Our good Lord and only King Jesus Christ says:

Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

Matthew 25,40

Let us pray:

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that Thy faithful people do unto Thee true and laudable service: Kindle in our hearts, we beseech Thee, the fire of Thy love, that we may faithfully serve Thee and our neighbour in this life according to Thy will, that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for the 13th Sunday after Trinity

The Introit invites us to sing our Lord´s praises:

How blessed is the one who obeys the Lord, who takes great delight in keeping his commands.
His descendants will be powerful on the earth; the godly will be blessed.
His house contains wealth and riches; his integrity endures.
In the darkness a light shines for the godly, for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.
It goes well for the one who generously lends money, and conducts his business honestly.
For he will never be shaken; others will always remember one who is just.
He does not fear bad news.
He is confident; he trusts in the Lord.
His resolve is firm; he will not succumb to fear before he looks in triumph on his enemies.
He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures.
He will be vindicated and honored.
When the wicked see this, they will worry; they will grind their teeth in frustration and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 112

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Each of you must respect his mother and his father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God… You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against your neighbor. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

“‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: You must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord. You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord…

When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. The resident foreigner who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 

Leviticus (3. Mose) 19,1ff.13-18.33f

The holy evangelist and apostle St. John writes

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

1. John 4,7-12 (Sermon)

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.” Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 

Jesus replied: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring olive oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’

Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 10,25-37

Prayer of this week

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Lord God, You served Your people of old through priest and Levite, who of themselves could never heal the curse of the Law. Give us Christ Jesus, the true Priest, who with His oil and wine is able fully to heal all wounds, forgive all sins and bring us to eternal rest. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, You gave the old covenant through angels to train Israel in Your Law. Bless the ministers of Your new covenant to proclaim forgiveness, life and salvation to all nations in the stead and by the command of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Righteous Lord, by our wickedness we merit many of the evils that befall us; nevertheless, cut short Your wrath. Make room for repentance, and forgive us for the sake of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God, Father of us all, turn the hearts of Christian brother to brother, that those who fall into sin would be brought to repentance and not be rebuked beyond measure, but rather be restored to the communion of the faithful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Holy Lord, preserve Your gift of marriage against the ravages of sin, the schemes of the devil and the raging of the world. Bless the couples and families of our congregation especially Matt & Kathy, Mark & Mindy, Piet & Sigrid, Wilhelm and Angelika, Detlev & Biljana, Friederike & Olly, Don and Cheryl, Michael and Janet, Scott and Mary-Ann. Strengthen them in love and care for one another, and establish them on the foundation of Your Word. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Lord and King, You appoint our earthly rulers to urge the good and punish the wicked. Grant both justice and restraint in their punishments, that goodness and grace may be established in our land. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, wherever the wicked strip and wound, and wherever the devil seeks our fall, You meet us with healing and grace to endure. Soothe and lift up the ill and the dying and all in need: Karin, Christoph, June. Carry them to find rest in You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, as Satan once overcame our first parents through the eating of the tree’s fruit, so overcome him now among us by the fruit of Your Son’s cross, His body and blood given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Bless all who commune with repentance and faith, that in the comfort of the Gospel they may be cleansed and prepared for eternal life with You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen.

LCMS One-Year-Series

+ Dominum vobiscum +

The Lord bless Thee, and keep Thee;

The Lord make his face shine upon Thee, and be gracious unto Thee;

The Lord lift up his countenance upon Thee + give Thee peace.

Numbers 6,24-26 (4th Book of Moses)