Blog

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Prelude

Gathering

Confession and Forgiveness

Please stand as you are able. The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

P:  In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

C:  Amen.

P:  Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C:  Amen.

P:  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Please kneel or stand as you are able. Silence is kept for reflection.

P:  Most merciful God,

C:  we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

P:  In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

C:  Amen.

Please stand as you are able.

Entrance Hymn #719 (blue hymnal)

“God Is Here!”

1  God is here! As we your people
meet to offer praise and prayer,
may we find in fuller measure
what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us,
all our varied skills and arts
wait the coming of the Spirit
into open minds and hearts.

2  Here are symbols to remind us
of our lifelong need of grace;
here are table, font, and pulpit;
here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of preaching,
here in silence, as in speech,
here, in newness and renewal,
God the Spirit comes to each.

3  Here our children find a welcome
in the Shepherd’s flock and fold;
here as bread and wine are taken,
Christ sustains us as of old.
Here the servants of the Servant
seek in worship to explore
what it means in daily living
to believe and to adore.

4  Lord of all, of church and kingdom,
in an age of change and doubt,
keep us faithful to the gospel;
help us work your purpose out.
Here, in this day’s dedication,
all we have to give, receive;
we, who cannot live without you,
we adore you! We believe!

Greeting

P:  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

C:  And also with you.

Kyrie

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 12)

L:  In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

C:  Lord, have mercy.

L:  For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

C:  Lord, have mercy.

L:  For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

C:  Lord, have mercy.

L:  For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.

C:  Lord, have mercy.

L:  Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

C:  Amen.

Hymn of Praise

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 15)

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor and blessing and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing and honor, glory and might to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

For the Lamb, the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. Alleluia.

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Amen.

Prayer of the Day

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  And also with you.

P:  Let us pray.
Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we do your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

C:  Amen.

The Word

Blessing of the Lector

P:  Let us pray.
Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from you. Bless Sherry, who will read to us the scriptures. Make us hunger for the Word of life, Jesus Christ our Lord.

C:  Amen.

Please be seated.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 20:7-13

⁷ O LORD, you have enticed me,
 and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
 and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
 everyone mocks me.
⁸ For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
 I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the LORD has become for me
 a reproach and derision all day long.
⁹ If I say, “I will not mention him,
 or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
 shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
 and I cannot.
¹⁰ For I hear many whispering:
 “Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
 All my close friends
 are watching for me to stumble.
“Perhaps he can be enticed,
 and we can prevail against him,
 and take our revenge on him.”
¹¹ But the LORD is with me like a dread warrior;
 therefore my persecutors will stumble,
 and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
 for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
 will never be forgotten.
¹² O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous,
 you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
 for to you I have committed my cause.

¹³ Sing to the LORD;
 praise the LORD!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
 from the hands of evildoers.

  The word of the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

Psalmody

“Lord, in Your Great Love, Answer Me” (Psalm 69)
Francesca LaRosa

Refrain (Leader)
Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Refrain (All)
Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Leader
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

Refrain (All)

Leader
I pray to you, O Lord,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me with your constant help.
Answer me, O Lord,
for bounteous is your kindness:
in your great mercy turn toward me.

Refrain (All)

Leader
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek out God, may your hearts revive!
For the Lord hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”

Refrain (All)

Second Lesson: Romans 6:1b-11

^1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
 ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸ But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

  The word of the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

Please stand as you are able.

Gospel Acclamation

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 17)

Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

P:  The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 10th chapter.

C:  Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to the twelve: ²⁴ “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵ it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
 ²⁶ “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
 ³² “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³ but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
 ³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
 ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father,
 and a daughter against her mother,
 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
 ³⁶ and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

P:  The Gospel of the Lord.

C:  Praise to you, O Christ.

Please be seated.

Children’s Sermon

Sermon

Silence for reflection and meditation.

Hymn of the Day #504 (green hymnal)

“O God, My Faithful God”

Affirmation of Baptism: Welcoming a New Member

P:  Dear friends, we give thanks for this brother, who the Holy Spirit has called and gathered, one with us in the body of Christ, that we might be sent into the world together. Today he is making public affirmation of his baptism and joining our life and ministry in Christ at St. Paul Lutheran Church.

☩ Brad Majewski ☩

  Let us pray.
Merciful God, we thank you for this brother whom you have made your own by water and the Word in baptism. You have called him to yourself, enlightened him with the gifts of your Spirit, and nourished him in the community of faith. Uphold your servants in the gifts and promises of baptism, and unite the hearts of all whom you have brought to new birth. We ask this in the name of Christ.

C:  Amen.

Please stand as you are able.

Profession of Faith

P:  I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the Church.

  Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?

C:  I renounce them.

P:  Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?

C:  I renounce them.

P:  Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?

C:  I renounce them.

P:  Do you believe in God the Father?

C:  I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

P:  Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

C:  I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
He ascended into heaven,
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

P:  Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

C:  I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Address and Questions

P:  Our brother in Christ: you have made public profession of your faith. In baptism, we are welcomed into the body of Christ and sent to share in the mission of God. We are called to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in your baptism among God’s people in this place?

New Member: I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.

P:  People of God, do you promise to support and pray for this brother in his life in Christ?

C:  We do, and we ask God to help and guide us.

