Zion Lutheran

Fourth Sunday in Advent December 23, 2007   GOSPEL Matthew 1:18-25   Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth focuses on the role of Joseph, who adopts the divinely-begotten child into the family of David and obediently gives him the name Jesus, which means “God saves.”

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  ²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  ²³“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.”  ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,  ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

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First Sunday in Advent December 2, 2007   GOSPEL Matthew 24:36–44   Jesus describes his second coming as a sudden, unexpected event that will bring salvation or judgment upon people caught up in the usual affairs of daily life. He urges people to be alert and expectant.   ³⁶But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,  ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.  ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.  ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.  ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.  ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

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Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost November 18, 2007   GOSPEL Luke 21:5-19   Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ teaching about the last days emphasizes the necessity for responsible behavior in the time between Jesus’ ascension and the second coming.

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,  ⁶As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.              ⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”  ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.              ⁹When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.  ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;  ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.              ¹²But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.  ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify.  ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;  ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.  ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name.  ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish.  ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.

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Reformation Sunday October 28, 2007   READING FOR THE DAY Romans 3:19-28   Paul’s words stand at the heart of the preaching of Martin Luther and the other Reformation leaders. No human beings make themselves right with God through works of the law. We are brought into a right relationship with God through the divine activity centered in Christ’s death. This act is a gift of grace that liberates us from sin and empowers our faith in Jesus Christ.   ¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  ²⁰For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.              ²¹But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,  ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,  ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;  ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;  ²⁶it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.              ²⁷Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.  ²⁸For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

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Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost October 14, 2007   GOSPEL Luke 17:11-19   A Samaritan leper becomes a model for thanksgiving. He does not take for granted the kindness shown to him but takes time to thank Jesus and to glorify God.   ¹¹On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.  ¹²As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  ¹⁴When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.  ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.  ¹⁶He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.  ¹⁷Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?  ¹⁸Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”  ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

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Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost September 23, 2007  

GOSPEL  Luke 16:1–13

Jesus tells the story of a dishonest man who cheats his employer and then is commended by him for having acted so shrewdly. Even so, he reminds his disciples, “You cannot serve God and wealth.   

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.  ²So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’  ³Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.  ⁴I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’  ⁵So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’  ⁶He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’  ⁷Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’  ⁸And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.  ⁹And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.              ¹⁰Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.  ¹¹If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  ¹²And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?  ¹³No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

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Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 9, 2007

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Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 26, 2007

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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost August 5, 2007

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Eighth Sunday after Pentecost July 22, 2007

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