1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
Psalm 17:6-9 (NIV)
Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.
St. Francis de Sales
For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
Amos 5:12-15 (NIV)
Father, if we profess to be your children, help us to pursue gentleness in our lives. Help us to be gentle not only to others but also to ourselves. Amen.
A Call to Persevere
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Jude 17-21 (NIV)
1 Timothy 6:11 (NIV)
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 32:1-7 (NIV)
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 1:16-18 (NIV)
Today’s Passage: Luke 19:1-10
Opening Prayer: Father God, we need you. Move in our lives. Touch our hearts. Change us. Draw us close and hold us tight. May Your voice be the only one we hear. May there be comfort in knowing You. You are my lighthouse. May it always be so! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!
Opening Song: Rend Collective – My Lighthouse (Official Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reAlJKv7ptU
Message [used with permission from A Sermon for Every Sunday]: An Interruption in Jericho – The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost by Barbara Lundblad, the Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching Emerita at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
If you attended Sunday School as a child, you probably know today’s story well. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.” Barbara Lundblad, a preaching professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, preaches on this familiar passage from Luke 19:1-10. As a child we don’t think about the economics of the passage. We don’t think much about Zacchaeus being a tax collector and what that meant. Lundblad says, “Zacchaeus knew that making a living wasn’t the same as making a life,” He’d heard that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners…what if that were true?” What if Jesus could be your friend too? How could that change your life?
Closing Song: Rend Collective – Rescuer (Good News) [Official Music Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAg7rn7fH3Q
Closing Prayer: Father God, how is it that You can love us the way You do? Such a blessing that we are known by You… loved by You! May we always seek to be in Your presence. There is Good News. It is found in Jesus Christ! May the Spirit guide us into a greater understanding of this Truth! In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen!
Epilogue: Seek – Mover of Mountains – Citipointe Worship (Official)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loLvSiBFTgI
Faithfully Yours Forever 