The Service in PDF format is at: June 13, 2021 Service
Video of service is at: Facebook Video
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
June 13, 2021
We welcome you in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are honored with your presence. If you do not have a church home, you are invited to join us regularly. Please introduce yourself to Pastor Jeremy Lucke or one of the Ushers as you leave today and sign the guest book in the entryway. We continue to observe the guidelines for health safety, if you have any questions about that, please see an usher. Everyone is welcome.
The ringing of the bell and the lighting of the Christ candle mark the beginning of our service and a time for quiet meditation, prayer and inward reflection as we begin our worship.
Children are welcome at our worship services. However, if you prefer, Peace Lutheran has a playroom equipped for children three years old and younger, the room is unstaffed and can be accessed in the fellowship hall where the service is also being live streamed for your convenience and enjoyment.
Holy Communion is celebrated every first and third Sunday and will follow the order of service in the bulletin. First Sundays are a drive in Communion Service and the Third Sunday is in the sanctuary. Guests, if you are a baptized Christian and share our faith in Jesus as Savior and have been instructed in the meaning and use of the Lord’s Supper, you are invited to come to the altar. We have pre-wrapped communion wine or juice and wafers. We also have gluten-free wafers available. If you desire a gluten-free wafer, ask the server. May the body and blood of Jesus, present in the bread and wine, be a blessing to you.
There are times during the service when you will be asked to stand if you are able. Please feel free to remain seated if standing is difficult.
AS WE GATHER…Many of the parables of Jesus have to do with agriculture—from the parable of the sower to this short description of the Kingdom like a mustard seed. There are so many little details with application to our lives, but today the focus is on the seed and the mystery of how it grows. What brings the seed from planting to harvest is the providence of God and His goodness and power. This is both the object of our interest and the domain of faith that trusts what the eye does not see and the mind does not comprehend. At the end of it all is the harvest; God brings into His storehouse all the fruits of His seed planted in good soil. The blissful ignorance we have of this process should not deprive us of the joy its outcome.
RINGING OF THE BELL After the ringing of the bell, we take a few moments in silence to prepare our hearts and minds for today’s worship.
OPENING SONG: “You are My All in All”
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING UP TO GOD AND ONE ANOTHER
Pastor: As Christians, we do not make the claim that we know everything that there is to know about God. Much of who God is and why God acts is a mystery. One aspect of God that we do know, however, is that God is loving, merciful and forgiving. Each week we celebrate this known attribute of God by confessing our sin and receiving God’s forgiveness. Today is no different. Let us take a few moments of silence to reflect upon our need for God’s forgiveness.
Silent Reflection
People: Lord, forgive us today for our arrogant ways. We think that we can live life without You and Your grace. We have lived as if You did not matter and as if we mattered the most. Let Your amazing love have its way with us today. Strengthen our faith through this forgiveness, we want to do better.
People: God is merciful. God never fails to help those who call upon Him in faith. Through this gift of the forgiveness of sins, you also receive the assurance that God is near. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I announce God’s goodness to you. Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE: “I Love You, Lord” TOSB 225 (x2)
Pastor: Let us Pray. Almighty God, our refuge, our fortress, our God in whom we trust, hear our prayers this day.
People: As You have done for Your people throughout the centuries, defend us from persecution, stand with us in our struggles, give us strength to stand firm in the face of fear and uncertainty, and raise us up with Your mighty right hand.
Pastor: Lead us by Your Spirit in these days as we share Your name in all circumstances and as we live our lives as Your chosen people.
People: For You live and reign as one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—now and forever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Old Testament: Ezekiel 17:22-24
The Lord promises to plant a sprig and make it grow.
Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17
We walk by faith and not by sight.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
GOSPEL: Mark 4:26-34
The kingdom of God is like a seed.
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And was 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,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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.
SERMON HYMN: “On Eagles’ Wings” LSB 727
Words & Music by Michael Joncas © OCP Publications
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord,
“My refuge, my Rock in whom I trust.
