Items for the week of Sunday, August 30th

This past Sunday, August 30^th, was the 14^th Sunday after Pentecost

We heard the following scripture readings, introduction, and prayer of the day during the Sunday morning worship service:

Introduction

The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the incurable wound of his suffering yet finds in God’s words the delight of his heart. When Peter doesn’t grasp Jesus’ words about suffering, Jesus tells the disciples they will find their lives in losing them. Such sacrificial love is described by Paul when he urges us to associate with the lowly and not repay evil with evil. In worship we gather as a community that we might offer ourselves for the sake of our suffering world.

Prayer of Day

O God, we thank you for your Son, who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. Humble us by his example, point us to the path of obedience, and give us strength to follow your commands, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Jeremiah 15:15-21 God fortifies the prophet against opposition

Psalm 26:1-8 Your love is before my eyes; I have walked faithfully with you. (Ps. 26:3)

Romans 12:9-21 Live in harmony

Matthew 16:21-28 The passion prediction and rebuke to Peter

The Message

If you would like a transcript of the message, please let the office know.

Devotion for the Week

Take Up Your Cross

Jesus issues a difficult invitation to his disciples: “Take up [your] cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). While the disciples may have hoped for a Messiah who would set the world right through satisfying displays of force and strength, Jesus offers them a different vision. His new kingdom or reign will not be built on traditional concepts of power and glory. It is instead a kingdom centered on the cross.

Today we, too, may long for a mighty Messiah to put the world back in order, throw down corrupt rulers from their thrones, and take away suffering once and for all. And like Peter, we may find ourselves crying out in disbelief, “God forbid it, Lord!” (v. 22) when Jesus redirects our gaze to the cross.

The cross reminds us that following Jesus requires nothing less than our whole lives. To follow Jesus is to love our neighbors with a self-sacrificing love, to sit in the discomfort of another’s struggle, and to be willing to lay down our own power and privilege to see the world from our neighbor’s point of view. Following Jesus requires practicing courage as we show up for one another in the least glamorous moments of life: in the hospital room, at the gravesite, in the living rooms of the brokenhearted, in the streets marching for justice. To follow Jesus is to open our hearts to the world’s pain and to practice loving others with God’s generous love, trusting that there is always more than enough.

Putting love of God and neighbor above power, prestige, and comfort is countercultural. It might even get us into trouble. But through Jesus’ own life, death, and resurrection, we are freed to enter into the world’s suffering, trusting that God’s love always gets the last word and that we will indeed be brought to new life through God’s resurrection power.