P:  Let us pray.
We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give us new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life. Stir up in this brother the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.

C:  Amen.

Welcome

A:  Let us welcome this brother in Christ to this community of faith.

C:  We rejoice with you in the life of baptism. Together we will give thanks and praise to God and proclaim the good news to all the world.

Special Music

“Welcome to the Family of Love”
Handt Hanson

Prayers of Intercession

A:  Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

After each petition:

A:  Lord, in your mercy,

C:  Hear our prayer.

After the last petition:

A:  Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C:  Amen.

The Peace

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C:  And also with you.

The ministers and congregation may greet one another with a gesture of peace.

Please remain standing for the offertory.

Invitation to Offering

A:  Since the Lord has told us not to be afraid because we are worth more than many sparrows (Matt. 10:29-31), let us give our offering trusting in God’s care.

Offertory

“We Are an Offering”
Dwight Liles, arr. Henry Wiens

  We lift our voices,
we lift our hands,
we lift our lives up to you.
We are an offering.
Lord, use our voices,
Lord, use our hands,
Lord, use our lives. They are yours.
We are an offering.
All that we have,
all that we are,
all that we hope to be we give to you,
we give to you.

  We lift our voices,
we lift our hands,
we lift our lives up to you.
We are an offering.
Lord, use our voices,
Lord, use our hands,
Lord, use our lives. They are yours.
We are an offering.
All that we have,
all that we are,
all that we hope to be we give to you,
we give to you.

  We lift our voices,
we lift our hands,
we lift our lives up to you.
We are an offering.
Lord, use our voices,
Lord, use our hands,
Lord, use our lives. They are yours.
We are an offering, we are an offering.

Offertory Prayer

A:  Let us pray.

C:  Blessed are you, O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Meal

The Great Thanksgiving

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  And also with you.

P:  Lift up your hearts.

C:  We lift them to the Lord.

P:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:  It is right to give him thanks and praise.

P:  It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, through Christ our Lord; who on this day overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Sanctus

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 22)

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of pow’r and might:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

P:  In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

  Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

The Lord’s Prayer

P:  Lord, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
 hallowed be thy name,
 thy kingdom come,
 thy will be done,
  on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
 as we forgive those
  who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
 and the power, and the glory,
 forever and ever. Amen.

Invitation to Communion

P:  All people are called to Christ’s table. Come, eat what is good.

Please be seated.

Agnus Dei

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 25)

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us, have mercy on us, have mercy.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us, have mercy on us, have mercy.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us peace.

Communion

P:  The Body of Christ, broken for you.

  The Blood of Christ, shed for you.

Those who wish to commune at the altar rail may either bring forward their individual Communion kit, or receive the wafer and wine/grape juice by intinction (dipping) from the Communion Ministers, when they are directed forward by the usher. Those who wish to commune in their seat with their individual Communion kit may remain seated.

Communion Hymn

“Will You Come and Follow Me”

Table Blessing

P:  The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.

C:  Amen.

Post-Communion Canticle

♫ WOV Setting 4
(blue hymnal, p. 27)

Thankful hearts and voices raise; tell everyone what God has done.
Let all who seek the Lord rejoice, rejoice and bear Christ’s holy name.
Send us, O God, with your promises, and lead us forth in joy
with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer

A:  Let us pray.
Pour out upon us the spirit of your love, O Lord, and unite the wills of those whom you have fed with one heavenly food; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C:  Amen.

Sending

Announcements for God’s Mission in the World

Please stand as you are able.

Blessing

P:  Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.

C:  Amen.

Closing Hymn #507 (green hymnal)

“How Firm a Foundation”

1  How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he has said
who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

2  “Fear not, I am with you, oh, be not dismayed,
for I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

3  “When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply.
The flames shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

4  “Throughout all their lifetime my people shall prove
my sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
and then, when gray hairs shall their temples adorn,
like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.”

Dismissal

A:  Go in peace. Serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

Postlude

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Worship Leaders

The Rev. Karl Biermann, ELCA Regional Gift Planner, Preacher
The Rev. Emily Beckering, Pastor, Presiding
Kris Keith, Music Director
Kate Wollenburg, Organist
Donald Harris, Assisting Minister
Sherry Bronner, Reader

Upcoming Events

Copyright Notices

God Is Here!: Text by Fred Pratt Green © 1979 and music by Cyril V. Taylor © 1942, Ren. 1970 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Lord, in Your Great Love, Answer Me: Music by Francesca LaRosa © 2023 Francesca LaRosa. The English translation of the Psalm Response from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Welcome to the Family of Love: Words and music by Handt Hanson © 1985 Changing Church Forum, Inc.

We Are an Offering: Words and music by Dwight Liles and arr. Henry Wiens © 1984 Curb Word Music (Admin. by WC Music Corp.)

Will You Come and Follow Me: Text by John L. Bell © 1987 Iona Community, admin. GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.1358.

How Firm a Foundation: Setting © 1967 by The Bethany Press. Used by permission.

Hymns/anthems: Music reprinted and streamed by permission under ONE LICENSE #A‐726103 and CCLI Licenses #21045423 and #21045416. All rights reserved.

Liturgical texts and service music: From SundaysandSeasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS010308.