CHORUS: And He will raise you up on eagle wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
The snare of the fowler will never capture you,
and famine will bring you no fear
under His wings your refuge,
His faithfulness your shield
CHORUS
You need not fear the terror of the night,
not the arrow that flies by day,
though thousands fall about you,
near you it shall not come.
CHORUS
For to His angels He’s given a command
to guard you in all of your ways;
upon their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
CHORUS
SERMON
Pastor: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Almighty and ever-living God, we give You thanks and praise for being a just and forgiving God. We praise You for being our refuge, our fortress, and our God in whom we trust. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing our prayers this day and every day. We name before You this day our brothers and sisters who are struggling in body, mind, and spirit, and ask for Your strength, comfort, and healing, (including………). Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Lord Jesus, You united us in a common faith and family at our Baptism. Lead and guide us in living out our baptismal faith as we speak up about You in this world, so that the people we connect with may hear Your Word. Bless this day our friends in Christ at College United Methodist Church in Philomath and their pastor, Pastor Jim Pierce. We thank you for the faithful witness they show for Jesus in our community. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: O Holy Spirit, You work in many unseen and mysterious ways. As we look around our world, we see destruction and violence. We ask that You bring peace and wholeness. We ask for You to give Your wisdom to all the leaders of our world, our nation, our state, and our community, so that they may govern justly. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Heavenly Father, we thank You for graciously bringing Grant Hellesto to this point in his education. For all the efforts of parents and teachers through these years we praise You. We ask wisdom and guidance for Grant as he makes decisions about his life. Give him a rich measure of Your Spirit as fields of study and opportunities for employment become available. May he ever grow closer to You in faith and with his life honor the name of Your only Son, Jesus, our Lord. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Lord God, You have provided a Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School teachers and students this year at Peace to learn about You and Your love. Receive our thanks for the head and heart knowledge gained this year during our Sunday School programming. As we turn toward summer, we ask that You would give them good rest and even more assurance of Your love. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, in Jesus’ name.
People: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
CLOSING HYMN: “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” LSB 922 (vs. 1-4 only)
Text: Jaraslav J. Vajda, 1919-2008, Tune: Welsh, 18th cent; setting: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958 © 1983 Concordia Publishing House.
Go, My children, with My blessing, Never alone.
Waking, sleeping, I am with you; You are My own.
In My love’s baptismal river I have made you Mine forever.
Go, My children with My blessing You are My own.
I the Lord will bless and keep you And give you peace;
I the Lord will smile upon you And give you peace:
I the Lord will be your Father, Savior, Comforter, and Brother.
Go, My children; I will keep you And give you peace.
Pastor: 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.
People: Amen.
DISMISSAL
Pastor: Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
THANK YOU!!!
Sandi Labahn wanted to say a big thank you to you all! She writes: all of my loving thanks to all who have sent cards and flowers and the food. It was deeply appreciated. Of course, I’ve loved all the phone calls and texts. It’s a hard time right now but I know I’ll make it through with the help from everybody.
~Sandi Labahn and family
TODAY WE HONOR OUR GRADUATE: Honoring our High School graduate, Grant Hellesto! If you would like to bring a card for Grant feel free to drop it at the church or mail to the Hellestos! There is a little write up from Grant hanging on the Narthex library shelves, wander over and have a look then come on out to the patio for our first fellowship that just happens to coincide with honoring our graduate.
FIRST FELLOWSHIP – TODAY – It is a good day! We are offering a light fellowship hour. All goodies are being provided by Peace Lutheran Church and everything will be served to you. Coffee will be available as well as donuts or cookies. Please allow our volunteers to pour your coffee. Thank you Craig, Sharon & Anna for being our volunteers today!
DO YOU HAVE A NAME – Do you have someone in mind for the secretary position here at Peace Lutheran Church? Let one of the Elders or Pastor know.
