Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

Proper 21, Series A September 25, 2011
Lessons for The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ezekiel 18:1–4, 25–32 ~ Justice must be measured by God’s righteous ways, not by man’s whims.
Psalm 25:1–10 [Antiphon: Ps. 25:4]
Philippians 2:1–4 (5–13) 14–18 ~ Jesus has been given all authority through His suffering service for our sin.
Matthew 21:23–27 (28–32) ~ Jesus’ authority comes from God because He completed the will of His Father.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: Jesus! Name Above All Names!
The name of Jesus is exalted above all others because He willingly gave up His glory in order to be our servant on the cross and speak God’s word of grace in His death and resurrection. In Jesus’ day, when chief priests and elders questioned His authority to teach and heal, Jesus stopped them in their tracks with a single question that exposed their motives: Where did John get his authority to baptize? God told His people through Ezekiel that they must bend their sinful lives to His will because justice is measured by God’s authority.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Jesus, You are my Lord, my Savior! Just as You took on my servant form, so You died that I may live. As I bow my knee in honor to Your name, so bend my whole life to the authority of Your love. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: Because Jesus served us by taking on our servant form and humbling himself under our death on the cross, we are called upon to be servants to those in need, through the use of material things God has placed into our hands.

OFFERING PRAYER: We give You our hearts, O Lord, this day,
For You have made them Your own.
Enlist us in love, O Lord, we pray,
That grace and mercy be shown. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: We often complain: “It’s just not right!” Like the people of Ezekiel’s day, we don’t even own up to our own attitude; we blame it on our environment, our upbringing, or our parents. The question is, who has the authority to decide what is right. The answer is, only God! It is not a matter of political expediency, but of doing the will of God. Jesus bent his life to the task of winning God’s righteousness for us by becoming our servant even in death. By his resurrection, God has given Jesus authority to forgive our sins by his blood.