Service outline for Sunday, September 3, 2023

                                                 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Alliance, Ohio

Sunday, September 3, 2023

9:30 AM

PRELUDE        I Have Decided to Follow Jesus          arr. Walters

 Confession and Forgiveness

 Blessed be God, the one who forms us, ☩ Jesus who bears the cross,

the Spirit who makes our joy complete.

Amen.

 Let us bow before God in humility, confessing our sin.

 Silence is kept for reflection.

 Steadfast and faithful God, you have revealed the ways of justice, yet we fail to follow you.

We are overwhelmed by the world’s violence and suffering. We are afraid to risk what we have for the sake of others. For the harm we have caused, known and unknown, forgive us. For the unjust demands we place on others and your creation, forgive us. For the ways we turn away from you and our neighbor, forgive us. Lead us back to you and set us on the right path; in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Amen.

Beloved in Christ, God’s justice stretches beyond all understanding. God’s compassion is beyond compare. In Jesus, God is always making a new way for us. In ☩ Christ, you are already and always forgiven.

Amen.

 

HYMN                  Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty                       #533

  

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. 

KYRIE

HYMN OF PRAISE                    

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY                          

CHIldren’s Sermon

First Reading: Jeremiah 15:15-21

¹⁵O Lord, you know; remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away; know that on your account I suffer insult. ¹⁶Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. ¹⁷I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation. ¹⁸Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them. ²⁰And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you
to save you and deliver you, says the Lord. ²¹I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Psalm 26:1-8

¹Give judgment for me, O Lord, for I have lived ^| with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord and ^| have not faltered.
²Test me, O ^| Lord, and try me; examine my heart ^| and my mind.
³For your steadfast love is before my eyes; I have walked faithfully with you.
⁴I have not sat ^| with the worthless, nor do I consort with ^| the deceitful. 
⁵I have hated the company of ^| evildoers; I will not sit down ^| with the wicked.
⁶I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, that I may go in procession ^| round your            altar,
⁷singing aloud a song ^| of thanksgiving and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
⁸Lord, I love the house in ^| which you dwell and the place where your glory abides. 

 Second Reading: Romans 12:9-21

⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

 

 Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28

The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew the 16th chapter.  Glory to you O Lord

²¹From that time on, [after Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah,] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” ²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ²⁷“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

 

SERMON

HYMN                         Jesus, Still Lead On                           #624

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

communion prayer

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      

 

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNION 

HYMN              For the Beauty of the Earth                              #879

PRAYER

BLESSING

HYMN                                            Congregations Choice

DISMISSAL 

POSTLUDE                   We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations                     W. Kerr

 

 

Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through OneLicense. A-710659 

Service outline for Sunday, August 27, 2023

                                                     St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Alliance, Ohio

Sunday, August 27, 2023

9:30 AM

PRELUDE               Sun of My Soul                   arr. T. Smith & D. Husted

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.

 

HYMN              The Church’s One Foundation                          #654

 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. 

 

KYRIE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 HYMN OF PRAISE                    

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY                          

CHIldren’s Sermon

 First Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6

¹Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. ²Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. ³For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. ⁴Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. ⁵I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. ⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

 Psalm: Psalm 138

¹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with ^| my whole heart; before the gods I will ^| sing your           praise.
²I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast ^| love and             faithfulness; for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
³When I called, you ^| answered me; you increased my ^| strength within me.
⁴All the rulers of the earth will praise ^| you, O Lord, when they have heard the words ^| of your mouth. 
⁵They will sing of the ways ^| of the Lord, that great is the glory ^| of the Lord.
⁶The Lord is high, yet cares ^| for the lowly, perceiving the haughty ^| from afar.
⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you ^| keep me safe; you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my             enemies; your right ^| hand shall save me.
⁸You will make good your purpose for me; O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon             the works ^| of your hands. 

 Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

  GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

 

 

 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20

The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew the 16th chapter.  Glory to you O Lord

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

  

SERMON

HYMN               My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less                      #689

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      

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNION

 

HYMN                         Faith of Our Fathers                                  #812

PRAYER

BLESSING

HYMN                                            Congregations Choice

DISMISSAL 

POSTLUDE              We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations                       Kidwell

 Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through OneLicense. A-710659