The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
Have respect, O Lord, unto Thy covenant:
oh, let not the oppressed return ashamed!
Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause:
and forget not the voice of Thine enemies.
Psalm. O God, why hast Thou cast us off forever?
Why doth Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture?
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which Thou dost promise, make us to love that which Thou dost command; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Have respect, O Lord, unto Thy covenant:
oh, let not the oppressed return ashamed!
V. Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause:
and forget not the voice of Thine enemies.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. O Lord God of my salvation:
I have cried day and night before Thee. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Jesus the Good Samaritan and Wounded Man
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 #660 I'm But a Stranger Here
Prayers and Announcements
- Happy Birthday, Brett Meyer.
- Answered prayers - no stents needed for Maria Ellenberger Way.
- Medical care: Sarah Buck, Pastor Jim Shrader and his wife Chris; Lori Howell.
KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Part 1
KJV Luke 10:23-37 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Part 2
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Part 3
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 An by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast granted us to live in this accepted time, when we may hear Thy holy gospel, know Thy fatherly will, and behold Thy Son, Jesus Christ! We pray Thee, most merciful Father: Let the light of Thy holy word remain with us, and so govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may never forsake Thy word, but remain steadfast in it, and finally obtain eternal salvation; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Jesus the Good Samaritan and Wounded Man
KJV Luke 10:23-37 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
This passage in Luke is one of the best known in the Bible - but also one of the most misunderstood and confused statements. The beginning verses are often ignored, even though those verses are the main idea (or thesis statement). Jesus gave the most wisdom to His disciples, and they gradually grew in their understanding of their Teacher, but still they did not completely understand until He rose from the tomb and showed them His wounds. He did not teach the crowds everything, because they could not grasp the major points. His goal was to establish faith in Him or at least to believe in His miracles, which could lead them to a full understanding, exponential growth and persecution.
Many prophets and kings never knew what the disciples were about to learn. We are in a similar position. Ideally - that is - trust in the Word of God lets us see the truth of this famous passage. No one has the license to create new principles, new variations on the Old and New Testaments. Proximity to the Word of God allows us to imagine that we know, but only when we know for certain that the Holy Spirit has written every word and given us the ability to believe, know, and teach. Many young children know more than adults because they trust God's lessons, without quibbling or debating.
A believer in Christ can see how He works, while a skeptic is blinded by his supposed wisdom. I remember - because I kept the material - that the leader of Fuller Seminary denounced the inerrancy of the Word. He said, paraphrased, "We do not have enough time and energy to quibble over these doctrines. Our first priority is growth in missions." He was a teacher of the Law alone. He had no grasp of the Spirit teaching from the Father and the Son, as Jesus clearly taught in the Fourth Gospel. There is only true or false, yes or no.
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
This Talmudic lawyer is the key to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and he was exposing his own limits while debating with Jesus. This was a common rabbinic statement. Jesus' reply was short but significant "Do this and you will live." That exposed the lawyer to his own boasting, as if to say "I am good on that score, but please define who my neighbor is." He was eager to justify himself, which we hear today in the humid Midwest - "Everyone is forgiven (sic)." so everyone is a saint, proudly declared good without faith.
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 An by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luther explained that the man who fell among thieved, stripped of his robes, and wounded was a figure of Jesus. Since this is a story, an illustration, we can see how this is true. Jesus was suggesting that He would be like the man, ignored by the holy ones of Israel, avoided, abandoned - a priest and a Levite. The priest avoided the beaten man, going to the opposite side of the road, and the Levite looked the man over and avoided being close. Wasn't Jesus in the same position on the cross, beaten and abandoned? He last words on the cross were from the Psalm, My God My God, why hast though forsaken Me?
This is not a stretch, to identify Jesus both with the man going to Damascus and the Samaritan who stopped to help. The entire Bible is about Jesus, primarily Jesus because He is God in the flesh, so we can see and understand the Trinity in the flesh.
KJV Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
The Good Samaritan has been distorted as the Law for a long time. Various ministers have used it to tax everyone on their need to take care of others. I blame this in part on the Social Gospel Movement, which blossomed under the rationalistic Federal Council of Churches. They were so scandalous (Marxist) that they changed their name to the National Council of Churches and produced the RSV, ESV, and NRSV Bibles. I exposed the theology of one famous LCA pastor. He said he opposed the Social Gospel Movement but in his talk said, "Should we bind the wounds of the man left for dead on the road to Damascus? or make the road safe?!" I told him afterwards, "That was the Social Gospel."
The National Council of Churches are so Unitarian in denying the Christian Faith that they use their dogma to support destructive programs in America, which we see everywhere today, and it keeps getting worse.
The Samaritan is clearly Jesus, because He became an outcast and yet in His compassion sought to give us forgiveness, peace, and security.
First, he observed the miserable state of the beaten, abandoned man.
a) he went to the man
b) bound up his wounds,
c) pouring in oil and wine, and
d) set him on his own beast, and
e) brought him to an inn, and
f) took care of him.
Second, we see the six-fold response complete the actions of the Samaritan - and he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. [another group of six]
This is how Jesus works with all who believe in Him. Nothing is so low or repugnant that He cannot help the person in distress. People are bound to be in distress today because the radicals have done so much to wreck American jobs, American schools, and the US military. Name an entity which is not infected by a widespread, organized attempt to wreck the last bulwark of freedom this world.
No comments:
Post a Comment