Proper 23 (2025)

Paris Otterbein

*Opening Prayer

*Call to Worship

(Psalm 66:1–12)

Leader: Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name!

People: We bring our thanksgiving to the Lord, whose steadfast love endures forever.

Leader: The Lord has tested us, refined us as silver is refined.

People: Yet He has brought us out into a spacious place.

Leader: Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds among His people!

People: We give thanks and lift our praise, for the Lord has done great things for us.

All Together: Let us worship the God of mercy, whose grace calls forth songs of gratitude.

Hymn #4 How Great Thou Art

Scripture Reading

2 Kings 5:1–3, 7–15 - Dan

2 Kings 5:1–3 NIV

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

2 Kings 5:7–15 NIV

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Hymn #463 (both verses) Precious Lord Take My Hand

Silent Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Children's Message

Scripture Reading

Luke 17:11–19 NIV

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Sermon The Prayer of Gratitude

Last week we talked about the prayer of humility. This week, we turn to the prayer of gratitude. Now, I can imagine two objections this morning. The first being that the prayer of thanksgiving ought to be where we start. Shouldn’t every prayer begin with Thanksgiving?

The problem with this though is that we often are not thankful unless we are first humble. In other words, if we are not humble, then we do not recognize all the gifts God has given us. We think instead of all the things we have earned. All that we have worked for. All we deserve. And our egos become puffed up and we actually are not thankful to God but to ourselves. So humility needs to come before Thanksgiving.

Now, having said that, I can already hear a second objection, “but this isn’t November. November is the month for Thanksgiving.” But to this objection, I say, aren’t we to be grateful each and every day for the things God does for us?

Why is it we constantly tell our kids to say “thank you” when they receive a gift and yet, we so often fail to give thanks to the best gift giver there is? Our text this morning teaches us more about the way we are to respond to God.

As Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He passes an area where there are ten men with leprosy. Now leprosy has come to refer to a very specific type of skin ailment. However, in Jesus’ day, leprosy could have been any type of issue of the skin. If you have ever had psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, a fungal infection like ringworm, chronic sores, impetigo, seborrheic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, a persistent skin lesion such as cancer, or even true leprosy itself, you might have been labeled a “leper” in Jesus’ day.

And the Old Testament law was very specific about how those with leprosy were to behave. They were forced to live outside the borders of the city without any contact of friends or family. They could not work to support their famiies. They could not participate in religious activities. They were socially and relationally cut off. Imagine never being touched. Never being hugged by your children. Watching life happen from outside the city walls.

And we see these men coming to ask Jesus for help but standing “at a distance” and calling “out in a loud voice”. “Have pity on us.” Now, Jesus could have put out his hand and touched each and every one of them to bring them healing. Instead, He tells them to go to the priests. Again, for a bit of clarity, the priests were the closest thing they had to doctors. They examined the skin and determined if it was contagious and if it would be okay for them to return to society. So what Jesus tells them to do is perfectly reasonable.

And Luke records that as they went they were cleansed. Their leprosy left them. And one of them realized he was healed. Now, my guess is that when one realized he was healed he didn’t keep it to himself but said something to the rest of them. They were traveling in a group together and I would imagine a healing like this would have caught their attention so that surely someone would have said, “Look, we’re healed.”

And one of them, upon realizing he was healed came back to praise God. He recognized the healing came from Christ. And Luke tells us the one who came back was the Samaritan. The non-Jew. The outsider as far as the Jews were concerned. He realized the work of God in his healing.

And while Jesus ponders why this one was the only one to return, it’s certain He knew. But it reinforces the message of Christ, He came to redeem everyone. And He says to this one who returns, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

This is different than the healing. He had already been healed. This word, “well” is really the word “wholeness.” You see, being made whole is different than being healed. Healed can be in our physical body, while being made whole happens at a spiritual level. So this man was not only healed physically, he was made whole spiritually. Because he had come back to say thanks to Christ.

This morning, we may be in danger of being more like the 9 than the 1. We have accepted Christ’s forgiveness and affirm He has saved us but that’s as far as it’s gone. We have our ticket to heaven but we aren’t whole. God has saved us but He hasn’t changed us much. And the truth is we need Him. Every day we need to give Him thanks and allow Him to continue to make us whole.

Praise Song Lord I Need You

Giving of Tithes and Offering

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

Hymn #563 Count Your Blessings

*Benediction

Sanctuary