St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cobourg

+Service of the Word+ The Last Sunday of the Church Year November 22, 2020 Old Testament Reading Ezekiel 34:1116, 2024... 11For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. . . . 20Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. Epistle 1 Corinthians 15:2028 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. Holy Gospel Matthew 25:3146 31[Jesus said:] When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Collect of the Day Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

+Service of the Word+ The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost October 18, 2020 Gradual Psalm 91:11; 103:1... He will command his angels con- | cerning you* to guard you in | all your ways. Bless the LORD, | O my soul,* and all that is within me, bless his | holy name! Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:17 1Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. Psalm Psalm 96:19; antiphon: v. 9a 1Oh sing to the LORD a | new song;* sing to the LORD, | all the earth! 2Sing to the LORD, | bless his name;* tell of his salvation from | day to day. 3Declare his glory among the | nations,* his marvelous works among all the | peoples! 4For great is the LORD, and greatly | to be praised;* he is to be feared a- | bove all gods. 5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,* but the LORD made the | heavens. 6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;* strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary. 7Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the | peoples,* ascribe to the LORD glo- | ry and strength! 8Ascribe to the LORD the glory | due his name;* bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts! 9Worship the LORD in the splendor of | holiness;* tremble before him, | all the earth! Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:110 1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. Holy Gospel Matthew 22:1522 15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? 21They said, Caesar’s. Then he said to them, Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Alleluia and Verse Colossians 2:10 Alleluia. You have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. Alleluia. Collect of the Day O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Last Sunday of the Church Year WHAT IS THE SUNDAY OF THE FULFILLMENT? The Sunday of the Fulfillment is the last Sunday of the church year. On this Sunday, the church looks forward to the time when everyone and everything in heaven and on earth will be together under one head, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 1:9-10).... WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "FULFILLMENT?" This festival is a day of fulfillment in two senses. It fulfills the liturgical year by bringing it to an end and returns us once again to the season of Advent. More importantly, it calls on the church to look with vigilance and faithfulness for the second coming of the Lord Jesus to take His redeemed people into heaven. This is the fulfillment for which all Christians yearn when they pray, Thy Kingdom come. WHAT IS THE FESTIVAL OF CHRIST THE KING? In many churches, the Sunday of the Fulfillment is celebrated as the Festival of Christ the King. The of the coming reign of Christ as King of the universe at the end of time. WHAT IS THE LITURGICAL COLOR FOR THE SUNDAY OF THE FULFILLMENT? The usual liturgical color for this day is green, the color of spiritual growth. This is the color for the Time of lectionary readings for the last few Sundays after Pentecost center on the biblical teachings concerning the final judgment, end times, and Christ's second coming to usher in the Kingdom of Glory. This emphasis culminates in the final Sunday of the church year as a celebration the Church, the season between Pentecost and Advent. However, if the Sunday of the Fulfillment is commemorated as the Festival of Christ the King, white, symbolic of the holiness of Christ, is the appropriate liturgical color.

"Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying" "Wake, awake, for night is flying," The watchmen on the heights are crying; "Awake, Jerusalem, arise!" Midnight hears the wel...come voices, And at the thrilling cry rejoices: "Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise? The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take! Alleluia! With bridal care yourselves prepare, To meet the Bridegroom, who is near." Advent will soon be here, a season of repentance and anticipation that ends with Christmas and the celebration of Jesus' first Advent: His birth in Bethlehem. Yet Advent is never really over for us, because even after Christmas we will still long for Jesus' second Advent, the day when He returns in glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. Scripture speaks of Jesus' return in different ways. As the risen Lord to whom the Father has given judgment, Jesus is the Judge who is already "standing at the door" (James 5:9b). Jesus portrays Himself as the King who will gather His followers into the kingdom prepared for them (see Matthew 25:34). He is the returning Master who invites His faithful servants to enter into the joy of their Master (see Matthew 25:21). On trial before the Jewish ruling council, Jesus declared Himself to be the Messiah and Son of God, the Son of Man who, as Daniel prophesied, would come "with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62b). Our hymn brings together Old Testament prophecy and Jesus' parable of the wedding feast and the wise and foolish virgins. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the joy of the watchmen who see the return of the Lord (see Isaiah 52:8). In His parable, Jesus describes His joyful return as a marriage feast in which the divine Bridegroom comes at midnight to claim His bride, that is, His people, His church. Ten virgins serving as bridesmaids or companions for the bride are assigned the task of welcoming the Bridegroom. Five of the virgins are foolish. They are unprepared, and the lamps they carry run out of oil. These five foolish and faithless virgins leave the scene to buy more oil. The other five virgins are wise, and they are prepared. With brightly burning faith, they rejoice at the Bridegroom's arrival and enter the joy of the wedding feast. The hymn cries out its warning for us to be awake and ready in faith for Jesus' Second Coming. Speaking of His return, Jesus asked, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8b) Yes, He will! Our Bridegroom will find us ready and waiting in faith for His return, for with "bridal care" we have been prepared by the Bridegroom Himself. Jesus has cleansed His Bride "by the washing of water with the Word" in Baptism (Ephesians 5:26b) so that He might present His holy bride to Himself in purity and joy. Christmas will soon be here, and just as soon, that joyful festival will be past. But for us it will still be Advent. Like the watchmen and the wise virgins, we will be watching and waitingwith faith brightly burningfor the arrival of our Bridegroom. Come, Lord Jesus! THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we look forward in joy and faith to Your return. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen. This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying," which is found on page 516 of the Lutheran Service Book. Reflection Questions: 1. Do you keep extra items of any kind around your home for unexpected visitors? 2. How do you stay prepared for Jesus' next coming? 3. Is Jesus' return an event you think about much? Does it factor into your life and decision-making process?

Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. (Matt. 22:21) #stpaulslutheranchurch #Cobourg

Jesus, grant us a kingdom view, equipping us with Your gifts and sending us forth in Your name. Amen.

"No Match for the Almighty" Jeremiah 20:7 - (Jeremiah said) "You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed." This confession, so modern and meaningful in its ...application, is 2,500 years old. It's an admission wrung from the lips of Jeremiah after a bitter conflict with God. Because the prophet's service to his Lord had brought opposition and locked him in the public stocks, Jeremiah would free himself from God, lead his own life, and defy heaven. Yet almost in the same breath he is overcome by the conviction of his defeat, and unable to quench the "consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29b) of God's Word within him. He exclaims, "You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed." For the heart that trusts in Christ this confession, "You are stronger than I," becomes the battle-cry of faith. Beholding the Savior's love, we realize that God's compassion is greater even than His power, His mercy stronger than His justice; we knowand what a priceless confidence this is!that "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20b). This is the great Gospel, the first chapter of which was written at Bethlehem. No simple word of pardon would suffice to return men to God. There had to be an overpowering, eternal proof of our Father's compassion. No man, not even the most exalted; no angelic beings in their holiness and majesty, could meet the demands of God's justice. God gave His only begotten Son and sent Him from the riches of heaven to the poverty of earth. No pardon that could leave any doubt or uncertainty in our hearts would suffice. No ransom that left anything to man, that had to be earned or completed by human effort, could answer the pleading heart of a sin-cursed world. So in His never-to-be-fathomed mercy and in that endless love that goes out for every wayward, stubborn, selfish child of man Christ did everything. Do not let the fears and sorrows of life keep Christ out, as though God, who "will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4b), had His eyes closed to your problems and anxieties, as though He, the Ever-living, were dead and you had to fight your own battles! Instead, come before God and say, "Heavenly Father, 'You are stronger than I' with my frail and faulty intellect. Help me to find the way through life! Show me the brightness in the gloom that surrounds me! Give me Your truth against the multiplied falsehoods of men!" When we thus lose the proud sense of our own importance as Jesus gains the ascendancy in our lives; when we behold Him and confess with the prophet John who announced His coming, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), then these words, "You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed," will become the song of triumph which, pray God, you and I and all others in the fellowship of faith may sing at the Savior's future coming. THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may Your mercy and peace prevail over our lives. In Jesus' Name. Amen. From "God Prevails," a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier, the first Speaker of The Lutheran Hour Reflection Questions: 1. What comes to mind when you think of God's mercy being stronger than His justice? 2. How did God overcome Jeremiah's resistance and downfallen spirit? 3. What do you do to increase your awareness and sensitivity to spiritual matters?

'Our Friend C. S. Lewis' Nov 19 2020

Beautiful Savior, I praise You, my light and my salvation! Amen! https://myc.ph/3iiA7Ys

"Not Ours to Keep" Matthew 22:15-22 - Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him (Jesus) in His words. And they sent their disciples to Him, along ...with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone's opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin for the tax." And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away. You've probably noticed that life is full of tricky questions. Do I eat the cupcake my granddaughter made for me, or do I stick to my diet? Do I glide through the intersection as the light changes from yellow to red, or do I stop? Or 2020's favorite: do I wear a face mask in response to COVID-19, or just wing it, assuming I (and everyone else) will be all right? Here Jesus is given His own sticky question, courtesy of the Pharisees' disciples and some crony Herodians (Greek culture-loving Jews)both fierce opponents of Jesus. They asked Him, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" With a "No," Jesus might look like a rebel, scorning Roman rule and ready to fight the occupying power. With a "Yes," He might look submissive, yielding to Rome's tyrannical might to keep the peace. Yes, life is full of difficult questions. Jesus then, fully aware of their aim to test Him, takes a coin and asks them a question: "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" It was the face of Caesar. If they were looking to Jesus to get out of their tax obligation, they were misguided. He told them not only to pay the tax, but that the rest of what they possessed wasn't theirs to keep either. "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Any Jewish scholar in the first century knew what that meant: the coin might have Caesar's face on it, but the emperor, the nation, and the world itself belonged to God (see Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 24:1; Job 41:11). No matter how tight was Rome's grip on the Jews was, they were God's chosen people, set aside from long ago. "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 14:2). This is where the believer's true joy liesin knowing we are God's, along with all we possess. Redeemed by the Father through Jesus' blood, we yield our lives to Him in faith, trusting His grace to supply us with everything we need. THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, remind us that we, and all we have, are Yours to keep. In Jesus' Name. Amen. This Daily Devotion was written by Paul Schreiber. Reflection Questions: 1. What tricky question have you faced recently? 2. Why were the Pharisees always trying to ensnare Jesus in some word game or question about the Law? 3. How do you give to God the things that are God's? Are some things more difficult to turn over to Him than others?

