Lessons                                                                       Bread of Life                                                     19 September 2020

Isaiah 55:6–9

₆“Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

₇let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

₈For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

₉For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Psalm 27:1-9

₁The Lord is my light and my salvation;

          whom | shall I fear?*

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

          of whom shall I | be afraid?

₂When evildoers assail me

          to eat | up my flesh,*

my adversaries and foes,

          it is they who stum- | ble and fall.

₃Though an army encamp against me,

          my heart | shall not fear;*

though war arise against me,

          yet I will be | confident.

₄One thing have I asked of the Lord,

          that will I seek | after:*

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

          all the days of my life,

          to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

          and to inquire in his | temple.

₅For he will hide me in his shelter

          in the day of | trouble;*

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

          he will lift me high up- | on a rock.

₆And now my head shall be lifted up

          above my enemies all around me,

          and I will offer in his tent

          sacrifices with | shouts of joy;*

I will sing and make melody | to the Lord.

₇Hear, O Lord, when I | cry aloud;*

          be gracious to me and | answer me!

₈You have said, | “Seek my face.”*

My heart says to you,

          “Your face, Lord, | do I seek.”

          ₉Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in | anger,*

          O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

          O God of my sal- | vation!

Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30

          ₁₂I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ₁₃so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. ₁₄And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. . . .

          ₁₉for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ₂₀as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ₂₁For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ₂₂If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ₂₃I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ₂₄But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ₂₅Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ₂₆so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

          ₂₇Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ₂₈and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ₂₉For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ₃₀engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Matthew 20:1–16

          ₁[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ₂After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ₃And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ₄and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ₅So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ₆And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ₇They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ₈And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ₉And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ₁₀Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ₁₁And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ₁₂saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ₁₃But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ₁₄Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ₁₅Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ₁₆So the last will be first, and the first last.”