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Today is September 7th , Trinity 16
First Reading: Ezekiel 33.7-11
The word of the Lord came to me:
So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever
you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, 'O wicked ones, you
shall surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their
ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at
your hand. But if you warn the wicked
to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall
die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life. Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel,
Thus you have said: 'Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we
waste away because of them; how then can we live?' Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you
die, O house of Israel?
Psalm 119. 33-40
Teach me, O Lord, the / way of your /
statutes: and I shall / keep it / to the / end.
Give me understanding and I shall / keep your
/ law:
I shall keep it / with my / whole /
heart.
Lead me in the path of / your com/mandments:
for there/in is / my de/light.
Incline my heart / to your / testimonies:
and / not to / unjust / gain.
Turn away my eyes lest they / gaze on /
vanities: O / give me / life in your / ways.
Confirm to your / servant your / promise:
which / stands for / all who / fear you.
Turn away the reproach / which I / dread:
be/cause your / judgements are / good.
Behold, I long for / your com/mandments:
in your / righteousness / give me /
life.
Second Reading: Romans 13.8-14
Be under obligation to no one -
the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has
obeyed the Law. The commandments,
"Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire
what belongs to someone else" - all these, and any others besides, are
summed up in the one command, "Love your neighbor as you love
yourself." If you love others, you
will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law. You must do this, because you know that the
time has come for you to wake up from your sleep. For the moment when we will
be saved is closer now than it was when we first believed. The night is nearly over, day is almost here.
Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up
weapons for fighting in the light. Let
us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day - no
orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or
jealousy. But take up the weapons of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and stop paying attention to your sinful nature and
satisfying its desires.
Gospel: Matthew 18.15-20
Jesus spoke to his disciples. 'If another member of the church sins against
you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member
listens to you, you have regained that one.
But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you,
so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them,
tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the
church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two
of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my
Father in heaven. For where two or three
are gathered in my name, I am there among them.'
Post Communion Prayer
Almighty God, you have taught us through
your Son that love is the fulfilling of the law: grant that we may love you
with our whole heart and our neighbours as ourselves; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen
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