Say unto my soul, I am thy Salvation: The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth.
He delivereth them out of their troubles: He is their God forever and ever.
Psalm. Give ear, O My people, to My Law:
incline your ears to the words of My mouth.
The Gloria Patri The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
O almighty and most merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldst have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense:
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvelous things. Hallelujah!
God's blessings - Brett and Amy Meyer - 36th Anniversary.
Michael Oak and Amanda Meyer were married five years ago on October 16th. Blessed by baby June. Congratulations and God's continued blessings.
Lori Howell is being treated in Houston.
Ongoing medical - Alicia Meyer; Kermit Way; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris; Doc Lito's wife is doing better.
Glen Kotten lost his father.
Bethany members are getting email connections together via gmail.
Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
From the Prison in Rome - Paul's Teaching
KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
We do not usually think so much about how Biblical passages are written. This is a special one, which seems to be written in Ephesus, but was written in the Rome prison. Paul was a long distance away from Ephesus and wanted to strengthen that city's faith and the province around it, because Paul's work had spread so much in the past. This was a farewell address filled with wisdom and carefully written.
So he is saying to that large province, "Do not return to the ways of paganism, as if the Faith no longer mattered and the behavior of the past took over again." Americans know from experience that the improvements of the Christian life can be overwhelmed and demolished by laxity and falling away from the worst conduct and conversations. Can we sing real Christmas carols to grade school students, with their parents watching and singing along? No, but the crudest things are paraded as something new, different, and disgusting.
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
We can guess that much of Christianity was pushed away when areas of the Faith were attacked, imprisoned, and lost. But the Gospel came back, often from persecution and spreading the texts in many languages. Paul knew that they had great forces against them in paganism and yet also in the power of the Word.
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
This is the power of God's Word, which is always at work in us. People may resist and oppose the Scriptures but the revelation of God remains the same. That is no less than the teaching of Jesus the Son of God, which takes away our sins and gives us new life.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
The genuine believer is not based on outward gestures and claims, but honesty and truthfulness. There can be misunderstanding for many different reasons. Dishonesty increases problems. Paul says - "putting away lying." Anyone can say, "Lying and lying back will only increase hardship and bad will." But in contrast, "Saying I am sorry decreases friction and long-lasting ill will."
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Anger is often promoted as getting even, which seldom benefits both sides at the same time. The other person is clearly the major fault, as we think to ourselves or we say out loud. But the Holy Spirit responds through Paul - "and sin not." And an even greater and beneficial answer comes from "let not the sun go down on your wrath." Yes, it is easy to seeth vividly all night, or for weeks, or for years.
Giving neighbors roses and flowers can do a lot to soften attitudes and brighten smiles. One man said about a glass with a flower, "What's that for?" I said, "Mother's Day." He said, "I'm not a mother." I said, "I am pretty certain you had one. This is to honor her," Other responses are very grateful and some are neutral in appearance. We finally had a long, hard rain on the roses yesterday. Today they are the Queen of Sweden and Enchanted Peace.
27 Neither give place to the devil.
We are much more inclined to give place to the devil - another way to avoid the problems coming from our excuses. We may think our response is justified by gettin- even, but justification by gettin-even throws flames on the fire.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Ending of Ephesians 4
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
No comments:
Post a Comment