St Ansgar Lutheran Church, London

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Sunday Morning

We invite you to join us for the following worship services:

Sundays
10:30 a.m. Worship service

Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and other locations in the church for
your use.

Washrooms will be available for use.

In the service: The service will be shown on the screen. The offering will not be gathered and presented, but there will be an offering plate at the back of the sanctuary where you can put your offering as you enter or leave. Pastor David distributes the communion wafers and an Assisting Minister distributes wine or grape juice in individual glasses.

We have coffee and fellowship time available again in Luther Hall after the service.

We will continue to evaluate our worship service procedures on a monthly basis.

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, SEPTEMBER 28, 2025

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Outline for Worship (with sermon)
Sunday, September 28, 2025 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Based on ELW Setting Four

GATHERING

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRIEF ORDER FOR CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, our maker, our helper,
and our keeper.
C: Amen.

P: Trusting in God’s mercy, let us confess our sin in the presence
of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection.

P: Merciful and loving God,
C: we are your stiff-necked people. We trample on the needy.
We grumble about your grace to others. We turn away from the poor.
Have mercy on us and forgive our sins.
Rejoice over us as ones who were lost and have been found.
Amen.

P: Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners. You who were lost have been found.
In the name of ☩ Jesus, your sins are forgiven!
C: Amen.

ENTRANCE HYMN - Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life (ELW #719)

GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you

KYRIE
A: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.

A: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (ELW p. 149)
P: This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
C: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power and riches and wisdom and strength,
and honour and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing and honour and glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God,
for the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
P: O God, rich in mercy, you look with compassion on this troubled world.
Feed us with your grace, and grant us the treasure that comes only from
you, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
C: Amen

WORD

FIRST READING: Amos 6:1a, 4-7
1a Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on
Mount Samaria. 4 Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their
couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; 5 who sing idle
songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;
6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are
not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore they shall now be the first
to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM: 146
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in rulers;
in mortals in whom there is no help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish.
5 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help,
whose hope is in the Lord their God;
6 who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps promises forever;
7 who gives justice to those who are oppressed,
and food to those who hunger.
The Lord sets the captive free.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up
those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord cares for the stranger;
the Lord sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!

SECOND READING: 1 Timothy 6:6-19
6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;
7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;
8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those
who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless
and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich
some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with
many pains. 11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith;
take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made
the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence
of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony
before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep
the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord
Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the right time--he who is the
blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he
alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no
one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion.
Amen. 17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them
not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches,
but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to
share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation
for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

A: The word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
C: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
P: The Holy Gospel according to Luke 16:19-31
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and
who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man
named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger
with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick
his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be
with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he
was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus
by his side. 24 He called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in
agony in these flames.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during
your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil
things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this,
between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might
want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there
to us.' 27 He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house--
28 for I have five brothers--that he may warn them, so that they will not also
come into this place of torment.' 29 Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and
the prophets; they should listen to them.' 30 He said, 'No, father Abraham;
but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said
to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they
be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

