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In the first two readings-Psalm 91 and Jeremiah 32-God’s faithfulness shines and inspires. In the second two lessons the theme of the proper management of money and wealth become the main focus. What does your congregation need to hear at this point of their life? Faithfulness and stewardship are both powerfully transforming themes when heard through the lens of the gospel!

PSALM 91:1-6, 14-16-GOD’S CARE AND PROTECTION

This is a psalm, which undoubtedly comes from the wisdom tradition, describes God’s protection against a variety of misfortunes, from "the snare of the fowler" to "the arrow that flies by day" to the "destruction that wastes at noonday" (v. 3, 6). There is no psalm that more eloquently speaks to god’s faithfulness and protection than Psalm 91. Those who entrust their lives to God will find the faithfulness of God protecting them, sheltering them, instilling confidence in the face of fear and providing them with presence in times of trouble.

JEREMIAH 32:1-3A, 6-15-LONG-TERM REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

What a marvelous piece about faith and faithfulness. Jeremiah is sitting in a corner of the palace in a city that is besieged by the Babylonians-he’s under house arrest for predicting the tragic outcome of the siege. Yes, Israel will be exiled and deported, yet in the midst of such devastating words, Jeremiah is instructed by God to get involved in real estate! So he buys a piece of land from his relative as a faith-filled gesture that shows that a better day for God’s people will come and that once again, land will be sold and purchased in Israel when they return from exile.

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-19-THE LOVE OF MONEY AND BEING GENEROUS

This lesson will complement or at least introduce the gospel lesson. The writer (Paul?) admonishes Timothy, a young pastor to stir clear of avarice: contentment mixed with godliness is the best place to be. Since we enter and exit our lives with nothing let the basics of nourishment and raiment make one content. Craving things or wealth beyond contentment leads to shipwreck not success. The second paragraph speaks about conduct in the face of resistance to the godly life even to the point of suffering. A beautiful doxology follows the admonition. The final paragraph provides some good common sense for rich people-how to manage wealth in a way that befits the life of a follower of Christ.

LUKE 16:19-31-A STORY ABOUT POVERTY AND WEALTH

We have here the famous story of the rich guy and the poor guy and the perennial problem that wealth and poverty poses. In this parable a rich man feasts extravagantly while the poor Lazarus sits near to the rich man’s palatial home yearning for any crumbs that might fall from such extravagance. In the end both die, of course, and we see the impact of such actions in the next world-everything is reversed: Lazarus is promoted and the rich man demoted.