The Service in PDF format is at: September 20,2020 Service
Video of service is at: Facebook Video
Peace Lutheran Church
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
September 27, 2020
OPENING SONG “Here I Am, Lord” (recorded on September 12)
Text: Isaiah 6; Dan Schutte, b. 1947 Tune: Dan Schutte, b. 1947; arr. by Michael Pope, SJ, and John Weissrock ©1981, OCP Publications
I, the Lord of sea and sky I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save
I, who made the stars of night I will make their darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
CHORUS: Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart
I, the Lord of snow and rain I have borne my people’s pain
I have wept for love of them They turn away
I will break their hearts of stone Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my words to them Whom shall I send?
CHORUS
I, the Lord of wind and flame I will send the poor and lame
I will set a feast for them My hand will save
Finest bread I will provide ‘Til their hearts be satisfied
I will give my life to them Whom shall I send?
CHORUS
INVOCATION Psalm 25
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
C: I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame,
P: nor let my enemies see triumph over me.
C: No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,
P: but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
C: Show me your ways, Lord,
P: teach me your paths.
C: Guide me in your truth and teach me,
P: for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
C: Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
P: Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
C: according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS
P: Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and count on His goodness to come our way with His forgiveness.
Silence for self-examination
P: Though God invites us to speak with Him in prayer, we have ignored His invitation. We may be tempted to choose complaining and worrying over conversing with God. We may be tempted to listen to ourselves and the world instead of to God’s Word. We turn to God’s infinite mercy and ask for His forgiveness.
A time of silence is observed.
P: Heavenly Father,
C: we confess that we have ignored You and the gift of prayer and conversation with You. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus, have mercy on us. Forgive us our sin. Restore us as Your beloved people.
P: God hears your confession and invites you back into holy conversation with Him. Almighty God in His mercy showed His love for us in this, that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die and rise for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Joshua 3:1-8
R: Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubitsin length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”
R: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 21:23-32
R: And when Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
R: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ!
MESSAGE “Pray Hard”
P: As You have promised, Lord, hear Your people when they call, and answer us according to Your mercy,
P: Almighty Father, You take no pleasure in the death of anyone. As John the Baptist once called a people to repentance and faith, so raise up voices within Your Church today to call a world to turn from their sins and live through faith in Christ. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Almighty Father, You are gracious and merciful without end. Deliver us from a spirit of complaint, and keep us from grumbling at Your call to serve You with all that we are and all that we have. Grant us grace to fulfill our baptismal calling where You have placed us. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Almighty Father, You know our enemies and those whose purpose is set against Yours. Give Your blessing to all who defend our nation here and abroad and to all emergency personnel and disaster workers who come to our aid in time of need. Guide the nations in the paths of peace and deliver us from terror and violence. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Almighty Father, You have given us healing, comfort, and peace Jesus, especially in times of illness, affliction, depression, and sorrow. Hear us on behalf of (names……..) all who suffer any need. Grant them grace sufficient to sustain them in their hour of trouble and at last deliver them into the perfect rest of Your eternal presence. Lord, in Your mercy,
P: Lord, grant us grateful hearts that with our voices we offer You the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and with our tithes and offerings show forth our confidence in Your loving care and our desire to support the work of Your people. 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 through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
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: “This is My Father’s World” LBW 554
(RECORDING OF CONGREGATION SINGING)
Text: Malbie D. Babcock, 1858-1901, Tune: Franklin L. Sheppard, 1852-1930, adapt. © 1978 by Lutheran Chuch in America, The American Lutheran Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cananda, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
This is my Father’s world, And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world; the birds their carols raise;
The morning light, the lily white, Declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world; He shines in all that’s fair.
In the rustling grass I hear him pass; He speaks to me ev’ry where.
This is my Father’s world; Oh, let me not forget
That, though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world, why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the heavens ring; God reigns, let the earth be glad!
DISMISSAL