FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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September 18, 2022

We Are Intercessors for the World

Because God, our Savior, “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), He urges “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Tim. 2:1). Christians should so pray “without anger or quarreling,” but “adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control” (1 Tim. 2:8, 9). For the Lord does not forget “the poor of the land” (Amos 8:4). He remembers them according to the foolishness of the cross. “For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). Though we try to justify ourselves “before men,” God knows our sinful hearts and calls us to repentance (Luke 16:15). Though we are “not strong enough to dig,” and we are “ashamed to beg” (Luke 16:3), He justifies us by His grace and welcomes us into His “eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). More shrewd than even “the sons of this world” (Luke 16:8), He requires His stewards of the Gospel to bestow forgiveness freely.

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #790 – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Proverbs 3:3–6

Pastor: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

People: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Pastor: Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

People: So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Pastor: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

People: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: Let us humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him, and ask His gracious forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People: We now confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and before one another, that we are sinful human beings by nature and by deed. We have not always put God first. We have used His holy name in ways that do not honor Him. We have not always been devoted to the Lord and have not fully cherished the sacred writings of our faith. We have failed in ways of keeping our thoughts, words, and deeds pure and honorable. At times we have taken what is not ours and have spoken that which is not helpful or true. We have broken the law of God by coveting that which is not rightfully ours and have not put the best construction on all things and spoken the best of all people. We pray our God to have mercy on us, to forgive us all our sins, and to bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Pastor: The almighty and merciful Lord grants us pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all our sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ SERVICE of the WORD +

PSALM Psalm 113 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

²Blessèd be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

³From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴The Lord is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens!

⁵Who is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high,

⁶who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

⁹He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother

of children. Praise the Lord!

KYRIE

Pastor: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

People: Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
O Lord, You call us to be faithful in very little in order to be trusted with much. Preserve us by Your perpetual mercy, and because without You we cannot but fall, keep us from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Amos 8:4–7

(An exhortation to live justly)

⁴Hear this, you who trample on the needy
            and bring the poor of the land to an end,
⁵saying, “When will the new moon be over,
            that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
            that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
            and deal deceitfully with false balances,
⁶that we may buy the poor for silver
            and the needy for a pair of sandals
            and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

⁷The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Psalm 34:9, 19, alt. (spoken together)

Fear the Lord, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing!
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

EPISTLE 1 Timothy 2:1–15

(The Lord wants all people to be saved.)

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ²for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; ⁹likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ¹⁰but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. ¹¹Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. ¹²I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. ¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve; ¹⁴and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. ¹⁵Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE 1 Timothy 2:5–6a

Alleluia. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 16:1–15

(Jesus calls His disciples to make serving Him the priority.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the sixteenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹[Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ²And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ⁹And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ¹³No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #819 – Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good

SERMON: We Are Intercessors for the World

Apostles’ Creed

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 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 + everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: We trust, O Lord, in Your great mercy to hear and answer us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

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.

CLOSING PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.
O Lord, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26

Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin