September 18, 2026 - Luke 12-14

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” (12:22-24)  Jesus goes on to talk about the span of life, calls on his disciples to consider the lilies and Solomon and the grass, ending with, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (12:32-34).  This is not a call to poverty and asceticism; rather, it is a call to trust God.

Why should I feel discouraged?

Why should the shadows come?

Why should my heart be lonely

And long for heav’n and home,

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant Friend is He:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy—

I sing because I’m free—

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.   -- Civilla D. Martin (1905)