67.5 Lord Have Mercy

(Psalm 41)

Happy are those who concerned for the poor;
the Lord will help them when they are in trouble.
The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives;
he will make them happy in the land;
he will not abandon them to the power of the enemies.
The Lord will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health.

I said, "I have sinned against you, Lord;
be merciful to me and heal me."
My enemies say cruel things about me.
They want me to die and be forgotten.
Those who come to see me are not sincere;
they gather bad news about me and then go out and tell it everywhere.
All who hate me whisper to each other about me,
they imagine the worst about me.
They say,"He is fatally ill; he will never leave his bed again."
Even my best friend, the one I trusted most,
the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

Be merciful to me Lord, and restore my health, and I will pay my enemies back.
They will not triumph over me,
and I will know that you are pleased with me.
You will help me because I do what is right;
you will keep me in your presence forever.

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
Praise him now and forever!

Amen! Amen!

67.4 Forgiveness For All Peoples If They Believe

(Romans 10:9-13)

If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.  For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.  The scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed." This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. As the scripture says, "Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved."

67.3 God Forgives All Sins

(Acts 13:38-39)

All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.

67.2 The Prodigal Son

(Luke 15:11-24)

Jesus went on to say, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger one said to him, "Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons.  After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money.  He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living.  He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing.  So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs.  He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat.  At last he came to his senses and said, 'All my father's hired workers have more that they can eat, and here I am about to starve!  I will get up and go to my father and say,"Father, I have sinned against God and against you.  I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers."' So he got up and started back to his father.

He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity,and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. 'Father, the son said, 'I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.' But the father called to his servants."Hurry!" he said."Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began.

67.1 Against Self-Righteousness

(Luke 18:9-14)

Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. "Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income."  But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me, a sinner!' I tell you," said Jesus,"the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in right with God when he went home. For everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great."