SUN, JAN 4, 2026 | 2nd SUN after CHRISTMAS YRS ABC
A Well-Ordered House: A Prayer for Wisdom (1 Kings 3)
1 Kings 3:4–15 | Ephesians 1:3–14
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Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Well, thanks be to God, we have officially made it to 2026. Now, traditionally, the new year is a time of reflection on the past and planning for the future. When we look back at the prior year, we can both celebrate and lament. Some things were good. Some things were not so good. And then as we turn to look ahead to the coming year, we make resolutions. Where things were out of order last year, we seek to put them in order. Whether that’s through diet, exercise, budgeting, or some other area of personal growth and improvement we’re after.
And so as we begin this new calendar year here at Faith, we should do the same. When we look back at the prior year, what do we see? A congregation with a rich history, with so many great and committed people, and with a lot a lot of opportunities to grow and thrive. And 2025 was especially significant for our life together as I accepted your call to be you pastor. There’s a lot to celebrate.
And yes there have been some challenges, some bumps on the road, some threats. Some things to lament. There are some things that have been out of order that we need to work together to put back in to order.
The church father, St. Augustine reminds us in his book, On Christian Doctrine, that living the Christian Life is about living a well-ordered life. A life where our loves are in order. Where we love God first, and then we love the people that God has given to us, and then we can enjoy the blessings God has given us for the sake of God, others, and ourselves.
As the people of God, we have nothing to fear in all this. God is for us, so who can be against us? No one! We have the Word of Christ, the message of the cross, which brings forgiveness, life and salvation. We have His Holy Sacraments which have delivered and continue to deliver the pledge of God’s love and faithfulness to us. And we have the peace that surpasses understanding because we are the dear children of God, redeemed by the blood of our Savior, on the cross.
So as we begin this new year, we are free to set some goals, and to begin in earnest the work of starting a new chapter and establishing a new vision for our life together in the years ahead. So, where should we begin?
Well why didn’t we begin where Solomon began? When the Lord began something new in Solomon’s life, making him king over Israel, God commanded him to
Ask what I shall give you. (1 Kings 3:5).
What shall I give to you? God asks. What do you want? Then ask me for it. Pray for it.
How would you respond to that question?
Certainly there are a number of people who have a pressing desire. To the person who is struggling with a debilitating disease, what’s at the top of their list? Quality and length of life. Likewise, for the person who has a family member who is struggling, suffering, or dying, that becomes the top of the list. What do you want? I want my son, my daughter, my spouse, my parents, to live and to be healthy.
And there are other things that we want. Perhaps some want a loving relationship. Or a restoration of a broken relationship. Some are eager to have children, family. And our desires sometimes do go beyond ourselves. Maybe we want peace and tranquility in our nation and in the world. The list of our desires goes on and on.
I suppose that money would be at the top of the list for many people. What do you want? Make me rich. Give me wealth, possessions, the means to pay my debts and then to stop working and start living the life I want. The popularity of the lottery gives testimony to this. Every day countless people spend their hard earned money on the hope that maybe, just maybe, they will win a fortune.
It’s clear, isn’t it, that we need help to answer this question. When God commands, Ask what I shall give you, (1 Kings 3:5); And when we ourselves pray for God’s blessings, and make plans for the future, we need help. We need to recognize that our natural desires are not always good for us. Often, in fact, they are bad for us. And so we need wisdom. As individuals and as families and as a church, we need wisdom. And that wisdom is not found within us, but outside of us. It is found in God who comes to meet with us today. It comes to us through His Holy Word and Sacraments.
By the mercy of God, Solomon understood this. Notice how he responds when God commands him, saying Ask what I shall give you. (1 Kings 3:5).
First he give thanks to God for the blessings of the past. He says,
You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father. (1 Kings 3:6)
Then he gives thanks to God for the blessings of the present. He says,
Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father. (1 Kings 3:7)
Solomon says:
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You have been good to my family, God.
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And you’ve been good to me.
Paul says something similar in our Epistle reading today. Paul writes,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1: 3-4)
We as a church can echo that. We are rooted and established in these gifts of God. He has blessed with His Word and Sacrament. He has chosen us and gathered us together into His church, and into this particular congregation. And He has preserved us through highs and lows and has prepared a place for us in His kingdom which has no end.
And His purpose for us now, and forevermore is that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
There’s a purpose, a goal, a direction. There’s something that God desires of us His people. There’s a way of life that He desires. A well-ordered house that He wants us to establish and live within.
Solomon knows this. And He knows that it’s more than he can do. It’s more than he can accomplish. So Solomon confesses his own weakness and need. He humbles himself before God, saying:
I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. (1 Kings 3:7)
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I need your help. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know how to do this.
