Worship Helps for Lent 4

Artwork: The Return of the Prodigal Son

Artist: Giovanni Francesco Barbieri

Worship Theme: Today we see the sincerity of our Savior’s love. God’s mercies are always waiting for us. God is anxious to forgive us. He pleads that we come to him and be saved. Such constant and free forgiveness doesn’t make sense to human logic. But God’s ways are greater than our ways. If his grace weren’t so great, it couldn’t cover all of our sins. We rejoice in God’s amazing grace which always gives forgiveness for all sins!

Old Testament: Judges 10:6-16

⁶Once again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sihon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. In this way they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.

⁷So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, ⁸who shattered and crushed the people of Israel that year.

For the next eighteen years, the Ammonites oppressed all the people of Israel who were in the territory east of the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ⁹When the Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to wage war against Judah and Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, Israel suffered great distress.

¹⁰Finally the people of Israel called out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, for we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.”

¹¹At this, the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, from the Amorites, from the Ammonites, and from the Philistines? ¹²When the Sidonians and Amalek and Maon oppressed you, and you called out to me, I delivered you from their hands. ¹³It is you who have forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore, I will no longer deliver you. ¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen! Let them deliver you in the time of your distress!”

¹⁵But the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever seems good in your eyes, but please save us today.” ¹⁶When they removed the foreign gods from their midst and served the Lord, he could no longer refrain from relieving the misery of Israel.

1. After the Lord gave the Israelites peace and rest, they went back to their old ways. List the seven different gods they worshiped. How did the Lord punish them?

2. What advice did the Lord give the Israelites when they complained to him?

3. Why didn’t the Israelites follow this advice?

Epistle: James 4:7–10  

⁷So, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded people. ⁹Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.

4. Carefully work through each of James’ short statements in verses 7-10. How do each of these statements flow out of submitting ourselves to God?

Gospel: Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32  

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. ²But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³He told them this parable:

“A certain man had two sons. ¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his wealth with reckless living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He would have liked to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger! ¹⁸I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰“He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him. ²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us eat and celebrate, ²⁴because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

²⁵“His older son was in the field. As he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. ²⁷The servant told him, ‘Your brother is here! Your father killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸The older brother was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

²⁹He answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I’ve been serving you, and I never disobeyed your command, but you never gave me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours arrived after wasting your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

³¹“The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’”

5. What do we learn about God’s grace from the “prodigal”son?

6. What do we learn about God’s grace from the “faithful” son?

Answers:

1. See the list in 10:6. Because they did this, the Lord oppressed them through the Ammonites and the Philistines.

2. The Lord told them to ask the gods they worshiped to help them.

3. The Israelites knew the Lord alone could deliver them. Otherwise they would have first gone to their gods for help. How ironic. The Israelites worshiped false gods, but really didn’t believe they would help. Why, then, did they worship these other gods? It all goes back to the sinful flesh. The flesh hates the true God and will worship anything but him. The sinful worship practices associated with idol worship are very appealing to the sinful flesh.

4. Everything begins with submission to God. Then we flee from the devil. We purify our hearts so they are not filled with lust. We repent of our sins of fighting and quarrelling and humble ourselves under God’s will.

5. We learn that our sins do not nullify God’s grace.  “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20).  God gladly receives and forgives every penitent sinner, no matter how many or how terrible our sins.

6. We learn that we cannot earn God’s grace by our faithful service.  It is given to us freely in Christ, and is always ours though faith (v 31).  Therefore, we should not be offended when God gives His grace freely also to another, no matter how notorious a sinner we might consider them to be.

Putting your faith into action

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, told to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, is a poignant reminder to us of God our Father’s unconditional love. As the father in this parable gave his younger son his share of the estate, welcomed him back after his sin-filled adventures, celebrated his son’s becoming “alive” again—we are reminded of the many times that we have felt unforgivable after some of our indiscretions. As children we probably experienced sinful envy towards brothers, sisters, friends, or television celebrities who seemed to receive better treatment, better “toys” than we were given. We can call upon God for help, and he is there for us—unconditionally. We ask ourselves, “How can God ever forgive me for what I have done?” But he will, and does, unconditionally with love! And God is prepared to offer this unconditional love to EVERYONE! As people of God we are to imitate Christ, including showing this kind of unconditional love to others. We are to respond to God’s love by loving others—unconditionally.

A reading from the Book of Concord for Lent 4

I advise and exhort with warning and threatening, restraint and punishment, the children should be trained early to shun falsehood. They should especially avoid the use of God’s name to support falsehood.  For where children are allowed to do as they please, no good will result.  The world is worse than it has ever been, and there is no obedience, no loyalty, no faith, but only unbridled people.  No teaching or reproof helps them.  This is God’s wrath and punishment for such lewd contempt of this commandment.

On the other hand, children should be urged to honor God’s name and to have it always upon their lips for every-thing that may happen to them or come to their notice.  The true honor of His name is to look to it and call upon it for all consolation.  Then the heart by faith gives God the honor due Him.  Afterward, the lips give Him honor by confession.

This is also a blessed habit and effective against the devil.  He lies in wait to bring us into sin and shame, disaster and trouble.  But he hates to hear God’s name and cannot remain long where it is called upon from the heart.  Many terrible disasters would fall upon us if God did not preserve us by our calling upon His name.  I learned by experience that often great suffering was immediately averted by calling on God.  To confuse the devil, I say, we should always have this holy name in our mouth, so that the devil may not be able to injure us as he wishes. – Large Catechism, Second Commandment (paragraphs 69-72)

397  Just As I Am, without One Plea

1  Just as I am, without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me

And that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

2  Just as I am and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

3  Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

4  Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need, in thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

5  Just as I am, thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

6  Just as I am; thy love unknown Has broken ev’ry barrier down.

Now to be thine, yea, thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789–1871.