The Bulletin is at: 06-25-2017 – Bulletin
The Service in PDF is at: 06-25-2017 – 3rd Sun a Pentecost
or the service is as follows:
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
June 25, 2017
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
AS WE GATHER: How many times have you thought the grass was greener on the other side? We sometimes feel that tension with our jobs and relationships. We might be dissatisfied with what we have now and think something better is just over there. Through our Baptism into Jesus’ name, we have the very best, because we are God’s children. Yet, we still live in this world and the chains that once held us captive in sin seem to entice us to our former way of living. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
OPENING UP TO GOD AND ONE ANOTHER
P: 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
C: 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.
P: 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.
C: Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE – “The Church’s One Foundation” LBW 369 (vs. 1-4)
- The Church’s One Foundation Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is his new creation By water and the Word.
From heav’n he came and sought her To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, And for her life he died.
- Elect from ev’ry nation, Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth,
One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses with ev’ry grace endued.
- Though with a scornful wonder This world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up: “How Long?”
And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.
- Through toil and tribulation And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore;
Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest
And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
P: Let us Pray. Almighty God, our refuge, our fortress, our God in whom we trust, hear our prayers this day.
C: 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.
P: 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.
C: For You live and reign as one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— now and forever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Daniel 6:1-10, 16-23. Daniel and the Lions’ Den
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
Life will be hard in these last days. Fear not, for God is with us.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,
Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
C: 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.
- In Christ alone my hope is found,
His is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are still, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
- In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on the cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
- There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
- No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me’
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!
Ryan Guenther
Grant Hellesto
Savannah Stokes
OFFERING (We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us— ourselves, our time, our possessions.)
OFFERTORY
P: 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,
C: hear our prayer.
P: 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,
C: hear our prayer.
P: 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. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: 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,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, in Jesus’ name.
C: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
FIRST COMMUNION FOR OUR CONFIRMANDS
CLOSING HYMN – “Let All Things Now Living” LBW (green) 557
- Let all things now living A song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise,
Who fashioned and made us, Protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night,
Till shadows have vanished And darkness is banished,
As forward we travel from light into light.
- His law he enforces, The stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, The rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing Our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a song lets us raise
Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving:
“To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!”
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.
DISMISSAL
P: Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.