The Bulletin is at: 09-09-2018 – bulletin

The Service in PDF format is at: 09-09-2018 – Service

No recording as this was a outside service

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

September 9, 2018

PRE-SERVICE MUSIC

AS WE GATHER…Sometimes when a student does a good job on an assignment, the teacher will reward him or her with a gold star.  A gold star is a symbol for a job well done.  Yet, not every assignment that a student completes is handed back with a gold star on top.  Not every test or paper is done well.  Jesus, however, is different.  The crowds in today’s Gospel proclaim with astonishment, “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37).  The people are right:  Jesus can do only good because He is God, and God is good!  In His healing, preaching, and teaching, He does all things well.  The center of our church family at Peace is Jesus.  As we kick-off the Sunday School year at Peace, we recognize that Jesus is guiding and directing it all!

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING PRAISE SONG: “Shine Jesus Shine”

Lord, the Light of Your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness shining;

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us.

Set us free by the truth You now bring us.

Shine on me, shine on me. – Refrain

Refrain:  Shine, Jesus, shine,

Fill this land with the Father’s glory;

Blaze, Spirit, blaze, Set our hearts on fire.

Flow, river flow, Flood the nations with grace and mercy.

Send forth Your Word, Lord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,

From the shadows into Your radiance;

By the blood I may enter Your brightness,

Search me, try me, consume all my darkness,

Shine on me, shine on me.  – Refrain

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,

So our faces display Your likeness;

Ever changing from glory to glory,

Mirror’d here may our lives tell Your story,

Shine on me, shine on me. – Refrain

 

OPENING BLESSING AND FOCUS          Psalm 146

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

C:  Amen. 

P:  I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Women:      Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, I my soul! 

Men:          I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Women:      Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 

Men:          When his breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Women:      Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. 

Men:          Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

Women:      Who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. 

Men:          The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

Women:      The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 

P:  Praise the Lord!  I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

WE CONFESS

P:  Brothers and sisters, we gather together as the baptized children of God.  Let us come to Him admitting our need of Him and asking His forgiveness.

A time of silence is observed.

P:  We confess,

C: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we, Your children, admit to You our waywardness.  We have sinned against You in our thoughts, in our words, and in our deeds.  We do not deserve Your love.  Yet by Your own promise we dare to come before You asking Your grace.  Forgive us our sins, gather us as Your own children, and give us Your love and life.  Amen. 

P:  Having admitted your need for God’s forgiveness, I, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen. 

SONG OF GUIDANCE: “Children of the Heavenly Father”

Children of the heav’nly Father,
safely in His bosom gather;
nestling bird nor star in heaven
such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish;
in His holy courts they flourish.
From all evil things He spares them;
in His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever
from the Lord His children sever;
unto them His grace He showeth,
and their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
to preserve them pure and holy.

PRAYER FOCUS

P:  Let us Pray…You O Lord, tirelessly seek the lost and the strayed.

C: We praise You for finding us, welcoming us, and redeeming us. 

P:  Like Joseph, we find ourselves in the darkest of pits,

C: we pray today for those who have caused harm to us in life; give us the strength to forgive.  Help us to not despair, but to live in the hope found in Jesus;

P:  through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

FIRST LESSON:       Genesis 37:12-24

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Now Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[a] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

GOSPEL:           Mark 7:31-37

The healing of the deaf and mute man

31 Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus[a] charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

SERMON HYMN: “Leaning On the Everlasting Arms”

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! – Refrain 

Refrain – Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! – Refrain

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! – Refrain

SERMON                                                                          

APOSTLES’ CREED

C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

           Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

           Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

           Born of the virgin Mary,

           Suffered under Pontius Pilate,

           Was crucified, died and was buried.

           He descended into hell.

           The third day He rose again from the dead.

           He ascended into heaven

           And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the

 dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

           The holy Christian Church,

                  The communion of saints,

           The forgiveness of sins,

           The resurrection of the body,

           And the life + everlasting.  Amen. 

OFFERING

COLLECTION OF MITES

OFFERTORY

LORD’S PRAYER

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 

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

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

P:  Gracious Father, we believe that without Your Son, we are dead in our trespasses and overcome by our by our own sinful desires.  Be merciful to us and help us to keep Jesus as the center of our lives.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C: hear our prayer. 

P:  Grant us true humility as little children.  Deliver us from temptation and keep us in the faith.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C: hear our prayer. 

P:  We pray for all the little ones who believe in You, the youngest members of our congregation as well as those of every generation who are called Your children.  Bless parents, pastors, and teachers to teach Your truth and Your ways, that we may grow in Christ’s forgiveness and live as Your children.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C: hear our prayer. 

P:  Give to us such love that cares for one another that we call those to sin to repentance in order to joyfully speak Your forgiveness.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C: hear our prayer. 

P:  Gracious Father, fill us with care for the members of our earthly families and especially those of the family of faith.  We thank you for our special spiritual family at Peace and pray that You would lead us in our Sunday School efforts this year.  We also pray for with illness and trouble.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C: hear our prayer. 

P:  Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy.  We pray these things through Your Son, Jesus, our Lord.

C: Amen. 

BENEDICTION

CLOSING HYMN: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”         LBW 543

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

Let all who hear Now to his temple draw near,

Joining in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning

And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining.

Have you not seen All that is needful has been

Sent by his gracious ordaining?

Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;

Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do

If with his love he befriend you.

Praise to the Lord!  Oh, let all that is in me adore him!

All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him!

Let the amen Sound from his people again.

Gladly forever adore him!

DISMISSAL