The Psalm for this 1st Sunday after Trinity
I will praise the Lord at all times;
Psalm 34 by David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech.
my mouth will continually praise him.
I will boast in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise his name together.
I sought the Lord’s help and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.
This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s loyal followers and delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed is the one who takes shelter in him.
Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.
Do you want to really live?
Would you love to live a long, happy life?
Then make sure you don’t speak evil words
or use deceptive speech.
Turn away from evil and do what is right.
Strive for peace and promote it.
The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.
But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.
The godly cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers those who are discouraged.
The godly face many dangers,
but the Lord saves them from each one of them.
He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
Evil people self-destruct;
those who hate the godly are punished.
The Lord rescues his servants;
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.
The hymn for this 1st Sunday after Trinity
From God can nothing move me;
He will not step aside
But gently will reprove me
And be my constant guide.
He stretches out His hand
In evening and in morning,
My life with grace adorning
Wherever I may stand.When those whom I regarded
As trustworthy and sure
Have long from me departed,
God’s grace shall still endure.
He rescues me from sin
And breaks the chains that bind me.
I leave death’s fear behind me;
His peace I have within.The Lord my life arranges;
Who can His work destroy?
In His good time He changes
All sorrows into joy.
So let me then be still
My body. Soul, and spirit
His tender care inherit
According to His willEach day at His good pleasure
God’s gracious will is done.
He sent His greatest treasure
In Jesus Christ, His Son.
He ev’ry gift imparts.
The bread of earth and heaven
Are by His kindness given.
Praise Him with thankful hearts!Praise God with acclamation
And in His gifts rejoice.
Each day finds its vocation
Responding to His voice.
Soon years on earth are past;
But time we spend expressing
The love of God brings blessing
That will forever last!Yet even though I suffer
The world’s unpleasantness,
And though the day’s grow rougher
And bring me great distress,
That day of bliss divine,
Which knows no end or measure,
And Christ, who is my pleasure,
Forever shall be mine.For thus the Father willed it,
Ludwig Helmbold (1532-1598): “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen…”
Who fashioned us from clay;
And His own Son fulfilled it
And brought eternal day.
The Spirit now has come,
To us true faith has given;
He leads us home to heaven.
O praise the Three in One!
Watchword for this 1st Sunday after Trinity
The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
Luke 10:16
The Old Testament lesson for the 1st Sunday after Trinity:
These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.
Deuteronomy (5th Book of Moses) 6:4-9
The epistle lesson for the 1st Sunday after Trinity
God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. We love because he loved us first.
If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.
1st Letter of St. John 4:16b-21
The Holy Gospel for the 1st Sunday after Trinity
Our Lord Jesus Christ told this parable: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
“Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. Sohe called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ So[ch] the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
St. Luke 16:19-31 (The rich man and Lazarus)
The Sermon for the 1st Sunday after Trinity is on the following reading
The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. For there was no one needy among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds were distributed to each, as anyone had need. So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and placed it at the apostles’ feet.
The Acts of the Apostles 4:32-37
Overview of the Divine Service in German
- Entrance Hymn 346, 1-4 Die güldene Sonne … (Paul Gerhardt 1666)
- Readings, lessons and Sermon: Ps.43; Dt.6,4-9 ; 1.Joh.4,16b-21; Lk.16,19-31
- Hymn of the day: 99 Nun bitten wir den hl. Geist ... (Martin Luther 1524)
- Hymn before the sermon: Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (Ludwig Helmbold 1563)
- Sermon Acts 4,32-37
- Hymn after the sermon 387 Geh hin nach Gottes Willen… (Johannes F. Möller 1822)
- Closing hymn 346,6-8 Lass mich mit Freuden … (Paul Gerhardt 1666)
<a href="http://<!– wp:file {"id":20437,"href":"https://wilhelmweber.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/acts-4_32-37-als.mp3"} –> <div class="wp-block-file"><a href="https://wilhelmweber.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/acts-4_32-37-als.mp3">acts-4_32-37-als</a><a href="https://wilhelmweber.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/acts-4_32-37-als.mp3" class="wp-block-file__button" download>Download</a></div> Sermon Outline
- The Holy Christian Church will remain forever by God´s gracious providence
- St. Augustine: Love God himself – and not just as a means to an end!
- Preaching the Gospel of IX: They have Moses and the prophets…
- His grace was with all of them: Whoever hears You hears me!
- Loving our neighbour as ourselves: Taking care of the other´s needs – not using them as a means to an end.
- Bonhoeffer: “Church for others!”
- IX gave his life for us and that we may live… Love for God/fellow humans goes hand in hand.
- Strive, division, envy and conflict – our sins and evils.
- Hananias und Saphira – taking care of themselves, feeling shortchanged…
- Persecusion, expulsion and exile (Synagogue/Rome): Poverty, homelessness, discrimination
- Slavery – childlabour/molestation – prostitution/sex trafficking, Racism
- Nygren: Eros and Agape
- The message continues granting salvation, liberation, and healing
- Eternal home: Church, promised land, paradise
- Family of God: One holy Christian Church
- Human rights, freedom, respect
- Carrying each other´s burdens: “Mitmenschlichkeit” (Ubuntu)
- Martin Luther: Allgemeine Kasten (Common chest)
- Justification of Sinners – Good news for modern man!
- No reason for hybris and megalomania: Judge others higher than yourself
- No reason for despair and giving up: God loves You and so do we!
- God forgives and restores: Thank Him now and always!
- He wants us to live together – forgiven, free and in loving kindness/respect.
- Therefore pray for those that persecute you, bless those that curse you, forgive those, that wrong You + Overcome evil with good +
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