For the week of October 19 – 19th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: Holy God, we know our story with You joins a great cloud of witnesses whose lives are also verses in Your song. Empower us to be a “whole body,” knit together by grace. We long to live again according to Your instruction for life. We know the Spirit’s power at work in us is the same power that made Jesus alive again, forever. Bless the ties and tales that bind us together in love. We know You are with us. Savior God, we are Your people, and You are our God. We belong to You and to Your love for the life of the world. Amen. (resourceumc.org Laity Sunday 2025)
Opening Hymn: #370 Victory in Jesus
- I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came in glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.
Refrain: O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever!
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him;
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
- I heard about His healing, of His cleaning power revealing,
How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.
- I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,
And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing and the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with Me even though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 They will no longer need to teach each other to say, “Know the Lord!” because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Saturday, October 25, 10 am – 1 pm area children who need winter coats will Feel the Warmth of Jesus as we welcome them into our facility and send them out with soup in their stomachs and coats on their backs. If you know a child who needs a coat this winter, please tell the parents to bring them to The Lighthouse. The child must accompany them.
Offering prayer: To You, O God, we would pour out our lives in service and thanksgiving. We cannot pour ourselves out to you fully as individuals with unconfessed sins. We cannot pour ourselves out to You fully as Your body when we are in conflict with others. So hear our confession, forgive and deliver us, and give us courage. Accept our gifts of thanksgiving and joy, O Lord, as by Your Spirit, we remember and proclaim who You are. Amen. (Resourceumc.org Laity Sunday)
Hymn of preparation: #328 Surely the Presence of the Lord
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
I can hear the brush of angels’ wings. I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
Scripture: Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Affirm your faith by reciting the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His 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, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again 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. (UM Hymnal #882)
Message: Dwayne Deska
Let me ask a few questions to get us started.
How many of you pray, besides the usual prayers, like at a meal or at bedtime? When was the last time you just went off by yourself to pray in the middle of the day? Or late at night? There is a song called, “Your Ways Are Better.” Well how do we know what His way is if we don’t pray to find out? How do we discern His will for our lives if we don’t pray?
Have you ever felt like giving up? Maybe you’ve prayed for something – healing, reconciliation, provision – and it seems life your prayers are falling on deaf ears, like heaven is silent. You start to wonder: Is God listening? Does He even care at all? Should I keep praying?
If you’ve ever felt like that, Jesus has a message for you today. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells a story that speaks directly to the moments when we feel discouraged and are “tempted” to quit praying.
But before we get into this explanation let’s peel a little deeper. Let’s look at this parable from a different angle. Let’s suppose that this widow with her persistent demands for justice represents God, and we are the unjust judge, who neither feared God nor had respect for people. Imagine that it is God who continually calls us, who continually asks for something from us, who just won’t let us alone until our resistance is broken down.
In fact, in the history of God’s people, this does seem to describe the way God often behaves. Remember Jonah, running in the other direction but finding that he couldn’t run far enough to get away from God. Think of Paul, breathing righteousness in his persecution of Christians, until God caught up to him on the road to Damascus. Doesn’t God sometimes act like that with us?
Now to a better known interpretation of this parable. This parable is both a challenge and a comfort – a reminder that God hears, God cares, and God responds, but He invites us to hold on in faith.
- The purpose of the parable: Don’t give up. (Verse 1)
“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Jesus doesn’t leave us guessing – the purpose of this parable is to encourage perseverance in prayer. He knows we get weary. He knows the world can feel unfair. But rather than give up, Jesus says, “Keep praying.”
This parable is not just about prayer. It’s about not losing heart – not letting the weight of delay or difficulty crush our faith. The temptation is to stop believing that prayer works. But Jesus says – Keep going!
- The widow and the unjust judge (verses 2-5)
The widow in Jesus’s story is the very picture of vulnerability. In that culture, widows had very little power, no male advocate, and were often ignored or oppressed. Yet this widow refuses to be silent. She keeps coming to the judge and saying, “Grant me justice.”
And who is this judge? Jesus describes him as neither fearing God nor caring about people. In other words, he has no moral compass and no compassion. But even this corrupt, self-centered judge gives in – not because he cares about justice, but because he wants her to leave him alone! Now, pay attention here, Jesus is not saying that God is like the unjust judge. He’s making a contrast:
- If even a wicked man gives into persistence,
- How much more will a loving, just God respond to His people?
- The character of God: Our just and loving judge (verses 6-8)
“And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?” God is not like the unjust judge. He is:
Righteous – He delights in justice.
Compassionate – He hears the cries of His children.
Faithful – He will act, though not always on our timeline.
Jesus promises that God will bring justice, and quickly. Now “quickly” in God’s time may not feel quick in ours. But remember: God is never late. He may delay, but He never denies what is truly good.
- The question Jesus leaves us with (verse 8)
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the Earth?” That’s the real punch of this parable. The question is not whether God will be faithful – because we know, “He will.” The question here is – Will we? Will we keep believing when the answers don’t come right away? Will we keep praying when it feels like nothing is happening? Will we trust God’s justice even when the world seems unfair? Jesus is looking for a faith that won’t quit! A faith like the widow’s – persistent, bold, and unrelenting. That kind of faith doesn’t just wait passively – it knocks on the door of heaven until it opens.
Conclusion
Friends, this world will give us many reasons to lose heart. We will face injustices, delays, silence and suffering. But Jesus reminds us:
Don’t stop praying! Don’t stop believing!
God is not distant. He is near. He hears all. He cares about us all and He will act. So today, let me ask you a few things:
- What have you given up praying for?
- Where are you tempted to lose heart?
- Can you choose to trust again – to knock one more time?
Let the widow’s story remind you: Faith doesn’t give up. And God doesn’t either.
Closing prayer
- Let’s take a moment now to bring before God the things we’ve grown tired of praying about.
- Let’s ask His to renew our faith!
- Let’s commit to being a people of persistent prayer.
Lord, You are a God of justice, mercy and faithfulness. Help us not to lose heart when the answers seem delayed. Teach us to trust You, to keep praying, and to walk by faith, not by sight. May we be found faithful when You return. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #378 Amazing Grace
- Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.
- ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
- Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
- The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be, and long as life endures.
- Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
- When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
