The Bulletin is at: 10-13-2019 – Bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 10-13-2019 – Service
or the service is as follows:
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
October 13, 2019
AS WE GATHER…The old story of footprints in the sand reminds us that God’s path is not always visible to us as we look ahead, but it is more often clear as we look behind us. The story of Ruth illustrates this in a profound way. The future is not known to us, but God has promised to be with us, to guide us on the path, toward the future He has prepared for us in Jesus. When we fear for that future, we have the witness of the saints—Old Testament and New—whose trust in the Lord was vindicated and in whom the mercy of the Lord was more than enough to lead them to everlasting life.
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC: Clara Stanley
“Russian Fantasia No. 2” By: Leo Portoff
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.
L: In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
L: Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
C: Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!
L: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
C: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
L: to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.
C: Praise the Lord.
WE CONFESS…
L: Mighty and merciful Lord, with heavy hearts we confess our sin to You.
C: Captive to sin, we have sinned against You, mighty God, in thought, word and deed when we have ignored the plight of the poor, when our happiness is dependent upon our possessions and our wealth, and when we have failed to be generous to others. Give us hearts of change, Lord.
SONG OF CONFESSION: “White as Snow” (twice through)
White as snow, white as snow,
Though my sins were as scarlet
Lord, I know, Lord, I know
That I’m clean and forgiven.
Through the power of Your blood,
Through the wonder of Your love,
Through faith in You
I know that I can be white as snow.
White as snow.
L: There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. Your sins are as white as snow and they are forgiven. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
L: Let us Pray. Almighty God, You show mercy to Your people in all their troubles. Grant us always to recognize Your goodness, give thanks for Your compassion, and praise Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DAY
L: Today is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost as we journey through the final third of the Pentecost season of life and growth. Today we are encouraged to learn from the example of Ruth who trusted in the Lord and whom the Lord delivered, just as He delivered the lepers from their afflictions. In the Old Testament Reading from Ruth, we hear the introduction to the life of Ruth and her pledge to Orpah and the Lord. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear the familiar account of ten lepers who were cleansed but only one who returned to the Lord with thanksgiving and faith. The children and youth will be sharing our readings today.
Where you go, I will go.
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
CHILDREN’S SONG: “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
SERMON “The faith of an Immigrant”
CHORUS: Bless the Lord, oh my soul, Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name. Sing like never before,
Oh my soul I’ll worship Your Holy name.
The sun comes up, It’s a new day dawning.
It’s time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass, And whatever lies before me,
Let me be singing When the evening comes. CHORUS
You’re rich in love, And You’re slow to anger
Your name is great And Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons For my heart to find. CHORUS
And on that day When my strength is failing
The end draws near And my time has come
Still my soul will Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years And then forevermore. CHORUS x2
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name
Jesus I will worship Your Holy name
Worship Your Holy name
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
The offerings gathered are a sign of our whole lives offered to God in humble gratitude for his greatest of all offerings, his Son offered for our salvation.
OFFERTORY: Alyssa Stanley “Amazing Grace”
L: Welcomed by the Lord, we come to present before Him the prayers of His people, trusting in His wisdom and grace to grant us all things in Christ for our good and for the good of all people.
L: Blessed Lord, you led Ruth to know You and by Your Spirit taught her fearful heart to trust in You for the future You had prepared. Grant us the same Spirit so that we, who know Your mercy in Christ, trust in Your eternal mercy in Jesus for this life, for our forgiveness, and for our eternal salvation. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
L: Lord of all things, You have granted Your people Your presence and grace from age to age, that where Your Word dwells, You are present with forgiveness and life. Grant Your Church and those who minister to us in Your name the grace of Your Spirit, that we hear Your Word and believe it, keep it in our hearts, live it out in faithfulness to Your baptismal gift, and proclaim it to the ends of the earth. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
L: Mighty Lord, You hold all things in Your hand, including all the might of man. Give us wise and faithful leaders who will guide and govern Your people according to Your commands and protect the weak and most vulnerable, including the unborn, the orphaned, the widowed, and the infirm. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
L: Merciful Lord, You granted hope to lepers and gave them healing according to Your will and purpose. Grant to all the sick and suffering, the troubled in mind and heart, the grieving and dying the full measure of Your grace and strength, (especially…). Guard them against the temptation to doubt or despair and keep them by Your Word through the days of their troubles when all the ills of this life shall cease and we will live fully the abundant life of Your promise. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
L: Generous Lord, You daily provide mercies new and continue to nourish and nurture us in Your favor through all adversity. Instill in us a grateful heart, that we not presume Your goodness but live thankful and joyful lives because You have heard our cry and have delivered to us all that we need for this body and life. We pray these things through Jesus, to whom we commend ourselves and all our prayers, trusting in Your mercy through Your Son, Jesus, our Lord.
C: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
CLOSING SONG: “Let All Things Now Living” LBW 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!”