THE FAMILY CATECHETICAL HOUR:  THE PRIESTHOOD AT PRAYER

Discussion, Study, and Prayer Guide for God's Priestly People

for the week of 29 September - 5 October (THE 17TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST)

Courtesy of Pastor John Rutz, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Perrysburg, Oh 

Theme:  GOD'S LOVE IS COSTLY

                        VERSE:  "ALLELUIA!  ALLELUIA!  Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  ALLELUIA!"  (Rom. 15:4; VERSE)

            + THE PSALM:  116:1-9 (Pray the Psalm daily [in its entirety, if possible])

                                             THE PROPERS FOR NEXT SUNDAY

            + PSALM 116:1-9:  The psalmist sings a song of praise to God for delivering and saving him.  As he speaks for himself here rather than for a larger community, we see the LORD's interest in the individual.  No one is so insignificant as to escape the LORD's attention.  How wonderful to know that God not only cares for his people as a whole, but also for each person individually.  As we consider this, we must join in the last words of the psalm, "Praise the LORD!"

            + ISAIAH 50:4-10:  Isaiah prophesies concerning the Servant of the LORD, concerning Jesus.  He obediently walked the path of humiliation and sorrow, willingly accepting indignities and pain in order to win our redemption.  As a result, we can echo the challenge of the servant:  "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he that condemns?" (Rom. 8:33-34).  Because of what Christ has done for us, we will not be put to shame!

            + JAMES 2:1-5, 8-10, 14-18:  James shows very clearly that the world's way of doing things isn't God's way.  He rejects the idea that Christians can live according to the world's standards.  Faith, he says, must necessarily affect how we live.  What James writes agrees with what Jesus taught:  A good tree (faith), because it is good will produce good fruit (the works of love).  This text challenges us to let our faith show in how we live, or perhaps we could say, in how we love--our neighbor as ourself. 

            + SAINT MARK 8:27-35:  "Who is Jesus?"  Our answer to that question is important.  But as Peter learned, we need to go beyond merely having the correct answer, we also need to understand what it means.  The Lord we follow was victorious in death, and he tells us that we will share in his victory only as we lose our life.  Like Peter, our tendency is to rebel against that idea.  We should pray that God would teach us and strengthen us to follow the path of our Lord, the path of the cross. 

                                              DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK

            Monday:             Deuteronomy 1:1-8, 19-46                 Matthew 5:21-48

            Tuesday:             Deuteronomy 2:14-3:11                      Matthew 6:1-24

            Wednesday:       Deuteronomy 3:21-4:14                      Matthew 6:25-7:14

            Thursday:           Deuteronomy 4:15-40                        Matthew 7:15-8:13

            Friday:                Deuteronomy 5:1-21                          Matthew 8:14-34

            Saturday:            STUDY the Readings for Sunday (the Propers noted above)

                        CATECHISM FOR THE WEEK:  (Please learn by heart).

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT AND MEANING:  You shall have no other gods.

What does this mean?  We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT AND MEANING:  You shall not misuse the name of the Lord  your God.

What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by his name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

            THE COLLECT FOR NEXT SUNDAY [17th Sunday after Pentecost]  "O God, without whose blessing we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and govern our hearts; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."  AMEN!

HOW TO USE                      God calls his own people a "ROYAL PRIESTHOOD." God makes

THE FAMILY                       us his kingdom, kings and queens. We are bound together by

CATECHETICAL                the Holy Spirit in Baptism for the Christian benefit of each

HOUR                                    other.

1)         Priests PRAY. They talk to God about their neighbors.

2) Priests TEACH. They talk to their neighbors about God.

3) Priests OFFER SACRIFICES. They offer to God: sacrifices of broken and contrite hearts.     With hearts of praise and thanksgiving, they learn patience in suffering. They offer their bodies in work and deeds of holy services to God for their neighbors.

The materials on this page are to guide you in your work as God's priestly people. By daily repetition, learn by heart as much as you can:                (1) the THEME and VERSE of the week; and (2) the CATECHISM portion printed for the week. Let the questions and statements with the Psalm and the Readings guide you in discussion and meditation.

THE ORDER FOR               1 ) Begin "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF

MEDITATION                      THE HOLY SPIRIT."    Let all say "AMEN!"

AND PRAYER                      2) Repeat the theme and the verse for the week.

3) SING, or read as a poem, the hymn or hymns.

4)        PRAY the Psalm. One leads; the others respond.

5)        PRAY the Collect for next Sunday.

6)       THE READINGS: Use the daily‑readings as listed, or concentrate your study on the Propers throughout the week.

7)        THE CATECHISM: Leader asks the questions; the others respond.

8)       THE APOSTLES' CREED: Confess it as praise to God and as confession of faith to PRAISE GOD, to STRENGTHEN the faith of the others, and to LEARN TO THINK ABOUT YOU THE WAY GOD THINKS ABOUT YOU.

9)       PRAY: Briefly, fervently. Use the daily intercessions and the daily themes (see below). Conclude with the OUR FATHER,

10)     CLOSE with "THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH US NOW AND FOREVER, AMEN!

INTERCESSIONS               1) Pray for fathers, mothers and families of our congregation.

TO BE                                    2) Pray for the teachers and students of our Sunday school.

USED DAILY                   3) Pray for the sick. (List in Bulletin).

           4) Pray for faithful hope and lively joy in our congregation; and pray against fear, greed, and violence.

DAILY THEMES                  MONDAY: for workers, unemployed; schools, universities and

FOR PRAYER                                              seminaries; for all government; for peace.

TUESDAY:       for the tempted, especially the addicted and despairing; for the tortured and oppressed.

WEDNESDAY:    for families to receive Divine illumination to live in marriages and family life; for those adults who must rear their children alone.

THURSDAY:      for the church and her pastors; for the missionaries; for salutary use of the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Body & Blood.

FRIDAY:       for the preaching of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and for its spread throughout the whole world, especially in our neighborhood; for for the persecuted.

SATURDAY:     for faithfulness to the end; for the revival of those withering in the faith or who have fallen away; for the dying and for a good death; for diligent preparation for worship and study tomorrow.

SUNDAY:     for the joy of the Resurrection among us; for true and godly worship throughout the world; for true preaching and diligent hearing of God's Word; and salutary eating and drinking of the Lord's Body and Blood.

"Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds

promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:7b‑8, RSV)