P: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
Luke 16:19-31
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the prayers of our hearts,
always be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength, and our Redeemer.
AMEN
Money is not the problem. Money is neutral in itself. It is simply a means
to facilitate commerce and trade in our daily lives. Having money is not
the problem. There are many examples, particularly in the Old Testament,
of people who considered wealth a gift from God, and they used their
wealth to help and benefit others. It is not money itself, but the love of
money that poses the greatest threat.
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul is criticizing a group of what he calls
“false teachers” whose “love of money” taints and motivates their behaviour
and teaching. They are supposedly teaching the Christian faith, but they are
doing so for their own personal gain. They are more interested in profit than
they are interested in people.
For fear that his followers fall into a similar trap, Paul outlines some of the
dangers of the excessive love of money. First, he says, we should remember
that “we brought nothing into the world...and that we take nothing out of it.”
Our lives should not revolve around money or possessions or the status
that they may bring.
Second, “those who want to be rich,” warns Paul, “fall into temptation and
are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires...” The love of money,
the desire to be wealthy, is a temptation that can trap people into ways of
relating and living that are senseless and harmful.
Imagine a person whose primary goal in life is to be wealthy. The desire
for wealth, and the social prestige that comes with it, shape their identity,
how they think about themselves. The love of money, and the desire for
wealth will determine with whom they choose to associate, where they are
willing to live, what kind of occupation or career they are willing to consider,
what organizations they are willing to join, how they will vote, and much more.
Their choices will be governed by whatever will bring them greater wealth.
The love of money will shape how they relate with others: they will honour and
treat with dignity and respect the people they believe can help them achieve
their goal and ignore and even oppress those who can’t. Their desire for wealth
will make a difference also in how they treat the earth and its inhabitants. If their
primary goal is to become wealthy or wealthier, it is likely that they will be
tempted to use the earth’s resources for their own pleasure and gain,
rather than doing what is best to preserve and protect them.
This can have dramatic effects. The climate crisis we are facing today is a
human problem, the result of our plundering the earth for its resources at
the cost of life’s delicate balance. Much of this is human greed. Our greed is
destroying the planet. If we continue this way, we will, before long, render our
planet uninhabitable. The climate crisis has been caused by human beings,
and only human beings have the power to mitigate it.
It is not easy for those who have built their lives around the acquisition of wealth
to change. Remember the young, wealthy man who came to Jesus and asked
what he should do to please God? Jesus, the Gospel tells us, “...looked at him
with love” and recognizing his unhealthy attachment to wealth, encouraged him
to sell all that he had and follow him. The man was earnest in his intentions,
but in the end, he “went away sad.” The prospect of forfeiting his wealth and
all the status that it brought him was too great. That is what an excessive
attachment to wealth looks like.
Third, Paul cautions us that the love of money can “plunge people into ruin
and destruction.” It has the power to destroy their lives, and the lives of others.
They may possess millions or even billions of dollars, but that wealth will not
help them become good people. Instead, it can cause them to become selfish
and self-centred, hard and indifferent, or proud and boastful. They may be blind
to the realization that, for them to “win”, others will have to lose. They are more
likely to trample on people and on the earth to get what they want, never
counting the cost, and certainly not taking any responsibility for the tragic
outcomes of their actions.
We have in our Gospel lesson today an example of the callousness and
indifference that can mark the very wealthy. The rich man in Jesus’ story
does not care at all about the beggar at his gate. He doesn’t even notice him.
There can be a hardness and a cruelty in those who have made the accumulation
of money and possessions their reason for living. “[The] rich man was dressed
in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day...,” Jesus says,
“[while] at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, [who was] covered with sores,
and who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table.”
Lovers of money are more likely to become indifferent to people, to plant and
animal life, and to the physical world.
The callousness and indifference of those who love money destroys the lives
of the poor. It has been proven again and again that people of colour and
people who are poor suffer far more than the wealthy and powerful from
climate-related disasters. It is their neighbourhoods that are being polluted by
toxic waste. It is their homes and livelihoods that are threatened by the rising
sea levels. It is they who will suffer the most from rising temperatures and the
resulting lack of food. The wealthy can usually afford to insulate themselves
from these effects, but the poor cannot. We refer to this as environmental
racism because it so often negatively impacts the poor and vulnerable, many of
whom are people of colour. The love of money, says Paul, can “plunge people
into ruin and destruction.”
These are some of the dangers of an excessive attachment to wealth. Few of
us are likely to see ourselves as excessively wealthy or as “lovers of money.”
But we need to take these warnings seriously, because we live in one of the
richest countries of the world, in the wealthiest periods of human history.
All of us are vulnerable to these temptations Paul has described.
So, what does Paul suggest that we do? How does he advise us to live?
“There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment,” says Paul.
Godliness and contentment do not come easily. We live in a society and
an economy that is based on consumption and continual growth. As a result,
we are bombarded day after day with advertisements that tell us to
want more, rather than to be content with who we are and what we have.
Advertising encourages us to be dissatisfied with our looks, and with our
possessions, and our income. This discourages gratitude. Advertisers want
us to buy their products, and they promise us that, when we do, we will look
better and feel happier. They suggest that their products will make us popular
and successful. Paul’s call to live lives that are characterized by “godliness” and
“contentment” is at odds with the dominant culture in which we live.
So, how can we grow in godliness and contentment? First, we can resist the
temptation to put our trust in wealth. There is a Roman proverb that says that
wealth is like sea water. Instead of quenching our thirst, it only intensifies it.
The more we get the more we want. Drinking too much sea water kills us.
The love of money can be just as deadly. Instead, Paul says, be “rich in
good deeds.” Pattern your life after the generous God who is the source
of all life, and who graciously provides all that we need. Devote yourselves to
the advancement of God’s kingdom. If you have money, imitate God in generosity.
Money has the power to destroy, but it also has the power to bless and liberate
those in need. In the scripture, we see again and again God’s concern and
compassion for the poor. They must be our concern as well.
We can cultivate gratitude. We need to remember that all that we have and all
that we are is a gift from God. We are stewards of this gift, and especially of the
gift of this planet. It is good to give thanks for these gifts daily, and to pause to
be mindful of how we are using them.
We can practise being content with what we have. This seems easy to do when
life is good, in moments when we seem to have all that we need. But how do
we practise contentment when times are bad? Being content in times of
suffering, loss, discouragement or failure is difficult. We know because we
have all been there. Times of trial produce the gifts of patience, long-suffering,
and forbearance. They offer us inner strength and deeper wisdom. To be
content in suffering we need to look for the graces this suffering can yield.
We can live simply. Most of us have more than we need. Rather than desiring more,
we can be content with what we have and let go of what we do not need.
Possessions burden us with the responsibility of caring for them. Simplicity of
life brings us true joy.
Finally, value and care for the earth. We can learn to tread upon it lightly
and respectfully. We can learn to appreciate the beauty and wonder that is
God’s creation. We can decide to spend more time in nature and less time
shopping on-line.
God wants to give us an abundant life, full of joy, beauty and pleasure.
This abundant life does not consist of an abundance of material goods
and possessions. The richness comes when we learn to enjoy God’s world
and live with contentment.
AMEN

