SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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September 25, 2022

Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side,” and “the rich man also died and was buried” (Luke 16:22). The poor man Lazarus, who knew many bad things on earth, began to be comforted forever, whereas the rich man, after a lifetime of good things, began to be “in anguish” (Luke 16:25). Therefore, “woe to those who are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1), for “the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away” (Amos 6:7). The wealthy are urged “not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches,” but “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim. 6:17–18). Covetous desire for what God has not given is idolatry and “a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim. 6:10). Contentment belongs to faith, by which the Christian has “great gain” in godliness (1 Tim. 6:6).

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #566 – By Grace I’m Saved

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 90:1, 12; 86:11–12; 119:159–160

Pastor: Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

People: Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Pastor: Consider how I love Your precepts! Give me life according to Your steadfast love.

People: The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your just and righteous decrees endures forever.

Pastor: Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.

People: I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: It is good and right that we should make confession of our sins. The section on “Confession” in the Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther instructs us with these words:

People: Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

Pastor: Humble yourselves then before God, confess your sins to Him, and implore His forgiveness.

People: O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a troubled and penitent sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your present and eternal punishment. By nature, I am a sinful creature. By thought, word, and deed I have continually transgressed Your law. For the sake of the sufferings and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to me, a penitent and contrite being. Forgive me all my sins and grant me the power of Your Holy Spirit that I may amend my sinful life.

Pastor: God be gracious to you and strengthen your faith.

People: Amen.

Pastor: As you believe, so let it be. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PSALM Psalm 146

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

²I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

⁴When his breath departs he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

⁵Blessèd is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

⁶who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

⁷who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

⁸the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

⁹The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.

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.
Remember us, O Lord, not for what we deserve, but because You have begun Your good work in us. As You have called us to Your service, make us worthy of our calling; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Amos 6:1–7

(God’s people are warned by the prophet.)

¹“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
            and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations,
            to whom the house of Israel comes!
²Pass over to Calneh, and see,
            and from there go to Hamath the great;
            then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
            Or is their territory greater than your territory,
³O you who put far away the day of disaster
            and bring near the seat of violence?
⁴“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
            and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
            and calves from the midst of the stall,
⁵who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
            and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
⁶who drink wine in bowls
            and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
            but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
⁷Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
            and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Psalm 91:11; 103:1

He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

EPISTLE 1 Timothy 6:6–19

(The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.)

⁶Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

¹¹But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Luke 16:31

Alleluia. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 16:19–31

(The story of the rich man and poor Lazarus)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹⁹[Jesus said:] “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #688 – ‘Come, Follow Me,’ the Savior Spake

SERMON:

NICENE CREED

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth
            and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only-begotten Son of God,
      begotten of His Father before all worlds,
      God of God, Light of Light,
      very God of very God,
      begotten, not made,
      being of one substance with the Father,
      by whom all things were made;
      who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
      and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
      and was made man;
      and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
      He suffered and was buried.
      And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
            and ascended into heaven
      and sits at the right hand of the Father.
      And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord and giver of life,
      who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
      who spoke by the prophets.
      And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
      I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
      and I look for the resurrection of the dead
      and the life + of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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 God, You are the strength of all who trust in You, and without Your aid we can do no good thing. Grant us the help of Your grace that we may please You in both will and deed; 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

Pastor: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord!

People: Thanks be to God.

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin