Author: THERESA JACOBSON

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost	August 10, 2025
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and merciful God, only by your gift of grace can the faithful offer service that is worthy of you and deserving of praise. Keep us from stumbling as we run to receive your promises; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Genesis 15:1-6 
^1The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ^2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ^3And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” ^4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” ^5And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ^6And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Psalm 33:12-22 (LBW)
^12Happy is the nation whose God | is the Lord!*
	happy the people he has chosen to | be his own!
^13The Lord looks | down from heaven,*
	and beholds all the people | in the world.
^14From where he sits enthroned he | turns his gaze*
	on all who dwell | on the earth.
^15He fashions all the | hearts of them*
	and understands | all their works.
^16There is no king that can be saved by a | mighty army;*
	a strong man is not delivered by | his great strength.
^17The horse is a vain hope | for deliverance;*
	for all its strength it | cannot save.
^18Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon | those who fear him,*
	on those who wait up- | on his love,
^19To pluck their | lives from death,*
	and to feed them in | time of famine.
^20Our soul waits | for the Lord;*
	he is our help | and our shield.
^21Indeed, our heart rejoic- | es in him,*
	for in his holy name we | put our trust.
^22Let your lovingkindness, O Lord, | be upon us,*
	as we have put our | trust in you.

Psalm 33:12-22 (ESV)
^12Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
^13The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
^14from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
^15he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
^16The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
^17The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
^18Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
^19that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
^20Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
^21For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
^22Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-16 
^1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ^2For by it the people of old received their commendation. ^3By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. ^4By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. ^5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ^6And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ^7By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. ^8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ^9By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ^10For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ^11By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ^12Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. ^13These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ^14For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ^15If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ^16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Gospel: Luke 12:22-34 [35-40]
^22{Jesus} said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ^23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ^24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ^25And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ^26If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ^27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ^28But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ^29And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ^30For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ^31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ^32Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ^33Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ^34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [^35Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, ^36and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. ^37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ^38If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. ^40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”]
Lessons for Next Week
Jeremiah 23:16-29; Psalm 119:81-88; Hebrews 11:17-31, 12:1-3; Luke 12:49-53 [54-56]