Ascension Lutheran Church - KS https://ascensionpratt.org Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:30:00 +0000 Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:30:00 +0000 hourly 1 3600 SnapPages.com Weekly Readings https://ascensionpratt.org/blog/2026/08/09/weekly-readings Sun, 09 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://ascensionpratt.org/blog/2026/08/09/weekly-readings
Our readings from Proverbs this morning share the wisdom that wise people listen to and receive feedback.

15 A stubborn fool considers his own way the right one,
but a person who listens to advice is wise.

22 Without advice plans go wrong,
but with many advisers they succeed.

5 Open criticism is better than unexpressed love.
6 Wounds made by a friend are intended to help,
but an enemy’s kisses are too much to bear.


Our second reading is taken from the twelfth chapter of the book of second Samuel where King David is confronted by the prophet Nathan after committing adultery with Bathsheba.

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was rich, and the other was poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cows, 3 but the poor man had only one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter.

4 “Now, a visitor came to the rich man. The rich man thought it would be a pity to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler. So he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared her for the traveler.”

5 David burned with anger against the man. “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this certainly deserves to die! 6 And he must pay back four times the price of the lamb because he did this and had no pity.”

7 “You are the man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and rescued you from Saul. 8 I gave you your master Saul’s house and his wives. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this weren’t enough, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise my word by doing what I considered evil? You had Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. You took his wife as your wife. You used the Ammonites to kill him. 10 So warfare will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

11 “This is what the Lord says: I will stir up trouble against you within your own household, and before your own eyes I will take your wives and give them to someone close to you. He will go to bed with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did this secretly, but I will make this happen in broad daylight in front of all Israel.”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.


The Gospel lesson comes from the seventh chapter of Matthew’s account of the life and teachings of Jesus.  Jesus shares the parable of the two builders.

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. 25 Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock.

26 “Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. 27 Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.”

]]> Day 1 https://ascensionpratt.org/blog/2026/08/03/day-1 Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:34:00 +0000 https://ascensionpratt.org/blog/2026/08/03/day-1
Day 1: The Danger of Misplaced Trust
Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Devotional: Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool not to condemn wealth itself, but to expose the quiet danger of trusting in it. The man in the story spoke entirely to himself, planning for his own comfort with no reference to God or neighbor. His barns were full, but his soul was empty. We are invited today to examine where our trust actually lives. Is it in what we have accumulated, or in the God who gave us breath? Real security is not found in what fills our storage units. It is found in the One who holds our days.

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Day 2: Guard Against Greed
Reading: Proverbs 3:5-10

Devotional: Proverbs 3:5 calls us to trust God with our whole heart rather than leaning on our own reasoning. This is a direct challenge to the self-sufficient thinking the rich fool displayed. The promise that follows in verses 9 and 10 is remarkable: honor God with your wealth and with the first portion of your income, and abundance will follow. Generosity is not a financial risk. It is an act of faith that declares God is trustworthy. When we give first, we are saying with our actions what we claim with our lips, that God is Lord over everything we have.
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Day 3: The Grace That Made Us Rich
Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:9

Devotional: Paul describes the grace of Jesus in striking terms in 2 Corinthians 8:9, noting that though Christ possessed all things, he willingly embraced poverty so that we could be made spiritually rich. This is the ultimate act of generosity. Jesus did not cling to what was rightfully his. He gave it away for our sake. Before we can live generously, we must first sit with this truth and let it reshape us. We give because we have already been given everything that matters. Our generosity toward others is not an obligation. It is an overflow of what Christ has already done.
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Day 4: A Generous Life Is a Full Life
Reading: Proverbs 11:24-25

Devotional: Proverbs 11:25 contains a promise that runs against the logic of accumulation: a generous person will be made rich, and whoever satisfies others will himself be satisfied. The world tells us that holding tightly to what we have is the path to security. Scripture tells us the opposite. When we open our hands, God fills them again. Generosity breaks the grip that stuff has on our hearts. It reorients us toward people rather than possessions, toward eternity rather than comfort. Consider one practical way today to loosen your grip on something you have been holding too tightly, and give it away.

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Day 5: Rich Toward God, Rich Toward Eternity
Reading: 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Devotional: Paul urges those with material wealth not to place their hope in uncertain riches but in God, who generously provides everything for our enjoyment. He then calls them to be rich in good works, generous, and willing to share. This is what it means to be rich toward God. It is not about the size of your bank account. It is about the direction of your heart. When we invest in people, in faith, and in the kingdom of God, we are storing up something that no economic collapse, no death, and no passing of time can ever take away. That is the life of more Jesus came to give.
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