Items for the week of Sunday, August 23rd

This past Sunday, August 23^rd, was the 13^th Sunday after Pentecost

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

Introduction
In Isaiah the people are advised to look to their spiritual ancestors as the rock from which they were hewn. Jesus declares that the church will be built on the rock of Peter’s bold confession of faith. God’s word of reconciliation and God’s mercy are keys to the church’s mission. Paul urges us to not be conformed to this world but to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, using our individual gifts to build up the body of Christ. From the table we go forth to offer our spiritual worship through word and deed.

Prayer of the Day
O God, with all your faithful followers of every age, we praise you, the rock of our life. Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son, that we may gladly minister to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Scripture
Isaiah 51:1-6 The enduring foundation of God’s salvation
Psalm 138 O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever. (Ps. 138:8)
Romans 12:1-8 One body in Christ, with gifts that differ
Matthew 16:13-20 The profession of Peter’s faith

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

Devotion for the Week
Revealing God

Jesus came to earth as God incarnate, meaning “in or having bodily form.” This was no accident. The prophets of the past had used their bodies and their words so people could understand God. In Christ, God was revealed in flesh and blood, allowing us to know who God is and what God’s priorities are for creation.

Peter points this out to us, saying that Christ is “the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). As a living God, moving among us as Jesus Christ, God reveals Godself directly. God reveals the divine nature and priorities through Jesus’ earthly life. Jesus lives without possessions, sharing in the suffering of people who are poor and oppressed. On the Galilean coast he feeds thousands of people before teaching them. He befriends outcasts like Zacchaeus the tax collector and the Canaanite woman. He calls out the greed and misplaced priorities of the wealthy by flipping tables. Instead of merely telling us, Christ incarnate shows us that God has a serious concern for all people on the margins of society.

As the church is formed into the body of Christ, we too now reveal to the world who God is and what God’s priorities are. How does our ministry show God’s concern for those who are poor and marginalized today? Do we seek out and walk alongside people cast out by dominant society? Do we not only preach the word but make sure people are fed as well?

By accompanying our neighbors in their struggles for dignity, justice, and the right to flourish, we do the good work of followers of Jesus, striving with God for the end of all oppression and death, for a world made whole.