Worship Helps for Pentecost 21
Artwork: The Healing of Ten Lepers
Artist: James Tissot
Date: 1886
Worship Theme: Our faithfulness as Christians is a
response to the faithfulness God has shown toward us. His love for us when we
were unlovable and his salvation for us when we were without hope are divine
acts of faithfulness. These acts inspire us to thanks and praise.
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 12:20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied.
"You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but
serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after
useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they
are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not
reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to
pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24
But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart;
consider what great things he has done for you.
1. The Israelites knew they had been wrong to demand a
king like other nations had. Why did Samuel tell them to serve the LORD with
all their heart? (See 12:21 .)
2. The LORD did not promise to forgive them because they
meant well, etc. Why did he not reject his people? (See 12:22 .)
3. Since God is so faithful to whom he is and what he has
promised, are we safe to disobey him? (See 12:24‒25.)
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not
want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the
province of Asia . We were under great pressure, far
beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we
might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He
has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we
have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you
help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the
gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
4. Why did Paul have such deadly perils in Asia ?
(See 1:9.)
5. What attitude did Paul have about future perils
therefore? (See 1:10 .)
6. What result did Paul foresee, in the end? (See 1:11 .)
Gospel: Luke 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem Samaria Galilee . 12 As he was going into a
village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13
and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the
priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them,
when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16
He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-- and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other
nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except
this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go;
your faith has made you well."
7. One leper came back to say “thanks.” What can the other
nine healed lepers teach us about difficult and prosperous times in life?
8. The
Samaritan’s faith had made him well. How?
Answers:
1. Samuel told them to serve the LORD with all their heart
because the only other option was to serve idols, and those were useless. They
could not rescue. Only the LORD can.
2. The LORD would not reject Israel
3. No, we are not safe to disobey the LORD. We must revere
him with all our heart and keep in mind what great things he has done for us.
If we keep doing evil, he will destroy us.
4. Paul said it had happened so that he, and we, might not
rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead.
5. Paul felt that if God had delivered him before, God
would do it again. We look back on past trials, then look forward with the same
confidence.
6. Paul foresaw the Corinthian Christians joining him in
giving thanks to God. Let us do the same whenever God comes through for us and
for fellow believers. (When was the last time you thanked God for bringing your
pastor, or former pastor, through something difficult?)
7. One thing the other nine lepers can teach us is that
the Lord may use trouble in our lives to turn us to him, but we can harden our
hearts to his goodness. We need to be wary of taking his blessings for granted
in times of comfort and prosperity.
8. Like the hand of a small child gripping the mighty hand
of a world champion power-lifter, the Samaritan’s faith hung onto the most
powerful person possible, the Son of God. When Jesus spoke about going to the
priest, the Samaritan trusted that Jesus had the ability to heal him, and his
trust was rewarded.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
Here we consider the poor
breadbasket, the necessities of our body and of the temporal life. For when you mention and pray for daily
bread, you pray for everything that is necessary in order to have and enjoy
daily bread.
It would be very proper to
place on the coat of arms of every pious prince a loaf of bread instead of a
lion. This would remind both princes and
their subjects that by their office we have protection and peace. Without them, we could not eat and keep our
daily bread. Therefore, princes are also
worthy of all honor. We should give to
them for their office what we ought and can, as to people through whom we enjoy
what we have in peace and quietness. In
addition, we should also pray for them that through them God may bestow on us
more blessings and goods.
Let this be a very brief
explanation, showing how far this petition extends through all conditions on
earth. One could list all the things
that are included, like when we ask God to give us food and drink, clothing,
house and home, and health of body. Or
when we ask that He cause the grain and fruit of the field to grow and mature
well. Furthermore, we ask that He give
and preserve for us a godly wife, children, and servants. We ask that He cause
our work to prosper and succeed, favor us with faithful neighbors and good
friends, and other such things. – Large Catechism, Part III The Lord’s Prayer
(paragraphs 71-72, 75-76)
Comments
Post a Comment