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September 17, 2019

Search after Freedom

Charles Perry   |   Read Psalm 79:1-4

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Lectionary Week
September 16–22, 2019
Scripture Overview

The “weeping prophet” grieves for the plight of his people. They have provoked God’s judgment by following foreign gods, and now there is no comfort to be found. The psalmist cries out to God from a similar situation of despair. Foreign nations have overrun the land, destroyed Jerusalem, and killed many of its people. The psalmist cries out to God for compassion and restoration. The author of First Timothy gives his readers two commands. They should pray for and honor their leaders, and they should be faithful to the one true God, with whom they have a relationship through Christ Jesus. Jesus in Luke tells a strange parable about a dishonest manager who is commended for his shrewd business sense, but Jesus turns his story to a teaching about good stewardship.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Jeremiah 8:18–9:1. When have you called out to God in your distress?
Read Psalm 79:1-9. As you search after a solution to life’s problems, how do you demonstrate God’s call to love and to justice?
Read 1 Timothy 2:1-7. How do you pray for your local, state or province, and national leaders with whom you agree? with whom you disagree?
Read Luke 16:1-13. How do you negotiate the complexities of Jesus’ call to be a good steward of your resources as you seek to serve God rather than money?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Psalm 79:1-4

1 The nations have come into your inheritance, God! They’ve defiled your holy temple. They’ve made Jerusalem a bunch of ruins. 2 They’ve left your servants’ bodies as food for the birds; they’ve left the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth. 3 They’ve poured out the blood of the faithful like water all around Jerusalem, and there’s no one left to bury them. 4 We’ve become a joke to our neighbors, nothing but objects of ridicule and disapproval to those around us.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

A church building in the center of a South African city had to be pulled down because its structure had become unsafe. It was a sad day, as countless preachers had proclaimed the good news of Jesus from its pulpit, and thousands of people over the years had worshiped there....

God of love, we come to you in the midst of the brokenness in the world and the brokenness in our own life. We seek your guidance and love. Hear us and build up our faith. Amen.


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