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Watchword for the 12^th Sunday after Pentecost from 1 Peter 5:5:  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The old Testament reading from 2 Samuel 12:1-10. 13-15    The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.  ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.  ⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”  ⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!  ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”  ⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.  ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.  ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.  ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’…Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.  ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”  ¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David…

The epistle to the Ephesians 2:4-10  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions– it is by grace you have been saved.  ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–  ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.  ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The holy Gospel accourding to the evangelist St. Luke 18:9-14  To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:  10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men– robbers, evildoers, adulterers– or even like this tax collector.  12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’  13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Prayer of the Church: Pentecost 12: August 7^th 2016

Heavenly Father, we praise and adore You for Your great love for the human race. In Your only-begotten Son You have provided us the living bread that alone gives eternal life to the world. Grant Your Church faithful servants who will break open the bread of life and summon a lost and dying world to feast on Your gifts at the banquet of faith.

Gracious Lord, in Your mercy remember all who have been entrusted with civil authority and grant them an abundance of wisdom, that they may administer their offices faithfully. Defend all our military personnel that they may wisely and safely carry out their duties, often in dangerous and inhospitable places.

Almighty God, remember all who labor in honest industry and grant them satisfaction in their toil. Remember all who cannot find employment and keep them from discouragement by trusting in Your providence. Keep far from us the temptations of greed and wastefulness, that we may use your good creation wisely and for the good of one another.

Remember in mercy, O Lord, our homes, and by Your Spirit drive from them all bitterness and wrath, anger and clamor. As beloved children, enable us all to imitate You and to walk in the love of Christ who freely gave Himself for us all.

In Your compassion, deliver all who cry to You in the day of trouble that, experiencing Your help, they may glorify Your holy name. Strengthen them to withstand the temptation to worry or pride, and teach them to learn patience in their moment of affliction. Grant us the will to reach out in love to those in need, that through us they may experience the love of Christ.

God of all mercy, as we gather at our Lord’s altar, grant us a firm trust in His gracious promises so that we may not partake of His Holy Supper for judgment, but for forgiveness and eternal life. And when our last hour has come, grant us a blessed end, that we may join the saints and angels in their never-ending hymn of praise.

All these things and whatever else You see that we need, grant to us, your children, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our only Mediator, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.