St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Alliance, Ohio
Sunday, July 23, 2023
9:30 AM
Confession and Forgiveness
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot
free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what
we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our
whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your
Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that
we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy
name.
Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
First Reading: Isaiah 44:6-8
6Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7Who is like me? Let them
proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced
from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. 8Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there
any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm: Psalm 86:11-17
11Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk | in your truth; give
me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12I will thank you, O Lord
my God, with | all my heart, and glorify your name forevermore.
13For great is your | love toward me; you
have delivered me from the | pit of death.
14The arrogant rise up
against me, O God, and a band of violent people | seeks my life; they
have not set you before their eyes.
15But you, O Lord, are
gracious and full | of compassion, slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.
16Turn to me and have mercy
on me; give your strength to your servant, and save the child | of your handmaid. 17Show me a sign of your
favor, so that those who hate me may see
it and be | put to shame; because you, Lord,
have helped me and comforted me.
Second Reading: Romans 8:12-25
12So then,
brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to
the flesh—13for if you
live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to
death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by
the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of
slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.
When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also
be glorified with him. 18I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory
about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for
the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to
futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in
hope 21that the
creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole
creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the
creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were
saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what
we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
24[Jesus] put
before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;25but while everybody was
asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went
away. 26So when the
plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the
householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your
field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy
has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather
them?’ 29But he
replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with
them. 30Let both of
them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the
reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but
gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
36Then he left the crowds
and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to
us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who
sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed
are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil
one, 39and the enemy
who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers
are angels. 40Just as the
weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the
age. 41The Son of
Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes
of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of
fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears
listen!”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O
Christ.
SERMON
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of
heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the
right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the
dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and
the life everlasting. Amen
Prayers of Intercession, PEACE, OFFERING
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
DISMISSAL
Liturgy and hymns
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