians they are actually “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, naked. ” To put it in other words Christ tells them, “You are so very proud of your wealth, but the real fact of the matter is that you are poverty-stricken in regard to the things that really matter. ”

Here is a not uncommon situation among many congregations today. Like many modern-day people, the Laodiceans were people who put their trust in material things and possessions. They trusted, in other words, in the things of this world. They determined they would build a marvelous civilization on the material things they gained through their wealth. Is that not an all too often way of thinking today? Isn’t our attitude also one of thinking we will build a grand world through material prosperity? Provide better housing for people, pay higher wages to people, supply better health care plans and you will end up with a better world. The golden age will dawn when, according to prevailing thought, we have a lot more wealth to spread around. But is that really true?

Yes, it is a noble ideal to want to improve a person’s lot in life. Better housing, better working conditions, better income, better health care wonderful goals. I do believe that Jesus wants his church to support every effort that will genuinely improve the quality of human life. But we must always remember that there is more to life than having things and the things money can buy.

What is that something more that Christianity brings to life? Christianity has as its highest goal not simply changing the conditions that surround life in this world; Christianity has as its primary goal changing people. You see, if people are changed, if hearts are transformed by the indwelling of the living Christ, then everything about life is changed. The grand goal of Christianity is well-stated by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me” (Gal 2: 20). When Christ is living in us our priorities are dramatically changed. How so? Let me put it this way--When Christ is living in us, we no longer love things and use people; we love people and use things. Loving people more than things changes everything.

In this world there always two points of view. There is the human viewpoint and the divine. From the purely human viewpoint a person may be very successful, while from the divine viewpoint that person may be a complete failure. There is a story told of a fabulously wealthy woman who died and went to heaven. Upon arrival in heaven she was escorted to a house that had been prepared for. On the way, the story relates, she passed by many beautiful homes and to her surprise the residents of those homes were people who in this world she had considered beneath her. Finally, on the outskirts of heaven she came to a tiny and non-descript cottage. Her guide stopped and told her it was to be her home. To which the woman who had lived on earth in a beautiful

mansion gave a puzzled look as she asked if he was sure they were in the right place. Her heavenly guide was said to politely respond, “This is all we were able to do with the materials you sent up. ” The story underscores an important point. Jesus, you will recall, taught that we are to store up what he called “treasure in heaven”. Too many people enrich their lives in this world but neglect the need to store up treasure in heaven. The example of the church at Laodicea stands as a warning to those who devote themselves to accumulating wealth on earth but forget all about storing up treasure in heaven.

How sad. How very, very sad, especially when we consider what the Risen Christ tells the Laodicean Christians in verses 15 and 16. There he says that because they are neither cold nor hot but only lukewarm, they will be totally rejected. The word that is used for hot is zestos in the Greek, and zestos means not just warm but hot to the boiling point. Here, you see, is a great fact that needs to be underscored. As Christians we are called to something more than tepid or lukewarm discipleship. St Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome they were to “never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving God” (Rom 12: 1). In the Living Bible it reads, “Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. ”

One of the sadly lacking things in lots of congregations is a sense of the fire of enthusiasm of which St Paul writes. Lutherans especially are known as “God’s frozen chosen”. As a group Lutherans tend to be put off by persons who are overly enthusiastic about being a Christian, people who are too much like a Pentecostal in expressing their joy in knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. As a pastor I’ve had people express to me concern for a church member who was just too happy all the time and talking all the time about how wonderful it is to be a Christian. It is almost like it’s not fitting for a respectable Lutheran to be aglow with the Spirit of God.

By way of contrast the Risen Christ tells the church at Laodicea to defrost. Jesus wants the Laodicean church not just to be chilled out but to be on fire, so that more and more people will be brought into a living faith. What Jesus is telling them is well-stated in a hymn that says: It only takes a spark to get a fire going, And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing; That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it: You spread His love to everyone, you want to pass it on. The Risen Christ calls us to move beyond decorum to devotion. He wants our faith to be like a fire in our inner being; it is the fire of knowing him, loving him, and walking with him. How wonderful to pass on to others the joy of knowing him.

