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THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST October 5, 2025 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church OPENING HYMN: 685 “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” Lutheran Service Book Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 Introit Psalm 119:162, 164-65, 167; antiphon: Ps. 116:166 I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules. Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments. The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. The Salutation: Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with thy spirit. Our Collect Prayer: O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, by Your grace hear the prayers of Your Church. Grant that those things which we ask in faith we may receive through Your bountiful mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. Our Bible Readings Old Testament -- Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 Psalm 62 (antiphon: v. 1) Epistle Reading -- 2nd Timothy 1:1-14 Our Gospel Reading -- Luke 17:1-10 THE NICENE CREED Page 191 HYMN OF THE DAY: 587 “I Know My Faith Is Founded” THE SERMON – Living in sinful, secular times requires faith. Yet many look to politicians and popular culture. To what they see people doing on the street or movie screens to guide them. These things, however, ultimately disappoint and often lead us away from God, rather than towards Him. Today, in our Gospel reading, Christ tells us to have faith. Not faith in ourselves or in the things of this world, but faith in Him as Lord and Saviour. The Book of Hebrews directs us to ‘look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.’ (Hebrews 12:2) That single verse tells us much. It is God who works faith within us. Faith is not our ‘decision,’ or accomplishment. That’s not faith, but heresy. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the author of our faith, and it is He who perfects it. He does this work through the Holy Spirit using His Word and Sacraments, the means of grace, found within His Church. Yet life, and sin, can get in the way. "Into every life a little rain must fall," the saying goes. But lately it seems like we’ve been going through a car wash with the windows down. Crime and living costs rise out of control. Drug gangs make daily appearances in the news. Disease and death continue despite advances in medicine. We fear un-Godly people and world powers. We face Christian persecution and hostility, and wonder when there will be peace, or at least, sanity. Jesus speaks of the great crime of leading ‘little ones’ astray, spiritually. And we see evidence of that all around us. Many families become obsessed with material things and never take their children to Church. Never teach them they have a Saviour. And that they’re offered forgiveness and salvation by His grace, through faith, in Him alone. As Christians, we oppose what the world teaches, and that’s: • Live for yourself, for the moment, • You decide what’s right or wrong on your own. Even if it’s abortion, the killing of unborn children, that our culture and government tell us is fine, while God’s Word tells us it is sin. Jesus says it would be better if a heavy stone were tied to someone’s neck and then dropped into the ocean than to lead someone astray, lead them away from Christ. In deceiving the children of God, there are many ways the world works. It can be a secular school system that tells children and young adults that God doesn’t exist, that the universe created itself. Or that immoral behaviour is OK. It can also happen when some ‘churches’ teach people the same thing: that the law of God doesn’t matter. There are no rules except the ones an un-Godly culture makes up. No true Christian church teaches these things or promotes them, because they are lies. It makes the Lord angry when we cause other people to stumble in the faith, because the results can be eternal damnation for them. Having faith means telling others, young and old, about Jesus, in whatever way God gives us to speak that message. It means not being afraid to live the faith so others can see it in action. Faith means standing firm on the Biblical truth that there is no other name by which we can be saved except Jesus Christ. Having faith also means repenting when we sin. Repentance in the Bible is not just feeling sorry about sin, or that we got caught, but making an attempt to turn from it. That’s what the Hebrew word for repent, Teshuvah, means. With repentance and faith, there’s forgiveness. Jesus says — Have faith and you will do great things. The disciples understood how much Jesus was asking of them in leading God's people, spreading His Word, and forgiving their sins. They feared a lack of faith and asked Jesus to increase it. How many of us think we have enough faith to get us through the rest of our lives? Will criminals or terrorists strike us? Will the economy hold up? Have faith! Jesus told His disciples. If they had faith like a grain of mustard seed, they could tell trees to get up and be planted in the ocean. In other words, they could do astounding things through Him. Like the disciples, we realize we’re not up to the task on our own. But the Holy Spirit has given us faith enough to believe Jesus is the only true God, and our Saviour. Faith is not mere positive thinking that we cultivate in ourselves. As the Lutheran reformers wrote, it is not our accomplishment. Jesus told the disciples, You didn’t choose me, I chose you. (John 15:16) Faith doesn’t come from inside us, but outside us. Just as the cause of our salvation is not within us, but from Christ. We don’t have faith in our faith, but in the object of our faith, Jesus. It is the gift God deposited in us when we were Baptized, when we heard the Good News, that although we were separated from God by sin, Jesus gave His life to bring us back to the Father. Our faith may be as dim as a candle sputtering in a dark universe, but as long as it’s faith in Christ, it is light. For in the smallness of our Christian faith is concealed God's great, ultimate power to save. Through us, He will produce great wonders for His kingdom if we don’t walk away from Him. Having faith means acknowledging our spiritual need and God’s great generosity. As the hymn Rock of Ages says, “nothing in my hand I bring, only to your cross I cling.” This makes us humble. The Bible says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest anyone should boast." That’s Ephesians 2:8-9. There is no room for boasting in what we’ve done. We take pride in the Lord and all He’s done for us. The ‘good works’ we do come from the faith God gives us. They’re not payment for sin, but evidence of faith God works in us. All glory goes to Him. Years ago, I saw a grown man break down and cry when he was saved by a lifeguard from drowning. The lifeguard said, "I was only doing my job." So, we must also say when God allows us to bring about something good for others, "Thanks be to God alone." Have faith, a true saving faith, that repents, and rests in Christ. He is the answer to worries about the future. He is the true rescuer. Not faith in ourselves. Not faith in anything of this world. Only faith in Christ, our crucified and risen Lord & Saviour. Amen. PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 The Word of Our Lord Instituting the Lord’s Supper Page 197 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Page 198 The Distribution Nunc Dimitis – The Song of Simeon Page 199 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201 CLOSING HYMN: 720 “We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight”