Manuscript for November 8

 INVOCATION

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 INTROIT   Psalm 130

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
Out of the depths
I cry to you, O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

 

COLLECT OF THE DAY

O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

OLD TESTAMENT READING Micah 6:6–8

⁶“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
⁷Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
⁸He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

A This is the Word of the Lord.

 

EPISTLE Philippians 1:3–11

³I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

 

HOLY GOSPEL

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eighteenth chapter.

²¹Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

 P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

APOSTLES’ CREED

 

611 CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE

1 Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me,
Died that I might live on high,
Lives that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine. 

2 Oh, the height of Jesus’ love,
Higher than the heav’ns above,
Deeper than the depths of sea,
Lasting as eternity!
Love that found me—wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not.

3 Only Jesus can impart
Balm to heal the wounded heart,
Peace that flows from sin forgiv’n,
Joy that lifts the soul to heav’n,
Faith and hope to walk with God
In the way that Enoch trod.

4 Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own.
He sustains the hidden life
Safe with Him from earthly strife.

5 O my Savior, help afford
By Your Spirit and Your Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.

Text: Public domain

 

Matthew 18

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

“I don’t get mad; I get even.” So the saying goes. Not reconciliation, but retaliation is the operating principle in this world. Likewise, the sinful nature within each of us never thinks to forgive, only thinks to give back in the way it was given. Jesus tells us a parable that points out the horrible silliness of the unforgiving ways of the world and our sinful nature.

We, who have been forgiven by God because of Jesus Christ, are called to forgive others. When we talk to God about our trespasses, we are invited to ask for His forgiveness and then in the same breath, we are invited to forgive the trespasses of those others. Our forgiveness of our friends and neighbors must be inspired from God’s forgiveness.

Consider how Jesus words it in this parable in Matthew 28. The debt to be forgiven was great. 10,000 talents in Jesus’ story. Millions of dollars. The servant didn’t have what it took to repay the debt he owed. Really, he would have never been able to repay it on his own. The lesson is, our debt of sin is big. It’s significant and meaningful. It includes the horrid things we’ve done. The harmful things we’ve said. The evil we have thought. It involves also the times when we turned up our noses at the opportunity to do good, to help, to care.

We can’t brush off our guilt. We can’t make excuses. It does no good to say, “Well, I’m not as bad as some”. Your only hope, my only hope, is to get help and relief from somewhere else. And the only place in heaven or earth for that is the cross of Jesus. The debt of sin is great. So the cost of paying it was great, the death of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus paid it down to the last penny.

Our Introit this morning comes from Psalm 130

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

Now because of Jesus, God is gracious and willing to erase the mark of your iniquities. For you who believe, God forgives you all your sins. 

It is when we believe that, when we trust in the forgiveness of our Lord, that we can happily forgive others.

By faith, God is at work, creating us all over again, conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ the great forgiver of sins. So we begin to take on His shape, His attitude, His love. As we have been forgiven, so we forgive those who have trespassed against us. This isn’t exactly “forgive and forget”. Sometimes Christians think they are failing at it, if they can’t forget past wrongs. You can’t control memories. The memory of past wrongs might disturb you from time to time. But these bad memories don’t have to control you. They ought not to steal your present peace of mind. They don’t necessarily mean the end of relationships.

Another thing Jesus teaches us in this parable, and by His own example, and words, is this: He puts no limits on His forgiveness. He will not let you despair and think, “Ach, maybe God forgives some people, good Christian people, people who have straightened up their act. But me, I’m not redeemable.” No! Put those thoughts far away from you and hear the love of Jesus. He forgives. He saves.

So like Jesus, our forgiveness has no limits. Peter was thinking about limits. How many times, Lord? When can I get to the point and say, I have had it.”

Vengeance is not for us to play with. Patience is a virtue toward which we strive.

The world in which we live is crazy, getting crazier. Sanity is to be found in the mind of Christ. It was appalling to the other servants in the parable that the newly forgiven guy, could be so unforgiving to his fellow servant. Now in our day, it’s appalling to see such rancor and spite among the people of our nation, are bickering and spitting mad. No one seems to have even a little care to reconcile.

If you are hearing this message from Matthew 18, know that Jesus is here calling you to be like Him, to love like Him, to forgive like Him.

I imagine some are hearing this and thinking, “This is tough.” you don’t understand how hurt I am, how angry I am, how impossible it is for me to forgive so-and-so.”

That’s right, I don’t know. I haven’t seen what all you’ve gone through. I can’t feel how heavy a burden you’ve got on you right now. But I know Jesus does. And I know He is working on you. And I know the promise of Philippians 1:6 “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Amen.

 

OFFERTORY LSB 192

C Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.

 

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

For all who have been baptized into Christ, that, filled with the fruit of His righteousness, they would do justice, love kindness, walk humbly and have their love abound more and more, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For our Synod president Harrison; our district president Saunders; and all pastors in Christ, that they would desire to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified as they serve in His stead and by His command, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For this congregation and all congregations in our Synod, that our members would love one another, bear one another’s burdens and be quick to forgive one another, so that all grudges and bitterness would be removed from among the people of God, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For good stewardship among God’s children, that, recognizing that all they have is a gift from above, they would with thankful hearts faithfully support their congregations and be eager to share their blessings with those in need, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For our governing authorities, that they would lead according to God’s will so that the people of our land may live peaceful and quiet lives, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For all who are sick or suffering in any way, and for all who have requested our prayers, [including ______________,] that they would be relieved of their afflictions, according to the Lord’s will, or strengthened to endure, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P For all the faithful who have departed this vale of tears and now experience heavenly bliss, let us give thanks to the Lord; that we would be kept in the faith until our Lord Jesus returns in great glory, and join with them in the feast that never ends, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

P Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

C Amen.

 

LORD’S PRAYER

C Our Father who art in heaven,

     hallowed be Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth

          as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses

          as we forgive those

          who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

     and the power and the glory

     forever and ever. Amen.

 

BENEDICAMUS LSB 202

A Bless we the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

BENEDICTION LSB 202

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

C Amen.

 

 

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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