We have so much to be joyful for in the Lord. Why is it that we allow ourselves to slip into a kind of dull, spiritless, lukewarm faith? Jesus died for the sins of the world. That means he died for you and for me. On the third day God raised Jesus from the grave as a sign of what is awaiting all who trust in Jesus. Life is not moving toward a dead end. Life is moving toward the joy of being with God in heaven. The magnificent victory of Easter morning will be ours too. Is that not something to get excited about? Why the very expression “lukewarm Christian” is an oxymoron. How can anyone be lukewarm in the face of victory in Jesus?

There ought to be no surprise when we find the Risen Christ summoning the church at Laodicea to “be zealous and repent. ” Let’s take a moment to be sure we understand what Jesus is calling them to do. I read that the word repent as used here is in the Greek of the New Testament means to make a definitive step. Christ is calling for no lukewarm response but for a definite bold action. Further, the words “Be zealous” in the Greek are in the present imperative tense, which in the New Testament Greek indicates continuous activity. The people are not just to be zealous once and that’s it. The Greek means to keep on being zealous over and over. In other words, Christ is telling them, “Make your decision, and then for the rest of your life be enthusiastic and excited about it. ”

Christ called the Laodicean Christians and he calls us to a moment of decision like he once called his disciples as they walked along the road to Caesarea Philippi. Asked Jesus, “Who do men say I am? ’ The disciples offered various ideas. Then Jesus asked them directly this all-important question, “Who do you say I am? ” Peter answered, “You are the Christ. The Son of the living God. ” That is, dear friends in the Lord, the question he asks us too. And we, like the disciples and the Laodicean Christians, must give answer. “Once to every man and nation, ” states a hymn, “comes the moment to decide. ” How true. Christ comes and asks us to make a decision as to who he is and then to be zealously confessing him each and every day.

In this letter the Risen Christ is calling for a decision. It is a call that may very well echo down the hallowed halls of time to us today. Perhaps he is calling some of us, as he called to those Christians at Laodicea. The letter of Christ to the church at Laodicea contains one of the most fetching invitations in all the Bible. It is the invitation of Christ to let him come into our heart. Says Jesus, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him…” Notice the invitation is an individual one. Christ does not knock at the church door; he knocks at the door to each person’s heart. Christ is giving a personal appeal to each of us. He wants each of us to open the door to our heart that he may come in.

When the artist Holman Hunt painted his wellknown picture of Jesus knocking at the door, he presented the door upon which Christ knocked in a most important way. Hunt pictured the door upon which Jesus knocked as having no handle on the outside. What a stroke of Spirit-filled insight. For, you see, Christ will not force entry. He calls, he invites, he knocks; and, it is for us to decide. The door to the human heart must open from the inside if it is to open at all. Oh, how Christ wanted those Christians at Laodicea to open their hearts to him. Oh, how he yearns for you to open your heart to him. He wants to come in and fill every recess of your heart with his healing love. He wants you to experience the joy of being born anew to a living hope. He wants you to experience the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding.

Interesting, is it not? The very same message the Risen Christ gave to the materially oriented Christians at Laodicea is the message he gives to a materially oriented America. He tells us, “Your only hope is not in the wealth you possess, but in being possessed by me. ” He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ” “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, ” says Jesus. May you let him in. Answer his invitation. Fling wide the door to your heart and know the joy only he can give.

Offering Offertory C Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer P C Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Benediction P C The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace. Amen, amen.

Lord I Want to Be A Christian 1 Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart. Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart. In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.

Lord I Want to Be A Christian 2 Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart. Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart. In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.

Lord I Want to Be A Christian 3. Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart, in my heart. Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart. In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart.

Lord I Want to Be A Christian 4. Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart. Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart. In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.