A message based on Luke 12:32-40: Jesus said: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

A message based on Luke 12:13-21:  Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And Jesus said to the crowd, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then Jesus told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’

Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

A message based on two lessons:

Luke 11:1-13: Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” So Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, may your name be revered as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And the man answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish?  Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”

Genesis 18:16-32: Then the three men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what was promised him.” Then the LORD said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me, and if not, I will know.”

So the three men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there.” The LORD answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then Abraham said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” The LORD answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” Abraham said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” The LORD answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then Abraham said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” The LORD answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

A message based on Luke 10:38-42: Now as Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

A message based on Luke 10:25-37: An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” The man answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw the man who had been beaten the priest passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw the beaten man, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon the man, and when the Samaritan saw the man who had been beaten he was moved with compassion. He went to the beaten man and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day the Samaritan took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of the man, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The man who had tried to test Jesus said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

A message based on Luke 10:1-11, 16-20: After this Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;  cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

A message based on two lessons:

Matthew 10:40-42 (Inclusive Bible): Jesus said, “Those who welcome you also welcome me, and those who welcome me welcome the One who sent me. Those who welcome prophets just because they are prophets will receive the reward reserved for the prophets themselves; those who welcome holy people just because they are holy will receive the reward of the holy ones. The truth is, whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones just for being a disciples will not lack a reward.”

Isaiah 25:6-10a (Inclusive Bible): On this mountain, YHWH Omnipotent will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, food rich and succulent, and fine, aged wines. On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, the shroud covering all nations, destroying all death forever. God will wipe away the tears from every cheek and will take away the shame of God’s people on earth, wherever they live. YHWH has spoken. On that Day it will be said, “This is our God, this is the One for whose liberation we waited, YHWH is the One in whom we had hoped! We rejoice exultantly in our deliverance, for the hand of YHWH rests on the mountain!”

A message based on Luke 8:26-39 (Inclusive Bible):Jesus and his disciples came to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Jesus was stepping from the boat when he was met by a person from the town who was possessed by demons. The demoniac had not worn clothes for a long time, and was homeless, living among the tombs instead. Seeing Jesus, the individual cried out and fell at Jesus’s feet, shouting loudly, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Only Begotten of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” – for Jesus was ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the person. This spirit had seized the demoniac many times in the past, who then needed to be restrained with chains and shackles and kept under guard—yet every time, the possessed person would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into deserted places. “What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” it replied, because many demons had entered the person. And they pleaded with Jesus not to order them to depart into the abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding nearby on the hillside. The demons pleaded with Jesus to allow them to enter the swine, and Jesus gave them permission. The demons left the person and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned.

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran to tell the story in town and throughout the countryside. The local residents came out to see what happened. And as they approached Jesus, they saw the exorcised person sitting at Jesus’s feet, clothed and of right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had witnessed it told the others how the possessed one had been made whole. Panic overcame the whole population of the region of the Gerasenes, and they asked Jesus to leave them. When Jesus had gotten into the boat to leave, the person who had been healed asked to go with Jesus. But Jesus said, “No, go back home and tell everyone what God has done for you.” So the one who had been made whole went off and proclaimed throughout the region what Jesus had accomplished.