Morning Worship
Call to Worship: Psalm 98:1-3
Opening Hymn: Hymn 404 “The Church’s One Foundation”
Confession of Sin
Most holy and merciful Father; We acknowledge and confess before You; Our sinful nature prone to evil and slothful in good; And all our shortcomings and offenses. You alone know how often we have sinned; In wandering from Your ways; In wasting Your gifts; In forgetting Your love. But You, O Lord, have pity upon us; Who are ashamed and sorry for all wherein we have displeased You. Teach us to hate our errors; Cleanse us from our secret faults; And forgive our sins for the sake of Your dear Son. And O most holy and loving Father; Help us we beseech You; To live in Your light and walk in Your ways; According to the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Leviticus 26:44-45
Psalm of Preparation: 2A “Why Do Heathen Nations Rage?”
Old Covenant Reading: Genesis 14:17-15:1
New Covenant Reading: Luke 16:1-13
Sermon: The Unrighteous Steward
Psalm of Response: Psalm 42B “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams”
Confession of Faith: Q/A 1 Heidelberg Catechism (p. 872)
Doxology (Hymn 568)
Closing Psalm: Psalm 16A “Preserve Me, O My God”
Evening Worship
Hymns: 22C, 171, 491
OT: Genesis 3:1-19
NT: 1 Timothy 2:8-15
Godliness with Good Works
Suggested Preparations
Monday (8/16) Read and discuss Luke 16:1-13.
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (ESV)
David Garland writes:
The children of this age are smarter than the children of light when it comes to acting in their best interests. They are motivated by self-interest and self-preservation and concern themselves only with this world. The sons of light should be concerned about the world to come, but they act more like the rich man in the parable that follows. If the children of light understood what their true self interest is, they would be motivated by it to act no less decisively and boldly than the children of this age, and they would then concentrate their energies on serving others. They would use whatever worldly opportunities they have to attain otherworldly ends by helping the needy in this world.
The agent in this parable only thinks in terms of how to make his life in the here and now comfortable after he has to give an account of his earthly stewardship. Christians know that all will have to give an account to God. We should focus our energies on doing what is pleasing to God.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
Tuesday (8/17) Read and discuss Luke 15:1-10.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (ESV)
Terry Johnson writes:
As was the case with the previous parable, The Parable of the Two Debtors, the following three parables are set in the context of criticism for Jesus’ association with sinners. But whereas Jesus used that occasion (Luke 7:36-50) to teach about loving gratitude and grateful service, here He has a different focus. Luke’s parables in his 15th chapter (Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son) have much to say to us about one particular subject to which they give their primary attention: the love of God for each lost soul. All the various circumstances of these parables (the ratios of lost to found, laying the sheep across the shoulders, gathering of friends and neighbors, the diligent searching of the woman) ‘were simply intended to illustrate one great leading truth – the deep self-sacrificing love of Christ towards sinners, and the pleasure with which He saves them’ (J.C. Ryle). While each parable has its distinctive nuances, they all focus on the central point that God loves sinners, pursues them at great length, and so should we.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 4. What is God?
A. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.
Wednesday (8/18) Read and discuss Genesis 14:17-15:1.
After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (ESV)
Today’s passage reveals Abraham as his brother’s (lit. his nephew’s) keeper. Earlier Abraham had graciously given Lot the choice of the best lands. Now, Abraham comes to Lot’s rescue. The unfolding events also reveal something interesting: Abraham has become a great king in his own right. As various kings unite to wage war, Abraham is the one who comes out on top. For a brief moment he becomes king of the hill. What do you do when you are in a situation like that? Walter Brueggeman’s comments on this passage are insightful:
The encounter of Abraham with the King of Salem concerns taking booty from war and giving credit for victory. Abraham is victorious and apparently has captured an abundance of goods as well as people. The following exchange between the two parties is instructive. Abraham refuses the invitation of the king to act in an acquisitive way. Instead, he makes a faith affirmation. He will not rely on the king nor give the appearance of relying on him. He will rely only on God whose name he knows and to whom he has sworn an oath. The well-being and prosperity which Abraham already has and which he is yet to receive is not to be credited either to military or political machinations, but only to the free gift of God.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.
Thursday (8/19) Read and discuss Genesis 3:1-19.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.” (ESV)
James Montgomery Boice writes:
All is not lost, though at times it may seem to be. Although sin grows worse and with it, sin’s troubles. God is unchanged and his mercy endures from generation to generation.
We see it in the judgment of Eve and Adam. It is true that Eve and those women who follow her were subjected to pain in childbearing, but sorrow is afterward forgotten for “joy that a child is born into the world.” One of those births produced the Savior. Again, a woman enters into conflict with her husband, but this is not with one who is a stranger or even her enemy but one who loves her and to whom submission is often sweet. As for man, though the ground is cursed for his sake, the land is nevertheless not made entirely unproductive but rather “yields its fruit in season.” Although God curses the ground, he also sends rains and snows to water it, “making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.” Man sweats, but he revives again. He dies, but he rises to life everlasting.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 6. How many persons are there in the godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Friday (8/20) Read and discuss 1 Timothy 2:8-15.
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. (ESV)
John Stott writes:
All attempts to get rid of Paul’s teaching on headship (on grounds that it is mistaken, confusing, culture-bound or culture specific) must be pronounced unsuccessful. It remains stubbornly there. It is rooted in divine revelation, not human opinion, and in divine creation, not human culture. In essence, therefore, it must be preserved as having permanent and universal authority.
He later elaborated …
I can’t dismiss masculine headship in a cavalier way in which some evangelical feminists do. There is something in the Pauline teaching about headship that cannot be ignored as a purely cultural phenomenon, because he roots it in Creation. We may find his exegesis of Genesis 2 difficult – that women were made after men, out of men, and for men – but he does root his argument in Creation. I have a very high view of apostolic authority. I don’t feel able to reject Paul’s exegesis.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
Saturday (8/21) Read and discuss Luke 16:1-13.
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (ESV)
Rick Phillips writes:
Luke 16:13 gives the third and final application: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
This reminds us that money itself is not bad, though it tempts many people to much evil. We may have and use money without folly and without sin, but only if God and not worldly wealth is our master. It is possible for a rich person to be a godly and spiritually wise Christian, exercising good stewardship of great wealth, but only if he or she has first surrendered all to Christ. It is not possible, Jesus says, to serve God and money. We will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other.
This means that if you love money, if you are determined above all else to be rich, if you find your security, like the rich fool of Luke 12, in stockpiles of cash and property and financial investments, you cannot be a Christian. You cannot be godly and cannot be saved and will not find entry into heaven. The problem is not the money but what our use of money reveals, namely, whether we are servants of God or followers of this world, whether we are children of this present passing and evil age. For those who love and serve God, money is not an evil, but its good and faithful stewardship is an eternally valuable means of worship and true spiritual service.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.