The Service in PDF format is at: September 6,2020 Service
Video of service is at: Facebook Video
Peace Lutheran Church
Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
September 6, 2020
AS WE GATHER: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus’ disciples asked. Our Lord responded by welcoming a child into His midst. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Children are highly valued by our gracious God because they are completely dependent. On their own, they have nothing, yet they need everything. This is true for all of us in our relationship with God! On our own, we have only our sinful, broken lives and are unable to please God and fulfill His commands. Yet, in Jesus, we possess everything we need! In Jesus, we are, like children, completely dependent. We have nothing to offer, yet everything we need is ours to receive from the gracious hands of our Savior.
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Psalm 92:1-4
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!
C: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
P: to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night,
C: to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
P: For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your work; at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.
C: How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!
OPENING UP TO GOD AND ONE ANOTHER
P: Lord God, You promise grace and every blessing to all who come before You and repent of their sins. Hear us now as we, Your humble children, bring our prayers before You.
Silence for reflection
P: Most merciful Father,
C: we come before You and admit our sinfulness. In our thoughts, words, and actions, we have failed to do what Your Word demands. We have not honored You fully with our lives, nor have we loved one another as You have first loved us. In the name of our loving Savior Jesus, we ask for Your forgiveness. Because our Savior humbled himself for our sake upon the cross, enable us in true humility to receive the remission You promise to Your repentant children. Amen.
SONG OF CONFESSION: “White as Snow” (RECORDING from March 24, 2019)
By: Leon Olguin © 1990 Sound Truth Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.) Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
P: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” God the Father has taken your sins and laid them upon our humble Savior Jesus. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God does not count your sins against you. He has taken them away! He remembers them no more! He preserves and delivers you as His child forever! As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
FOCUSED PRAYER
P: Let us pray. O God, our gracious and loving Father, we are Your dependent children. Although we in no way deserve Your goodness, You freely offer Your grace to all who turn to You. Grant us faith to trust in Your Son, who humbled Himself for our salvation. We pray this through Jesus, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
R: “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
R: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
R: At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hellof fire.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of myFather who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosedin heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
R: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ!
P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
P: For all the children of God, the Holy Christian Church, that we proclaim the salvation of Christ wherever we are and to whomever we meet, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You as we live as Your children.
P: For the living out of our vocations, that no matter our station in life or what calling we have been given, that we faithfully represent our Savior with lives of humility and faith, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You as we live as Your children.
P: For all children, that they grow daily in the wisdom of the Lord, and for all parents and those who work to care for children, that they be guided in their important service of love, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You as we live as Your children.
P: For all public servants who selflessly serve others, both those who serve locally and those in positions throughout the world, that they would entrust their lives into the protecting care of their Maker, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You as we live as Your children.
P: For all who suffer in heart, mind, and body, (especially……..), that they with patience and faith receive the healing care You offer, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You as we live as Your children.
P: For these concerns and for every unspoken prayer that is on our hearts and minds, that our gracious God would hear and answer us, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Father, we depend on You for everything. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
PREFACE AND PRAYER
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 our thanks and praise.
P: Always and everywhere thanks and praise are due to you, holy Father, for the rich harvest you provide, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Like a grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies, his life was given that new life might sprout and grow, and ripen for eternal gathering. And so, with those who bear your name on earth and those who praise your name on high, we sing your praise.
C: Amen.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
P: The body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, strengthen and keep you in his grace.
C: Amen.
P: It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
C: to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
P: to declare Your steadfast love in the morning,
C: and Your faithfulness by night.
P: The Most High God now sends us out to praise His name and declare His love wherever we go!
P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.
C: Amen.
CLOSING SONG: “I Will Sing Praise” (Peace Choir recording from June 2, 2019)
By: Joseph Martin ©MCMXCIV Timespan Music, Inc. (BMI). All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
I will sing praise to the Lord, my God,
Lift up my voice in the sanctuary.
I will sing praise to the Lord, my God;
I will sing Alleluia and praise his holy name.
I will sing praise to the Lord, my God;
Lift up my voice in the sanctuary.
I will sing praise to the Lord, my God;
I will sing Alleluia, and praise his holy name.
Sing the glory of his name;
I will praise his name forever,
Oh, the name above all names.
I will sing praise to him, give all my life to him;
Oh, the glory of his name
(I will sing praise to)
The glory of his name!
Sing Alleluia, all heavens rejoice!
Sing Alleluia, lift high your voice,
Sing Alleluia and make a joyful noise,
joyful noise.
Oh I will sing praise to the Lord, my God,
Lift up my voice in the sanctuary.
I will sing praise to the Lord my God;
I will sing Alleluia,
and praise his holy name.
Praise his name. Praise his name!