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Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30

Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle A
Hymns
O God, Our Help In Ages Past (CBH328, NCH25, UM117, LBW320, PH210)
Lord Of Our Growing Years (CBH479, PH279)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand (CBH610, NCH598, UM724, PH10)
Un Mandamiento Nuevo/Jesus A New Commandment (NCH389)
O Jesus Christ, May Grateful Hymns (NCH212, CBH404, PH424)
Spirit Of God, Descend Upon My Heart (NCH290, CBH502, UM500, LBW486, PH326)
Eternal God, Whose Power Upholds (PH412)
Come My Way, My Truth, My Life (LBW513, NCH331, UM164, CBH587)

Anthems
Precious Lord, Take My Hand, Roy Ringwald, Shawnee, SATB
O God, Our Help In Ages Past, Alan Hovhaness, C. F. Peters, SATB
I Will Love The Lord, Michael Bedford, CGA, Unison/2--part
To The Glory Of Our King, Robert Leaf, CGA, Unison

Call to Worship
Leader:Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Men:Before the mountains were brought forth
Women:Or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
People:From everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Leader:Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
People:And prosper for us the work of our hands,
All:O prosper the work of our hands! Amen.

Call to Confession
God knows who we are and what we do even before we know it ourselves. And yet we need to stand before God as God's people and confess our sins together, knowing that we cannot be perfect people. Let us pray together, asking for forgiveness.

Prayer of Confession
Oh Lord, how long? Your people have been asking this question forever. The ancient Israelites asked it as Moses led them across the desert. The psalmists wrote of both personal and corporate sufferings. The early Christians asked it on a daily basis, and still there are people suffering. We ask it, God. How long must we be sick or have loved ones who are ill? How long must we grieve? How long must we send our young men and women to war? How long must there be people sleeping on the street, children starving, and men and women dying from fatal diseases? We know much of the world's suffering comes from people, O God. We turn our backs on others, thinking too much of ourselves. We waste resources and plunder the earth. We don't love each other as you would have us love. Forgive us, God. Help us to look around, see the injustices, and work toward peace in your world. How long, O Lord, will we need to be forgiven? Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness
Jesus was asked, "How many times should we forgive another?" and he replied seventy times seven. God forgives us every time we sin if we repent and turn to Jesus for strength. Jesus was born for us, died for us, rose again for us. Alleluia! Our sins have been forgiven.

Scripture Readings
Psalm 90:1--6, 13--17: The Pslam can be read in addition to either the Deuteronomy text or the Matthew text. Have the choral speaking choir read the Psalm; they should stand in a straight line across the chancel.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

All Voices: Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Voices 1--3: Before the mountains were brought forth,

Voices 4--6: Or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

Voices 7--9: From everlasting to everlasting

All: You are God.

Voices 1--5: You turn us back to dust, and say,

Voices 6--9: Turn back, you mortals.

All: For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

Voices 1--5: You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;

Voices 6--9: In the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

All: Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!

Voices 1--3: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Voices 4--6: Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.

Voices 7--9: Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

All: Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands - O prosper the work of our hands!

Matthew 22:34--46: This passage has the Pharisees testing Jesus. It could be done by the choral speaking choir acting as the Pharisees, gathered in a semicircle around Jesus, like this:
4 5
3 6
2 7
1 8
J

All Voices: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,

Voice 1: And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him,

Voice 8: Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?

Voice 2: Jesus said to him,

Jesus: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Voice 7: Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question:

Jesus: What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?

Voice 3: They said to him,

All Voices: The son of David.

Voice 6: He said to them,

Jesus: How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet' "? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?

Voices 4 and 5: No one was able to give him an answer,

All Voices: Nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Benediction
Leader: Share the gospel of Jesus Christ in all you do and say; share yourselves with those whom you meet. Don't let fear of the unknown overtake you. Be brave and loving in all circumstances, and know that God is with you always. Amen.

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 20 | OT 25 | Pentecost 15
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160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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Proper 21 | OT 26 | Pentecost 16
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Proper 22 | OT 27 | Pentecost 17
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

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The Immediate Word

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For September 21, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Well, it’s autumn, and by now the seeds we planted in the spring either took root and produced or else the weather, pests, rabbits, or our own laziness conspired to make this year’s garden less than a success. But at one point we had to get started and actually plant seeds for the future.

Jeremiah is looking back from the perspective of our spiritual well-being and laments than our spiritual harvest has all been for naught. He wonders if it is now too late for a recovery. Is there no healing, no balm in Gilead, to apply to our wounds?
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Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 and Psalm 79:1-9
In the spring as farmers and gardeners prepare to plant we are looking at a summer of possibilities. Hard work, to be sure, but also potential. What will happen? What will this season be like? At summer’s end there will be no more questions. We’ll know. Maybe it was a great season, and we have canned or frozen many vegetables. Maybe the farmers have brought in a bumper crop and they got a good price besides.

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This message will be based on a game you will play. See the note below.

NOTE: Ask three or more adults to come up and play the role of Simon for your group. Tell them to all speak at once, asking the children to do different things. The goal is to create a nice bit of confusion for the children to experience.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“Hey!” Annie waved at the woman standing next to the open doorway. “Can you come here?”

The woman made her way past the other nursing home residents and stood next to Annie’s wheelchair.

“What can I do for you?”

“You look familiar.” Annie squinted at her. “Do I know your name?”

“I’m Brenda.” The woman pointed at her name tag. “I work in the kitchen and sometimes help serve the meals when they are ready.”

“That’s right. I think we’ve met before.” Annie tapped her lips with her finger. “You have the nice smile.”

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.” In our worship today let us remember the little things in our lives and ask God to help us to be utterly faithful in them.



Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes we pretend that little sins don't matter.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we imagine that you don't notice little sins.

Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
This poignant prayer of lament and community grief gives expression to what it feels like to suffer as a person of faith. If we believe we are truly part of God's community, then the destruction of that community -- as was the case with Israel in 587 B.C. -- becomes a time for doubt, anger, and confusion. Furthermore, if we believe we are individual members of that community, our personal suffering also creates an opportunity for a crisis of faith: "Why didn't God protect me?" Of course, it does not take a national catastrophe to raise those sorts of questions.
Kirk R. Webster
If feedback is the breakfast of champions, perhaps we would do well to examine some of our prayer habits. If you have ever heard someone use The Just Really Prayer, you know exactly what problem we are talking about.

That prayer goes something like this, "Lord, we just really thank you for this day. We come before you and just really pray for mercy. We offer ourselves to you and just really ask that your will be done in our lives. Amen." I'm thankful this particular Just Really prayer was mercifully short, unlike the next example, The Good Guilt-Based Prayer.
John W. Wurster
Another season has come and gone. Promises that were made have not been fulfilled. Good intentions haven't yielded any tangible results. Dreams have not come true. High hopes have proven to be only wishful thinking. Nothing has really changed; nothing has really improved. The time keeps moving along, but we seem stuck in the same ruts. Old routines remain, prejudices persist, dullness and anxiety continue to be constant companions. Lingering in the air is that nagging sense that things aren't quite right, not as they could be, not as they should be.
R. Robert Cueni
In the scripture lesson for today Jesus tells a perplexing parable about a thoroughly dishonest employee who was praised for his dishonesty. In this story Jesus not only seems comfortable suggesting that it is acceptable to compromise with moral failings, but our Lord appears to commend his disciples to "go and do likewise." For centuries, preachers, commentators, and scholars have struggled to make sense of this outrageous tale.

Special Occasion

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