Pentecost 13: The Word doesn’t bring peace, but division

Four weeks of warnings for Christians begins on this Sunday that the life of faith will be marked by difficulties. These warnings are given so that the believer will be prepared to meet these challenges with the confidence of the cross. Today we see that the Word of God doesn’t always unite—it also divides. The living and active Word of God does not bring peace between believers and unbelievers, but division.

HT: Lesson summaries produced by Rev. Joel Gawrisch and Rev. Jonathan E. Schroeder for Planning Christian Worship Year C.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift of grace that we come into your presence and offer true and faithful service. Grant that our worship on earth may always be pleasing to you, and in the life to come give us the fulfillment of what you have promised; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

VERSE OF THE DAY

Alleluia. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Alleluia. (Hebrews 4:12 cf. RSV)

or

Alleluia! Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Alleluia (1 Corinthians 15:58b)

THE GOSPEL: LUKE 12:49-53 (56)

The fire of the Word has come to destroy evil and bring peace between God and his people. Jesus warns that his fire will bring division between believer and unbeliever, even within that most intimate of human relationships, the family. How can Jesus wish such division were already happening? He can only say that because he knows its final purpose: the salvation and purifying of believers.

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FIRST LESSON: JEREMIAH 23:16-29

With the Kingdom of Judah moving ever closer to judgment, Jeremiah proclaims the Lord’s condemnation of false prophets. These false prophets had led the people into idolatry, claiming to speak in the name of the Lord. But there is comfort for the faithful: the true Word of the Lord comes like a hammer to crush and like a fire to refine. It is only through such sin-crushing and soul-refining work that we find eternal righteousness in the Word of truth.

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SECOND LESSON: HEBREWS 12:1-13

Running the race of life requires perseverance because the Word of God brings division and persecution and violence. There will be hardships that cause the heart to grow weary. But God promises that these trials—even to the point of shedding of blood—are meant for our good. They are God’s way of disciplining us as his sons. The result will be a harvest of righteousness in our lives and peace in our hearts. The Christian faces the hardships of life head on by fixing his eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Our struggle is against sin and for Christ—so strengthen your feeble arms and your weak knees, focus on the examples of the saints who have gone before us, and run the race.

Artist’s Commentary: Visual Exegesis (Hebrews 12:1-2)

This life—the author of Hebrews says—is a race. Not a sprint, not a relay, not an ambling walk through a park, but a long distance race that calls for endurance and focus on the part of every participant. And just as a racer strips themselves of any excess clothing or ornamentation, so too the believer is called to lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely so that they might run the particular race that is set before them, with their eyes ever and always on their Great Savior, Captain and Hope—the risen Christ.

Chris Powers

SUPPLEMENTAL FIRST LESSON: 2 KINGS 11:1-3, 12-18

The sins of greed and idolatry can permeate the very fabric of a family and rip it apart. As the faithful fight to hold to the truth of the will of God, relationships may be forever destroyed. The wicked will answer for their sin and receive its penalty. The righteous will live by faith with souls forever protected in the Lord’s free and faithful grace. With this confidence, we risk all to carry out the will of the Lord and cling to his promises.

This is one of the bloodiest and most sad stories in the Bible. Not even close to a PG13 rating if it was made into a movie.

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SUPPLEMENTAL SECOND LESSON: EPHESIANS 6:10-20

God’s Word brings division because we are at war. Marked by the cross, we are now targets for extra effort on the part of evil. We have no choice; we must give battle. But we are not without hope. As we battle, the Word of the Lord is our strength to stand firm and our full armor against the weaponry of evil. Total victory is already assured in Jesus. But “when the fight is fierce, the warfare long” (CW 551) we turn to the Spirit in prayer on behalf of ourselves, and all the saints, that the mystery of the gospel would continue to be revealed.

Here are two pictures regarding the “Armor of God.” One from a more “classic” perspective, and one from a more theological/symbolic perspective.

Artist’s Commentary: Visual Exegesis (Ephesians 6:10-20)

I wanted to emphasize that CHRIST is our strength, not the “armor.” It seems that often this passage is used to “pump up” Christians in the fight of life, as if God “suits us up” and then sends us to the battlefield to make Him proud….this is simply not the case.

This passage is grounded in our utter dependence on Christ (see verse 10, “Be strong IN THE LORD and in the strength of HIS might). Apart from desperate dependence on the living Christ, we could no more put on this armor (v.11) than a newborn could pilot an F-16 fighter jet. I was hoping to make that clear in these images.

Christopher Powers

Artist’s Commentary: Visual Exegesis

Verse 16, like the rest of the armor passage, is built around a participle that expounds the manner in which we are to “stand” (v.14). So, “stand…taking up the shield of faith…” Our taking up of this shield is part of the way in which we are to stand against the schemes of the devil (v.11).

Now, its crucial to see that this entire section is introduced by the command to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Too often the “armor of God” passage is used to present Christians as these decked-out warriors ready to fight demons and take out Satan…not at all.

Rather, this entire passage is about a desperate dependence on THE LORD and the strength that HE SUPPLIES. The “armor”—like everything else in reality—is from, through, and to God in Christ. So if we come to this passage as if its some sort of armory where we suit up so that we can prove ourselves on the field of battle, we are coming at it all wrong. It is a call to confidence, yes, but confidence in the Lord. The elements of this armor are not things that God gives us to depend on in themselves, they are all expressions of his sufficiency for us in Christ.

Regarding the shield of faith….

READ MORE COMMENTARY.

Christopher Powers

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HYMN OF THE DAY

Christian Worship #413, When in the Hour of Utmost Need

PSALM OF THE DAY

Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a practical discussion of God’s attributes. In the Bible there is no abstract, philosophical discussion of God’s nature and attributes. We always see God in action, working to uphold good and to oppose evil. Each of God’s attributes serves as a comfort and as a warning: a warning to those who disobey God and a comfort to those who believe in him.

Brug, J. F. (1989). Psalms 73–150 (2nd ed., p. 253). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

This very personal psalm (notice the pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’, and ‘mine’) is attributed to David. It has been called ‘the crown of the psalms’. It is certainly safe to say it is one of the best loved of all the psalms and of all Scripture passages. The whole psalm is a prayer that consists of praise (vv. 1–18) and petitions (vv. 19–24). It should not escape our notice that the praise comes first and receives much more attention. We have a tendency to rush to God with our petitions and to spend most of our time on them.

Ellsworth, R. (2006). Opening up Psalms (p. 125). Leominster: Day One Publications.

You Have Searched Me (Psalm 139) by the Gettys

I heard this one for the first time at the Getty Sing Conference last September and have been waiting impatiently for Psalm 139 to come up in the lectionary.

You Have Searched Me (Psalm 139) Lyrics

You have searched me and You know me
You know when I sit down and when I rise
Lord, you made me, understand me
You see where I walk and where I lie
Before a word is on my tongue
Behold, O Lord, you know it all
Ever with me, all around me
To think on it is too wonderful

Where could I go from Your Spirit?
If up to the heavens, You are there
If I dwell in deepest darkness
The light of Your presence finds me there
If I should rise on wings of dawn
Or settle on a distant shore,
Even then Your hand will guide me
You’re holding me fast forever

Refrain
Search me, know my heart
Test my attitudes
Save me from where I have strayed
To walk in Your everlasting Way

For you saw my unformed body
You knit me within the secret place
I will praise you for I have been
So fearfully, wonderfully made
How vast the sum of all Your thoughts
Oh, how much higher are all Your ways
I will turn from all that’s evil
To live in Your goodness all my days

Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Matt Papa © 2018 Getty Music Publishing (BMI, Getty Music Songs LLC, and Love Your Enemies Publishing (ASCAP) (adm. by MusicServices.org)

Artist’s Commentary: Visual Exegesis Psalm 139:8

I find myself going to Psalm 139 often during times of uncertainty or fear or anxiety or suffering….from beginning to end, this Psalm testifies to the intimate, intentional, fatherly presence of the LORD–in all circumstances.
He knows our ways (1-4), he surrounds us on all sides, (5-6), he is ever and always present with us (7-12), he has known us and been at work in us since the beginning, it was he who joined the egg and sperm that would make the person that we (13-15), he has authored our lives from beginning to end even before our first moment of existence (16, glory to God for that assurance!), and he is the one who will be with us when we awake–even from the sleep of death (18). What a merciful and relentless witness to the ever present, intimately caring, sovereign authority of the Living God.

CONTINUE READING

Christopher Powers

Artist’s Commentary: Visual Exegesis Psalm 139:16

This picture comes from an idea that Courtney shared with me. As I think most of you know, Courtney is an author and has—for the 10 years we’ve been married—always been working on a book. She’s finished 8, is working on her 9th and is in talks with an agent to move toward getting the 8th or 9th published….So, she thinks a lot about what it means to write stories and characters, etc. Last week she was talking to me about the idea of God being an author and she asked if I could draw a picture that showed Him as the one who writes our stories with the cross as the pen and the blood of Christ as the ink. So—that’s where this specific image came from.

Short Thoughts: Christian, the sovereign hands displayed on Calvary author all our days with the pen of steadfast love and the ink of redeeming blood.

Long Thoughts: KEEP READING

You Have Searched Me (Psalm 139) by Citizens & Saints

You Have Searched Me (Psalm 139) Lyrics

[Verse 1]
You have searched me
And known my heart
Before I spoke
You knew my every thought
The wonder of Your knowledge is
Far too high for me to understand
You knew I’d leave Your side

[Pre-Chorus 1]
And cower in the cover of the night
But there’s no place I could hide
From the mercy of Your light

[Chorus 1]
Your kindness leads me to repentance
Your grace assures me to trust in You

[Verse 2]
I could come up into the sky
Or dive down deep where darkest evil lies
I”ll never find a place to flee
Your presence is always where I am
You never leave my side

[Pre-Chorus 2]
Even when I fight to get my way
You patiently disarm my defenses
With Your grace

[Chorus 2]
Your kindness leads me to repentance
Your grace assures me to trust in You
Faithful Savior, You restore me
My life is Yours, I belong to You

[Bridge]
Search my heart, examine my thoughts
Shine Your light, I can’t hide in the dark
Give me faith to respond when You call
Search my heart

[Chorus 2]
Your kindness leads me to repentance
Your grace assures me to trust in You
Faithful Savior, You restore me
My life is Yours, I belong to You

Questions to Consider

(Please share your answers/thoughts in the comments below)

1. What is God saying to me in these lessons?
2. For what do these lessons lead me to give thanks?
3. What sins do these lessons lead me to confess?
4. For what do these lessons lead me to pray?
5. What is the connecting thought that sticks out the most in these lessons? What major theme(s) connect(s) all the lessons?
6. Which piece of artwork did you find to be most beneficial? Why?

[Instrumental]