Proper 21 (2025)

Paris Otterbein

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

Entrance

*Opening Prayer

*Call to Worship

(Based on Psalm 146)

Leader: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

People: We will praise the Lord all our lives; we will sing praise to our God as long as we live.

Leader: Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.

People: Our hope is in the Lord our God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

Leader: The Lord upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.

People: The Lord sets prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind.

Leader: The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

People: The Lord reigns forever, to all generations.

All Together: Come, let us worship the God who seeks the humble and raises the lowly!

Hymn #8 Praise To The Lord, The Almighty

Scripture Reading

Amos 6:1, 4-7 Velda

Amos 6:1 NIV

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

Amos 6:4–7 NIV

You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Hymn # 435, v. 3 Spirit Of The Living God

Silent Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Children's Message Kolaya

Scripture Reading

Luke 16:19–31 NIV

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Sermon

Now, some of you here will know exactly what I’m talking about but what I’m about to say may be difficult for others of you to imagine. There was a time when the primary method of communication in this country was mail. Yes, at one time people actually used pencil and paper and wrote words to communicate their thoughts and feelings and experiences to those who were important to them. I know, it’s shocking but it’s true.

One example was the second U.S. president, John Adams, and the future First Lady, Abigail, who carried on a remarkable courtship and lifelong marriage largely through letters. Now, Luke 16 may not be about a letter but about missed communication.

Jesus tells those listening a parable about two men. One man is rich and who enjoys the best this world has to offer. The other is a poor man who was hungry and “longed to eat what fell from the table.” The dogs licked his sores. And in Biblical times, dogs were not “pets” but “pests”.

But both men die. The poor man goes to heaven. The rich man goes to Hades, to hell. And just like we don’t know exactly what Heaven is like, I admit to not knowing exactly what hell is like. But Jesus says this rich man “was in torment.”

Yet, somehow, while he is being tormented in hell, this man who had been rich on earth, who was arrogant and proud, can see Abraham with Lazarus, the poor beggar at his side.

And the rich man makes a request that Lazarus would cool his tongue because he was in agony in the fire. Now, think of the irony of this for a moment. Lazarus sat just outside this man’s gate being ignored, his needs being ignored, living in misery and now this rich man is in agony and asks the one he had ignored to help him.

Which is a part of what Abraham tells him and then he says, there is a chasm between us that cannot be crossed. So the rich man asks that Lazarus be sent to his brothers to save them from the same kind of suffering he is going through.

But Abraham tells the rich man, this is not necessary because his brothers already have the word, the word of God as found in the books of the law and the prophets. And you and I too, today, have the law and the prophets, and the gospels, and the epistles. You and I have the person of Jesus Christ who came and lived in this world and gave His life for every single person. And all we need to know about Him is found in the 66 books of our Bible.

Do you know what the Bible is? It’s God’s love letter to us. It’s the way He tells us about how, even though we sin, by His grace and His mercy, He sent His Son to die for every single person, to know that everyone would have eternal life.

Praise Hymn Reckless Love

Giving of Tithes and Offering

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

Hymn #452 Make Me A Blessing

*Benediction

Sanctuary