Lectionary Readings — Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 12, 2025
Jeremiah 29:1,4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19
Call to Worship (based on Luke 17:11-19)
Leader: We gather as those who know our need, crying out with voices of hope:
People: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
Leader: From the borderlands of our broken world, from the margins where we have lived as outcasts,
People: We call upon the name of Jesus, the One who has authority over all things.
Leader: Like ten lepers keeping their distance, we come acknowledging our need for cleansing,
All: Seeking not what we deserve, but pleading for the mercy we desperately need.
Leader: Christ Jesus hears our cry and responds with grace:
People: "Go and show yourselves whole. Walk in faith before you see the healing."
Leader: And as we go, trusting in His word alone,
People: We are made clean! We are restored! We are renewed by His power!
Leader: But shall we be like the nine who received their healing and walked away?
People: No! We return like the one who recognized the source of his wholeness.
Leader: We turn back to Jesus, praising God with loud voices,
People: We prostrate ourselves at His feet in thanksgiving and worship!
Leader: For we know that we are more than healed—we are saved by faith,
All: Made truly well by the One who alone is worthy of all praise!
Leader: Come, let us worship the Lord with grateful hearts,
People: For His mercy endures forever!
Leader: Come, let us bow down before our Maker,
All: For we are the people of His pasture, and He is our God!
Leader: Let every voice join the eternal song of thanksgiving:
All: "Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore!"
Opening Prayer (based on 2 Timothy 2:8-15)
Let us pray:
Almighty and faithful God, we come before You this morning remembering Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, according to the gospel You have entrusted to us. As we gather in Your name, we fix our eyes and hearts upon Him who conquered death and reigns forever at Your right hand.
We thank You, Lord, that Your Word is not chained, though we may face trials and difficulties in this life. Like the apostle Paul, we acknowledge that following You may bring challenges, but we trust that if we have died with Christ, we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. Your promises are trustworthy and true.
Father, we confess that You remain faithful even when our faith falters. You cannot deny Yourself, and Your character never changes. In a world of shifting opinions and uncertain foundations, we anchor our souls in Your unchanging truth.
As we open Your Word today, we pray that You would make us workers who have no need to be ashamed. Help us to rightly explain the Word of truth, not quarreling about words that serve no useful purpose, but receiving Your message with humble and teachable hearts.
Remove from us any tendency toward godless chatter that leads people into greater ungodliness. Instead, fill us with reverence for Your holy Word. May our hearts be like good soil, ready to receive the seed of Your truth and bear fruit that honors Your name.
Grant me wisdom, clarity, and boldness as I proclaim Your truth faithfully today. Help me to be an approved worker in Your sight, handling accurately the Word of Your truth. May my words and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
We pray for those among us who are suffering, who are enduring hardships for the sake of the gospel. Strengthen them with Your might, and remind them that their labor in You is not in vain. Help us all to remember that temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.
May everything we do in this service—our songs of praise, our prayers, our hearing of Your Word, our fellowship with one another—bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. May Your Spirit move powerfully among us, transforming hearts and lives for Your glory.
We ask all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Sermon Outline: [NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon].
[Note: All Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.]
Sermon Outline: "THE GRATEFUL HEART"
Based on Luke 17:11-19
INTRODUCTION:
The story of ten lepers healed by Jesus reveals profound truths about human nature, divine grace, and authentic discipleship. In this encounter on the border between Samaria and Galilee, we witness a powerful progression from desperate need to divine healing to transformative gratitude.
I. PLEADING - The Cry of Desperate Need (vv. 11-13)
A. The Position of the Outcasts
B. The Power of United Prayer
C. The Posture of Humility
II. PROVISION - The Response of Divine Grace (vv. 14)
A. The Pattern of Obedience Required
B. The Power of Divine Healing
C. The Paradox of Grace
III. PRAISE - The Return of Authentic Worship (vv. 15-19)
A. The Priority of Gratitude
B. The Profile of the Grateful
C. The Paradox of Faith
IV. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
A. The Progression of True Discipleship
B. The Problem of Presumed Entitlement
C. The Power of Grateful Living
CONCLUSION:
This narrative challenges us to examine our own response to God's grace. Have we, like the nine, received God's blessings but failed to return in grateful worship? Or do we, like the Samaritan leper, recognize that every good gift comes from above and respond with heartfelt praise? True discipleship is marked not just by what we receive from God, but by how we respond to His goodness with lives of grateful worship and devoted service.
Call to Action: Return to Jesus with hearts full of gratitude, recognizing that our faith - demonstrated through thankfulness - makes us truly whole.
Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers
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