Proper 24

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

Jeremiah 31:27-34 . . . the prophet foresees a new covenant which God will make with the Lord’s own people,  a covenant written not on tablets of stone but on human hearts.

PSALM 119:97 – 104 . . . A celebration of the wisdom that comes from meditation upon God’s law.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 . . . Paul exhorts Timothy to continue calmly and diligently with his ministry, teaching from the scriptures and preaching the word of God.

Luke 18:1-8 . . . Jesus tells a comic parable about a judge who was so pestered by woman that he finally gave to her pleas.

Sermon

Rev. Dr. Judy Kincaid, pastor of Little Elk Creek Lutheran Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin, once asked her children what they wanted to be when they grow up. Her ten year old son said that he wanted to be eight feet tall and her three year old daughter said that she wanted to be a big brown snake. Kincaid reminds us that maybe it is a good thing that God does not answer all of our prayers. She continues, “There are times in my life when I’ve prayed faithfully and persistently for things I did not get. I bet it’s the same for you. Why is that?” Listen as Kincaid preaches on the parable of the persistent widow from Luke 18:1-8, reminding us to pray and not give up, even when we do not get the things we want