St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Alliance, Ohio
Sunday, July 30, 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
CHIldren’s Sermon
First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5-12
5At Gibeon
the Lord appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6And Solomon said, “You
have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he
walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of
heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and
have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7And now, O Lord my God, you have made your
servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I
do not know how to go out or come in. 8And your servant is in the midst of the people
whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or
counted. 9Give your
servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern
between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” 10It pleased the Lord that
Solomon had asked this. 11God said to him, “Because you have asked this,
and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your
enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is
right, 12I now do
according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one
like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm: Psalm 119:129-136
129Your decrees are wonderful; therefore I
obey them with | all my heart.
130When your word is
opened | it gives light; it gives understanding | to the simple.
131I open my | mouth and pant
because I long for | your commandments.
132Turn to me and be
gracious to me, as you always do to those who | love your name.
133Order my footsteps | in your word; let
no iniquity have dominion | over me.
134Rescue me from
those | who oppress me, and I will keep | your commandments.
135Let your face shine upon
your servant and teach | me your statutes.
136My eyes shed | streams of tears,
because people do not | keep your teaching.
Second Reading: Romans 8:26-39
26The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for
we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with
sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is
the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according
to the will of God. 28We know that
all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according
to his purpose. 29For those
whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30And those whom he
predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and
those whom he justified he also glorified.
31What then are we to say
about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not withhold
his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us
everything else? 33Who will
bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? It is
Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us. 35Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,
or sword? 36As it is
written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as
sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor powers, 39nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew the
13th chapter. Glory to you O Lord
31[Jesus] put
before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a
mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;32it is the smallest of all
the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33He told them another
parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in
with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”44“The kingdom of heaven is
like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45“Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of
great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47“Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every
kind; 48when it was
full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw
out the bad. 49So it will be
at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the
righteous 50and throw
them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. 51“Have you understood all
this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who
has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household
who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
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
PRAYER
BLESSING
DISMISSAL
Liturgy and hymns
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