Jesus, brother, friend, thank You for setting us free to fly victoriously in the shadow of Your wings. Amen. https://myc.ph/30q6qhO

"Living Through You" 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 - We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God ...and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the Word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the Word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that sock puppets are a bit creepy? There they are, wiggling and rolling their fake eyeballs and pretending to talk, but all the while you know that there's an invisible human hand inside the sock, making them do whatever they do. Maybe it's the same reason why popular movies about demon possession are creepyor body snatchers, or anything else that supposedly takes over human beings and makes them do things willy nilly. We instinctively know that we are supposed to have free will. We are not supposed to be puppets, toys, marionettes on a string. God didn't make us for that. And yet He did make us to be people who have the Holy Spirit living and working inside usliving out Jesus' life through uschanging us more and more into the image of Christ. I suppose that's the good, positive, real thing of which the horror movies are a caricature. Having God inside us is what we were made forour normal state, not some horror. When He lives in us, we retain our freedomand we have all His help and power as we live as disciples of Jesus. That's what Paul is highlighting when he talks to the Thessalonians about "your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." The Thessalonians are full of faith and hope and love, and their lives reflect that. Their faith shows in the way they live every day. The love of Jesus shines through in the way they take care of each other and of their non-Christian neighbors. And they have hope, real, solid hopea hope that the world does not have, and can't really understandbecause Jesus died and rose from the dead to make them (and you!) His own forever. As someone who trusts in Jesus, this gift is for you as well. Jesus lives in you, and will live through you, as much as you let Him. He will not force you, but He will gladly help youbecause He loves you, through life and death and life again. THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, live in me and through me, and help me to know You better. Amen. This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo. Reflection Questions: 1. How do you feel about puppets? Do you like them or not, and why? 2. Why is having the Holy Spirit living in you not the same as being a puppet? 3. Tell about a time when God living in you helped you handle a difficult situation in your life.

"A Tool or a Son?" Isaiah 45:1a, 2-6a - Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him ... I will g...o before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me. Isaiah 45 is a prophecy about Cyrus, king of Persiathe king who would one day allow the God's people to return home from exile to their own country. You remember the storyhow the Israelites did evil and worshipped other gods, year after year, century after century, until God's patience ended and He sent them into exile in a foreign country. They spent 70 years there grievingmissing home, missing even their Godas one singer wrote, "How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?" (Psalm 137:4) But God would not leave them there forever. And so He spoke to Isaiah ahead of time, telling them about a king who would let them go home againa man named Cyrus of Persia. Now Cyrus was not a believer. God makes this clear when He says, "For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know Me." God chose Cyrus to be a tool, to do a jobto send God's people home and to support the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Did Cyrus ever become a believer? We don't know. Yes, he claimed that God had blessed him and given him the job of rebuilding the temple. But then, that was quite a common thing for kings and emperors to doa public relations stunt, a way of getting on the good side of the local people and the local gods, if they existed. Cyrus may have done exactly the same thing for a dozen other places he ruled. From our point of view, it doesn't matter. God used Cyrus as a tool, and the result was a blessing for God's people. But from Cyrus' point of view, it definitely mattered. Because God can use people in two different ways, either as tools or as children. And we all know what happens to tools. They get used and put away, lent out, lost, passed on to othersbut eventually every tool wears out. Tools are good, but they are not forever. But childrenah, there's the difference. When God uses His child to do something, the action grows right out of the love between Father and child. Children are not disposable. Children are forever. We see this best in our Lord Jesus Christ, used by His Father to rescue the entire world. He willingly chose to suffer and die for our sake, and to rise from the dead, three days later. He was not a mere tool. He knew exactly what His Father wanted, and He did it with all His heart. Jesus is a child, the Son of God. And you, too, are a childif you trust in Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living in you. THE PRAYER: Lord, make me Your child and not just Your tool. Amen. This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo. Reflection Questions: 1. What are your favorite tools? 2. If you have children, how have you used them in the past? 3. How is God using you in your life right now?

Lord Jesus, let Your peace rule in our hearts, and let thankfulness overflow in our praises and actions. Amen. https://myc.ph/2GrWnC3

We invite you to memorize Romans 3:23-24 with us this week. Memorizing Scripture is a valuable practice for Christians, even in a digital age. Join us each week as we hide God's Word in our hearts. Learn more at http://lcms.org/memoryverse. #memoryverse