This is honest. Pretense and pride will get us nowhere. We cold charge forward with frenzied action. But as the proverb says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12)
When we go our own way, charging ahead with our own ideas, we are apt to fail. So instead, let’s admit that we don’t have all the answers. And let’s humble ourselves and seek God’s help, God’s wisdom for the days and months and years ahead.
After Solomon makes his confession, finally he makes a request. He answers God. This is what I want from you: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil…(1 Kings 3:9)
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Give me understanding. Give me discernment. Give me wisdom.
That’s my prayer, too. I know that God has blessed me and my family by the call to serve as your pastor. And I need help. I need wisdom from God.
And I invite you to pray that prayer too. For yourself and your own life, and for all the leaders and servants of our church and our school. We are, all of us, the children of God. He has been so good to us and we need His help, His wisdom, His guidance to lead and to serve each day.
When Solomon prays this, how does God respond?
God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. (1 Kings 3:10-12)
God grants Solomon’s request for wisdom. And He goes on.
“I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor…And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 Kings 3:13-14)
Wisdom. Then blessings and a future for years to come. That’s what comes when Solomon humbles himself and seeks God’s will. And in general, that’s what we can expect too. When we humble ourselves in prayer, when we gather together to receive God’s gifts…His Word and Sacraments, here in the Divine Service. When we devote ourselves to learning what the will of our Lord Christ is and learning to live by it. Then we can expect that He will grant us wisdom and blessings, and a future.
So let’s do that.
No fads, no frenzied activity. Instead, basic things done consistently day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
We begin, of course ,with worship each Sunday. The most basic and significant starting point for us is consistent worship. It’s each of you committing with the help of God to be here in His house every Sunday. It’s coming here to revere and adore Christ; and to receive His gifts for forgiveness, life, salvation, and peace.
And to that let’s add what Solomon did: Prayer. Diligent prayer for Wisdom. Prayer for God’s help. Prayer for God to meet the needs of families, individuals, church and school.
So here’s what I’ll commit to: Each week before worship at 9:15, I’ll plan to be here at the altar to pray. And I invite you to join me. Pray with me. Pray for me. Pray for yourself and for others.
And then, every Wednesday at 5pm, I’ll be here again in the Sanctuary to pray. We’ll gather for a brief service of prayer and lift up ourselves and others into the hands of God. Come, join us. If you can’t be here with us in person, join us in prayer from afar. Use the prayer list from the bulletin, or the more extensive prayer list that we print for our Wednesday service.
And beyond Sunday and Wednesday, I also want you, and your families, to set aside time every day to read God’s Word and to pray.
Let me say that again: I want you as individuals and families to gather together each day to read God’s Word and to pray.
For my family, we have our alarm set for 8pm each night. The alarm rings and we gather together for our Vespers – our evening prayer. We read our church-wide devotional: Come, Follow Me, and sometimes we sing a hymn. Then we pray for ourselves and others.
And I want you to do this too. Every day. This is the beginning of establishing a well-ordered house.
Now what will we pray for?
First let’s pray for the members of our congregation and their needs of body and soul. That’s what’s on our prayer lists, for the most part.
Then Let’s pray for the people of our community. You can pray for your own neighbors. And we can pray together for the people who live right here in the neighborhood God has placed us in. We’re near neighborhoods and families that need good news. We’re near the Marietta campus of KSU, not far from the Square. There are people everywhere around us. Let’s pray for them, earnestly, and ask for God to use us to bring good news to our own neighbors.
And then Let’s pray for the current and future students and families of our school. That God would use us to faithfully and diligently proclaim the Gospel to them and help them in the holy task of raising children in the one true faith.
And let’s pray for God to provide for our needs. We need to give generously. We need to pay off our debts. We need to gladly and eagerly invest in the ministry of the Gospel. We need to get our house in order.
And dear friends, don’t expect me to budge on this. For this house to be in order, we need to begin with prayer. And so that’s what we’re going to do. I want you to join us here. And I want you as individuals and families to gather together each day to read God’s Word and to pray.
At first it may be awkward. But as time goes by this will become our life together. We won’t be able to imagine moving forward any other way.
No fads, no flavors of the week. We begin with simple things done consistently, with worship and prayer.
Today, I have two things to give you. First, I want to give each family a guide for daily prayer. This is just an excerpt from our hymnal, and actually you could buy a hymnal for your family and use that at home. That’s what we do in our house. But each family can take one of these. And use them in your home each day. Just do it.
And then if you don’t already have one, please take a Come, Follow Me Devotional. My family and I use this every day for our devotional. This coming week we’re starting the devotions for Week 19. So take a daily prayer guide, take a book and join us on this journey.
For God has richly blessed us. We are His people who are blessed with the great privilege of gathering in His Holy house to receive His Word and Sacrament. We have every blessing in the heavenly places. So let’s thank God and seek His Wisdom as we establish a Well-Ordered House, here at Faith. Amen.
Now the Peace of God, which surpasses understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in the one true faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.