September 21, 2025 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 20

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous 
Jeremiah 8:18—9:1
My joy is gone; my heart is sick; is there no balm in Gilead? 

Psalm 79:1–9
The nations have defiled your holy temple; deliver us, O God!  

Complementary
Amos 8:4–7
The wealthy pursue their own interests and trample upon the poor. 

Psalm 113
Blessed be the name of the Lord, who raises the poor from the dust.

1 Timothy 2:1–7
Instructions on prayer; there is one God, and Jesus is our mediator. 

Luke 16:1–13
The story of a dishonest manager; you cannot serve God and wealth.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

Remember, O people, the needs of the poor
and the suffering of the downtrodden, 
and hold to account all who are in high positions, 
for God our Savior
desires everyone to know 
the truth that they are loved. 
God will raise the poor from the dust
and make them sit with princes. 
So let us offer supplications,
prayers, intercessions,
and thanksgivings for everyone,
for the Lord is high above all nations, 
yet nothing is below God’s notice. 
There is one God;
and in Christ Jesus one mediator
between God and humankind, 
who gave himself a ransom for all. 
Praise the Lord!  

Prayer of the Day

Great God, maker and reconciler of the earth 
and all that dwells here,
champion of the poor, who humbles the proud, 
draw all people into new unity with you.
May we know to whom we belong
and act faithfully to care for 
what you have entrusted to us. 
Help us all, O God of our salvation, 
for the glory of your name. Amen. 

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving for Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
Jesus Christ gave himself as a ransom
for all who fall short of the goodness of God.
Trusting in God’s mercy,
let us turn to God and make our confession.

Holy God,
we confess that we are too concerned
with our own peace.
We seek the comfort of silence,
and ignore the cries of the oppressed.
We are inwardly focused,
missing your call
to serve the world in justice and love.
Forgive us, O God.
Equip us to fulfill your will for a world
in which all know dignity
and all are treated with equity,
as your beloved children.

Lifting water from the font:
God our Judge is also our Savior.
The good news is sure:
in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Faithful God, how blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit
so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
Sacred writings, our instruction in salvation 
through faith in Jesus Christ. 
2 Timothy 3:15

After the readings: 
The words of Scripture, inspired by God. 
Thanks be to God.
2 Timothy 3:16

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
Blessed be the Lord our God. Amen.
Luke 1:68

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33