Service Outline for Sunday, August 22, 2021

 Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!

 PRELUDE But the Lord Is Mindful of His Own            F. Mendelssohn 

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

All may make the sign of the cross, the sign that is marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.

 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.

Silence is kept for reflection.

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.

 The presiding minister announces God’s forgiveness with these or similar words.

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      Come, Though Almighty King         #408 v. 1,2,4

 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 message

FIRST READING: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

 ¹Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, ¹⁴"Revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

¹⁶Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; ¹⁷for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; ¹⁸and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

 

PSALM: Psalm 34:15-22

 ¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are up- ^| on the righteous, and God's ears are open ^| to their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those ^| who do evil, to erase the remembrance of them ^| from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and ^| the LORD hears them and delivers them from ^| all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the ^| brokenhearted and saves those whose spir- ^| its are crushed. 

¹⁹Many are the troubles ^| of the righteous, but the LORD delivers them from ^| every one.

²⁰God will keep safe ^| all their bones; not one of them ^| shall be broken.

²¹Evil will bring death ^| to the wicked and those who hate the righteous ^| will be punished.

²²O LORD, you redeem the life ^| of your servants, and those who put their trust in you will ^| not be punished.

 

SECOND READING: Ephesians 6:10-20

¹⁰Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Alleluia, Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia!

 

GOSPEL: John 6:56-69

 [Jesus said,] ⁵⁶"Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." ⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

 ⁶⁰When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" ⁶¹But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? ⁶²Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. ⁶⁵And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."

 ⁶⁶Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

 

SERMON

HYMN     O Jesus, I Have Promised                #810 v. 1,4

 

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 AND 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          Blessed Assurance              #638

 

POST COMMUNION PROCLAMATION

POST COMMUNION PRAYER

BLESSING

HYMN     Go, My Children, with My Blessing       #543

 

DISMISSAL

POSTLUDE            With Resounding Joy               Wagner

 

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