Proper 13 (2025)

Paris Otterbein - 08.03.2025

*Opening Prayer

*Call to Worship

(Based on Psalm 107:1-9, 43)

Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

People: His steadfast love endures forever!

Leader: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so—those He has redeemed from trouble.

People: He satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things.

Leader: Let those who are wise give heed to these things.

People: Let us consider the steadfast love of the Lord!

All: Amen.

Hymn #275 How Firm A Foundation

Scripture Reading Luke 12:13-21 Karen

Luke 12:13–21 NIV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Hymn #371, v. 2 Have Thine Own Way

Silent Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Children's Message

Scripture Reading

Colossians 3:1–11 NIV

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Sermon

I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: if we think Christianity is only about securing a “ticket to heaven,” we have missed the point entirely. Being a Christian is far more than adding Jesus to our list of relationships. It means dying to ourselves so that we can live in Christ. Listen to how Paul puts it in his letter to the Colossians: “Since you have been raised with Christ…” But you can’t be raised unless you’ve first died. Now Paul isn’t talking about physical death here—he’s talking about a spiritual one.

Many of you know this better than I do: when you plant a seed, the seed must die in order to produce life. If it doesn’t fully die, it either won’t grow or will grow improperly. In the same way, if we cling to our own desires instead of surrendering fully to Christ, we cannot bear the fruit He desires to grow in us. Again, as Paul is writing to this church, he is trusting they have truly died to themselves and been “raised with Christ.” With this in mind, Paul challenges them to “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

Let me ask you a question this morning: How many things are you worried about? How many thoughts keep you up at night as you toss and turn trying to silence them from your minds? It might be one, it might be many.

But how many of those things will matter in 100 years? How many of those things you worry about will follow you into eternity?

I have had the sacred privilege to be at the bedsides of people who were about to pass away. And if they had any regrets or lingering concerns, they were never about bank accounts or careers. They were always about things that last—matters of eternity.

Isn’t it striking? We so often say, ‘I’m stressed, I’m tired, I’m overwhelmed.’ But when we look at the life of Jesus, we don’t hear Him speaking like that. Why? Because His focus was always on the eternal.

Because His focus was always in the realm of the eternal and being His followers, as the church of Colossae was, Paul challenges us to set our hearts on things above.

In verse 5, Paul begins listing what belongs to our earthly nature—but don’t mistake this as a complete list. He’s showing us the kinds of things that pull our hearts away from Heaven.

And notice, Paul doesn’t just encourage the church to “stop doing these things” or “try to stop doing these things.” Instead, he very clearly and firmly says, “Put them to death.” And what happens if the seed doesn’t die completely? If it doesn’t fully die, it either won’t grow or will grow improperly.

This morning we are receiving communion. This is the ultimate reminder of what Christ did for us. Giving His body to be broken for us. Giving His blood to be shed for us. This is an opportunity for us this morning to put off our old self with its practices and put on the new self which is being renewed in the image of its Creator. It’s a chance for us to die to self in order to live for Christ. Let’s prepare our hearts to receive this meal together.

Communion

Giving of Tithes and Offering

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

Hymn #379 Take My Life And Let It Be

*Benediction

Go now as those who have died with Christ and been raised to new life.

Set your hearts on things above,

and live each moment for what is eternal.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—Amen.

Sanctuary