Silence is kept for reflection.

HYMN OF THE DAY – The Church of Christ, in Every Age (ELW #729)

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
A: Gracious God, we come to you in prayer for the church, the world,
and all in need.
A: God of our church, send forth your Spirit as we pray for our Bishops Larry
and Carla. Empower them with your wisdom to lead the church. We also pray
for the Thames Ministry area, especially the people of Trinity, London, in their
time of pastoral vacancy. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We pray for the church, that it would remain faithful to the gospel,
always striving to serve the needs of those who are oppressed and
rejecting the complacency that comes from wealth. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We pray for creation, that the nations work together to protect and restore
the earth, preserving the beauty of the planet for future generations and
honouring the gift of your creation. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We pray for those in positions of authority, that they govern with justice
and compassion, recognizing the dignity of all people and working to promote
peace and prosperity for all. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We pray for people in any need, especially Beth, Jean, Mary Margaret,
Kristine, Karen, Emma, Cathy, Lene, Heather, Grethe, Lyra, Donna, and those
others who are in our hearts. Give them your assurance and courage when the
path forward is not clear. Liberate us from all that binds us, lift us up when we
are bowed down, and show us your love. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We pray for this congregation, that we would be strengthened to build a
world where all can thrive. Incite us to advocate for fair wages and just policies,
and guide us in building a community of mutual support. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: Merciful God, we pray for peace as war continues to rage in Ukraine and
in Israel and Gaza. Shelter all living in fear; protect those seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries; sustain families separated by the horrors of war;
tend to those who are injured; comfort all who mourn their dead.
Direct your people into the way of peace. God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We remember in thanksgiving the faithful departed. Inspire us by their
example to love and serve our neighbours, and bring us to eternal life.
God of grace,
C: receive our prayer.

A: We entrust these prayers to you, O God, in the name of Jesus Christ,
our redeemer and friend.
C: Amen.

PEACE
P: The peace of Christ be with you always.
C: And also with you.

OFFERING PRAYER
A: Lord of the harvest, we return to you a portion of what you have given to us.
Turn us to set our hope not on the uncertainty of riches, but on you, who richly
provides for us. Multiply what we have gathered to bless all who are suffering
and in need, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER
P: Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.
C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING
P: The God of righteousness, who gives justice to the oppressed, who gives
food to the hungry, who sets the prisoners free, ☩ bless you now and forever.
C: Amen.

SENDING HYMN – Come, Thou Almighty King (ELW #408)

DISMISSAL
A: Go in peace. Do not lose heart.
C: Thanks be to God.

DISMISSAL HYMN – The Lord Now Sends Us Forth (ELW #538)
Verse 1
The Lord now sends us forth
with hands to serve and give,
to make of all the earth
a better place to live. Repeat (2X)

Verse 2
The angels are not sent
into our world of pain
to do what we were meant
to do in Jesus' name;
that falls to you and me
and all who are made free.
Help us, O Lord, we pray,
to do your will today. Repeat (2X)