19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Luke 12:35-40, 48 NLT – readiness rewarded

Reading: Luke 12:35-40, 48 NLT

“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

“Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected….

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Fill my heart with joyful expectation of your imminent return. Help me to order my personal affairs in such a way that I can respond to your arrival at a moment’s notice. Give me a true servant’s heart… knowing that all that I have is on loan from you… I didn’t bring anything into this world and I won’t take anything with me when I leave. May your Kingdom come… quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “The King is Coming” – Bill and Gloria Gaither

Southern Advent Song: “The King is Coming” – Gaither Vocal Band

The King is Coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

The marketplace is empty, no more traffic in the street
All the builder’s tools are silent, no more time to harvest wheat
Busy housewives cease their labor, in the courtroom no debate
Work on earth has been suspended as the King comes through the gate

Happy faces line the hallway, those whose lives have been redeemed
Broken homes He has mended, those from prison He has freed
Little children and the aged hand in hand stand all a-glow
Who were crippled, broken, ruined, clad in garments white as snow

highway-rainbow-nicklen_1427_600x450 (1) The King is coming, the King is coming
I just heard the trumpet sounding and soon His face I’ll see
The King is coming, the King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

I can hear the chariot’s rumble, I can see the marching throng
And the fury of God’s trumpet spells the end of sin and wrong
Regal rolls are now unfolded, heaven’s grandstands all in place
Heaven’s choir is now assembled, start to sing “Amazing Grace”

The King is coming, the King is coming
I just heard the trumpet sounding and soon His face I’ll see
The King is coming, the King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

Praise God, He’s coming for me, for me, for me

Morning Reading: Isaiah 11.1-4, 10 NLT- David’s heir

Isaiah 11:1-4, 10 NLT

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

He will delight in obeying the LORD.

He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.

In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.