Luke 14:15-24

15 And when one of those who sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”

16 Then Jesus said unto him, “A certain man made a great supper and bade many.

17 And he sent his servant at suppertime to say to them that were bidden, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

18 And they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said unto him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I need to go and see it. I pray thee have me excused.’

19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to test them. I pray thee have me excused.’

20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

21 So that servant came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.’

22 And the servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.’

23 And the lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I say unto you that none of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper.’”


Luke 14:15-24 - The Parable of the Great Banquet

Luke 16:19-31
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell[d] from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Genesis 32: 22-31 
22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives and his two womenservants and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

23 And he took them and sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when the man saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.

26 And the man said, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” And he said, “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.”

27 And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

28 And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.” And he said, “Why is it that thou dost ask after my name?” And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [that is, The face of God]: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.


The Struggle is Real

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
 37:1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan.

 37:2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves.

 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

 37:12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

 37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am."

 37:14 So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me."So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 

 37:15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, "What are you seeking?"

 37:16 "I am seeking my brothers," he said; "tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock."

 37:17 The man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan.

 37:18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him.

 37:19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer.

 37:20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams."

 37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life."

 37:22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him" --that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore;

 37:24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

 37:25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

 37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed.

 37:28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Descent

Opening Prayers and Special Singing during Sunday afternoon devotion and Bible study- 


Devotion Worship Service

Two weeks before Miss Pearl passed away, she sang the invitational song at the end of our service at Mag, we talked about Heaven that day. 

Invitational Song and Benediction- Miss Pearl October 2014

Ekklesia (Say It Like This- "Eck-Clay-See-Ah") is the word from the New Testament that we translate as "Church" -it isn't a building, it is a community of believers 

Contact:
https://www.facebook.com/EkklesiaSC 

AN INDEPENDENT CONFESSING CHURCH

 (Adapted from the Barmen Declaration, 1934 AND The Preface to Martin Luther’s Large Catechism, 1529)

 WE CONFESS

 Jesus Christ, as he is attested to us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God whom we have to hear, and whom we have to trust and obey in life and in death.
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved.” John 10:1,9

 WE CONFESS

 As Jesus Christ is God’s comforting pronouncement of the forgiveness of all our sins, so, with equal seriousness, he is also God’s vigorous announcement of his claim upon our whole life. Through him there comes to us joyful liberation from the godless ties of this world for free, grateful service to his creatures.

 We reject the false doctrine that there could be areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ but to other lords, areas in which we would not need justification and sanctification through him.
“Jesus Christ has been made wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption for us by God.” 1 Cor. 1:30

 WE CONFESS 

 The Christian Church is the community of brethren in which, in Word and Sacrament, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ acts in the present as Lord. With both its faith and its obedience, with both its message and its order, it has to testify in the midst of the sinful world, as the Church of pardoned sinners, that it belongs to him alone and lives and may live by his comfort and under his direction alone, in expectation of his appearing.

 We reject the false doctrine that the Church could have permission to hand over the form of its message and of its order to whatever it itself might wish or to the vicissitudes of the prevailing ideological and political convictions of the day.
“Let us, however, speak the truth in love, and in every respect grow into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body is joined together.” Eph. 4:15-16

 WE CONFESS

 The Church’s commission, which is the foundation of its freedom, consists in this: in Christ’s stead, and so in the service of his own Word and work, to deliver all people, through preaching and sacrament, the message of the free grace of God.

 We reject the false doctrine that with human vainglory the Church could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of self-chosen desires, purposes and plans.
“See, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:20 “God’s Word is not fettered.” 2 Tim. 2:9

 WE CONFESS

 That the Ten Commandments, The Chief Articles of Our Faith, and The Prayer Which Christ Taught are the most necessary parts of Our Christian Faith.

 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.
 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain [for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain].
 3. Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day. [Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.]
 4. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother [that thou mayest live long upon the earth].
 5. Thou shalt not kill.
 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
 7. Thou shalt not steal.
 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle [ox, nor his ass], nor anything that is his

 THE CHIEF ARTICLES OF OUR FAITH.

 I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
 And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, 

 born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

 I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

 THE PRAYER, OR “OUR FATHER,” WHICH CHRIST TAUGHT

 Our Father who art in heaven.
 Hallowed be Thy name.
 Thy kingdom come.
 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us this day our daily bread.
 And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
 And lead us not into temptation.
 But deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.] Amen.

CECRAWFORD

Popular tracks