Trinity Lutheran Jefferson, IA - LCMS
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost 8-31-25
Psalm 75:1–2, 6, 9; antiphon: v. 7
It is God who executes | judgment,*
putting down one and lifting up an- | other. We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your | name is near.* We recount your | wondrous deeds.
At the set time that | I appoint*
I will judge with | equity. For not from the east or | from the west*
and not from the wilderness comes | lifting up.
But I will declare it for- | ever;*
I will sing praises to the God of | Jacob. Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
It is God who executes | judgment,*
putting down one and lifting up an- | other.
Collect
O Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
[Proverbs 25:2-10] 2 It is God's privilege to conceal things and the king's privilege to discover them. 3 No one can discover the height of heaven, the depth of the
earth, or all that goes on in the king's mind! 4 Remove the dross from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith. 5 Remove the wicked from the king's court, and his reign will be made secure by justice. 6 Don't demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great. 7 It is better to wait for an invitation than to be sent to the end of the line, publicly disgraced! Just because you see something, 8 don't be in a hurry to go to court. You might go down before your neighbors in shameful defeat. 9 So discuss the matter with them privately. Don't tell anyone else, 10 or others may accuse you of gossip. Then you will never regain your good reputation.
[Hebrews 13:1-14] Continue to love each other with true Christian love. 2 Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies. 4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. 5 Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you." 6 That is why we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" 7 Remember your leaders who first taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and trust the Lord as they do. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes from God's special favor, not from ceremonial rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.
10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Temple on earth have no right to eat. 11 Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, but the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp.
12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates in order to make his people holy by shedding his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come.
[Luke 14:1-14] One Sabbath day Jesus was in the home of a leader of the Pharisees. The people were watching him closely, 2 because there was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, "Well, is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?" 4 When they refused to answer, Jesus
touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he turned to them and asked, "Which of you doesn't work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don't you proceed at once to get him out?" 6 Again they had no answer. 7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 "If you are invited to a wedding feast, don't always head for the best seat. What if someone more respected than you has also been invited? 9 The host will say, 'Let this person sit here instead.' Then you will be embarrassed and will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! 10 "Do this instead-- sit at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, 'Friend, we have a better place than this for you!' Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored." 12 Then he turned to his host. "When you put on a luncheon or a dinner," he said, "don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will repay you by inviting you back. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."