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Proper 27 / Pentecost 23 / Ordinary Time 32

Worship
Matthew 25:1-13
Amos 5:18-24
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Psalm 70
Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
Gathering
Begin with a choir anthem this morning, as an element of surprise, creating a sense that things will not always be the same. If possible, have the choir sing from a different place in the sanctuary.

Prayer Of The Day
P: O God of mercy, our hope is in you. Open our ears, that the proclamation of your coming kingdom may rouse us from our complacency, so that we would be ready to greet you when you come in glory, our Savior and our Lord.
C: Amen.

Offertory Prayer
A: Let your gifts be gifts of love;
your offerings, the fruit of God's peace.
C: Amen.

Benediction
P: God grant you wisdom
to live each day as if it were your last,
letting go of that which is unnecessary
and taking hold of all that has been promised.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

Hymns And Songs
Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers -- LBW 25; PH 15; MBW 256
Wake, Awake For Night Is Flying -- LBW 31; UMH 720; PH 17; MBW 258
The Lord Will Come And Not Be Slow -- LBW 318 (alt. tune: KINGSFOLD)
God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending -- LBW 408 (alt. tune: BEACH SPRING); PH 422; MBW 652
Arise, My Soul, Arise -- LBW 516
Surely It Is God Who Saves Us -- WOV 635 (alt. tune: MISSISSIPPI)
O Day Of Peace -- WOV 762; UMH 729; PH 450
Let Justice Flow Like Streams -- WOV 763
Oh, Sing To The Lord/Cantad Al Senor -- WOV 795; PH 472; GATHER 365
Somebody's Knockin' At Your Door -- TFF 44; G&P 354

Choral Music
"The Lord Will Soon Appear" -- J. S. Bach, arr. Hal H. Hopson (Augsburg Fortress)
"Wake, Awake For Night Is Flying" -- arr. Freidrich Zipp (Concordia)
"Sign Me Up" -- GATHER 579
"Zion Hears The Watchman Singing" -- arr. Leavitt (GIA)
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Epiphany 4 (OT 4)
28 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 5 (OT 5)
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
39 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 6 (OT 6)
32 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
35 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For February 16, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
Valentine’s Day isn’t likely a prominent part of our liturgical calendar, and it doesn’t factor into our lectionary assignments. Yet it is part of our culture and therefore on our people’s radar. There’s a better chance that they personally observe Valentine’s Day, after all, than Transfiguration Sunday or Christ the King Sunday.  
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
Jeremiah 17:5-10
John Wesley nicely describes our sinful condition implied in this text. He writes:

There is nothing so false and deceitful as the heart of man. It is deceitful in the apprehension of things, in the hopes and promises which it nourishes, in the assurances that it gives us. It is unsearchable by others, deceitful with reference to ourselves, and abominably wicked so that neither can a man know his own heart nor can any other know that of his neighbor's. (Commentary On the Bible, p.344)

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. (vv. 17-20)

Gertie Frye was my Sunday School teacher in the Beginners Class at the Loyd Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1954. Gertie was a small, humble, sweet, quiet woman who exuded a joy and warmth that drew children to her.

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A mirror. Ideally, find a large mirror like you would put on the back of a door to use when dressing. Any mirror will do, but a large one that everyone can see easily will be more fun.

* * *

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority The local community Those who suffer The communion of saints

These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

SermonStudio

Gregory L. Tolle
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (vv. 17-19)

In the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, a young, hotshot banker in the 1940s. His life changes drastically when he is convicted for the murder of his wife and her secret lover and is sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank Prison.

James Evans
(See Proper 20/Pentecost 18/Ordinary Time 25, Cycle B for an alternative approach.)

The writer of Psalm 1 has created a timeless image of human existence as a tree. The image of a tree allows the poet to proclaim in graphic terms the effects of having, and not having, a viable relationship with God. The tree, as a durable life form, symbolizes well the significance and importance of seeking and living a faithful life.

Gary L. Carver
One of my all-time favorite television programs was M*A*S*H. In the early episodes, Frank Burns and Hot Lips Houlihan were an item. Often they were pitted against Trapper John and Hawkeye. In one such episode, Frank and Hot Lips had been trying to "do-in" Hawkeye but had failed. Hawkeye now had the upper hand, and Radar said, "Why don't you do to them what they were trying to do to you?" Hawkeye said, "Look at them! They're each just one-half of a person and when they come together, they barely make a whole person. They have enough troubles of their own."

Steven E. Albertin
It was the dirty secret. We were never supposed to talk about it openly. When it was discussed, it was in hushed whispers behind the closed doors of private homes. No, it had nothing to do with sex. It had to do with why my best friends would never eat meat on Fridays. It had to do with that strange ritual called the Rosary. It had to do with those strange women dressed in black and white who looked like penguins. I grew up in a small southeastern Wisconsin town in the 1950s where the majority of the population was either Lutheran or Roman Catholic.

Special Occasion

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